Suffolk Resilience

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Suffolk Resilience

• Business Continuity Forum 16th May 2012
• Running an Exercise

Designed Facilitated by Alan Pawsey Arc Risk
Resilience Ltd For Suffolk Business Continuity
Forum
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A few thoughts No plan survives first contact
with the Enemy The only thing more difficult
than Business Continuity planning is trying to
explain why you didnt It is not whether you
get knocked down, it is whether you get
up If you havent tested your plan have you
really got one?
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Why/So What?

• Enhances Internal
• Communication
• Increases Confidence
• Decreases Uncertainty
• Identifies Faults in Planning
• Helps to identify those with
  leadership skills
• And.

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Running an Exercise

• Scope and Objectives
• Understanding the Exercise in a Business
  Continuity Context
• Types of Exercise
• Some Dos and Donts
• Experience Exercise Planning Delivery
• Case Study Hope Ltd
• Business Continuity Update
• Olympics 2012

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Types of Business Continuity Exercise
Full Scale Exercise
Building Excellence
Multi-Team Simulation
Single Team Simulation
Time Realism
Facilitated Discussion
Embedding
Walk Through
Plan Audit
Resource
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Some Dos and Donts

• Top Management Sponsorship agree type,
  objectives, format, involvement budget
• You should not attempt to exercise everything
  declare what is in scope and what is not.
• Avoid going large for the first exercise
• Avoid we are all going to die scenarios -
  Ensure they are relevant to the business yet
  sufficiently challenging
• Form a small team to deliver and market the
  exercise
• If appropriate H S risk assessment
• Ensure the exercise does not cause unintended
  disruption to operations
• Create a learning environment.
• Generally exercising the Plan not the people
• Allow time for hot and more structured debriefs
  later.

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Case Study

• This case study provides a platform to explore
  general exercise design and delivery issues
• Hope Ltd is a fictitious company
• You are a manager employed by Hope Ltd with
  responsibility for Business Continuity . You are
  simply tasked by the MD to plan and deliver an
  exercise.

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Case Study

• There is sufficient detail for you your group
  to
• Decide Scope, Objectives Style
• Develop suitable scenario
• Plan how the exercise scenario will unfold and be
  responded to by participants
• Prepare a list of time scheduled injects, their
  purpose and expected response (like an agenda)
• Have additional material available if it all
  gets too easy
• Be prepared to cut material if time schedule
  proves inaccurate
• Outline exercise planning to group

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Running an Exercise - Discussion

Scope Objectives Style Scenario Exercise
Plan Delivery Next Steps from De-brief (Plan
Revision)
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Exercise Plan
Example of simple Exercise Plan think of it as
an Agenda to help you keep on track
Real Time Ex Time Event or Inject Objective Comment
9am 9am Intro to Exercise - -
9.10am 8am Scenario part 1. Question who, what etc Paper Feed Identify nature of Incident Impact Technical or notes of detail for Facilitator
9.20am 8.30 Open Discussion Reference to Plan -

Broadly speaking, complex exercises (eg
Simulations) need more complex and detailed
planning.
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On-Line Resources

• Top tips for fantastic business continuity
  desktop exercises
• http//www.continuitycentral.com/feature0939.html
• Developing scenarios
• http//www.continuitycentral.com/feature0908.html
• Put Your Plans to the Test Buildings
• http//www.buildings.com/tabid/3334/ArticleID/5738
  /Default.aspxtop

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Business Continuity Updates
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Comments from the Business Continuity Industry

• ICT and Business Continuity recovery planning in
  silos Suits Techies need to talk to each
  other more oftenhttp//www.continuitycentral.com/
  feature0948.html
• Horizon Scan for BCI reveals in UK major concerns
  are
• Unplanned IT/telecom outage
• Data breach
• Adverse weather
• There is variation depending upon sector
  Manufacturing are concerned about the Supply
  Chain Public Administrators are worried about
  Human Illness.
• http//www.bcifiles.com/BCIHorizonScan2012.pdf

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Comments from the Business Continuity Industry

• Share-point users seem to disregard data
  security, copying data off-line onto insecure
  drives and USB Sticks mainly to work from home.
• Similar issues for organisations that permit
  Bring Your Own Device
• PWC points to increase in black-swan events.
  Current Enterprise Risk Management practices may
  need to evolve from box ticking to greater
  involvement especially at Board level.

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An Icon in the USA

• Waffle House Restaurants

Walt Ehmer described how recovery is ingrained
in the company. He said the culture of the
company revolves around two words Show up.
http//www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/How-Recovery
-Is-Ingrained-in-Waffle-Houses-Culture.html