Mini Config Guide v1.11 (April 2013)

We recommend that Continuity should be configured in a 6 step process, in the sequence described below.

• Initial configuration
• Define the key Assets or Activities at risk, for your first Plan
• Define your list of Business Scenarios
• Create the relevant Task sequences under each Scenario
• Optionally, for each Role define your Responsibilities
• Import Contacts and go

Step 1. Initial configuration First, go into the Example Lists in the left hand side nav panel (under the Getting Started section) and customise the lists of Hazards, Business Scenarios, Plan types and BCM Roles that are relevant to your organisation. Next, go into the Configuration section at the bottom and set the BCM Terms you want to use. Finally, set your Organisation name in the Organisation Units section. It’s easier if you begin the configuration process with just a single Plan, and then add subsequent Plans later. This will keep the starting configuration simple, which is important when you are learning how the system works.

Step 2. Define the key Assets or Activities at risk After you’ve configured your system the next step is to understand which are the key Assets or Activities at risk in your organisation, where a potential crisis event will have the greatest impact. You do this outside the Continuity system, as part of your Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis exercises. Once you’ve identified these key Assets or Activities, they can be entered into either the Assets or Activities screen in the BCM Framework section.

Step 3. Define your list of business Scenarios For each Org Unit there will be a set of specific business Scenarios for which you wish to create recovery plans e.g Loss of workplace and Loss of communications. We've provided an example list of Scenarios, but you may wish to customise these to your own particular situation.

Step 4. Create the relevant Task sequences under each Scenario Now that you’ve got your list of business Scenarios, click onto “Business Scenarios” in the BCM Framework section of the web console. For each Scenario, set the sequence of Tasks that would need to be carried out to deal with that particular Scenario and categorise these between Initial Tasks, Ongoing Tasks, and Deactivation Tasks (i.e. Tasks that need to be completed before you can deactivate that particular business continuity plan). When you create each Task, link it to a Role.

Step 5. Optionally for each Role define your Responsibilities Now that you’ve got lists of Tasks for each business Scenario, you need to allocate responsibilities to the people who will have to carry these Tasks out in the event of a business emergency. This is done through the Role and Responsibility objects. First, run through the Tasks and allocate them to whichever of your pre-set Roles seems the most logical to carry out that Task. Then, when you’ve got a good selection of individual Tasks under each Role, create a set of higher-level Responsibilities for each of your Roles (typically 2 – 6 per Role). Finally, link each of your Tasks to each of these Responsibilities. Review to check if you have any Tasks that are unallocated to Roles or Responsibilities.

Step 6. Import your Contacts, and go Once you have carried out these 5 preceding steps, you are ready to add your Contacts, to complete the preparation of your system. You may also wish to go back and add additional Sites and/or Org Units. Optionally you may wish to create some Quick Guides. These are mini help guides that are linked to each Scenario within a BCM Plan, to assist the people within your business who have to carry out the crisis response tasks.

Once you are happy with the preparation of your system using the web UI, test out the system using the mobile app, which you can download from the iTunes, Google or Blackberry app stores. You should do this for two or three different user names and Roles. When you are satisfied with how the mobile app is working, then send out email instructions to your users on how to download and configure the Continuity mobile app, together with their application credentials (user name and password).