Testing the plan

A business continuity plan that has never been tested is a document, not a capability. The same logic that applies to backups applies here: you don't find out a plan doesn't work by reading it, you find out by trying to use it.

Ways to test

• Tabletop exercises: walking through a specific scenario as a group, talking through what each person would actually do, surfacing gaps without any real disruption.
• Walkthroughs: checking specific procedures work as written, for example confirming a contact list is actually current.
• Full simulations: for the highest-priority scenarios, actually exercising a recovery, such as failing over to a backup system, to confirm it works in practice, not just on paper.

Testing regularly, and updating the plan based on what each test reveals, is what turns a plan from a compliance document into something the organisation can genuinely rely on when it matters.