Order from Chaos
What’s in an IT Business Continuity Plan?
Everyone hates surprises, but planning around them sometimes feels like herding cats.
Of course in Information Technology, as in business and life, no one likes bad surprises. But they happen all the time.
Plan for the Unplanned
Although every emergency is different, there are simple, critical core elements to each.
Provide Structure to the Unstructured
Contact info, task lists, communications, timelines, and responsible persons. These make up your one sheet wonder. Construct a sheet. Put these elements on it in a way that makes sense to you and your organization (I’ve included a simple example below). Then run the whole shebang from this sheet.
If you have sub teams, or other lines of business involved, use the same tactic
I once worked at a company where I formed it’s first dedicated Business Continuity (BC) Team. As the person responsible for IT, I was always involved in these because technology is a thread that runs through BC events.
We took the concept above, bought some inexpensive weather-durable binders, and put all the pages into plastic sleeves and into the book. Then each member of the BC Team got a copy of the book, which included all the info for each line of business – we all had copies of the exact same book.
Why? Because it is helpful to be able to have an idea, when chaos is swirling around you, about what not only you and your team are doing, but also what everyone else is trying to do, too. And because each sheet has all the relevant contact info, knowing how to call Jack or Christine or whomever is just a page flip away. No scrolling through email or contact lists or calling Person A to try to find Person B’s telephone number.
Each line of business included basic actions their team may need to do. In IT, for example, we included info about how to change the company’s phone system greetings to customers along with other helpful, brief instructions. And the other lines of business, like Facilities, Customer Service, etc., did the same.
Account Manager @ Cisco | Growth & Customer Success Obsessed
4 年Thank you for the share! Too often people overlook the small details which can complicate an already hectic situation. Your example of the easy contact sheet is a simple thing, but a perfect place to start a plan.
DPW Mechanic
4 年Excellent post Doug! 6 P's: Proper Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance. I learned that very quickly in the military. Everyone reading from the same playbook is such an often overlooked fundamental, especially during emergencies.