A Practical Approach to Business Impact Analysis
Ian Charters
An effective Business Impact Analysis is vital to the success of any Continuity Plan. Done well, it ensures that the continuity strategies that you put in place are adequate to protect your organization should an incident disrupt its operations.
Quoted by the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) as being "destined to become the definitive guide on how to conduct an effective BIA”, this book delivers a simple and practical method for conducting a Business Impact Analysis by providing an understanding of what information is needed and how to use it.
Clear examples illustrate tried and tested approaches to all you need to know, including: planning an initial analysis; integrating the analysis in to your business processes; and using your results to shape the business continuity strategies and plans.
Whether you are looking to increase the resilience of your business or help in implement the requirements of BS 25999-2, this is the essential guide for anyone undertaking or reviewing a Business Impact Analysis.
Give yourself the confidence that should an incident disrupt your operations your business continuity response will reflect the real needs of the organization.
A Practical Approach to Business Impact Analysis includes:
- What is a Business Impact Analysis?
- A definition
- Why is a BIA so important?
- What are the prerequisites?
- BIA scope
- Understanding the BIA
- Time and Impact
- Terminology
- Resources
- Interdependencies
- BIA in different sectors
- Alternative approaches
- Planning in the BIA - Project or Process?
- BIA as a project
- BIA as a process
- Strategic BIA
- The organization's strategic review
- Using a BIA to set the scope of the BCM programme
- Preparing for the Strategic BIA
- Conducting a strategic BIA
- Strategic BIA report
- Tactical BIA
- Setting the scope
- Initiating a tactical BIA
- Data collection – choosing the participants
- Data collection – the data
- Data collection – methods
- Completing the process
- A Practical Approach to Business Impact Analysis v
Operational BIA
- Activity urgency
- Quantifying resource requirements
- Collection of operational data
- Analysing the Operational BIA data
- Reporting the Operational BIA data
- Outcomes from the BIA programme
- Threat assessment
- BC recovery strategies
- Writing the plan
- BCM awareness
- Improving the business
- Personal development
What the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) are saying about A Practical Approach to Business Impact Analysis
“This book is thought provoking as well as highly informative and might be destined to become the definitive guide on how to conduct an effective BIA.”
– Lyndon Bird, International Technical Director, Business Continuity Institute
About the author
Ian Charters is a specialist in all aspects of Business Continuity Management with a client profile covering many sectors and organisation sizes. He was accepted as a Member of the Business Continuity Institute in 1997, elected a Fellow in 2004 and served as a Board member 2001–7.
He is a member of BSI’s BCM/1 Committee and a UK expert appointed to the international committee ISO TC223. He has experience in a wide range of sectors having undertaken BCM
projects in the finance, insurance, logistics, manufacturing and public sectors.
He specialises in undertaking BIAs and ensures that the organisation can develop an appropriate BCM programme from the results.
Ian is a skilled training presenter and has delivered courses on BIA and other BCM topics in the UK, Cyprus and the Middle and Far East. This book is derived from the successful BIA course run regularly in the UK.
