[BCM] [SIT] [E2] [C4] Business Impact Analysis

eBook 2: Chapter 4

Implementing the Business Impact Analysis (BIA) Phase for the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)

Introduction

The Business Impact Analysis (BIA) phase is a cornerstone of the Business Continuity Management (BCM) Planning Methodology and a core requirement of ISO 22301.

For the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), conducting a BIA ensures that the institution understands how disruptions to critical academic, administrative, and operational functions can affect its ability to deliver on its mission—to nurture and develop individuals who impact society through practice-oriented education and applied research.

At SIT, where education delivery, student experience, and industry collaboration are tightly integrated, the BIA process identifies the critical business functions (CBFs) that support these goals and quantifies the potential impact of disruption over time.

This understanding allows SIT to prioritise recovery strategies, allocate resources efficiently, and ensure continuity of teaching, learning, and support services in the face of crises such as IT system failures, campus disruptions, or pandemic outbreaks.

Objectives of the BIA Phase

The key objectives of the BIA phase for SIT are to:

1. Identify Critical Business Functions (CBFs) essential to SIT’s academic and operational continuity.
2. Determine the impact of disruption on these CBFs over time, including effects on academic outcomes, student experience, regulatory compliance, and institutional reputation.
3. Define recovery priorities and establish Maximum Tolerable Periods of Disruption (MTPD), Recovery Time Objectives (RTO), and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) for each CBF.
4. Provide input for the next BCM phase—Business Continuity Strategy (BCS)—by identifying key dependencies, resource requirements, and recovery options.

Step-by-Step Implementation at SIT

Step 1: Identify and Validate Critical Business Functions (CBFs)

SIT has identified ten key Critical Business Functions (CBFs) that underpin its mission and operations:

These CBFs represent the backbone of SIT’s operational resilience. Each department or academic division must validate the inclusion of its function and confirm interdependencies across teams.

Step 2: Assess Impact of Disruption

The next step is to determine how disruptions affect each CBF. SIT categorises impacts into five key dimensions:

1. Academic Impact: Delays or interruptions in teaching, assessments, or academic progression.
2. Student Experience: Disruptions to support services, campus life, or well-being.
3. Regulatory and Compliance Impact: Failure to meet accreditation or Ministry of Education (MOE) reporting requirements.
4. Reputational Impact: Diminished trust among students, parents, and industry partners.
5. Financial Impact: Loss of revenue, increased operational costs, or penalties.

For each CBF, SIT’s BIA process evaluates the severity of these impacts over time (e.g., within 4 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks) to establish impact escalation curves.

Step 3: Establish Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption (MTPD)

Each CBF must determine:

• RTO (Recovery Time Objective): The target time within which operations should resume to avoid unacceptable consequences.
• MTPD (Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption): The absolute maximum downtime beyond which the function’s disruption becomes critical to SIT’s viability.

For example:

• CBF-1 Academic Programme Delivery may have an RTO of 24 hours to resume online classes, and an MTPD of 5 days before academic schedules are severely compromised.
• CBF-2 Digital Learning and IT Infrastructure may have an RTO of 4 hours, as downtime directly affects academic continuity and assessments.
• CBF-6 Finance and Procurement Management may have a longer RTO of 3 days, depending on payment cycles and vendor dependencies.

Step 4: Identify Dependencies and Resource Requirements

Each CBF must document its internal and external dependencies, including:

• People: Faculty, administrative staff, and technical support personnel.
• Technology: Learning Management Systems (LMS), servers, and communication platforms.
• Facilities: Lecture theatres, laboratories, and office spaces.
• Suppliers and Partners: IT service providers, vendors, and industry collaborators.

For instance, CBF-4 Industry Partnership and Work-Study Programme Coordination depends on continuous engagement with partner organisations. A disruption in communication systems or travel restrictions could significantly affect ongoing placements.

Step 5: Validate and Report BIA Findings

The BIA findings should be validated through:

1. Departmental Reviews: Each academic school and administrative unit reviews its BIA results for accuracy.
2. BCM Committee Approval: The SIT BCM Committee consolidates and validates all BIAs to ensure institutional consistency.
3. Executive Review: Senior management endorses the prioritised list of CBFs, RTOs, and resource requirements for subsequent BCM phases.

The final deliverable from this phase is the SIT BIA Report, which serves as a reference for developing recovery strategies in the Business Continuity Strategy (BCS) phase.

Expected Deliverables

At the end of the BIA phase, SIT should have:

• A validated list of Critical Business Functions (CBFs) and their dependencies.
• Defined impact assessment matrices across academic, financial, reputational, and compliance categories.
• Established RTOs and MTPDs for each CBF.
• A consolidated SIT BIA Report with management approval.
• An updated BCM register capturing interdependencies and prioritisation.

The Business Impact Analysis phase enables SIT to take a structured, evidence-based approach to safeguarding its educational mission.

By systematically assessing how disruptions affect its critical functions, SIT ensures that resources are directed to what matters most—maintaining teaching continuity, protecting students’ learning experiences, and upholding its reputation as Singapore’s university of applied learning.

As SIT progresses to the next phase—the Business Continuity Strategy (BCS)—the insights gained from the BIA will guide the design of practical and achievable recovery solutions, ensuring that SIT remains resilient, responsive, and ready to continue its mission even in times of disruption.