Design and implementation of a business continuity management programme

The BCI World Conference and Exhibition is split into three streams - listen, learn and lead - and the idea behind the middle of these streams is to enable delegates to explore the full BCM Lifecycle training experience.

I will be doing this through presenting a selection of the material used in the Business Continuity Institute’s five day BCM course, highlighting the main elements of the process, and exploring some of the issues that need to be understood in the Design and Implementation stages of the process. The exploration will be through discussion and debate, into which I will provide the knowledge and experience that I have obtained over many years both teaching and practicing BCM in a wide variety of types of organisation.

In the Design session we will be exploring two issues which, in my experience, most people struggle with both in learning the theory of BCM and in practice when applying the theory to their own organisation:

• How close should the Recovery Time Objective be to the Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption?
• What is a safe separation distance for recovery sites, alternative facilities, and backups?

In the Implementation session we will be exploring three issues, which although they are simpler than the two Design issues, still give rise to considerable debate:

• What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?
• What are the common elements of all plans at all levels?
• What resources do you think are needed for a response team meeting room, and how do you think that space should be best utilised?

In each session I will take the delegates quickly through the main steps of the BCM process as they are taught in the BCI’s five day BCM course, pointing out some of the more important concepts and techniques that need to be learnt, and then, at the appropriate point, raise the issues that I have decided to explore. I will be asking the delegates for their views, encouraging debate on what the most appropriate solutions appear to be, and attempting to bring the discussion to a conclusion through explaining what the BCI’s Good Practice Guidelines (the GPG) recommends.

By attending the two sessions that I am presenting, you will get not only a flavour of what you’d learn on the BCI’s five day BCM course, but you will also get the opportunity to explore some of the Design and Implementation issues that you will need to know how to tackle if you are to help your organisation to successfully implement an effective BCM programme. It will also give you an opportunity to take part in a discussion and debate on some of the Design and Implementation issues that even experienced BCM professionals have difficulty with.

Mel Gosling MBCI has been an instructor for Continuity Shop on the BCI’s five day BCM course ever since it was first launched in 2008, when it was based on the 2008 version of the GPG, and has contributed to developing both the course and the GPG through the 2010 and 2013 versions. Throughout the past six years he has helped over 200 students achieve certification through passing the BCI’s exam, and has learnt how best to present the extensive and concentrated material in the GPG to enable students to both learn and understand the BCM process. Attending these two sessions will give you an insight into how Continuity Shop presents this course, and a taste of some of the issues that you will encounter.

Mel will be discussing design and implementation within the 'Learn' stream at the BCI World Conference on Thursday 6th November, starting at 10:30.