[BCM] [JHA] [E2] [C2] Project Management Phase for Business Continuity Management Planning Methodology for Jamiyah Home for the Aged

Business continuity management (BCM) at Jamiyah Home for the Aged (JHA) starts as a project before it becomes a routine. The Project Management phase decides what the effort will cover, who will lead it, how the work will be organised and how it will eventually be handed over to everyday management. Getting this phase right saves time later, because every subsequent phase relies on the scope, people and timetable agreed here.

Introduction

Chapter 1 introduced the seven-phase methodology and the requirement that runs through it: JHA owes an uninterrupted duty of care to frail, largely destitute residents, under a licence from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) that expects business continuity to be in place and demonstrable. This chapter covers the first phase, Project Management (PM). It explains how JHA can set scope and objectives, appoint a sponsor, steering committee and project team, plan the work, manage project risks and communication, secure resources and standards, and prepare to hand over to programme management.

JHA's own description of itself, on the Home's website, makes clear why the project must be practical. The Home runs 24 hours a day, its office keeps normal hours, and its residents rely on staff for daily care. A BCM project that pulls care staff away from residents for long workshops would itself create risk. The project must fit around the rhythm of the Home.

Scope and Objectives

Scope defines which parts of JHA the BCM programme covers. For a single-site home, the natural scope is the whole of the Home at 1 Tampines Avenue 3: resident care, nursing support, kitchen and meals, housekeeping and laundry, premises and utilities, case management, programmes and activities, and administration. Services provided by Jamiyah Singapore as managing agent, such as finance or human resources support, may be treated as dependencies rather than in-scope functions, provided the agreements are documented. For example, JHA might write: "The BCM programme covers all activities of Jamiyah Home for the Aged at 1 Tampines Avenue 3. Shared services provided by Jamiyah Singapore are treated as external dependencies."

Objectives should be specific and measurable. Illustrative objectives for JHA might include:

• Complete a risk assessment and business impact analysis for all critical business functions within the first four months.
• Approve business continuity strategies and write plans for all Tier 1 functions within six months.
• Hold at least one walkthrough exercise of each plan before the project closes.
• Produce the evidence needed to show MSF that business continuity plans exist, are current and have been reviewed in the past year.
• Align the programme with ISO 22301 planning requirements.

Sponsor, Steering Committee and Project Team

Sponsor

The sponsor gives the project authority and resources. For JHA, a natural sponsor might be a senior representative of Jamiyah Singapore who oversees its homes, or the chair of a committee that oversees JHA. The sponsor approves the charter, the strategies and their cost, and receives the final report.

Steering Committee

The steering committee meets monthly during the project to review progress, resolve issues and approve each phase's outputs. For example, JHA might form a committee of the sponsor, the Superintendent, the senior nurse or care manager, a representative of Jamiyah Singapore's finance or administration function, and an independent member with BCM or eldercare experience.

Project Team

The project team does the work. Illustratively, the Superintendent acts as the organisation's BCM coordinator and project manager. Business unit BCM coordinators are drawn from care and nursing, kitchen and housekeeping, case management and programmes, and administration. Each coordinator gathers information from colleagues, attends workshops and later writes the plan for their area. Night-shift supervisors should be consulted directly because their view of risk differs from that of daytime staff.

Responsibility Matrix

A responsibility matrix makes roles explicit. The illustrative matrix below uses the familiar convention of Responsible (R), Accountable (A), Consulted (C) and Informed (I).

Planning the Work

A simple work plan breaks the project into the remaining six phases, each with a start date, duration, owner and deliverable. For example, JHA might plan a six-month project: one month for set-up, one month for risk analysis, one and a half months for the business impact analysis, one month for strategies, one month for plan writing and validation, and the final half month for initial exercises and handover. Some phases overlap. Risk and impact workshops can share sessions, and plan templates can be designed while strategies are being costed.

The plan should avoid periods when the Home is under particular strain. For example, JHA might avoid scheduling workshops during the weeks around major festive celebrations, when programmes, visitors and volunteer activity increase, or during any period of a known outbreak. Workshops of one to two hours, held at shift handover so that both shifts can contribute, are often more productive than full-day sessions.

Project Risks and Communication

The project itself carries risks. Illustrative project risks for JHA include: care staff being unavailable for workshops because of rostering pressure; key knowledge resting with one long-serving staff member; the project stalling if the Superintendent is absent; and competing demands from the transition to the new licensing framework. Each risk needs a simple response, such as scheduling short handover sessions, interviewing long-serving staff early, naming a deputy project manager, and linking BCM deliverables to licensing preparation so one effort serves both purposes.

Communication keeps people informed and involved. For example, JHA might brief all staff at the start of the project, explaining in plain language why BCM matters for residents; give a short monthly update at staff meetings; and report formally to the steering committee each month. Residents may also benefit from simple, reassuring explanations when drills or exercises take place, so that unfamiliar activity does not cause distress.

Resources and Standards

Resources include people's time, a modest budget, and access to information. The highest cost for JHA is likely to be staff time, especially if relief cover is needed so that care staff can attend workshops. Other costs might include training for the BCM coordinators, printing of plans, and small purchases identified during the project, such as battery lighting or additional supplies.

Standards provide a reference point for the project. ISO 22301 sets out the requirements for a business continuity management system, and ISO 22313 gives guidance on applying them. Alongside these, JHA must meet the Code of Practice for Social Residential Homes, which requires regularly updating business continuity plans, reviewing business continuity procedures at least once a year, and adhering to MSF's BCM advisories and guidelines. The Code of Governance for Charities and Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs) operates on a "comply or explain" basis and includes a principle that a charity is well managed and plans for the future, which BCM supports.

Handover to Programme Management

The project ends; the programme continues. Before closing, the project team should prepare a handover pack that includes the approved plans, risk register, impact analysis, strategy decisions, exercise findings and open actions, and a programme calendar for the next twelve months. The steering committee confirms who owns the programme going forward. For example, JHA might keep the Superintendent as programme owner, reporting to a management committee twice a year, with business unit BCM coordinators responsible for keeping their own plans current. Chapter 8 describes programme management in detail.

Requirements Specific to JHA

• Regulatory evidence by design: the charter should list the Code of Practice clauses that relate to BCM, so that every deliverable can be mapped to a requirement and shown to MSF if asked.
• Care continuity during the project: the project must not reduce supervision below the staffing levels the licence requires. Plan workshop scheduling and relief cover with the roster owner.
• Managing agent relationship: because Jamiyah Singapore is the managing agent, the scope must clearly state which services it provides and how it will continue during a disruption.
• Licensing category: the project should confirm with MSF the category under which JHA is licensed and any BCM advisories that apply [verify].

Summary Table

Conclusion

The Project Management phase turns the decision to do BCM into an organised effort with clear scope, governance and timing. For JHA, the key is proportion: a small, focused team, short sessions that respect the care roster, and deliverables that serve both ISO 22301 and the licence. With the project in place, the next step is to understand what could disrupt the Home.

Sources

• Jamiyah Home for the Aged, website
• Code of Practice for Social Residential Homes (First Edition)
• Charity Portal, Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs

Continue reading: Chapter 3, Risk Analysis and Review Phase for Business Continuity Management Planning Methodology for Jamiyah Home for the Aged, shows how JHA can identify, score and treat ten illustrative risks coded R1 to R10.