You’ve defined the scope for the BCP. Next, use an established risk management framework to conduct a business impact analysis (BIA).
The BIA provides written documentation to assist Maria and the other executives in understanding the business impact should an outage occur. Such impacts may be financial, in terms of lost revenues and additional expenses; operational, in terms of inability to deliver products and services; or even intangible, in terms of damage to the organization’s reputation and loss of public confidence.
This analysis should include all departments and facilities of the enterprise, list what it would take for each to resume adequate operations to meet the needs of the enterprise, and must include each phase of the recovery activities.
Remember, a key element to “business impact” is the financial aspect. What will it “cost” to take a particular action and, equally important, what could be the “cost” of inaction?
Prioritization is a key to the successful recovery of operations. The sequence of activities is an essential element in your contingency planning.
Use the Business Impact Analysis Template and then upload your BIA here for feedback.