Disaster Planning

Definition

Disaster planning is the disaster recovery task during which the disaster recovery team produces and documents their plans for performing the disaster recovery tasks.

Objectives

The typical objectives of disaster planning are to:

• Produce and document the plans for performing disaster recovery for the:
  • Development organization (during development)
  • Operations organization (after delivery)

Preconditions

Disaster planning can typically begin when the following preconditions hold:

• The endeavor has started.
• The disaster recovery team is:
  • Adequately staffed.
  • Properly trained in disaster planning.
• One or more contact or data centers are either planned or exist.
• The disaster threat analysis task has started.

Completion Criteria

Disaster planning is typically complete when the following postconditions hold:

• The disaster recovery plan is complete and has passed inspection.

Steps

Disaster planning typically involves the following teams performing the following steps in an incremental, iterative, parallel, and timeboxed manner:

• Disaster Recovery Team:
  • Obtain and read the appropriate conventions including the disaster recovery plan:
    • Content and format standard.
    • Templates.
    • Inspection checklist.
  • Select the appropriate template (e.g., XML, HTML, Microsoft Word).
  • Create the initial disaster recovery plan by instantiating the selected template.
  • Fill in the front matter and introduction section of the disaster recovery plan.
  • Document the results of the disaster threat analysis task in its section of the disaster recovery plan.
  • Determine and document the key personnel and organizational responsibilities of the teams that will perform the disaster recovery tasks including the:
    • Emergency Response Team
    • Disaster Recovery Team
    • Environments Team
    • Operations Team
    • User Support Team
  • Determine and document the plans for performing the remaining disaster recovery tasks in the disaster recovery plan:
    • Disaster Avoidance
    • Disaster Preparation including:
      • Backup Contact Center Production
      • Backup Data Center Production
    • Disaster Response
    • Disaster Reporting
    • Facility Repair
    • Normal Operations Restoration
  • Determine and document for creating the disaster recovery checklist.
  • Fill in the appendices including all major issues, TBDs, and assumptions.
  • Generate the associated table of contents and table of figures.
  • Informally evaluate the document against its:
    • Content and format standard.
    • Template.
    • Inspection checklist.
  • Iterate and maintain the documents as necessary.
• The Emergency Response Team, Environments Team, Operations Team, and User Support Team:
  • Provide input to the disaster recovery team.

Techniques

Disaster planning can typically be performed using the following techniques:

• Interviews with subject matter experts (e.g., the endeavor, the contact and/or data center, and disaster recovery).
• Reuse of relevant contents of previous disaster recovery plans and checklists.

Work Products

Disaster planning typically results in the production of all or part of the following disaster recovery work products:

• Disaster Recovery Plan
• Disaster Checklist included (possibly by reference) in the disaster recovery plan.

Guidelines

• This task should be mandatory if:
  • A disaster could seriously impact the endeavor.
  • A contact or data center is planned or exists.
• Disaster planning is critical because:
  • Disaster planning is critical for properly performing the other disaster recovery tasks.
  • It is too late to plan for dealing with a disaster after it occurs.
• The scope of disaster planning is a function of the other disaster recovery tasks being performed.
• Focus business continuity planning on the top five systems needed to conduct minimal business.