BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING & PLAN DEVELOPMENT

Our typical approach to Business Continuity Planning and BCM Plan Development is to work closely with the client organization’s staff to develop a comprehensive plan based on a five-phase project plan as follows:

1. Business Impact Assessment (BIA)
2. Business Continuity Plan (BCP) development
3. Staff Training
4. Business Continuity Plan Validation: Drills and Exercises
5. Program Effectiveness Evaluation & Monitoring

Description of Project Phases

Phase 1: Business Impact Assessment

A joint client and All Hands team will identify, review, evaluate and prioritize issues that pose potential crises and/or negative impact for the client’s business operations. The joint team will also analyze the client’s current overall business continuity management planning efforts. The BIA is a diagnostic survey that consists of issue analyses, risk identification, and assessment of potential business impacts and crisis situations. The diagnostic survey assists us to determine the client current capabilities, level of training, and categorization of potential business disruption situations. The review of current initiatives will include:

1. Current Business Continuity Plan/Program Review
2. Corporate Office Capabilities (Assignment of Responsibility)
3. Identification of Resources (Internal, External)
4. Categorization of Potential Issues, Threats, Risks, Business Impacts and Crisis Situations
5. Crisis Communications Systems (including media & security)
6. Current Level of Training
7. Interface Mechanisms

Our approach generally will be to:

Interview Key Personnel: The personnel interviews will review business operations, current business continuity initiatives, general information on business continuity management and emergency preparedness, incident scenarios, policy, compliance initiatives, crisis media response, internal/external interfaces (infrastructures), business risks, strategic direction, documentation and training.

Review Current Written Business Continuity Plans and Materials: This review will consist of a comparison of the present Business Continuity Plan Manuals and Supporting Materials against applicable corporate policies, procedures and applicable requirements. Recommendations for improvements will be made as a part of this review.

Phase 2: Business Continuity Plan Development

Our approach is to assist the client’s management in designing, developing and implementing a Business Continuity Plan, as follows:

1. Develop draft BCP materials.
2. Review the draft materials with key personnel.
3. Prepare final BCP materials.

We concentrate on assisting client management in developing a Business Continuity Management Plan to facilitate response to a variety of potentially disruptive situations faced by the client.

Phase 3: Key Staff Training

We assist the client in the development and implementation of staff training based on the Business Continuity Plan developed in Phase 2, as follows:

1. Develop draft BCP Training Program.
2. Review the draft material with key client personnel.
3. Develop final BCP Training Program.
4. Schedule and Conduct BCP Training.

Phase 4: Plan Validation: Drills and Exercises

We assist the client in the validation of the Business Continuity Plan through the development and implementation of a comprehensive drill and exercise program, as follows:

1. Develop draft Business Continuity Plan Drill Scenarios.
2. Review the draft material with key client personnel.
3. Develop final Business Continuity Plan Drill Scenarios.
4. Develop draft Drill Participant, Controller, Evaluator Training Program.
5. Review the draft material with key client personnel.
6. Develop Drill Participant, Controller, and Evaluator Training Program.
7. Schedule and Conduct Drill Participant, Controller, Evaluator Training
8. Schedule and Conduct Drills and Exercises.

Phase 5: Program Effectiveness Evaluation and Monitoring

Upon completion of the initial four phases of the Business Continuity Plan program, All Hands assists the client through periodic third party assessment and monitoring of the effectiveness of the Business Continuity Plan, Level of Training and Plan Validation process. The evaluation program, presented herein, is designed to assess the ability of management and response personnel to complete the sequence of critical tasks, under a business disruption condition, using available resources as outlined in the plan and associated materials.

The findings in relation to the client organization’s ability to meet the criteria for “All Hazards” preparedness is based upon the evaluation of nine Essential Element of Analysis (EEA). These are:

1. Administration (BCMP and Supporting Materials)
2. Incident Management/Response Organization
3. Training and Retraining Program
4. BCMP Facilities and Equipment
5. BCMP Implementing Protocols
6. Coordination with External Entities
7. BCMP Validation: Drills and Exercises
8. Communications
9. Ongoing Hazard/Vulnerability/Risk Evaluation

Summary

This plan is subject to revision based on client needs and preferences. The entire project plan is modular and can be modified as mutually agreed upon with the client.  All Hands is a network of qualified and experienced business continuity and emergency management professionals who stand ready to meet any business continuity needs including assessments, planning, training, and emergency response and recovery.