Implementation Plan

Contingency planning refers to a coordinated strategy involving plans, procedures, and technical measures that enable a company to recover to normal operations after a major disruption. Contingency planning includes the restoration of IT operations at an alternate location, recovery using alternate equipment and performing some or all of affected business processes for an acceptable short-term disruption. An Implementation Plan describes how the contingency plan will deploy into an operational system. The plan contains an overview and a brief description of the task involved in the implementation and overall resources needed to support the implementation.

Notification Phase

Once detection of, a disruption occurs, the notification phase takes place. Recovery personnel receive notifications in the event of a disaster which might suspend normal business practice. After the acknowledgement of a disaster, damaged systems are assessed, and the implementation of the contingency plan begins. The goal for the staff is to take measure to restore normal system functions with an alternate resource. Notification should be given to the Disaster Coordinator and the Damage Assessment Team, to determine the status of the situation and appropriate next steps. Notification can be accomplished though telephone, electronic mail or cell phones. Some additional notifications tools which can be used during widespread disasters are radio, television and Web sites. Personnel to be informed should be recorded in the contact list of the contingency plan with alternative contact methods. Information which should be relayed to the team include nature of emergency, injuries, damage estimates, and where and when to convene for a briefing or further instructions.

Damage Assessment and Plan Activation

It is necessary to undrstand the extent of damage after a disaster, and how to implement a contingency plan. The Damage Assessment team will be the first team notified of the incident and a complete assessment should be conducted with personnel safety remaining the highest priority. The team will determine the cause of the emergency, potential for additional damage; ascertain affected areas, and estimated time to restore normal services. Once established the impact to the company, the necessary teams should be informed of updated information. The Contingency Planning coordinator should activate the plan in accordance to the contingency plan. Once characterized the system damage, the Coordinator may select the appropriate recovery strategy.

Recovery Procedures

To expedite Recovery Phase operations, the contingency plan should provide detailed procedures to restore the IT system and system components. Listed in the IT security plan are detailed procedures for recovery considerations for each IT system type. The recovery procedure should first obtain authorization to access the damage facilities. The team should notify internal and external industry associates, associated with the system. Necessary office supplies and alternate work space should be obtained if necessary. Hardware components should be installed in the original or an alternate site and loaded with backup media. Critical operating system, application software, and system data should be restored and tested to included security controls.

Reconstitution Phase

The Reconstitution Phase terminates all temporary activities, and normal operations transferred back to the original location or alternative site. The emergency plan will continue to operate until the original