Instruction includes all ten Professional Practices detailed below, including new and expanded coverage of cloud computing, cyber-threats, supply chain, risk transfer, insurance considerations, legal and regulatory requirements, and manufacturing processes, as well as more traditional topics such as evaluating risks, gaining leadership buy-in, crisis communications, and program audit. An experienced instructor using real-world examples and interactive workshop exercises will walk you through the key elements of business continuity management, making this the perfect course for those who are relatively new to the profession and want a thorough, leave no stone unturned educational experience.
The participatory nature of the course immerses you in the learning process, enables you to learn by doing, and ensures that you leave having outlined a firm foundation for your program that is specific to your entity. Additionally, the course, as well as the revamped supporting material provided to every student, is designed to give you all the tools you need to pass the new Qualifying Examination and continue on the path toward becoming a DRI Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), Associate Business Continuity Professional (ABCP), Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP), Certified Functional Continuity Professional (CFCP), Certified Business Continuity Vendor (CBCV).
Objective
- Review the Professional Practices for Business Continuity Management body of knowledge designed to assist in the development, implementation, and maintenance of business continuity programs.
- Highlight the terms and methodologies presented in The International Glossary for Resiliency and the Professional Practices.
- Prepare you for the Qualifying Examination.
Outline
Lesson 1: Program Initiation and Management
- Establish the need for a business continuity program.
- Obtain support and funding for the business continuity program.
- Build the organizational framework to support the business continuity program.
- Introduce key concepts, such as program management, risk awareness, identification of critical functions/processes, recovery strategies, training and awareness, and exercising/testing.
- Class Exercise: Learn about practical application by developing a presentation for leadership on the importance of business continuity, relevant legal and regulatory requirements, project resource requirements, and a project plan overview with well-defined deliverables.
Lesson 2: Risk Assessment
- Identify risks that can adversely affect an entity’s resources or image.
- Assess risks to determine the potential impacts to the entity, enabling the entity to determine the most effective use of resources to reduce these potential impacts.
- Class Exercise: Develop a presentation for leadership identifying three significant threats, determining what controls are currently in place for these threats, and your recommendations to improve current controls or implement new controls for each threat; develop an outline for a risk assessment report.
Lesson 3: Business Impact Analysis
- Identify and prioritize the entity’s functions and processes in order to ascertain which ones will have the greatest impact should they not be available.
- Assess the resources required to support the business impact analysis process.
- Analyze the findings to ascertain any gaps between the entity’s requirements and its ability to deliver those requirements.
- Class Exercise: Develop a prioritized list of business functions and processes, the criticality category of each business function and process, and their RTOs.
Lesson 4: Business Continuity Strategies
- Select cost-effective strategies to reduce deficiencies as identified during the risk assessment and business impact analysis processes.
- Workshop Exercise: Build on previous exercises to identify continuity/recovery strategies, including a brief description, the advantages and disadvantages, and a cost estimate of each strategy. Discuss how you would present recommendations for leadership approval.
Lesson 5: Incident Response
- Develop and assist with the implementation of an incident management system that defines organizational roles, lines of authority and succession of authority.
- Define requirements to develop and implement the entity’s incident response plan. Ensure that incident response is coordinated with outside organizations in a timely and effective manner when appropriate.
- Class Exercise: Identify the actions needed to be performed to respond to events, list any special training needed, determine the type of plan needed, and list recommendations needed for incident response.
Lesson 6: Plan Development and Implementation
- Document plans to be used during an incident that will enable the entity to continue to function.
- Class Exercise: Identify the type of business continuity plan needed by your entity, develop the plan’s scope, objectives and assumptions, and outline basic information about the plan and how it relates to the business continuity program.
Lesson 7: Awareness and Training Programs
- Establish and maintain training and awareness programs that result in personnel being able to respond to incidents in a calm and efficient manner.
- Class Exercise: Develop a floor warden training program that includes vital training subjects, frequency, selection process, and other emergency response recommendations.
Lesson 8: Business Continuity Plan Exercise, Audit, and Maintenance
- Establish an exercise, assessment and maintenance program to maintain a state of readiness.
- Class Exercise: Develop an exercise/test scenario relevant for your entity, assess the resources needed, what will be exercised/tested, and write the steps to follow.
Lesson 9: Crisis Communications
- Provide a framework for developing a crisis communications plan.
- Ensure that the crisis communications plan will provide for timely, effective communication with internal and external parties.
- Class Exercise: Determine whether an event is a potential crisis, the nature of the crisis, the interested parties, the spokesperson(s), and the key message.
Lesson 10: Coordination with External Agencies
- Establish policies and procedures to coordinate incident response activities with public entities.
Lesson 11: Qualifying Examination Review
- Review the important concepts from each of the earlier lessons.
- Prepare for the Qualifying Examination through a review of the Practice Examination questions.
