BIA Best Practices
BIA Best Practices
• Identify the impacts resulting from disruptions and disaster scenarios that can affect the organization and techniques that can be used to quantify and qualify
such impacts. Establish critical functions, their recovery priorities, and interdependencies so that recovery time objective(s) and recovery point objective(s)
can be set.
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BIA TOOLS 2 Determine the • It is important to quantify the operational impacts to an Examples of
operational impact organization resulting from a business process/function tangible impacts
over time of a being unavailable. Often, the significance of a business may include, but
disruption to each process/function is overlooked because there may be no not be limited to:
process/function direct financial impact. However, the operational impact to ¾ Legal/Regulato
the organization may be just as or even more significant to ry/Contractual
the organization. Measure whatever is important to your
¾ Operational
specific organization.
¾ Customer
• Choose impact levels using the most significant peak period Service
for each business process/function. This may be at the end (Internal and/or
of a month, quarter or year, or according to seasonal trends External
in the business process. customers)
• A detailed definition of each of the impact levels must be ¾ Financial
established based on the specific industry.
• A scale for quantifying the operational impacts must be
Examples of
established in order to ensure all process/functions are
intangible impacts
measured the same. For example, a scale of 1 – 4 could be
may include, but
used with the following definitions: 1 = no impact, 2 =
not be limited to:
moderate impact, 3= serious impact and 4 = severe impact.
Another scale example to consider would be using a Low ¾ Market Share
(L), Medium (M) or High (H) Impact scale for quantifying the ¾ Reputation
impacts over each time period. Another scale example
might be, Essential, Necessary Desirable.
• Where possible, contracted service level agreements and
any associated penalties should be identified, along with
legal or regulatory penalties. Force majeure clauses should
be reviewed as part of the review.
• Consider SOX- Section 409 Material event) can also be
used to gain CXO (i.e. CEO, CFO, CIO,) level support for
initiative.
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Sub-Topic #3 3 Determine the • Financial impacts to the organization as a result of process Examples financial
financial impact unavailability can be directly or indirectly applied to each impacts may include,
BIA TOOLS over time of a process/function. The BIA seeks to identify both direct and indirect but not be limited to:
disruption to each financial impacts. Measure whatever is important to your specific ¾ Lost revenue
process/function organization.
¾ Property damage
• Choose impact levels using the most significant peak period for
¾ Deferred income
each business process/function. This may be at the end of a
month, quarter or year, or according to seasonal trends in the ¾ Penalties and
business process. Fines
• The same time periods used to measure operational impacts ¾ Lawsuits
should be used to measure the financial impacts. If you do not ¾ Cost of
consistently use the same timeframes to measure impacts, it duplicating
makes it impossible to compare BIA results consistently across the inventory
organization.
• A scale for quantifying the financial impact over each time period Refer to Appendix A
must be established based on the organization’s size and the (ED: Additional
specific industry. Reference is needed
• Determine if the financial impacts over time are cumulative. for this item.)
• Determine the cumulative financial impact for each category of
financial impacts.
• Consider the many types of revenue loss for the organization as
some revenue may not truly be a loss. Consider revenue loss
measurements versus revenue that is truly deferred income.
• Financial impacts vary by industry; do not overlook favorable
trends (intangible impacts).
• Make sure that financial impacts to downstream processes are not
recorded and double counted in the financial cost to the
organization.
• Identify the intangible impacts that make up the significant risks
and exposures to the organization. One intangible impact may be
that the organization will lose employees and jeopardize recovery
efforts if employees aren’t paid in a timely manner.
• A contract may state penalties for missed deadlines or
deliverables, or it may not be specific to the exact recourse the
organization has.
• Some operational impacts are intangible. If data is lost that cannot
be restored, it may be an intangible impact as it can’t be attached
to a direct sum of money.
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Sub-Topic #3 4 Determine • Based upon the financial and operational impacts,
recovery time determine the RTO. The RTO is the period of time within
BIA TOOLS objectives which systems, applications, or functions must be recovered
(RTOs), Maximum after an outage (e.g. one business day). RTOs are often
Allowable used as the basis for the development of recovery
Downtime/Outage strategies, and as a determinant as to whether or not to
(MAD/MAO) and implement the recovery strategies during a disaster
Recovery Point situation. Similar Terms: Maximum allowable downtime.
Objective (RPO) • Determine the minimum acceptable level of operations that
are required for this business process/function within the
RTO. For example, if the RTO is 4-7 days, does this
business process/function need to be restored at 100% of
production capability? Could the business process/function
be recovered in stages? Ask how long can the organization
live with the process at less than a normal production
capacity (i.e. a reduced level of operations while in recovery
mode? Could 50% of the production capability be recovered
in 4-7 days and the remaining 50% be recovered in 31+
days? Remember also that in a disaster situation, it is not a
business as usual environment.
• A BIA tool should never force an RTO for a business
process/function. Forced recovery time objectives do not
take into consideration changes of roles at time of disaster
and impacts to downstream business processes and/or
dependencies. If a BIA tool is used that assigns an RTO
based on any sort of risk rating, there must be a process in
place to override an RTO upon management review.
• The RTO is used by corporate support teams to assess
possible recovery strategies for the business
process/function.
• Assume total loss to ensure an apples-to-apples comparison
of impacts. At this stage of the BIA, it is a natural step for the
interviewer and the interviewee to discuss possible recovery
strategies. Do not launch into recovery strategy discussions
at this point; consider no recovery capability exists when
determining where in time the process must recover.
Determine what the point in time should be for the business
process to recover.
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Sub-Topic #3 5 Determine both • RTOs should be supported by the operational and financial Examples of internal
internal and impacts and ratings. If the RTO is not supported by the and/or external
BIA TOOLS external business impact ratings, then the cause must be determined (i.e. Did business dependencies
dependencies you miss something? Do roles change at time of disaster? ) include, but are not
The RTO must pass a reality check by several levels in the limited to providers of:
organization. Be prepared to backup the RTO with the
impacts and the ratings assigned.
¾ Forms
• Each company should explicitly spell out their MAD, RTO ¾ Raw materials
and RPO definitions. e.g. Is the RTO from the incident until
applications are ‘up’; or from the declaration until systems ¾ Sub assembly
are turned over to users; or is it from incident until customer points
information is current? ¾ Inventory
• Consider the most appropriate method to document both ¾ Courier service
internal and external dependencies. Determine if there is a ¾ Customer
need to separate internal dependency impact information service
from external dependency impact information.
• Identify supply chain links to other internal departments,
Information technology infrastructure (internal and external
applications, systems, voice and data network data, etc.),
processes, or other third parties. Examples of third parties
could be vendors, business partners, customers, etc.
• Consider the loss to your organization should an outsourced
service provider(s) not be able to meet your business
requirements. Consider any service level agreements and/or
contractual requirements in place (include international
contractual relationships that may exist).
• What are the inflows? When is it needed? From whom does
the process/function receive information, data, requests,
etc.? What does the process/function depend on for the
information or resources to perform the process/function?
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Sub-Topic #3 5 Determine both • What are the outflows? When is it needed? Whom does the
internal and business process/function provide information to? What do
BIA TOOLS external business others depend on from this business process/function?
dependencies • As part of the BIA, it is important to understand what
happens to your organization if a source the business
process relies on is unavailable for any reason. Measure
how fast and severe the impact is (i.e., operational impact).
These exposures or gaps should be addressed as part of
the Risk Assessment and risk mitigation process.
• Consider completing business process maps to document
the inflows and outflows.
Sub-Topic #3 6 Determine central • Determine how BIA data will be used ongoing. Consider
repository for BIA reporting requirements for your organization ongoing.
BIA TOOLS data • Determine where to house BIA data and how to update data
ongoing (i.e. via a database, a spreadsheet, a specific
software package, etc.).
• Ensure that the BIA data and artifacts be stored in a secure,
backed up environment.
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# What How Points of Reference
BIA PROCESS
BIA PROCESS 1 Gather BIA • Ensure that all participants receive proper training and Examples of how
information using understand the value, importance and need for the BIA. BIA data can be
the most • Prior to kicking off the BIA process, those individuals gathered:
appropriate responsible for conducting the business impact analysis ¾ One-on-one
method for your should jointly review the BIA process to: interviews
organization.
1. Ensure the BIA is interpreted properly; it is ¾ Management
important for those involved in /supervisor
gathering/conducting the BIA to mutually workshops
understand the questions being asked on the BIA ¾ Conference calls
questionnaire. BIA questions can be interpreted ¾ Electronic (not
differently within the BIA team members. The recommended)
joint review will help to eliminate any
misunderstanding of the data that needs to be ¾ Questionnaire
collected.
2. Review the message to convey (such as the
importance of the BIA to the organization) and the
interview techniques that are to be used to gather
the data needed to complete the BIA.
• Consider partnering your business/function managers with
their IT counterparts during the data gathering process as
the quality of the information gathered with them together
will almost always be better than the data gathered from
them separately.
• Prior to gathering the BIA data, consider sending out the BIA
questionnaire and questionnaire guidelines (i.e. how to
interpret each question on the BIA). Questionnaires that are
sent out and completed without the assistance of a Business
Continuity Professional will yield results that cannot be
reasonably compiled and compared (i.e. rather than
gathering an apples to apples comparison, the results
compare more like apples to tractors) . Individual
managers may not know the impact they have on the
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organization as a whole. Additionally, BIA questions will be
interpreted differently by each interviewee.
Sub-Topic #4 • As appropriate, schedule a meeting with the
business/function manager to collaboratively complete the
BIA PROCESS BIA questionnaire. Send out BIA questionnaire in advance
so that the recipients can review it with others and get
complete answers.
• Explain the purpose of the BIA initiative to the interviewees.
Make it clear that management has no hidden agenda such
as having interviewees justify their jobs via the BIA process.
It is helpful to explain that every department/ employee is
important to the organization. One of the objectives is for
executive management to learn what business
process/function is time critical should a disaster occur.
• Conduct interview and complete the questionnaire. Ensure
consistency in interviewee(s) understanding of questions
throughout the process.
• Design and conduct follow-up interviews. If information is
still missing after the interview, follow-up with the
interviewee and request it be provided (e.g. financial dollar
impacts may need to be provided by a finance department
that supports the business process/function and not readily
available).
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# What How Points of Reference
BIA FINDINGS
BIA Findings 1 Obtain approval • Depending on the size and complexity of your organization,
for individual BIA consider the appropriate level(s) of approval for the BIA
results results. For example, it may be appropriate for some
organizations to obtain at least two levels of approval for the
BIA results that involve both 1. the business process
owner/manager and 2. the next highest level of
management.
• Consider the appropriateness of using a sign off form of
some kind to formally indicate the appropriate level
management has reviewed and approved the BIA results.
• It is important to note that information contained in the
approved BIA will be communicated to others with
supporting roles in planning for the recovery of the
process/function such as Facilities, Telecom, IT, etc.
2 Prepare analysis • Consolidate the individual BIA information to determine the
of BIA results organizational priorities for recovery over time. The
recovery time objectives should drive the priorities for
business process recovery including its technical
components.
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Gain 1 Obtain executive • Gain approval of BIA results from all appropriate levels of
Management management management before presenting the final results to the
Approval of approval of BIA executives as a group.
BIA results summary and • Develop a final summary presentation that easily shows the
recovery priorities for recovery and the RTOs to management.
prioritizations
• Determine what type of formal sign-off is required to move to
the next phase of planning.
• Be prepared to answer detailed BIA questions from the
executive managers (have the detailed BIA questionnaire
results available should a detailed question arise)
2 Prepare executive • A summary report is prepared and presented to executive
management management.
presentation • The presentation should be a formality at this point. There
should be absolutely no surprises on the summary
presentation for executive management.
• Executive management should clearly be able to understand
the impacts to the organization should processes/functions
be unavailable; this data will support the recovery time
objectives required by the process/function.
3 Be prepared to • BIA data can quickly become outdated. Once the BIA results Subject Area 2: Risk
Evaluation and Control
discuss next steps and priorities for recovery are approved, it is extremely
important to act quickly and begin work on developing
recovery strategies.
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# What How Points of Reference
BIA LIFECYCLE
BIA Life Cycle 1 Determine BIA • Determine how often BIA results need to be reviewed for the
review and update organization (i.e. annually, semi-annually, etc). There may
requirements. be legal and/or regulatory requirements that dictate how
often a BIA must be reviewed and updated. Consider if your
organization is required by any internal or external auditing
authority to complete specific tasks and any associated
timeframes for completion.
• Depending on your organization’s dynamics, consider
implementing a tickler system to ensure updates occur as
planned.
• Communicate BIA review cycle to executive management
and other management levels as appropriate.
• Determine audit trail for updates and a records retention
schedule.
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External References: Standards, Guidelines & National Practice Publications
ANSI / NFPA 1600:2007 – Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs. National Fire
Protection Association, March 2007. (Source: http://www.nfpa.org.)
AS/NZS 4360:2004 – Risk Management. Standards Australia /Standards New Zealand, August 2004. (ISBN: 0-7337-5904-1.
Source: http://www.saiglobal.com.)
BS 25999-1: 2006 – Business Continuity Management – Part 1: Code of Practice. BSI Business Information, November 2006.
(ISBN: 0 580 49601 5. Source: http://www.bsi-global.com.)
Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual (FISCAM), January 1999. GAO.
(Source: http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs.)
FEMA 141: Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industry. FEMA, October 1993.
(Source: http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/bizindst.pdf.)
FEMA IS-700: An Introduction to the National Incident Management System (NIMS). FEMA Independent Study Program.
(Source: http://www.training.fema.gov/emiWeb/IS/is700.asp.)
FFIEC – Business Continuity Planning Booklet. Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), March 2003.
(Source: http://www.ffiec.gov/ffiecinfobase/booklets/bcp/bus_continuity_plan.pdf.)
Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual. General Accounting Office (GAO), July 1999. (Source:
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/mgmtpln.pdf)
HB 292: 2006 – Practitioners Guide to Business Continuity Management. Standards Australia /Standards New Zealand, June 2006.
(ISBN: 0-7337-7472-5. Source: http://www.saiglobal.com.)
HB 293: 2006 – Executive Guide to Business Continuity Management. Standards Australia /Standards New Zealand, June 2006.
(ISBN: 0-7337-7488-1. Source: http://www.saiglobal.com.)
ISO/IEC 27002:2005 (ISO/IEC 17799:2005) – Information Technology Security Techniques - Code of Practice for Information Security
Management. International Standards Organization, June 2005. (Source: http://www.iso.org.)
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ISO/IEC 27001:2005 - Information technology -- Security techniques -- Information security management systems -- Requirements.
International Standards Organization, October 2005. (Source: http://www.27001.com/.)
NARA – Primer on Disaster Preparedness, Management, and Response for Paper-Based Materials. National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA), October 1993.
(Source: http://www.archives.gov/preservation/emergency-prep/disaster-prep-primer.pdf.)
NIST 800-30 – Risk Management Guide for Information Technology Systems. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
July 2002. (SP 800-30. Source: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-30/sp800-30.pdf.)
Open for Business, Disaster Planning Toolkit for Small to Mid-Sized Business Owners. Institute for Business and Home Safety
(IBHS), January 2005. (Source: http://www.ibhs.org/docs/OpenForBusiness.pdf.)
PMBOK: 2004 – Project Management Body of Knowledge, 2004 Edition. Project Management Institute.
(ISBN: 1-930699-45-X. Source: http://www.pmi.org.)
RiskWatch - RiskWatch Information Security product Suite includes software for vulnerability assessments, risk analyses and
compliance reviews of information systems specifically for ISO/IEC 27002:2005), GLBA-FFIEC, HIPAA, and SOX.
(Source: http://www.riskwatch.com/.)
TR 19: 2005 – Technical Reference for Business Continuity Management. SPRING Singapore, 2005.
(ISBN: 981-4154-13-X. Source: http://www.spring.gov.sg.)
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