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The disaster recovery planning process involves the procedures, such as: Obtaining Top Management Commitment Top management: In this procedure, it involves the development of the disaster recovery planning process. Management is responsible for coordinating the disaster recovery plan and ensuring its effectiveness within the organization. Adequate time and resources must be committed to the development of an effective plan. Resources could include both financial considerations and the effort of all personnel involved.

Establish a Planning Committee: The planning committee should be established for the development and implementation of the plan. The planning committee includes representatives from all functional areas of the organization. The key committee member includes the operations manager and the data processing manager. Perform a risk assessment: The planning committee prepares the risk analysis and business impact analysis which includes a range of possible disasters, including natural, technical and human threats. The functional area of the organization should be analyzed to determine the potential consequence and impact associated with several disaster scenarios.

The Disaster Recovery Planning evaluates the safety of critical documents and vital records. Traditionally, fire has the greatest threat to an organization. Intentional human destruction should be considered. The critical needs of each department within the organization should be evaluated in such areas as Functional operations, Key personnel, Information, Processing Systems, Service and Documentation, Vital records, Policies and procedures, Processing and operations should be calculated to determine the maximum amount of time the department and organization can operate without each system.

A method of determining the critical needs of a department is to document all the functions performed by each department. Once the primary functions have been identified, the operations and processes should be ranked in order of priority: Determine Recovery Strategies: The most practical alternatives for processing in case of a disaster should be researched and evaluated. Perform Data Collection Recommended data gathering materials and documentation includes: Backup position listing, Critical telephone numbers, Communications Inventory, Distribution register, Documentation inventory, Equipment inventory, Forms inventory, Insurance Policy inventory, Main computer hardware inventory, Master call list, Master vendor list. It is extremely helpful to develop pre-formatted forms to facilitate the data gathering process. Organize and document a written plan An outline of the plan’s contents should be prepared to guide the development of the detailed procedures.

The disaster recovery plan should be structured using a team approach. Specific responsibilities should be assigned to the appropriate team for each functional area of the company. A disaster plan is similar to insurance: it provides a certain level of comfort in knowing that if a major catastrophe occurs, it will not result in financial disaster. Insurance alone is not adequate because it may not compensate for the incalculable loss of business during the interruption or the business that never returns.

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