[BCM] [Damanat] [E1] [C4] Establishing Business Continuity Objectives

Business Continuity Objectives for Implementing the Business Continuity Management Program at The Saudi Mortgage Guarantees Services Company (Damanat)

 

Introduction

Having established the strategic Business Continuity Management (BCM) goals for Damanat, the next step is to translate these high-level aspirations into practical and measurable Business Continuity (BC) objectives.

While BCM goals define what the organisation intends to achieve over the long term, BC objectives define how these goals will be implemented, monitored, and evaluated throughout the BCM programme.

Business Continuity objectives provide a structured implementation roadmap. They establish the activities required to build, maintain, and continually improve the organisation's continuity capability.

Well-defined objectives enable management to allocate resources, monitor progress, measure programme effectiveness, and demonstrate due diligence to regulators, auditors, and stakeholders.

For Damanat, BC objectives should reflect its operational responsibilities, governance requirements, and regulatory environment. They should also be aligned with internationally recognised BCM good practices while remaining proportionate to the organisation's size, complexity, and risk profile.

Unlike recovery targets, which are determined later during the Business Impact Analysis (BIA), BC objectives focus on establishing the management framework necessary to achieve organisational resilience.

Accordingly, the objectives presented in this chapter should be regarded as indicative and should be reviewed, refined, and approved by Senior Management before implementation.

 

Characteristics of Effective Business Continuity Objectives

Effective BC objectives should possess several important characteristics to ensure that they contribute meaningfully to the success of the BCM programme.

Strategic Alignment

Each objective should directly support one or more of Damanat's approved BCM goals and contribute to the organisation's overall resilience strategy.

Measurable

Where practicable, objectives should include measurable outcomes that enable progress to be monitored and reported to management.

Practical

Objectives should be achievable using available organisational resources and should reflect Damanat's operational environment.

Clearly Assigned

Each objective should have an accountable owner responsible for implementation, maintenance, and reporting.

Time-Oriented

Objectives should include indicative implementation timeframes while allowing flexibility to accommodate organisational priorities and resource availability.

Subject to Continual Review

Business Continuity is not a one-time project. Objectives should therefore be reviewed periodically to ensure continued relevance as organisational strategies, technologies, regulations, and risks evolve.

 

Proposed Business Continuity Objectives

The following objectives provide an indicative framework for implementing BCM within Damanat.

Objective 1 – Establish BCM Governance

Develop an enterprise-wide governance structure that defines executive sponsorship, oversight responsibilities, reporting arrangements, and accountability for BCM activities.

Objective 2 – Identify Critical Business Functions

Identify, validate, and obtain management approval for the organisation's Critical Business Functions (CBFs) that require continuity planning.

Objective 3 – Complete the Risk Analysis and Review

Conduct a structured Risk Analysis and Review (RAR) to identify threats, vulnerabilities, existing controls, and residual risks affecting business continuity.

Objective 4 – Conduct the Business Impact Analysis

Perform a comprehensive Business Impact Analysis (BIA) to determine the operational, financial, regulatory, legal, reputational, and stakeholder impacts arising from business disruption.

Objective 5 – Establish Recovery Requirements

Determine appropriate recovery priorities and resource requirements for each Critical Business Function based on the outcomes of the Business Impact Analysis.

Objective 6 – Develop Business Continuity Strategies

Design practical continuity and recovery strategies that address people, premises, technology, information, suppliers, and other critical resources.

Objective 7 – Prepare Business Continuity Plans

Develop, document, approve, and maintain Business Continuity Plans that provide clear response and recovery procedures for each Critical Business Function.

Objective 8 – Integrate Business and ICT Recovery

Ensure that business recovery requirements are fully aligned with ICT Disaster Recovery capabilities, cybersecurity arrangements, and supporting technology services.

Objective 9 – Maintain Critical Resource Information

Establish and maintain accurate records relating to emergency contacts, supplier information, recovery resources, alternate facilities, and supporting documentation.

Objective 10 – Develop Organisational Competence

Provide appropriate awareness, education, and role-specific training to personnel responsible for implementing and maintaining BCM.

Objective 11 – Conduct Testing and Exercising

Validate Business Continuity Plans through structured exercises, simulations, and testing activities that assess organisational preparedness and identify opportunities for improvement.

Objective 12 – Implement Continual Improvement

Establish processes for capturing lessons learned, conducting management reviews, monitoring performance, and implementing corrective actions to enhance organisational resilience.

Objective 13 – Maintain Documented Information

Ensure that BCM documentation remains accurate, controlled, accessible, and subject to regular review and version management.

Objective 14 – Report BCM Performance

Develop appropriate performance indicators and management reporting processes that enable Senior Management to evaluate the effectiveness of the BCM programme and make informed decisions regarding future improvements.

 

Relationship Between BCM Goals and BC Objectives

The relationship between BCM goals and BC objectives can be illustrated as follows:

 

BCM Goal	Supporting BC Objectives
Protect Life and Safety	Governance, Training, Exercises, Crisis Management
Maintain Critical Services	CBF Identification, BIA, Recovery Requirements, Continuity Plans
Preserve Regulatory Compliance	Risk Analysis, Governance, Documentation, Reporting
Protect Information	ICT Recovery, Information Management, Cybersecurity Integration
Reduce Operational Disruption	Risk Assessment, Continuity Strategies, Testing
Support Coordinated Recovery	Recovery Planning, Crisis Coordination, Resource Management
Maintain Stakeholder Confidence	Communications, Governance, Continual Improvement
Improve Organisational Resilience	Reviews, Audits, Exercises, Programme Management

This alignment ensures that every implementation activity contributes directly to Damanat's strategic resilience objectives.

 

Table 1.4: Proposed Business Continuity Objectives for The Saudi Mortgage Guarantees Services Company (Damanat)

Objective Code	Business Continuity Objective	Measure or Evidence	Indicative Timeframe	Accountable Role	Related BCM Phase
BCO-01	Establish BCM governance structure	Approved BCM Policy, governance terms of reference	Immediate	Senior Management	Project Management
BCO-02	Identify and validate Critical Business Functions	Approved CBF Catalogue	High Priority	BCM Programme Manager & Business Unit Heads	Project Management
BCO-03	Complete Risk Analysis and Review	Approved Risk Analysis Report	High Priority	Risk Management	Risk Analysis & Review
BCO-04	Conduct Business Impact Analysis	Completed BIA Reports	High Priority	BCM Programme Manager	Business Impact Analysis
BCO-05	Establish recovery requirements	Approved recovery priorities and resource requirements	Following BIA	Business Unit Heads	Business Impact Analysis
BCO-06	Develop Business Continuity Strategies	Approved Continuity Strategy documentation	Medium Priority	BCM Steering Committee	Business Continuity Strategy
BCO-07	Prepare Business Continuity Plans	Approved Business Continuity Plans	Medium Priority	CBF Owners	Plan Development
BCO-08	Align business recovery with ICT Disaster Recovery	Integrated Business and ICT recovery procedures	Medium Priority	Chief Information Officer	Plan Development
BCO-09	Maintain critical contact and resource information	Updated contact lists and resource inventories	Ongoing	BCM Coordinator	Programme Management
BCO-10	Develop BCM competence through awareness and training	Training records and competency assessments	Ongoing	Human Resources & BCM Coordinator	Programme Management
BCO-11	Conduct BCM exercises and testing	Exercise reports and improvement actions	Annually or as planned	BCM Programme Manager	Testing & Exercising
BCO-12	Implement continual improvement	Lessons learned register and management review reports	Ongoing	BCM Steering Committee	Programme Management
BCO-13	Maintain documented BCM information	Controlled BCM documentation and version history	Ongoing	Document Controller / BCM Coordinator	Programme Management
BCO-14	Report BCM performance to Senior Management	Periodic BCM performance reports and dashboards	Quarterly or as determined by management	BCM Programme Manager	Programme Management

 

Measuring Achievement of Business Continuity Objectives

The successful implementation of these objectives should be monitored using appropriate performance indicators, periodic management reviews, internal audits, exercise outcomes, and corrective action programmes.

Evidence of achievement may include approved policies, completed assessments, documented recovery strategies, exercise reports, training records, and management performance reports.

As the BCM programme matures, Damanat may introduce additional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) to monitor programme effectiveness, support continual improvement, and strengthen organisational resilience.

 

Validation Note

The Business Continuity objectives presented in this section are indicative and have been developed using recognised Business Continuity Management good practices together with reasonable assumptions regarding Damanat's operating environment.

Before implementation, these objectives should be reviewed by the BCM Steering Committee, validated by the relevant business units, and formally approved by Senior Management to ensure alignment with Damanat's strategic priorities, regulatory obligations, and operational requirements.

 

Business Continuity Objectives convert Damanat's strategic goals into practical, measurable activities that support the implementation and continual improvement of the BCM programme.

They define what must be achieved, who is responsible, and how success will be measured throughout the BCM lifecycle.

With clear objectives established, the organisation must next determine the assumptions upon which its continuity planning will be based. These planning assumptions provide the operating conditions that shape recovery strategies, resource requirements, and Business Continuity Plans.

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