Disaster Recovery Journal Winter 2022

dollars. Qualitative impacts cannot be so measured. Using categories of each type provides for a rounded view of the damage which would be caused by disruptions of various lengths. 2. Limit your total number of categories to three quantitative and three qualitative . Having more than six total categories tends to make the BIA interview go on too long and can confuse the participants. 3. Make sure the categories are consistent across departments . This allows you to measure apples to apples when gauging the impacts of potential disruptions. 4. Choose categories which respect the core mission of the business . Your impact categories should be in line with your mission, strategy, and operations. There are some categories which almost all organizations conducting a BIA will utilize such as loss of revenue; increased operating expenses; and damage to brand, image, and reputation. However, many categories will be derived from what is uniquely important to each organization or field. For example, hospitals commonly include as a qualitative area impact on patient care and safety while universities typically measure the impact to student experience and safety. Manufacturing firms typically have as a qualitative category something like impact to supply chain. Banks, being highly regulated, will usually have as one of their quantitative impact areas Impact on penalties, fines, and sanctions. Think carefully about the core mission of your organization and then select impact categories that reflect this mission. 5. Share your list with key colleagues . Once you choose the impact categories you think are best, circulate your list to such departments and individuals as enterprise risk management, the CFO, and the COO for their review. Ideally, you want everyone to align on the impact categories which are the most relevant for your organization and best reflect its mission and strategy.

20 DISASTER RECOVERY JOURNAL | WINTER 2022 Identifying The Right Impact Categories for Your BIA and How to Rate Them By MICHAEL HERRERA & RICHARD LONG I dentifying the right impact categories is a famously confusing aspect of the busi ness impact analysis (BIA). It is also critically important since the choice influences the order in which the vari ous business processes and units will be restored in the event of a disruption. Impact categories are the aspects of your business you look at in assessing the nega tive effects of disruptions of varying lengths. There is no universal list of impact categories that works in all industries. Every organization chooses a few such categories based on its unique situation. What impact categories should your organization be focusing on? The ones that are most important to its business or mission. Five Tips to Help You Choose Here are five tips to help you identify the right impact categories for your BIA: 1. Divide the categories between quantitative impacts and qualitative impacts . Quantitative impacts are those which can be measured in

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