T6: Design Profile for Partial Simulation

Testing Business Continuity Exercises

This is a series of useful templates that you can use to develop the Testing and Exercising program.

Design Profile for Partial Simulation

Explanation

This template is a checklist for designing a Partial Simulation. In such a test, several teams are involved in the simulation. An example of a Partial Simulation is the Partial Re-Location exercise.

Definition
Objective	Confirm some aspects of the invocation of the alternate (recovery) site for a particular location
Scope and Scale (Active/ Passive; degree of involvement)	Active. Aspects tested/scale can range from all recovery resources for one business unit to partial resource for all business units in one location. Those involved must include key support groups (i.e. Premises, I.T., Telecom) with appropriate business unit involvement (e.g. small team from one business unit if one business unit is being exercised and one from each business unit if whole location is being tested)
Components to be tested
Plans	Yes
People	Yes
Place	Yes
Resources	Yes
Success Criteria	Each aspect of support, planned for testing was tested
Essential Pre-Conditions	Support Groups plans must have been successfully Talked-Through and amended in need. Also that each of the aspects to be tested has previously undergone a successful element test
Participants
Internal	Yes
External	Possibly
Scheduling
Time of Test/ Schedule	Typically out of business hours, probably at a weekend (to avoid disruption of normal business activities)
Duration	Maximum 2 Days (to allow support group call out and set-up prior to business unit involvement plus re-reinstatement)
Frequency (mandatory/ desirable)	Maximum of 2 years (mandatory) from the date of commencement of the plan development phase of the BCP project to be scheduled with the full agreement of officer with governance responsibility for the territory
Notice Requirement/Warning	Whilst a “no notice” test should be the ultimate objective, this target and the extent of possible disruption to normal business activity must be carefully balanced. Where notice is given, the more people are involved the longer the advance warning must be
Briefing of Participants	If there is to be no warning a short telephone briefing, sufficient to avoid wasted effort and low morale should be given. If a warning is given a fuller briefing document should be prepared
Scenario	No
Test of plan	Yes
Budget for test	Yes (overtime, transport, subsistence and recovery resource/invocation costs, outsourcing contract additional costs)
Execution/ Monitoring
Controllers	BCC or external consultant
Document
Documentation (capable of audit) -Track events and degree of success	List of events with individual details and timings, controllers’/business unit document checklist. Business Unit log sheets, post test critique forms

Source

Goh, M. H. (2006). Testing and Exercising Your Business Continuity Plan. Business Continuity Management Series (2nd ed.). Singapore: GMH Pte Ltd.

Extracted from "Chapter 28: T6: Design Profile for Partial Simulation"

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