Question regarding ChangeManager and BCP Duties

[cavittl]

I am ITIL v3 certified with 7 years experience as Change Manager and prior to that, 3 years as IT Release Manager. In July I received CBCP from DRII. I currently have duties for both IT Change Manager and Acting Business Continuity Planner. We don't have a tool and are using Word Templates to create these plans. Over the last two years, I have created about 15 plans and conducted one table top exercise. I am finding that I have to manage the expiration dates of document updates, and exercises via Excel. I am feeling overwhelmed. Is is customary for one person to have these very demanding and specific duties for two separate disciplines? Am I crazy to think that without a tool, I'm not going to be able to sustain?

[JohnGlenn]

15 PLANS ??
Over 2 years??
Why?

In my opinion you should have ONE (1) plan - IT only or, as it should be, enterprise wide. There are ways to make even the most detailed enterprise plan "responder friendly."

Over the course of the year you _should_ try to graduate beyond the desktop walk-through, but it's "better than nothing."

I have worked for a number of Big Name organizations, 4 of which owned the leading proprietary business continuity software. None - repeat none - implemented it; it was, I was told, too expensive and too difficult to implement. In each case, the four license holders insisted the plans be in common business software (i.e., MS Office, Open Office). I _have_ seen a software that seemed "user friendly," but if I'm correct and you should really only have one (1) plan, then proprietary software is not needed.

BTW, in one case, I managed 47 unique sites across 17 U.S. states using common business software - 47 plans and 47 exercises each year.

Your post suggests to me that more than BC software you need

(a) to rethink the number of plans and
(b) scheduling/calendar software - and maybe an amanuensis.

Lastly, do you REALLY need templates? You are a CBCP and should have the knowledge to develop plans on your own (unless, of course, you developed your own template).
-

[grewjac]

While I completely respect and support John's view on your inquiry, a few further thoughts occur (as is often the case). First, there are plans, and then there are "plans." A plan is a documented series of steps leading to recovery of one or more operations disrupted by a sudden, unplanned event. Such a plan must also be implemented, i.e., all arrangements to ensure the plan can be fully executed, must be in place (i.e., not just imagined and hoped for).

As for templates, care AND instructions must be provided to those asked to write the plans. One pitfall area is "Assumptions:" as assumption should only be documented IFit is a confirmed arrangement, not just something someone "assumes" will be done by another party. My favorite example was a secretary whose plan "assumed" that "telecommunications connectivity will be available at the recovery site." Checking a few pages back, I found the recovery site was a public park adjacent to the company's property. I called the secretary and asked her if IT confirmed the LAN drop at the park. She said she'd borrowed a copy of another department's plan from a friend. This is called "copying off the dumb kid's paper." (It's also an "unimplemented plan.")

As for the number of plans, I feel it's dependent upon organization size and complexity, but typically, I would see an over-arching "recovery management plan, that addresses what executive management's role in a crisis event should be, like declaring "disaster," meaning they have chosen to throw lots of people and money at the problem. I also feel a ad hoc, i.e., special purpose) set of recovery teams be formed from internal staff (and vendors, where necessary and/or appropriate) to provide financial, procurement, HR, and logistical support to business unit recovery teams. So yes, this is a good deal more complicated as companies grow, add departments and additional layers of management, but that is the nature of commercial enterprise... if successful. And, if this overwhelms your capabilities, seek help, as John suggested.