What should you consider when choosing contingency planning software?

This I’m a little more old school on. In the age of computers and software controlling much of the daily tasks we perform I like to maintain hard copies of contingency plans around. Software can be compromised or hacked into and if you have a sensitive site your contingency plans may contain sensitive material as well which shouldn’t be compromised. So, it is site variant in my opinion.

Consider usability for staff that aren’t EP specialists. If your on-call staff need to access software, make sure it is user friendly, and try to get them involved in the procurement process. Make sure it can be used easily at 2am when you are woken up and need to take action

In my experience, the BCMs (Business Continuity Management System) require a big investment, including time, money, human resources, and IT resources. The BC Manager will find it hard to convince the top management to build software only for contigency planning because the BC team can use some alternative, cheap tools such as MS Office for documentation, MS Teams, Zoom, and Telegram for communication (and even call-tree). For the friend who wants to make and sell the contigenct planning software, we may focus on the ISO22301 certified companies as your potential customers because in the maturity of BCMs, automation and BC software are in the last phase, usually after the documentation and implementation and (ISO) cerfitied

Consider the user there is little to be gained by purchasing a system that it overly complicated, within this also consider the ability of the user to deploy it, all staff will have a differing level of IT ability, this must be considered when developing a system.

There are a few important factors to consider: 1. Ease of use: Look for software that is user-friendly and intuitive, ensuring that you can navigate and utilize its features without any hassle. 2. Customization options: Opt for software that allows you to tailor your contingency plans to your specific needs. 3. Integration capabilities: Ensure that the software can seamlessly integrate with your existing systems and tools. 4. Reporting and analytics: Choose software that offers robust reporting capabilities, allowing you to track and analyze data related to your contingency plans. 5. Support and training: Look for software providers that offer comprehensive support and training resources.

Here are some specific features and functionality that you may want to look for in contingency planning software: Risk assessment: The software should help you identify, assess, and manage risks to your organization. Scenario analysis: The software should allow you to create and analyze different scenarios that could impact your organization. Plan development: The software should provide you with a framework for developing and implementing contingency plans. Resource management: The software should help you manage your resources effectively during a crisis. Communication: The software should help you to communicate effectively with your stakeholders during a crisis.

Training: The software should provide training resources for your staff on contingency planning and crisis response. Testing: The software should allow you to test your contingency plans to ensure that they are effective. Monitoring: The software should allow you to monitor your environment for potential threats and triggers. Reporting: The software should provide you with reports on your risk assessments, scenario analyses, contingency plans, and other relevant data