Exercise 7.

1: Testing

1. You have been asked to test the disaster recovery plan for a small business in your area. The
Company has a backup plan that is well documented.

Answer: If I was going to test if the backup recovery plan was sufficient for a company I would first
ensure some of the main aspects of a plan are in good working order, or at least have been addressed.

2. Describe the steps you would use to test the plan to ensure that the backup plan would function in
case of actual emergency.

Answer: So step one would be to ensure that the backups are being properly undertaken in regular
intervals. Next I would try to see if I can identify any gaps in their recovery plan. According to the book
these gaps are discover usually when testing of certain systems or aspect of the plan fails. I would run
my test as if an actual disaster was happening to see how long recovery uptime will take as well.

Exercise 7.3: Filling the Human Gap

1. You work for a medium-sized manufacturing company that has a well-developed disaster recovery
plan. The plan is well tested and the testing has revealed a serious personnel gap.

Answer: This gap could be that the personnel are not properly trained in the procedures needed to
ensure the disaster recovery plan is properly implemented. Or on the other hand the disaster plan could
have been created by people who didn’t think of everything needed in the planning effort, causing gaps.
All you can do is ensure you have knowledgeable people in the early portion of the recovery plan.

2. During a recovery, key personnel in the manufacturing process are unionized (the collective
bargaining agreement specifies that only union workers may complete these tasks), and the collective
bargaining agreement does not specify either payment for union employees or the use of alternative
personnel during emergencies.

Answer: If this was the case I would urge investors and top level employees to ensure that these people
are properly taken care of so they can get through this disaster situation without people walking out.

3. Provide a well-reasoned argument that would allow your company to use nonunion workers or
allow the company to correct the personnel gap during an emergency.

Answer: My only argument would be to run a disaster test and see if the company can handle it. If it
proves that they have it under control, then I may let up a little bit. But that is no excuse for having a
single point of failure either. I think other employees can lend a helping hand if need be. For example if
we get a tsunami and it wipes out half the building. I don’t expect anyone nonunion workers to stand
around and say “it’s not my problem”. Everyone will need to pitch in. It’s a disaster after all right!

Project 7.1 Conduct a Poll

1. There are risk to any company’s recovery location. Identify a company in your area and ask about
its recovery location.
Answer: So one example I can think of is for Bayport credit union local to the 757 area. They have their
main building in Newport News Virginia. But host multiple location throughout the 757. They have many
sizable locations that act as the hot site if disaster strikes in any of these area.

2. List the risk associated with the company’s choice of recovery location and possible mitigation
strategies.

Answer: The only risk I see associated with their location choices are they are in an area that is prone o
massive hurricanes blizzards and floods. It’s only a matter of time until there are more on the way and
all of their offices are in centralized locate in the 757. If you take a look at the map you’ll see we are
pretty much surrounded by water. So if this area has a massive flood unless they have a more
centralized location there will be massive loss in their future. God forbid!