Regardless of which of the various types of BCP test you conduct (although every business continuity plan should be subject to more than one type of test) – every test  sets out to ensure that the business continuity plan remains relevant to the organisation and continues to support a set of common assumptions:

 

Confirm the Competence of Incident and Recovery Management Teams

A business continuity plan test can provide assurance that response team members understand their roles and responsibilities and can work together under different scenarios.

 

Confirm that Incident and Recovery Team members are proficient in using incident management and recovery resources

Many organisations have specialised resources in place to support incident  and recovery management such as specialised incident notification systems. A business continuity plan test can confirm that response team members know how to operate these resources and when to use them.

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Confirming Communication Strategies

Managing a major incident effectively relies on response teams being able to communicate  both internally and externally. A BCP test will help to ensure that contact lists are up to date, that communication plans accurately reflect how the organisation will communicate during a crisis, and that those responsibible for them are proficient in their operation

 

Confirm workplace recovery strategies

Ensuring that members of the organisationcan work effectively outside of the normal work environment employees for an extended  period of time may be necessary under many circumstances. A business continuity plan test can confirm that those who are designated to work from home  remain able to do so. Similar coniderations will apply if a Work Area Recovery facility is used, a BCP test should ensure that the facility remains fit for purpose.

 

IT Infrastructure and applications recovery capabilities continue to work as planned.

Often performed separately because of time considerations, testing the recovery of critical applications and IT services helps to ensure that that the organiosation has a foundation for resilience and business process recovery

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