Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Put your DRP on a diet – keep it fit, trim, and ready for action.

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Your Challenge

Disaster recovery plan (DRP) documentation is often driven by audit or compliance requirements rather than aimed at the team that would need to execute recovery.
Between day-to-day IT projects and the difficulty of maintaining 300+ page manuals, DRP documentation is not updated and quickly becomes unreliable.
Inefficient publishing strategies result in your DRP not being accessible during disaster or key staff not knowing where to find the latest version.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

DR documentation fails when organizations try to boil the ocean with an all-in-one plan aimed at auditors, business leaders, and IT. It’s too long, too hard to maintain, and ends up being little more than shelf-ware.
Using flowcharts, checklists, and diagrams aimed at an IT audience is more concise and effective in a disaster, quicker to create, and easier to maintain.
Create your DRP in layers to keep the work manageable. Start with a recovery workflow to ensure a coordinated response, and build out supporting documentation over time.

Impact and Result

Create visual and concise DR documentation that strips out unnecessary content and is written for an IT audience – the team that would actually be executing the recovery. Your business leaders can take the same approach to create separate business response plans. Don’t mix the two in an all-in-one plan that is not effective for either audience.
Determine a documentation distribution strategy that supports ease of maintenance and accessibility during a disaster.
Incorporate DRP maintenance into change management procedures to systematically update and refine the DR documentation. Don’t save up changes for a year-end blitz, which turns document maintenance into an onerous project.

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should adopt a visual-based DRP, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Executive Brief

Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Phases 1-3

Case Study: Practical, Right-Sized DRP

Case Study: Practical, Right-Sized DRP – Healthcare Example

1. Streamline DRP documentation

Start by documenting your recovery workflow. Create supporting documentation in the form of checklists, flowcharts, topology diagrams, and contact lists. Finally, summarize your DR capabilities in a DRP Summary Document for stakeholders and auditors.

Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Phase 1: Streamline DRP Documentation

2. Select the optimal DRP publishing strategy

Select criteria for assessing DRP tools, and evaluate whether a business continuity management tool, document management solution, wiki site, or manually distributing documentation is best for your DR team.

Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Phase 2: Select the Optimal DRP Publishing Strategy

DRP Publishing and Document Management Solution Evaluation Tool

BCM Tool – RFP Selection Criteria

3. Keep your DRP relevant through maintenance best practices

Learn how to integrate DRP maintenance into core IT processes, and learn what to look for during testing and during annual reviews of your DRP.

Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Phase 3: Keep Your DRP Relevant Through Maintenance Best Practices

Sample Project Intake Form Addendum for Disaster Recovery

Sample Change Management Checklist for Disaster Recovery

4. Appendix: XMPL Case Study

Model your DRP after the XMPL case study disaster recovery plan documentation.

Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan – Appendix: XMPL Case Study

XMPL DRP Summary Document

XMPL Notification, Assessment, and Declaration Plan

XMPL Systems Recovery Playbook

XMPL Recovery Workflows

XMPL Data Center and Network Diagrams

XMPL DRP Business Impact Analysis Tool

XMPL DRP Workbook

Guided Implementations

This guided implementation is a ten call advisory process.

Guided Implementation #1 - Streamline DRP documentation

Call #1 - Review Info-Tech’s approach to DRP documentation.

Call #2 - Create a high-level recovery workflow.

Call #3 - Create supporting DRP documentation.

Call #4 - Write the DRP summary.

Guided Implementation #2 - Select the optimal DRP publishing strategy

Call #1 - Identify criteria for selecting a DRP publishing strategy.

Call #2 - Select a DRP publishing strategy.

Call #3 - Optional: Select requirements for a BCM tool and issue an RFP.

Call #4 - Optional: Review responses to RFP.

Guided Implementation #3 - Keep your DRP relevant through maintenance best practices

Call #1 - Learn best practices for integrating DRP maintenance into day-to-day IT processes.

Call #2 - Learn best practices for DRP-focused reviews.

Book Your Workshop

Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Streamline DRP Documentation

The Purpose

Teach your team how to create visual-based documentation.

Key Benefits Achieved

Learn how to create visual-based DR documentation.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Conduct a table-top planning exercise.

1.2

Document your high-level incident response plan.

Documented high-level incident response plan

1.3

Identify documentation to include in your playbook.

List of documentation action items

1.4

Create an initial collection of supplementary documentation.

Collection of 1-3 draft checklists, flowcharts, topology diagrams, and contact lists

1.5

Discuss what further documentation is necessary for recovering from a disaster.

Action items for ensuring that the DRP is executable for both primary and backup DR personnel

1.6

Summarize your DR capabilities for stakeholders.

DRP Summary Document

Module 2: Select the Optimal DRP Publishing Strategy

The Purpose

Learn the considerations for publishing your DRP.

Key Benefits Achieved

Identify the best strategy for publishing your DRP.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Select criteria for assessing DRP tools.

2.2

Evaluate categories for DRP tools.

Strategy for publishing DRP

Module 3: Learn How to Keep Your DRP Relevant Through Maintenance Best Practices

The Purpose

Address the common pain point of unmaintained DRPs.

Key Benefits Achieved

Create an approach for maintaining your DRP.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Alter your project intake considerations.

Project Intake Form Addendum Template

3.2

Integrate DR considerations into change management.

Change Management DRP Checklist Template

3.3

Integrate documentation into performance measurement and performance management.

3.4

Learn best practices for maintaining your DRP.

After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this Blueprint, and what our clients have to say.

Client

Experience

Impact

$ Saved

Days Saved

Testimonial

Rotary International

Workshop

10/10

$1.32M

Dave and Sharon were captivating from the start. After the completion of the DRP maturity dashboard exercise, our IT managers understood Rotary?s limitations in regard DR and their interest was held throughout the workshop. There were no bad experiences. As a consequence, we?ve scheduled another workshop to fulfill our short-term goal of alternate storage for contingencies with a DRAAS provider.

Dakota County Government Center

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

Liked the toolset offered. Frank T was also highly knowledgeable on the subject and explained it in clear terms.

Minnesota State and Technical College

Guided Implementation

3/10

$2,117

Great assistance with your expert engineers in consulting on our DRP plan. The worst part was balancing all the information given to try to right-size the work for our college campus.

Clearwater County Alberta

Guided Implementation

9/10

N/A

Frank was great to work with. Helped me find resources to complete the documentation quickly and effectively. He also was very understanding with the amount of time, of lack there of, I was able to put into the project.

Southwest Care Center

Guided Implementation

10/10

$1.19M

105

Frank was awesome to work with and really helped us keep on track with getting this DRP project completed.

Forsyth Technical Community College

Guided Implementation

8/10

N/A

Best - Frank Trovato's advice and assistance getting caught up to where our DR efforts are. He has been very helpful with coming up with ideas and sending docs that help facilitate thought around improving our plans. Worst - No negative experiences. I wish I had more time to gather data before our meetings as its great to get alot of that info to Frank and hear his feedback.

Baldwin Wallace University

Guided Implementation

10/10

$27,135

We did a guided implementation of our DR program since we weren't under a mandate. It was something we saw coming and hand time to do the work before the official ask came. The process was great and we made some dramatic changes to our environment as a result of things the InfoTech team identified. We value the input of Frank Trovato as he was very helpful during the entire process.

Jupiter Resources Inc.

Guided Implementation

10/10

$47,500

Gateway Technical College

Guided Implementation

10/10

$66,183

The templates and worksheets are especially helpful. It allowed us to consider the big picture and help focus on the most important functions.

Richter Management Ltd.

Workshop

8/10

N/A

Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

Guided Implementation

8/10

$13,236

Frank has provided excellent topic knowledge and strategies in developing the Disaster Plan. The only negatives come from within my organization being able to get all the resources/decision makers aligned to complete the final product.

Southwest Care Center

Guided Implementation

9/10

$13,236

Lancaster General Hospital

Guided Implementation

8/10

N/A

Alliance Resource Partners

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

New Balance Athletics, Inc.

Guided Implementation

8/10

$13,236

Fully executable process for our team to adhere to. No bad experiences to date other than internal commitments.

Historic Royal Palaces

Guided Implementation

7/10

N/A

Pearl River Resort

Guided Implementation

10/10

$125K

100

Frank has been extremely helpful in assisting us with developing, documenting, an eventually implementing a DR plan

Baltimore City, Department of Recreation & Parks

Guided Implementation

10/10

$66,183

120

Working with Frank was a pleasure.

Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

Guided Implementation

8/10

$15,222

University Federal Credit Union

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

Historic Royal Palaces

Guided Implementation

9/10

$16,278

The example documents and industry norm information was particularly useful. This could be shown to colleagues who were less certain of the proposals. InfoTech very good at chasing up and encouraging examination of the proposed documentation, this can be a little annoying but actually is necessary and ultimately beneficial. So keep doing it!

Southwest Care Center

Guided Implementation

10/10

$3,970

120

Frank is extremely knowledgeable on DRP and the documentation is also very valuable in working through to for a solid DRP. We had to pause and reschedule our meetings with Frank due to internal struggles with our priorities and Frank remained patient with us and kept this process moving forward. We are very thankful to Frank for all his support!!!

Forsyth Technical Community College

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

I cannot give an estimate on time and money saved. I have no idea. Frank has been great to work with. The slowness of finishing this project is all on me. Actually getting the work done is the worst part of the experience.

Agriculture Financial Services Corporation

Guided Implementation

10/10

$75,000

Frank Trovato is an excellent listener. He absorbs and captures the details of our conversations extremely well and is able to provide excellent assistance by providing alternatives, whenever I get stuck with something. We have completed the DRP guided implementation now, and we could not had a better person within this engagement than Frank. Much thanks!

Amica Senior Lifestyles

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

Best parts were the scoring criteria and Excel models that helped us easily prioritize and visualize the criticality of various system outage scenarios. My only suggestion would be to add more emphasis around a disaster recovery scenario for cloud services. The responsibilities and processes are obviously very different from an in-house disaster, but we are still expected to speak on a cloud scenario and have a plan in place. We added a vendor management/communication plan in place to address cloud services, and Frank did well to guide us through a cloud service outage, but it would have been nice to have had more reading material on it in your research.

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Guided Implementation

6/10

$10,000

Extremely knowledgeable SME. Felt very confident that I was being guided by an expert in the DRP space.

Cianbro Corporation

Guided Implementation

9/10

$62,873

Frank is very knowledgeable and brings some quality thoughts and experience to the discussion. We have looked at the InfoTech tools, but have not yet completed the exercise.

County of San Mateo

Guided Implementation

6/10

N/A

Witt Kieffer

Guided Implementation

6/10

$1,720

It has been a good experience working with Frank especially as he and the team have been refreshing the content.

UCLA

Guided Implementation

8/10

$13,236

I'm happy to report that we've completed the substantial part of the effort to create a DRP, and feel like we have enough momentum and knowledge to complete it and sustain it for the future. I've appreciated Frank's insight and experience... and most of all patience with walking us through this project step by step.