It’s all very well having a business continuity plan that looks good on paper, but it can’t be relied upon until we’ve proved that it will work and that our assumptions are valid. So, short of staging our own crisis or disaster, that means exercising and testing. And we’re unlikely to get the most from our exercises and tests unless we plan and prepare for them properly.

A properly planned and managed exercise or test will include most, if not all, of the following :

The proof of the pudding may be in the eating, but the proof of the business continuity plan is in the exercising and testing. So make sure you have a recipe for success.