Best Practices

for
Business Continuity
Management
UW Business Continuity
Symposium
November 6, 2006
We Live at Nature’s Whim
 Need for Business Continuity
Management
Unplanned Business Interruptions account
for $588 Billion in lost revenue each year.*
In addition to life-safety, property and the
environment, we have revenue and a
reputation to protect.
Business Continuity Management is a
decisive marketplace advantage.

*http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/PRNewswire/2005/09/08/995729?ba=m&bi=4&bp=12
Can you last a 30 day business
outage?
Lessons learned from disasters show that
even relatively short business interruptions
can be expensive both in terms of real
dollars and lost potential.
What is the value of our brand name?
What is the value of our market share?
What is the value of our employees,
customers, clients and partnerships?
Consider All-Hazards…
Avoid the Possum Principle…
Business Continuity Management
Business continuity identifies the mission
critical systems and processes and seeks
to ensure their continuing operation after a
disaster.
Business continuity management is the
organized methodology used to support
business continuity through a variety of
ways.
Business Success is a Product of
Preparation and Opportunity

"Luck is what happens when preparation

meets opportunity."
Seneca, Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD
We Need to Make Plans, Right?
 Plans Vs. Planning
We should avoid the classic trap of being
more focused on producing a plan than
proper planning.
The Great Big Book of Everything
 It’s the learning process of
Planning that is the key!
Business Continuity Cycle
“Plans are
nothing;
planning is
everything.”

Source: http://www.pfe.gov.uk/business/continuity.shtm

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Business Continuity Planning Cycle

Source: http://www.pfe.gov.uk/business/continuity.shtm
Resource-Oriented Planning

BCM

Not event-oriented planning

What are the critical job functions?
Critical Inputs: What you need
from others

YOU

Critical Outputs: What others need from

you
 Operational Dependency “Web”

Partner
You Partner
Partner

Partner
Partner
Partner Partner

Partner

Partner Partner Partner

Partner
Partner

Partner
Partner
What do you need to do the job?

Supporting
People Infrastructure Equipment
=

Core Assets

Information Facilities
How it All Fits Together

Primary Mission

Core BusinessProcesses

Core Assets
(People, Information, Equipment & Facilities)
 Critical Asset Protection
People Information Facilities Equipment
Emergency IT Security Alternate Site Supply chain
Drills Data back-ups x2 protection
Employee Vital records Redundant Multi-source
Prep. plan Power development
Comm. MOU’s Adequate for 30 Priority service
Plan PR/PIO days contract (MOU)
Family Redundant IT Mutual Aid Non-structural
Prep. infrastructure Agreements Mitigation
Alt. Staffing Secure,
Mental accessible
Health
 Triage! Getting to the Most
Important Stuff First
Don’t rely on guess-work
During your planning process, figure out
what has the greatest priority, according to
your operational needs
Don’t rely on some cumbersome collection
of instructions (like The Great Big Book of
Everything)- in the heat of the moment, it
will be ignored.
 Management By Objective
If not the great big book of everything, then
what?

Incident response and management by

objective!
 Prioritized Action List
Outlines sequential steps for recovery of
mission-critical work
Should be developed BEFORE the
incident occurs
May need to be flexible
Should be written to the novice level
Easy to find
Updated regularly
 Resources of Business Continuity
Management
There are four major areas of business
continuity management*

* http://www.davislogic.com/bcm.htm
 You Are Not Alone
As you begin to consider what it takes for
business continuity planning you may feel
overwhelmed...
 It Takes A Village
You have resources. One of the benefits of
being a University is easy access to a lot
of very creative and knowledgeable
people.
 The BCM “Blossom”
Project
Customer
Management

Risk Control Safety/

Physical
Security

Accident Accounts/
Prevention/ BCM Payroll
Employee Continuity
Health

IT Security Alternative
Staffing
Plans

Critical
Utilities
 Aspects of Business Continuity
Management
Communication Plan
Alternative Staffing Plan
Alternate Facilities Plan (both regionally and out
of state)
Supply Chain Protection
IT Security and Data Protection
Risk Assessment/Business Impact Analysis
Mitigation Plan (structural and non-structural)
Contingency Action Plans
Disaster Creates Opportunity…

But Only if We are Ready for it!

 OK, What’s Next….?
Use the information at
www.washington.edu/emergency/bcm
Learn your core business processes
Identify what critical assets exist for the processes.
Identify what could threaten those assets (and therefore
the core processes)= RA
Identify what the impact to your business will be if the
core processes are interrupted= BIA
Protect those processes by protecting the supporting
assets (prevention, mitigation, etc.)
Develop contingency action lists= The Plan
Test, practice, revise and repeat
Questions?
Contact Information

Scott Preston, ABCP

Business Continuity Manager
UW Emergency Management
University of Washington
206-897-2378
scottpre@u.washington.edu

November, 2006