---
title: [OR] [P2] [S2] [MII] [C19] Using Mapping for Scenario Testing
description: [OR] [P2] [S2] [MII] [C19] Using Mapping for Scenario Testing
image: https://blog.bcm-institute.org/hubfs/OR%20P2%20S2%20Mapping%20Interconnections%20and%20Interdependencies/%5BOR%5D%20%5BP2%5D%20%5BS2%5D%20%5BMII%5D%20%5BC19%5D%20Using%20Mapping%20for%20Scenario%20Testing.jpg
---
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###### From Complexity to Clarity: Mapping Interconnections and Interdependencies for Operational Resilience
# \[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C19\] Using Mapping for Scenario Testing
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/0b279667-64c6-44b6-9618-1127feb5334f)
Mapping interconnections and interdependencies provides visibility into how Critical Business Services (CBS) are delivered. However, the true value of mapping is realised when it is used to **test resilience under disruption**. Scenario testing transforms mapping from a static representation into a **dynamic simulation tool**, enabling organisations to assess whether they can continue delivering services within acceptable thresholds.
Regulators increasingly expect organisations to conduct **end-to-end scenario testing** based on real dependencies, rather than isolated system tests. This requires scenarios to be grounded in **actual interconnections**, reflecting how disruptions propagate across processes, technology, people, and third-party ecosystems.
This chapter explains how mapping supports scenario testing, focusing on:
- **Designing scenarios based on dependencies**
- Developing **severe but plausible scenarios**
- **Testing interdependency failures** across the service chain
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/dbcad25a-5ca0-4bd8-ae1b-7906de022d85)
[Moh Heng Goh](https://blog.bcm-institute.org/ebook-or/author/moh-heng-goh) May 15, 2026
###### Operational Resilience Certified Planner-Specialist-Expert
### [](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/6072e46a-8b7a-441a-9257-0c17043af1f5)
### \[P2\] \[S2\] Chapter 19
#### [](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/0b279667-64c6-44b6-9618-1127feb5334f)
### **Using Mapping for Scenario Testing**
#### **Introduction**
Mapping interconnections and interdependencies provides visibility into how Critical Business Services (CBS) are delivered. However, the true value of mapping is realised when it is used to **test resilience under disruption**. Scenario testing transforms mapping from a static representation into a **dynamic simulation tool**, enabling organisations to assess whether they can continue delivering services within acceptable thresholds.[![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C19\] Using Mapping for Scenario Testing](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/b7bf0bc8-b382-4892-821d-c7c867303f14.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/b7bf0bc8-b382-4892-821d-c7c867303f14)
Regulators increasingly expect organisations to conduct **end-to-end scenario testing** based on real dependencies, rather than isolated system tests. This requires scenarios to be grounded in **actual interconnections**, reflecting how disruptions propagate across processes, technology, people, and third-party ecosystems.
This chapter explains how mapping supports scenario testing, focusing on:
- **Designing scenarios based on dependencies**
- Developing **severe but plausible scenarios**
- **Testing interdependency failures** across the service chain
#### **Purpose of the Chapter**
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/b5438182-f1e5-4248-bea5-2d5044665d8d)
The purpose of this chapter is to:
- Demonstrate how mapping outputs are used in scenario testing
- Provide a structured approach to designing realistic scenarios
- Explain how to test failures across interconnected components
- Strengthen alignment between mapping, testing, and resilience outcomes
#### **Role of Mapping in Scenario Testing**
##### **From Visibility to Simulation**
Mapping answers:
*“How is the service delivered?”*
Scenario testing answers:
*“What happens when something goes wrong?”*
Mapping provides the **foundation for scenario design**, ensuring that:
- Scenarios reflect real dependencies
- Impacts are assessed end-to-end
- Testing is aligned with CBS outcomes
##### **Enabling End-to-End Testing**
Without mapping, testing tends to focus on:
- Individual systems
- Isolated processes
With mapping, organisations can:
- Simulate disruptions across **entire service chains**
- Assess **upstream and downstream impacts**
- Evaluate **cross-functional coordination**
#### **Designing Scenarios Based on Dependencies**
##### **Dependency-Driven Scenario Design**
Effective scenarios are built around **critical dependencies identified during mapping**, including:
- Single points of failure
- Shared dependencies
- Third-party dependencies
- Data and system interconnections
##### **Scenario Design Approach**
Organisations should:
- **Select a CBS**
- **Identify Key Dependencies**
- **Define Disruption Events**
- **Trace Impact Pathways**
- **Determine Expected Outcomes**
##### **Example**
For a payment service:
- Dependency: Authentication system
- Scenario: Authentication service outage
- Impact: Inability to process transactions → service disruption
##### **Benefits**
Dependency-based scenarios ensure:
- Realistic testing
- Alignment with actual risk exposure
- Focus on high-impact vulnerabilities
#### **Severe but Plausible Scenarios**
##### **Definition**
Severe but plausible scenarios are:
**High-impact events that are realistic and could reasonably occur, even if unlikely.**
##### **Importance**
Regulators expect organisations to test:
- Extreme but credible disruptions
- Scenarios that challenge resilience capabilities
- Events that go beyond routine incidents
##### **Characteristics**
Effective scenarios should be:
- **Severe:** Significant impact on CBS
- **Plausible:** Based on real-world risks
- **Relevant:** Aligned with organisational context
- **End-to-end:** Cover full service delivery
##### **Examples**
- Cyberattack affecting cloud-hosted systems
- Failure of a major third-party provider
- Simultaneous outage of multiple interconnected systems
- Denial of access to key facilities
##### **Mapping Linkage**
Mapping ensures that scenarios:
- Reflect actual interdependencies
- Capture cascading effects
- Include both internal and external dependencies
#### **Testing Interdependency Failures**
##### **Nature of Interdependency Failures**
In interconnected environments, failures rarely occur in isolation. Instead, they:
- Trigger **chain reactions**
- Impact multiple components simultaneously
- Spread across organisational and external boundaries
##### **Types of Interdependency Failures**
**Sequential Failures**
- Upstream component failure halts downstream processes
**Shared Dependency Failures**
- A single component failure impacts multiple CBS
**External Dependency Failures**
- Third-party or infrastructure disruptions affecting multiple services
##### **Testing Approach**
Organisations should:
- **Select Critical Interdependencies**
- **Simulate Failure Events**
- **Observe Impact Propagation**
- **Assess Response and Recovery**
##### **Example Scenario**
- Event: Cloud service outage
- Impact:
- Outcome:
##### **Key Insights**
Testing interdependency failures helps organisations:
- Understand systemic vulnerabilities
- Identify gaps in coordination
- Improve recovery sequencing
#### **Evaluating Scenario Testing Outcomes**
##### **Key Evaluation Criteria**
Scenario testing should assess:
- **Service Impact**
- **Response Effectiveness**
- **Recovery Performance**
##### **Lessons Learned**
Post-testing analysis should identify:
- Gaps in mapping
- Weaknesses in resilience controls
- Opportunities for improvement
##### **Continuous Improvement**
Insights from testing should be used to:
- Update mapping
- Refine scenarios
- Enhance resilience strategies
#### **Integration with Operational Resilience Framework**
Mapping-driven scenario testing supports:
**Impact Tolerance Validation**
- Confirms whether services remain within defined thresholds
**Risk Management**
- Identifies vulnerabilities and control gaps
**Crisis Management**
- Tests coordination and decision-making under stress
**Third-Party Risk Management**
- Evaluates resilience of external dependencies
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/2dbf77a9-2b10-4a06-b39b-ac8f1611e999)
Scenario testing is where interconnection mapping becomes **operationally meaningful**, enabling organisations to test how their services perform under real-world disruption.
By:
- Designing scenarios based on **actual dependencies**
- Developing **severe but plausible scenarios**
- Testing **interdependency failures**
organisations can gain a deep understanding of their resilience capabilities and vulnerabilities.
Ultimately, mapping-driven scenario testing ensures that resilience is not assumed—but **proven**, providing confidence that Critical Business Services can be sustained even in the face of significant disruption.
In the final chapter, we will explore **maintaining and continuously improving mapping**, ensuring that interconnection mapping remains a dynamic and evolving capability aligned with organisational change and emerging risks.
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/90d1498f-0cc7-4057-bec0-aca399cc07aa)
| **C1** | **C2** | **C3** | **C4** | **C5** | **C6** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C1\] Introduction to Interconnections and Interdependencies](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/8cbaf41b-9671-404d-83b3-9a20c9fd69f7.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/8cbaf41b-9671-404d-83b3-9a20c9fd69f7) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C2\] Why Mapping is Critical for Operational Resilience](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/a7625fb5-1205-4fc5-97d4-4b7492c2b25f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/a7625fb5-1205-4fc5-97d4-4b7492c2b25f) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C3\] Core Components of Interconnections and Dependencies](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/38a3cbd4-322a-41bd-974f-5090a2ce52aa.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/38a3cbd4-322a-41bd-974f-5090a2ce52aa) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C4\] Step 1 – Define Scope of Mapping](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/69cc922b-c86c-4242-b85b-315a3f941e12.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/69cc922b-c86c-4242-b85b-315a3f941e12) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C5\] Step 2- Identify Data Sources](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/622d0fcc-71bf-4c3b-a569-213cb48bd1db.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/622d0fcc-71bf-4c3b-a569-213cb48bd1db) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C6\] Step 3 – Develop Mapping Framework](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/95581d69-3824-4acd-accf-03c2cab43765.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/95581d69-3824-4acd-accf-03c2cab43765) |
| **C7** | **C8** | **C9** | **C10** | **C11** | ** C12** |
| [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C7\] Step 4 – Map Processes and Resources](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/a4ffedf2-c795-41e9-9a8b-c5e24eea7159.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/a4ffedf2-c795-41e9-9a8b-c5e24eea7159) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C8\] Step 5 – Map Interconnections and Interdependencies](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/10f06848-f21f-457d-aa80-ca4e3b20ce9e.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/10f06848-f21f-457d-aa80-ca4e3b20ce9e) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C9\] Step 6 – Validate Mapping](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/57d7a65a-a462-4919-9324-53e0bb207f3e.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/57d7a65a-a462-4919-9324-53e0bb207f3e) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C10\] Step 7 – Analyse Mapping Outputs](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/44bbb252-fdf5-4026-90ba-cbbdbe9c099a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/44bbb252-fdf5-4026-90ba-cbbdbe9c099a) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C11\] Mapping Tools and Techniques](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/d2fab757-0d78-42dd-8553-044eead7390e.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/d2fab757-0d78-42dd-8553-044eead7390e) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C12\] Standard Templates and Data Structures](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/4f04214c-3a0f-4bed-b2f8-6352c6d3cda0.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/4f04214c-3a0f-4bed-b2f8-6352c6d3cda0) |
| **C13** | **C14** | **C15** | **C16** | **C17** | ** C18** |
| [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C13\] Integration with Operational Resilience Framework](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/c9628dd2-bbcb-4b54-b5b5-490066640d6d.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/c9628dd2-bbcb-4b54-b5b5-490066640d6d) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C14\] Mapping Third-Party and Supply Chain Dependencies](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/0c13b720-3d3e-4452-91e4-b9533260b3a4.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/0c13b720-3d3e-4452-91e4-b9533260b3a4) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C15\] Mapping for Digital and Cloud Environments](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/1c90de74-af6b-44d3-ae4f-26d01eac3cf7.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/1c90de74-af6b-44d3-ae4f-26d01eac3cf7) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C16\] Common Challenges and Pitfalls](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/32bbd8d7-f947-42ac-9db9-b88b0b156813.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/32bbd8d7-f947-42ac-9db9-b88b0b156813) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C17\] Case Study – Banking Sector CBS Mapping](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/5a846fed-f810-4f6b-a1d8-0c2100f0eeac.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/5a846fed-f810-4f6b-a1d8-0c2100f0eeac) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C18\] Governance and Ownership of Mapping](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/44ed11f0-5263-4485-98db-725a423c5fd6.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/44ed11f0-5263-4485-98db-725a423c5fd6) |
| **C19** | **C20** | **C21** | **C22** | | |
| [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C19\] Using Mapping for Scenario Testing](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/b7bf0bc8-b382-4892-821d-c7c867303f14.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/b7bf0bc8-b382-4892-821d-c7c867303f14) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C20\] Maintaining and Updating Mapping](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/41d34d1f-78bd-4346-845e-b0b86232cfa6.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/41d34d1f-78bd-4346-845e-b0b86232cfa6) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C21\] Key Takeaways and Future Direction](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/d8414f6b-4b4e-4a50-adb3-963546f13951.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/d8414f6b-4b4e-4a50-adb3-963546f13951) | [![\[OR\] \[P2\] \[S2\] \[MII\] \[C22\] Back Cover](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3893111/0f96fecf-9a98-4404-8377-d37c1233df10.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3893111/0f96fecf-9a98-4404-8377-d37c1233df10) | | |
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