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Business Continuity Management tools

We have collected together some basic tools to help you get your BCM programme underway. They are all free and can be adapted for most types of organisation (except maybe the very large).

Let us know what you think about them on the forum and if you have any thoughts about what else you’d like to see. Also, if you have a tool that you use that you’d be prepared to share then please send it to us at talkingbusinesscontinuity@bsigroup.com.

BS 25999-2 BSI Business Continuity Self-assessment online tool

The BSI Business Continuity Self-assessment online tool allows organisations to assess their BCM plans and policies and record and report compliance, providing confidence in their BCM planning.

The exclusive self-assessment questionnaire covers all the requirements of BS 25999-2 Business Continuity Management - Specification, so that organisations can identify necessary improvements to their existing BCMS. Contextual help is provided for each question, written by BCM practitioners with market experience.

References take the user directly from the question to the relevant sections of BS 25999-2 and other BSI publications in an online reference library. Existing self-assessments can be amended at any time, and new self-assessments introduced when necessary.

The tool has been designed to work across multiple organisation sites and with multiple users, but can be easily used as a standalone application by small to medium sized organisations and BCM newcomers. For those in the public sector – or working with the public sector - the tool will support effective business continuity management as encouraged by the Civil Contingencies Act.

To subscribe, find out more, or request a free two week trial of the new BSI Business Continuity Self-assessment online tool visit: www.bsigroup.com/bcmonline

Business Impact Assessment (BIA)

Undertaking your business impact analysis (BIA) is one of the most important parts of implementing your BCM program. There are many complex tools which may seem daunting to the beginner - here is a simplified table that can help you to understand the process behind the assessment.

Checklist tool (xls 37KB)

Here is a free checklist tool for smaller organisations. This simple tool can be used to help you assess how well your business will cope with disruption. Select yes or no in the right hand column according to your organisation's practices. Your BCM score comes up at the end.

Aim to improve your score by 10% each time you use the checklist. Once you reach 90% score you should start to consider certification. BCM certification demonstrates to your customers, suppliers, staff and investors that you follow the industry-respected best practices laid down in BS 25999-2:2007 Business Continuity Management Specification.

Risk Register and Matrix Tool (41KB)

This FREE Risk Register and Matrix Tool helps you to track all Business Continuity Management risks within your organisation. You can use it to identify, evaluate, track and decide which to mitigate. The tool provides help for the business impact assessment, as it holds all of the information relating to risks within your organisation. It can give you a clear view of the current status of each risk, at any point in time.

The Risk Register will help you to record the following information:

• Type of risk, who raised it and how it could affect you
• Likelihood of the risk occurring and its potential impact mapped onto the matrix
• Risk Priority, based on its affect on your objectives
• Actions taken/ to take in order to prevent the risk from happening
• Contingency actions taken