[Recommended] - (Mt) – Business Continuity Tests Exercises Discussion

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Copyright 2016. Rothstein Publishing. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. 12 Exercise Preparation O nce a business continuity (BC) dra plan exists, you can move on to the ongoing testing, training, and maintenance routines. While the development and delivery of the initial dra plan can be seen as a project with distinct timeframes and outputs, the possession of a plan implies an ongoing program or set of processes. Until the elements of that plan have been tested, nobody can be sure of their eﬀectiveness. Without proper exercising, your people will not be ready to recognize and deal with an emergency or disaster if the need should ever arise. As Philip Jan Rothstein, FBCI points out, “An unexercised contingency plan can be more dangerous than no plan at all.”   Use the ﬁve-stage growth path to train your people to conduct diﬀerent kinds of exercises. This chapter will help you to:   State the objectives and purpose of your exercise.   Understand the diﬀerence between a test and an exercise.   Identify the eight main elements in the development and delivery of a BC exercise.   Create realistic scenarios and scripts for exercises. 235 EBSCO Publishing : eBook Business Collection (EBSCOhost) – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS AN: 1216841 ; Burtles, Jim, Noakes-Fry, Kristen.; Principles and Practice of Business Continuity : Tools and Techniques Second Edition Account: s4084935.main.ehost 236 Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition 12.1 Getting Started with BC Exercises Oen, there will be a change of personnel at this point where the BC program starts to move away from the short-term challenges of development and delivery projects towards the longer-term practice of an education and maintenance program. In some cases, an external consultant has been employed to lead or assist in the launch and implementation, and it will be normal for the consultant to step back and hand over control to the resident BC manager at some point, perhaps staying in the background in an ad hoc support or advisory role. Alternatively, a member of staﬀ has led the way so far but may have second thoughts about the way forward. Is this staﬀ member ready to adopt a rather less dynamic attitude, or should he or she consider handing over to someone else who is more suited to the long-term maintenance and administration that is required from now on? is is a question which you might like to consider in due course, but ﬁrst you need to know what the future might hold. …effective training methods…enable the participants to help each other through the difficult patches. I am going to assume you will be developing the plans and checking out (or testing) the procedures and techniques while you are also developing the skills and competence of the participants. This is the normal and most practical approach. Some of the larger generalist consultancies tend to separate plan development from education and training; I suspect this is a consequence of the way in which their own skill sets are divided. Their BC specialists don’t do training, and their training specialists don’t do planning. The end result can be a “standard” plan with very little customization and some fairly routine exercises that rarely manage to generate a great deal of enthusiasm for the subject. In my experience, exercising to develop the emergency response and management skills among the various teams is the most important aspect of BC. It is vital to the success of their response to any kind of disruption. However, the style of the ﬁrst venture into the realms of BC by the team members has to be appropriate. An exercise should present them with problems which are challenging but realistic, problematic but solvable. 12.1.1 Capability and Conﬁdence: Educating Personnel Terminology varies considerably and there are many variations in the manner in which tests and exercises are developed and delivered. In the same way, there will be considerable diﬀerences in teaching techniques and methods within any training program. Personal preferences of the trainers, tradition, local culture, and the facilities available have a strong inﬂuence. However, the basic principles and concepts should remain the same across the board. Once you understand the basics, then you can apply them to your own particular situation. All group learning has to be organized in a sensible sequence which gradually builds towards the finished product: a competent and confident team. The same is obviously true for individuals, where pace and content can be managed to suit their progress as measured by means of tests, or examinations. However, group learning has to take into account a wide range of participants. The most effective training methods set up a steady learning curve, or gradient, which will enable the participants to help each other through the difficult patches. Your goal is a foolproof system which will work with a team of people with different backgrounds and experience. At the same time, this training system has to check out and improve the plans and procedures so that you end up with a robust capability. Almost without exception, BC practitioners (and standards, where they apply) seem inclined towards a five-stage growth path in their exercise and test programs. Where there are exceptions, they are either variations on the theme, or they can be aligned easily with these five stages. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Chapter 12 Exercise Preparation 237 12.2 The Five-Stage Growth Path Figure 12-1 shows how, through a series of steps in a gentle gradient, you can expect the people you are training to grow in stature, competence, and conﬁdence as they build upon the lessons learned at an earlier stage. By the end of the program, they are prepared for any eventuality but at no time are they put through an overwhelming or unhappy experience. Each step is another challenging extension of their capability. 1. 2. 3. 4. Stage One: Desktop Exercise. Stage Two: Walkthrough. Stage ree: Active Testing. Stage Four: Command Post Exercise. 5 Stage Five: Full-Scale Exercise. Gradient Learning 5 Each stage builds upon the lessons learned in the previous stages 3 1 Desktop Exercise 2 Walkthrough Active Testing 4 Command Post Exercise FullScale Exercise Figure 12-1. Gradient Learning: e Five-Stage Growth Path 12.2.1 Desktop Exercise Stage One is the desktop exercise which is designed to familiarize the exercise participants with the plan and their role within it. A Chinese philosopher once said, “Tell me and I will forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I will understand.” Bear this in mind as you initiate your players into BC. When you ﬁrst introduce the plan, allow plenty of time to involve them in discussing the relevance of the plan and its purpose. Without getting into the detail of particular procedures or individual responsibilities, you should encourage them to comment on the layout, logic, and structure of the plan. is will help them to develop their understanding. e key focus of this ﬁrst desktop exercise should be to try and spot weaknesses or areas for improvement in the plan as a whole. By looking for faults and limitations, they will become involved and begin to understand what might be expected of them in due course. is is a good time for you to show and explain the gradient learning curve from Figure 12-1. ey will ﬁnd it reassuring to know that the training program will allow them the time and opportunity to learn to play this interesting new game, with the incentive that maybe one day they may be called upon to face up to the real thing, supported by the inner conﬁdence which springs from a successful education and development program. If there is time, the ideal way to conduct these desktop exercises is on a one-to-one basis, or with a number of relatively small groups. is allows the participants to become fully engaged in the process, although this approach can be rather time-consuming. Larger groups require more adroit handling to derive the best beneﬁt, but with an accomplished facilitator they can be very eﬀective as long as you capture all of the feedback. Having someone there to make notes on a ﬂip chart can be very helpful; it shows that you take their views seriously and it encourages further reﬂection and comment. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 238 Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition e style of a desktop exercise is introduction and familiarization, with a focus on the plan and its contents. e players should go away with a basic understanding of the plan and its contents while being given the opportunity to comment on the logic and the layout. Once they have had time to thoroughly digest what they have learned, and you have had the opportunity to adjust or amend the plan in accordance with their feedback, it is time to organize the next stage of development and learning. 12.2.2 Walkthrough Stage Two, the walkthrough, is a more advanced version of the desktop exercise, in which you get the participants to spot and challenge any assumptions. At the same time you need their help to identify the dependencies (which you reviewed earlier in Chapter 5) and verify them. Any key dependencies which cannot be guaranteed will need to be checked out during the testing stage. So, be prepared to make a list of those components and dependencies which should be tested. Where there is any doubt about the need to check something out, base your judgment on the opinion of the participants. After all, you are trying to boost their confidence and they will be working with the end result of this development process. At this stage, it is even more important to… capture and record information in real-time. At this stage, it is even more important to demonstrate the need to capture and record information in real-time. A walkthrough is a group process with all the players contributing in a dynamic discussion. In this atmosphere ideas will ﬂourish and there will be several cross currents in the patterns of thought. Without a formal data capture process many of the messages can be overlooked or forgotten. It is worth making the point to the group that this is a demonstration of how the words, ideas, questions, and suggestions might ﬂow in a real-life emergency response situation. e walkthrough will introduce them to reality in this respect, and the information logging should be formalized in accordance with the plan. e style of a walkthrough exercise is a group-based facilitated discussion, taking the team through the activities and procedures of the plan. e participants are invited to review and discuss the plan and should go away with a feel for the way they would act as a group in response to an incident of some sort. e focus is on how they might deal with the eﬀects of an incident. With this experience behind them, the participants should have a fairly clear understanding of how the plan might work in practice. As a result, you may identify some improvements to be made to the plans, together with a list of the things which need to be checked out. Armed with this feedback, you can begin to prepare for the next stage. 12.2.3 Active Testing Stage ree, active testing, may be tackled in bite-sized chunks rather than an all-out attempt to do everything at once. Some of the highlighted procedures and routines will need to be checked out by those responsible. In this type of testing, the emphasis is on questioning the procedures, techniques, and resources. It is not designed to test the skills and knowledge of the technicians. Rather, it is a research project in which viable solutions are being sought. ere is no question of failure, simply lessons learned and alternatives explored. No one should come away from any of these component tests with a sense of defeat. If it doesn’t work, they have discovered something very useful: the plan, the strategy, or the technology needs to be changed or improved before you move on towards your goal of a resilient organization. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Exercise Preparation Chapter 12 239 e focus throughout this stage will be on preventing, or dealing with, the consequences of an incident. ere are, in fact, two distinct styles of exercise at this stage, although it is possible to combine them into a single comprehensive rehearsal. You will also observe the beginnings of a vibrant team spirit… ◗ ◗ Component testing is a rigorous proof of the methods and solutions with a focus on feasibility, suitability, timings, and costing. Output from these tests will be technical improvements together with useful data which can be fed into the decision-making process. Active exercising is a scenario-based opportunity for the participants to interpret the plans and information available in order to experience decision-making under abnormal conditions. ey must be allowed to succeed and earn your congratulations; this is a vital requirement. If necessary, coach or guide them towards success. Once the components have been tested, you can run a team exercise to provide the participants with some practical experience. ese early exercises should be based on a relatively simple scenario: not too challenging from a decision-making point of view. e emphasis should be on the practicality and workability of the technical aspects of the recovery procedures. However, they should be expected to work with the plan in a realistic situation, preferably in the actual recovery environment. ere may even be an opportunity to include some actual recovery procedures, so long as the live business operation is not put at risk. e active exercise needs to be facilitated according to a proper script, with observers providing feedback. While providing a learning environment for the participants and a test bed for the components, it is also an opportunity for the BC management to ﬂex their muscles in the creation and delivery of a scenario-based exercise. In other words, both sides will be building up their skills and conﬁdence at the same time. Active exercising should be repeated a number of times so all the various combinations of players get an opportunity to be involved in at least one such episode before moving on to the next stage. By the time the active testing and exercising program has been completed, the participants will have gained some practical experience, the plans will be robust, and people will be familiar with their roles. You will also observe the beginnings of a vibrant team spirit because they will have shared a common set of challenges and won through. Hopefully, they will have bonded and learned to trust each other and work well together under unfamiliar circumstances. Conﬁdence will begin to emerge; now they know the sort of thing they might have to face one day, working together as a team. 12.2.4 Command Post Exercise Stage Four, the command post exercise, begins once all the feedback has been translated into changes and improvements and everybody has been congratulated on their success. e command post exercise is where you begin to reﬁne techniques and polish skills through a realistic simulation with several groups or teams dealing with diﬀerent aspects of the unfolding scenario. e emphasis here is more on the coordination and communication between the various parties which include external interests, as well as the internal teams that will be working independently. Preparation for this level of exercise will entail the development of a more detailed script. e activities and the buildup will need to be managed to ensure everything runs smoothly. e development and delivery of such an exercise is covered in more detail in Chapter 14. On the day of the exercise, you may need to adjust the pace of the scenario to match the participants’ performance. e exercise should not be too easy, but neither should it be beyond their capability. e idea is to stretch them but not to break them. is type of exercise should be run on a regular basis, say once a year. Each time, you will need to pull together a diﬀerent script with at least a few variations on the theme in order to maintain their interest and to explore EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition 240 diﬀerent areas of exposure and response. During the command post and full-scale exercise stages the focus is on the whole scenario, the way it unfolds and how they deal with any surprises or an unexpected turn of events. 12.2.5 Full-Scale Exercise Finally, Stage Five in the learning and development process is to conduct a full-scale exercise, but not before the participants have gained enough conﬁdence in themselves, each other, and the process through the command post type of exercise. At this level, you are aiming to combine skills acquired from earlier exercises into a solid capability. You are also expecting them to demonstrate their competence, which will boost their conﬁdence and the conﬁdence of others. While the core teams should have some previous experience behind them, you could bring one or two beginners into the group at this stage. Plunging them in at the deep end is ﬁne providing the other members of the team are good enough to be able to let these new people ﬁnd their feet. is is exactly the sort of situation they will need to deal with in an emergency; there will be varying degrees of expertise within the group and the leaders will have to allocate the roles and tasks in a sensitive but pragmatic manner. You can also have one or more individuals sit out the exercise, either preplanned or as a surprise, as if they are out of town or out ill. In this way, you can build the participants’ resilience. So as not to waste the time of the skipped individuals, they can serve in an external role such as an observer. e style of a full-scale exercise is one of simulation and realism. It is simulation in the sense that everything gets checked out and used – as appropriate to the scenario – and realism in the sense that the scenario is credible, believable, and relevant. Ideally, the participants should go away with a sense of relief and pride. e relief stems from the fact they have been put through a challenging examination and the pride comes from the fact they did quite well. ey should walk away looking forward to the next one but hoping it won’t be too soon. e principal diﬀerence between the command post exercise and a full-scale one is simply a matter of size and scope. While the command post tends to concentrate on the work of the key decision-makers, the full-scale exercise embraces the full range of roles and responsibilities as well as their audiences. It is as close to the real thing as can be achieved without actually endangering the business or any of its people. Of course, you have to remain sensible with regard to costs and the degree of realism. Table 12-1 reviews the ﬁve stages. e normal progression would be to start at the bottom with the desktop exercise and work up towards the full-scale exercise at the top. Table 12-1. Summary of the Five Stages and Their Characteristics Stage Purpose Style and Focus Five Full-Scale Exercise Develop the capability. Demonstrate competence. Simulation & Realism. Scenario-based. Four Command Post Exercise Acquire the skills. Develop the techniques. Coordination & Communication. Scenario-based. Three Active Testing Practical experience. Test the components. Participation & Interpretation. Consequence-based. Two Walkthrough Challenge the assumptions. Verify the dependencies. Review & Discussion. Eﬀect-based. One Desktop Exercise Validate the logic. Spot the weaknesses. Introduction & Familiarization. Plan-based. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Exercise Preparation Chapter 12 241 12.2.6 Frequency of Testing ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ Stage One and Stage Two need to be repeated only in the event of major changes to the plans and strategies or signiﬁcant changes to the personnel. Stage ree should comprise a regular testing regime with quarterly technical trials plus occasional exercises for the various response and recovery teams. Stage Four exercises should be held at least once a year in order to maintain the levels of conﬁdence and capability, preferably twice each year. Stage Five exercises should be held annually, preferably at diﬀerent times of the year. Where command post exercises are held on a regular and frequent basis, there is a case for the full-scale exercises to be held twice each year. At this point, it’s important to understand the diﬀerence between an exercise and a test. 12.3 Testing Plans and Procedures When the word test is used, it tends to be taken to imply the possibility of either pass or failure; therefore, you should never apply the term to people. In general, they do not want to be viewed in such a judgmental manner, although some of them may see a test as an exciting challenge and want to continuously prove themselves. However, these are the kind of risk-takers to be avoided in recovery and continuity situations. us, you should restrict your testing to the inanimate aspects such as plans, procedures, and technology. At this point, it’s important to understand the diﬀerence between an exercise and a test. In the actual test activity, the focus needs to be on the purely technical issues, whereas exercises are used to explore and develop skills, interpretations, and tactics. e decision-making and invocation aspects of the disaster recovery (DR) plans should be checked out as part of an exercise, rather than brought into question during a test. For example, in an exercise you might reasonably expect participants to make their own arrangements for food and drink because they need to build such considerations into the procedures. On the other hand, in a test you should make those arrangements for them because you want them to feel comfortable about getting on with the tasks before them. In an exercise, you are teaching valuable lessons, but in a test you are asking them to follow the procedures. You should carry out regular tests of your plan components to check: ◗ ◗ ◗ Timings. Accuracy. Suitability. Testing is particularly concerned with data recovery, technology recovery, and service recovery plans, although the principles of testing should be applied to all types of plans when they are ﬁrst developed. However, once a management plan has been proven, its ongoing maintenance and improvement should be driven by the feedback from regular exercises. 12.3.1 Disaster Recovery Testing Disaster recovery (DR), which includes the rebuild or restoration of technical services such as telecommunications and information technology (IT) – which you reviewed in Chapter 10 – needs to be EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 242 Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition tested in order to prove the procedures. There is also an implicit need for specialist skills which can also be enhanced through a regular test program. Generally speaking, this type of plan assumes a certain level of technical knowledge. Where there is no expectation of technical skills, the plan will need to provide detailed instructions for precisely recovering and restoring the technology and systems. In either case, this type of plan will require regular, detailed testing and updating because technology is constantly changing and so the recovery skills need to be challenged. Recovery of technology and its applications requires a considerable amount of skill which can be derived only from practice. Systems recovery is a very diﬀerent art from that of systems management. e associated skill set is unique and it needs to be forged in the heat of battle where the enemies are time and complexity, in a region which everybody prefers to avoid. ere is little need to invent scenarios and plots for these tests which are independent of imaginary information about the circumstances or events leading up to the decision to invoke the plans and procedures. “Let’s test the recovery plan” is the only challenge to be posed at the start of a test. Test conditions will steer the event towards certain facets of the plan, and so it is this aspect which you need to examine brieﬂy. Before you carry out a recovery test, decide on the test conditions. is means deciding what assumptions you are allowing participants to make about the prevailing circumstances for the test. e conditions need to be realistic but don’t have to be complex or devious. e background information should include brief details about the time of day when the system failed, as this may aﬀect the state of the systems and backup. e other key piece of information they will require is what will be available to them in the way of facilities, equipment, and resources. Once team members know where they can go, and what resources they can expect to find, they should be able to rebuild or recover the systems, applications, and data to the business recovery point in accordance with the recovery procedures. The feedback should be captured by at least one technically competent person with a focus on the quality and usability of the procedures. The recorder should also make a careful note of any problems which were encountered and how they were resolved. It is also very useful to record how long it took to accomplish each of the key tasks and how and where time was lost in resolving problems. This provides management with vital information about the time taken to reestablish vital services to the business users. 12.3.2 Systems Recovery Checklist A systems recovery checklist – designed to help technical personnel prepare for a DR test – is included in the accompanying downloadable Business Continuity Toolkit. It describes the test as a four-stage exercise: ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ A compatibility checkout. Test preparation. Actual test activity. Test feedback. Each of these stages should be carried out by the technical team, although you, as the BC manager, may want to be involved in some capacity. Your involvement should be limited and should not lead to interference. Let them tackle the tasks and adjust the plans and procedures where it is deemed necessary. A compatibility checkout is conducted to ensure the standby resources are suitable for a full recovery. Where there are no alternative resources available, the only way of testing the recovery procedures is to attempt to rebuild the live system and this is not a practice I would condone. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Exercise Preparation Chapter 12 243 Test preparation would normally include developing one or more objectives so that the degree of success can be measured in an objective rather than a subjective manner. is is where the BC manager will have a constructive contribution because these objectives need to be related to the business need. The eight elements of exercise development and delivery can be broken down into two phases: preparation and action. Another important input from you will be the test conditions, which may be derived from a long-term testing strategy or a recent exercise. is means deciding, or helping them to decide, when the trigger incident is supposed to have occurred; when and where they are expected to carry out the recovery; and what resources and support they can call upon on this occasion. Once the test has been completed, the feedback procedure follows pretty much the same pattern as for an exercise, except the focus is purely on the technical issues. Debrieﬁng should be carried out at the end of the test and someone has to be tasked with returning the alternate systems back to their normal status. is would usually involve deleting all of the recovered data and may include the removal of applications and soware. If the equipment is dedicated as standby to a particular client or business function, then you may decide to leave the system in its newly recovered state until the next test. However, there is a security exposure with this approach if sensitive data is le on an unprotected system. 12.4 Elements of Exercise Development An exercise is a lesson, or rehearsal, for the plan’s users to show how it works. It is also an opportunity for participants to build up their recovery skills and boost their conﬁdence because success removes doubt. Feedback from the exercise should lead to a better plan. e basic reasons for exercising are to: ◗ ◗ ◗ Prove that the plans and practices are sound. Demonstrate the BC capability. Establish certainty that the business can continue. While the size and scope may vary, as a general rule, there are eight main elements in the development and delivery of a BC exercise, as illustrated in Figure 12-2. e eight elements of exercise development and delivery can be broken down into two phases: preparation and action. Before the event, the preparation phase is concerned with the development of the exercise materials and is composed of: 1. Background. 2. Buildup. 3. Quality. Background Buildup Exercise Elements Kick-off Business Continuity Exercise History Lessons Safety Quality Delivery Figure 12-2. Exercise Elements EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition 244 e action phase is concerned with the subsequent delivery of those materials as a useful exercise with beneﬁcial results and includes: 4. 5. 6 7. 8. Delivery. Safety. Lessons. History. Kick-oﬀ. e emphasis may change according to the scale and complexity of the exercise but the principles are the same. While most of these elements are a direct or an indirect input to the exercise, history is an outcome, and lessons are both learned and applied. The first three elements – background, buildup, and quality – will be addressed in this chapter, with the others covered in following chapters. This chapter deals with the preparation phase, while Chapter 14 will deal with the action or delivery phase. Background: Before setting out to develop and deliver an important part of any program, you need to establish the context. Background is about understanding what you are trying to achieve and why, whom you are going to be doing it with, and how you should approach the task. Your approach should take account of the organization’s view, expressed as policy, together with good practice derived from your knowledge of the subject. Buildup: Once you have established the background, you can begin to get ready to deliver a useful and relevant exercise. Buildup is mostly about preparing: creating or acquiring all the materials, arranging the venue, and organizing the facilities. The other aspect of buildup is matching the intentions to the requirements, ensuring that the storyline and the scenario are appropriate and credible. Quality: It is important for you to ensure that quality is maintained throughout the buildup and the subsequent stages. This attention to quality is to ensure that the exercise will be taken seriously, its results will be credible, and it represents good value. The long-term outcome of enhanced, proven performance can be achieved only through a considerable investment in time and effort as well as a focus on quality. Delivery: Once all the preparations are complete, you can focus on the exercise delivery, a training event where you have to coordinate and manage all of the activities to ensure a smooth and safe experience for all those involved. It is an important occasion where you, and your delivery team, have to retain control across the whole board. Of course, good and thorough preparation will stand you in good stead. You will also benefit from working on the gradient shown in Figure 12-1. This means starting with small, simple events, expanding the size and complexity as you develop confidence in yourself and your team. Safety: It is very important that the whole exercise is carried out with safety in mind. You must ensure throughout the development and delivery that both the participants and the business operation are protected from risk. This includes the avoidance of accidents through physical risks and the avoidance of consequences through technical or conceptual risks. As the person in charge, you must assume responsibility for this aspect of the whole project. Lessons: e primary purpose of a BC exercise is to learn and to apply the lessons gained from practical experience. In order to ensure that the full beneﬁt is derived from these lessons, you have to make sure that they are noticed, noted, and applied properly. is might imply changes or improvements to the plans or it could mean changes in attitude or behavior. Your job is to make sure that the learning is recorded and applied. History: A long-term objective is to have a complete and accurate record of the BC exercise program. Such a history provides tangible evidence that the program is working. It is also a reference source which can EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Exercise Preparation Chapter 12 245 help you in the selection and planning of subsequent exercises. Each exercise should be developed against a background which includes the scale, type, and scope of previous events. You also need to take account of the experience and capability of the participants. Kick-off: Open each exercise with a kick-off in which you introduce the delivery team to the participants and outline the rules of the game. (Chapter 14 covers the process of assembling your delivery team.) You establish control and set the boundaries so that the participants know where they stand in relation to the events which are about to unfold. This is also an opportunity for you to give hints and tips to them about dealing with such a situation. Perhaps you will want to offer reminders about lessons from the past or warnings about potential difficulties. 12.5 Background: Objectives and Purpose e statements of objectives and purpose must be developed in reference to your BC policy and agreed upon by the sponsors. A typical set of objectives is as follows: …prove, demonstrate, and establish key aspects of the BC management set up and capability. This exercise is designed to: ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ Develop our BC management skills. Evaluate the eﬀectiveness of our BC plans. Instill confidence in the BC management team. Identify areas for improvement in the plan, strategy, procedures, and resources. Establish accurate timings for activities outlined in the BC plan. 12.5.1 Stating the Purpose In general, your purpose will create three main reasons to prove, demonstrate, and establish key aspects of the BC management set up and capability. ese might be expressed in a purpose statement similar to the following: is exercise aims to: ◗ ◗ ◗ Prove ❏ e plans and practices are sound. Demonstrate ❏ e need for, and the value of, BC plans. ❏ e capability for BC exists. ❏ Compliance with rules and regulations. Establish ❏ Certainty that the business can continue. Since you must relate your purpose to the policy and strategy, you should use them as the basis of the purpose, because you are about to prove and demonstrate their practical outcome. Bear in mind the nature of your audience and take their expectations and capabilities into account. Try to avoid demanding too much of them. If you overwhelm them it will become a regrettable experience for them, and you might do irreparable damage to everybody’s conﬁdence, yourself included. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 246 Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition 12.6 Buildup The buildup should be based on the agreed upon objectives and purpose, translating them into action. From the objectives you can determine what needs to be covered in the exercise. They are a set of guidelines. A clearer idea of the design comes from understanding the purpose of the exercise. As the plot begins to take shape, it might be necessary to refine the objectives to meet the needs of the organization. On the other hand, you may need to stick with the original objectives and modify the plot accordingly. There is no right or wrong way to approach the creative process; we each have our own way of working, but we all have to stay within the limits set by the objectives and scope of the exercise. Figure 12-3 shows how the purpose of an exercise demonstrates and proves, while providing a learning experience for the participants. Posing of a few problems of the right scale leads the participants to develop solutions by interpreting the plan and deciding on a line of actions to resolve those problems. It is your responsibility to make sure that they are able to deal with those problems and to come up with workable solutions. Scripting is the process of developing the exercise scenario, generating the story or plot, and creating the texts. It means turning the objectives and purpose into a set of deliverables for use during the event. It is about getting ready in the technical sense – gathering information, formulating ideas and concepts, preparing the words, and acquiring the expertise to support the whole show. On the other hand, preparation is the process of managing the logistics, organizing the facilities, and setting up the equipment. It means ensuring the exercise can be run at the right time and place with the right people. It is getting ready in the practical sense: preparing the location, organizing people, arranging transport, managing the equipment, and co-coordinating the timings. Purpose in Action Exercise Problem Problem Problem Interpretation + Actions Solution + The completed cycle of Problem>Plan>Solution proves the capability. Plan The possession of a plan and a proper record of the exercise demonstrates compliance in theory and practice. The gap between the many potential problems and the solution demonstrates the need and the value of business continuity planning. Figure 12-3. Purpose in Action EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Exercise Preparation Chapter 12 247 12.7 Developing the Script for the Exercise e development process is relatively simple: ◗ ◗ ◗ First you choose a plot, which is a credible incident that will support the objectives. en you build the scripts and a timetable. Various messages, instructions, checklists, and reference materials are then developed to support the script. Perhaps the ﬁrst hurdle to be overcome is the choice of a scenario or plot line. e plot must be realistic and credible which means you may need to do some research. You can ﬁnd further guidance on the various possibilities, and their usefulness as plot lines, in the specially prepared plot development aid in the downloadable Business Continuity Toolkit. …it might be best to start oﬀ with some case studies to get the basic ideas across… ere are two distinct kinds of exercise: ◗ ◗ Case study. is approach is based on a situation which is outside of the normal experience or expectations of the participants – based on things that have happened to other organizations or imaginary events. is provides the participants with a form of indirect learning through an example which is parallel to real life. Line of business. is approach is based on a situation that participants might encounter, based on things that have happened or could very well happen in their own organization. is provides them with a form of direct learning through an experience directly related to their own situation. Case studies can be based upon real life events, in which case the plot is pretty well pre-determined. You can also compare the original outcome with the way in which your team deals with the scenario. ere will also be two sets of lessons to be learned, one from the harsh reality of an actual incident and one from the comfort of a well-orchestrated exercise. You can also mock up case study exercises. is is where you might invent the whole thing, including the company and its environment. rough this imaginary technique you can introduce all sorts of interesting problems in order to highlight particular aspects of BC management. e principal advantage of the case study approach is that much of the material can be used over and over again. On the other hand, it does not focus on the actual issues of the real world. So it might be best to start oﬀ with some case studies to get the basic ideas across, and then move up to the line of business approach as the competence and capability of the participants matures. 12.7.1 The Script Process Deliverables In order to run a successful exercise, you may need to prepare all of the documentation shown in Figure 12-4. For a simple ﬁrst time exercise you may be able to get away without the full set of supporting materials but you should get into the habit of thinking about the need for them. It is far better to leave something out by judgment than through oversight. The main inputs to the script development process are the purpose and objectives. Obviously these will be supplemented by considerations about the company and its working environment. From this background, you need to come up with a series of deliverables. I describe them as a series because one does lead to another, if you follow the process. You will need to produce: EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 248 Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition The Deliverables Agenda Purpose Timings Outline Script Plot Objectives Instructions Working Script Observer’s Checklist Reference Material Interrupts Messages Figure 12-4. e Deliverables ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ A plot or story line. An agenda or time table. An outline script. A working script. Instructions for assistants, who are part of the exercise delivery team. Messages – inputs to the scenario which simply pass information to participants. Scripts for interrupts – interactive inputs to engage one or more of the participants in a realistic interactive dialog to interrupt the participant’s train of thought. Reference material. An observer’s checklist. Some of these, like the observer’s checklist and assistants’ instructions, can be re-used or copied; they don’t have to be original or unique to a speciﬁc exercise or occasion. You may want to accumulate a small toolkit of reusable pages and paragraphs for use in economy-scale exercises or cabaret testing, which will be covered in Chapter 14. e layout and structure of the exercise scripts should make the documents easy to use. A good structure means you can ﬁnd things easily; this is especially important when you are running the exercise and trying to keep track of everything that’s happening around you while ﬁguring out what comes next and when, and if, to introduce it. Remember that the style of each of the documents has to suit the purpose and meet the expectations of its audience. e script may be put together as one document or more. It may go through several stages and grow with the process, or you may prefer to work with separate papers for each stage of development. is might leave you with a better paper trail if you want to review the process later or if you might be called upon to explain the growth path. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Chapter 12 Exercise Preparation 249 Script development starts with looking at the purpose and objectives and choosing a plot line which is likely to make the participants meet those targets. e plot is an incident which will explore the objectives; from this you can then develop the scripts and timetable. Messages, instructions, checklists, and reference material are added as required by the script. Sometimes, it may take more than one trigger event to cause the players to fully explore a particular aspect of their response or recovery strategies. is could make for a more interesting scenario. An outline script tells you what is there within the working script, and it also says what might be needed and when. e structure should be logical and sequential, so start with the big picture ﬁrst and then add the ﬁner details. Once you have the basic ideas worked out, arrange them in sequence. Figure out what you plan to happen and what you plan to tell the players, which may not be the truth or the whole truth. For ease of control and delivery, it is best to keep separate items on separate documents, i.e., only one message on a page. Please remember to mark every page as “Test Only” to prevent confusion. You do not want anybody mistaking the details of your exercise for a real threat or a credible story. 12.7.1.1 Script Content Apart from the main story, the exercise script should have: ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ Background information, to set the scene at the start. Agenda and timings, so the players know what to expect. A description of the scenario, or what has happened so far. Rules of engagement, so the players know what you expect of them. is is the minimum amount of information that you should be giving to the participants in any form of exercise. In more advanced exercises the script may also include: ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ Scripts for the supporting cast, where you are expecting them to engage in some form of role play. Reference information, which may be helpful when answering any questions arising from the scenario. Messages to be passed to the players. ese may take the form of imitation notes, faxes, reports, newspapers, or broadcasts to add to the realism. “Noise input” to divert their attention. is is where you or your team pass on messages which are spurious, misleading, or irrelevant. Only impose this additional burden on those team members who are already somewhat competent. It will stretch their information management techniques and introduce a heightened sense of realism, especially where there are several conﬂicting messages from diﬀerent sources. e style of the various parts of the script needs to match its purpose and audience. ose parts which are intended to be read aloud must use the words and language of the role. While some of the inputs may be incomplete or contradictory, you and your delivery team must know the full story, which includes understanding why the inconsistency has been introduced. In real life, we oen get conﬂicting, inconsistent, or incomplete information, yet we still have to go ahead and make decisions. is includes trying to verify the truth and making the most reasonable assumptions – good practice for your target teams. e working script for the delivery team must indicate timings and the intentions behind the nuances of the script. If you are expecting members of the delivery team to improvise you must explain the role clearly so they can match up to your intentions. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition 250 12.7.1.2 Interrupts Interrupts that change the ﬂow of the conversation and interaction are useful for adjusting the pace and direction of an exercise. If participants are making good progress, an interrupt can slow them down or change their focus. Use interrupts with discretion, since you don’t have to use them, and you can always use them another time. Plan and practice them so they ﬂow smoothly and ﬁt in with the evolving scenario. Make a point of planning when to use them, and also make up your mind about how you are going to judge whether to use them. 12.8 Quality 12.8.1 Realism In order to be convincing, and engage participants’ full attention, exercises must be realistic. Realism may mean research for it depends on knowing what can happen and how it might happen. Be convincing, otherwise you lose control! Realism… involves creating and developing imaginary scenarios which are credible to those taking part. So, if you are introducing any special eﬀects, take the time to research the facts. In this way, you can build up your certainty and gain the conﬁdence to be convincing. For example, in one exercise that I led, an explosion was the trigger for an exercise and the extent of the damage to the surrounding buildings was described in some detail. However, one participant suggested the pattern of the damage would have been different. His view was that there would have been a large crater and widespread damage. On this occasion, we fully expected a challenge because this one particular participant had a tendency to tease out the detail of the script rather than focus on dealing with the problem as presented. So we prepared a small PowerPoint presentation to support our explanation, based on information supplied by explosive experts. I was able to explain to him and the other participants exactly how our damage was caused and why he expected diﬀerent eﬀects. Obviously, he had assumed an explosion on open ground, whereas, in our exercise, the device had been placed in a container. We had studied the possibilities and were able to use the diagram in Figure 12-5 to show him how the blast cone of an explosion is shaped by the position of the explosive. Realism, which is an essential ingredient in any exercise, involves creating and developing imaginary scenarios which are credible to those taking part. One simple test is to ask yourself whether you would believe the story if it were told to you. Another way is to ask the delivery team members whether they would accept it as plausible. Realism makes the participants take it seriously. Nobody argues with real life; they just accept it, work their way through the diﬃculties, and try to do better next time. If any part of the plot seems unrealistic, participants will question the credibility and value of the exercise rather than try to solve problems. ey may challenge your ideas and authority which will lead to frustration and disappointment on both sides. Avoid exaggeration and try to make the whole thing seem believable. On the one hand you must make it difficult so they have to work at it; but you must also make it possible so they can start with a certain amount of confidence. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Exercise Preparation Chapter 12 251 Blast Cones Blast Cone Blast Cone Ground Crater Explosion on open ground Ground Explosion in a container Figure 12-5. Blast Cones 12.8.1.1 Methods for Achieving Realism You have a number of options for achieving realism in your exercises: ◗ ◗ ◗ External support may be available from the emergency services or from your loss adjusters. People of this caliber can add realism through their experience of many similar events and the way they were handled. ❏ It is possible that the emergency services may be willing to act as advisers during the exercise itself but don’t expect this because their primary and overriding duty is protecting the public, which means being ready to respond at a moment’s notice. ❏ You can contact your loss adjusters through your insurance company. ey are much more likely to make themselves available because they are not subject to the same instantaneous demands and can plan ahead. Fire engineers oen give live demonstrations of ﬁreﬁghting which can include some useful discussions about the practicalities of dealing with ﬁre. Do not attempt to do this on your own! Internal support should be available from your security staff, fire wardens, facilities managers, first aiders, and maintenance workers. Familiar faces add a degree of realism and their expertise adds value to the exercise. Using your own people raises awareness and adds to the reality while you get some practical help. Usually, the members of your security team will have useful and interesting backgrounds and relevant war stories. These internal people can act as a link to the relevant external agencies. It is also a good idea to get them to act out some of their emergency duties during the exercise. For example: ❏ You can give the ﬁre wardens a chance to get some useful practice. Use them to spot things or to carry out roll calls and report whether anybody is missing. ey can also help you work out what might happen within the plot. ❏ Facilities people have a lot of practical experience because they manage the working environment on a daily basis. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition 252 ❏ Maintenance people know what fails and how to ﬁx it; their input can be very useful. ◗ Photos, film, and video can be also be used to add realism and color to your exercise as long as they are used wisely and sparingly. The images have to be relevant and you don’t want to waste time setting the scene. The emphasis should be on getting participants to analyze the situation and start making decisions. 12.8.2 Scope Deﬁning the scope is about what the exercise covers and what is excluded. Everybody needs to be given a clear indication of the limits, and boundaries must be set for all aspects of the event such as: ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ Who is to take part? What can they do? What can’t they do? What is available to them and what isn’t? What communication and support is available? The scope of an exercise deﬁnes the physical, technical, and logical boundaries… The scope of an exercise defines the physical, technical, and logical boundaries, relating these boundaries back to the objectives. It is where you say what you will be covering, and it sets the stage for the exercise. You need to get agreement from senior management on this aspect. They must have confidence in your approach; so it is best to let them tell you what they want. Their input ensures their support. Once they have explained what they would like to see, you can interpret their views and define the scope more fully. Explain which general business areas are going to be covered and how the exercise will aﬀect the people and processes involved. Deﬁne support limits which make clear what the participants can expect and what you will need during the course of the exercise. Areas of consideration for the scope of an exercise include: ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ Physical aspects. ❏ Location and extent of the trigger event. ❏ Where the exercise is to be held. Communications. ❏ Some communication rules for the exercise could be:  Communications kept separate from regular business traﬃc.  No inbound messages, except for your input.  Restrict or prevent outbound messages. Areas or functions with a primary role. People who have an indirect role, e.g., providing advice or data to the primary function(s). Level of representation. ❏ Who should attend, e.g., directors, department heads, managers, or supervisors. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Chapter 12 Exercise Preparation Self-Examination Questions 1. Which of the following reﬂects the ﬁve-stage growth path of BC training? A. (1) Command post exercise, (2) desktop exercise, (3) walkthrough, (4) active testing, (5) full-scale exercise B. (1) Desktop exercise, (2) walkthrough, (3) active testing, (4) command post exercise, (5) full-scale exercise C. (1) Desktop exercise, (2) walkthrough, (3) command post exercise, (4) full-scale exercise, (5) active testing 2. The focus of the ﬁrst desktop exercise should be on A. identifying areas of improvement. B. verifying dependencies. C. questioning procedures. 3. During the active testing stage, component testing may be conducted. Which of the following describes component testing? A. It is a scenario-based opportunity to interpret the plans and information available in order to experience decision-making under abnormal conditions. B. It is a rigorous proof of the methods and solutions with a focus on feasibility, suitability, timings, and costing. C. It is a demonstration of a formal data capture process with the purpose of capturing and recording information in real time. 4. The realistic simulation of a command post exercise A. should be conducted frequently at ﬁrst, then less frequently, and drill the same script each time. B. should be conducted every few years, depending on organizational need and capability, and sometimes include variations in the script. C. should be conducted regularly, usually once or twice a year, and include variations in the script each time. 5. In contrast to an exercise, a test focuses on A. technical issues such as timings, accuracy, and suitability. B. learning lessons about decision-making and invocation. C. evaluating people’s skills, interpretations, and tactics. 6. The development and delivery of a BC exercise includes eight main elements, which can generally be thought of as belonging to a preparation phase and an action phase. Which of the following are the three elements of the preparation phase? A. Background, buildup, and quality B. Background, quality, and safety C. Background, history, and kick-oﬀ 7. When developing a script for an exercise, why might one choose a case study approach? A. Participants learn through an experience directly related to their own business operations. B. Participants can learn from both their exercise of the scenario and the actual event on which it is based. C. Participants’ competency and capability have matured through exercises based on line of business scenarios. 8. Which of the following is a good way to achieve realism during a BC exercise? A. Have participants brainstorm possible disruptive situations. B. Include emergency services should accept every detail of the scenario as real. C. Emphasize that participants should accept every detail of the scenario as real. EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 253 Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition 254 Food for Thought Earlier chapters built up the case for engaging in a BC program and looked at what you need to know before exploring how to gather that information. You looked at how you should develop and deliver the plans together with ensuring that the right resources will be available as and when they are needed. Now it is time to start thinking about how your people are going to put all those good ideas into practice. This means getting ready to test the plans and preparing exercises which are going to help your people develop their skills and conﬁdence. Exercises Think about how you might apply the knowledge you gained from this chapter in practice. As usual, use your place of work, study, or residence as your case to study. 1. Sequence and style of events. › Prepare an outline test and exercise program.  What types of test and exercise do you suggest?  Why these and not others?  In what sequence would you arrange them?  Bear in mind the gradient from the perspective of the participants. 2. Frequency and timings. › Develop an outline schedule for those tests and exercises.  What time of the day, week, month, or year?  How long should these various events last?  Bear in mind the business calendar and seasons of the year. 3. Objectives and purpose. › Produce a possible set of objectives and purpose for each of these event types.  What might management want and what might the participants expect?  How will you measure or evaluate those objectives? 4. Deliverables. › List what will be needed for each of these event types.  Who will prepare scripts, instructions, resources, and reports? 5. Scenarios. › Decide which scenarios you would suggest for this training program.  Are these scenarios relevant to your location and environment?  Which ones are the most likely?  Which might produce the most important lessons? EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use Chapter 12 Exercise Preparation 255 Looking Forward You want to plan successful testing that appears to be properly organized and meets everybody’s expectations. You also want it to be eﬀective, which means developing some of the required skill and conﬁdence which is necessary for people to be able and willing to face up to a major disruption. Obviously, you are not going to turn them into battle-hardened troops in one encounter. e test and exercise program is a regular, ongoing set of actions. Downloadable Business Continuity Toolkit e downloadable documents from the Business Continuity Toolkit are useful in connection with developing scripts and plots for your exercise. For Additional Reading You will ﬁnd a useful example of a BC walkthrough exercise template at http://www.manchester.gov.uk/downloads/ﬁle/5591/business_continuity_plan_exercise_template_pandemi c_ﬂu_scenario_ppt Some thoughts about choosing an appropriate exercise scenario can be found at http://www.continuitycentral.com/bcte.htm EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 256 Principles and Practice of Business Continuity | Tools and Techniques | 2nd Edition EBSCOhost – printed on 7/4/2020 9:47 AM via THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY – EAST FALLS. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use You are most likely aware of several disaster simulation modes. In Business Continuity (BC), however, there need to be certain considerations before a good test of the system is conducted. In your view, what are some considerations involving the “business community” that should be considered before adopting something like the “Five-Stage Growth Plan” that is discussed on page 237? Your author talks about it in previous pages. Now you are charged with implementing the system; what would be your first actions? Then please respond to this post as a discussion response: In the business community, I think it’s safe to assume that the employees that would serve on the emergency preparedness committee aren’t likely to have a background in emergency management or business continuity planning. In implementing the five stage growth plan, I’m going to first give those employees a decent overview of EM and BC so they understand the process, why it happens, why there are exercises, etc. During this process, I’d be looking for the employees who are really interested in the process, as well as those who aren’t as interested. Making these observations assists in the decision making as to who serves in what capacity. Just because someone isn’t quite as interested wouldn’t mean they’d be replaced by someone else, but it would require more thought to find a role where they would be a good fit and could best apply their skill set and ideas. When implementing the growth plan, I’d be looking for a good understanding at each step of the process. I wouldn’t want to rush through the plan or move on to another stage if everyone didn’t understand the previous step. Again, I’d be very aware of participant’s backgrounds and what they’re bringing to the table to make sure that I create an atmosphere where everyone can thrive as part of the BC team.

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