Develop a Business Continuity Plan
Streamline the traditional approach to make BCP development manageable and repeatable.
Unlock This BlueprintBlueprint Contents:
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should develop a business continuity plan, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.
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Develop a Business Continuity Plan – Executive Brief -
Develop a Business Continuity Plan – Phases 1-4
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Case Study: Practical, Right-Sized BCP
1. Identify BCP maturity and document process dependencies
Assess current maturity, establish a team, and choose a pilot business unit. Identify business processes, dependencies, and alternatives.
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BCP Maturity Scorecard -
BCP Pilot Project Charter Template -
BCP Business Process Workflows Example (.vsd) -
BCP Business Process Workflows Example (.pdf)
2. Conduct a BIA to determine acceptable RTOs and RPOs
Define an objective impact scoring scale, estimate the impact of downtime, and set recovery targets.
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BCP Business Impact Analysis Tool
3. Document the recovery workflow and projects to close gaps
Build a workflow of the current steps for business recovery. Identify gaps and risks to recovery. Brainstorm and prioritize solutions to address gaps and mitigate risks.
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BCP Tabletop Planning Template (.vsd)
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BCP Tabletop Planning Template (.pdf)
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BCP Project Roadmap Tool
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BCP Relocation Checklists
4. Extend the results of the pilot BCP and implement governance
Present pilot project results and next steps. Create BCMS teams. Update and maintain BCMS documentation.
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BCP Pilot Results Presentation
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BCP Summary
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Business Continuity Teams and Roles Tool
5. Appendix: Additional BCP tools and templates
Use these tools and templates to assist in the creation of your BCP.
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BCP Recovery Workflow Example (.vsd)
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BCP Recovery Workflow Example (.pdf)
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BCP Notification, Assessment, and Disaster Declaration Plan
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BCP Business Process Workarounds and Recovery Checklists
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Business Continuity Management Policy
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Business Unit BCP Prioritization Tool
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Industry-Specific BIA Guidelines
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BCP-DRP Maintenance Checklist
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Develop a COVID-19 Pandemic Response Plan Storyboard
Your Challenge
- Recent crises have increased executive awareness and internal pressure to create a business continuity plan (BCP).
- Industry and government-driven regulations require evidence of sound business continuity practices.
- Customers demand their vendors provide evidence of a workable BCP prior to signing a contract.
- IT leaders, because of their cross-functional view and experience with incident management and DR, are often asked to lead BCP efforts.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- BCP requires input from multiple departments with different and sometimes conflicting objectives. There are typically few, if any, dedicated resources for BCP, so it can't be a full-time, resource-intensive project.
- As an IT leader you have the skill set and organizational knowledge to lead a BCP project, but ultimately business leaders need to own the BCP – they know their processes, and therefore, their requirements to resume business operations better than anyone else.
- The traditional approach to BCP is a massive project that most organizations can’t execute without hiring a consultant. To execute BCP in-house, carve up the task into manageable pieces as outlined in this blueprint.
Impact and Result
- Implement a structured and repeatable process that you apply to one business unit at a time to keep BCP planning efforts manageable.
- Use the results of the pilot to identify gaps in your recovery plans and reduce overall continuity risk while continuing to assess specific risks as you repeat the process with additional business units.
- Enable business leaders to own the BCP going forward. Develop a template that the rest of the organization can use.
- Leverage BCP outcomes to refine IT DRP recovery objectives and achieve DRP-BCP alignment.
Member Testimonials
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.
9.1/10
Overall Impact
$33,081
Average $ Saved
25
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Community Health Choice, Inc.
Guided Implementation
10/10
$23,939
10
Community Health Choice, Inc.
Guided Implementation
9/10
$29,609
20
Coachella Valley Water District
Workshop
10/10
$59,849
50
Colonial Savings, F.A.
Guided Implementation
9/10
$2,519
20
Auckland Transport
Guided Implementation
10/10
$31,499
10
Avalon Health Care Management Inc.
Workshop
10/10
$31,499
50
Great Clips Inc.
Guided Implementation
9/10
$50,399
14
WVU Foundation
Workshop
9/10
$125K
10
OnPoint Group, LLC
Workshop
9/10
$12,599
10
OnPoint Group, LLC
Workshop
8/10
$31,499
20
eGov Jamaica Ltd.
Guided Implementation
9/10
$31,499
80
OnPoint Group, LLC
Workshop
9/10
$125K
20
Municipality of Chatham-Kent
Guided Implementation
8/10
N/A
5
Alabama Department Of Human Resources
Guided Implementation
10/10
$69,299
20
Eswatini Railway
Guided Implementation
9/10
$9,847
50
OnPoint Group, LLC
Workshop
8/10
N/A
10
National Arts Centre Canada
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
35
Corix Infrastructure Inc.
Guided Implementation
9/10
$50,000
20
Catholic Health System
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
10
XGen Pharmaceuticals DJB, Inc
Guided Implementation
9/10
$2,479
5
Encore Electric
Guided Implementation
9/10
$6,299
10
RJRGLEANER Communications Group
Guided Implementation
10/10
$70,000
10
XGen Pharmaceuticals DJB, Inc
Guided Implementation
9/10
$30,999
20
Eswatini Railway
Guided Implementation
9/10
$11,081
60
Town Of Marana
Guided Implementation
10/10
$12,399
120
CenCal Health
Guided Implementation
9/10
$95,000
80
Town Of Marana
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
120
XGen Pharmaceuticals DJB, Inc
Workshop
10/10
$25,419
20
Wade Trim Associates, Inc.
Guided Implementation
10/10
$61,999
20
City of Leduc
Workshop
7/10
N/A
10