Building a Business
Impact Analysis (BIA) Process:
A Hands-On Blueprint
by Barry Cardoza
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CONVENTIONS
USED IN THIS BOOK
1. AN OVERVIEW OF THE BIA
2. GAINING EXECUTIVE SUPPORT
3. INCLUDE STAKEHOLDERS IN PLANNING PROCESS
4. SETTING THE GOALS
5. THE DELIVERABLE
6. DEFINITION OF CRITICAL IMPACT
7. TOPPLE THE SILOS WHEN MEASURING IMPACT
Regarding The Issue, “Most
Critical”
Regarding The Issue, “Recovery Time
Objective” (RTO)
8. IMPACT & RTO; ABOUT HOW MUCH OR WHEN?
9. UPSTREAM/DOWNSTREAM DEPENDENCIES
What We Mean By “Dependencies”
Critical Business Function Identification
Dependency Identification
10. BOTTOM-UP OR TOP-DOWN? – THE RIGHT APPROACH
TO YOUR BIA
The Bottom-Up Philosophy
The Top-Down Philosophy
Critical Analytical Considerations
Bringing The Two Philosophies
Together
Using Two Philosophies To
Streamline The Process
Applying The Two Philosophies
A Caution Regarding Business Functions vs. Tasks
11. IT’S A PROCESS, NOT A PROJECT
12. DEFINING IMPACT CATEGORIES
13. THE DATA COLLECTION PHASE
Grouping The Data
Means of Collecting The Data
14. INCLUDING EVERY DEPARTMENT
Identifying All Departments
Handling Depts That Don’t Fit The
Usual Model
15. ASKING THE RIGHT PEOPLE
16. ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS IN THE
Set the Scope
Use Definitions
Use Precise Questions
Use Examples
Keep The Questions To A Minimum
Give Managers the Ability to Visualize the Questions
Predetermined Scale versus Numeric Input
17. DATA VALIDATION
18. IN-HOUSE OR OUTSOURCE, BUY OR BUILD?
19. BUYING A SYSTEM TO MANAGE THE PROCESS
20. BUILDING A SYSTEM TO MANAGE THE PROCESS
21. FINAL PREPARATION FOR THE BIA KICKOFF
22. KICKING OFF THE BIA
23. THE ANALYSIS PHASE
24. TO WEIGHT OR NOT TO WEIGHT (THE DATA)
Why You Might Want To Apply Weights To
Impact
Why You Might NOT Want To Apply Weights To
The Impact
25. THE HEART OF THE BIA; FIVE QUESTIONS
26. CHARTS AND GRAPHS; THE UNAVOIDABLE REQUEST
Who Will Ask?
Make Them Meaningful
Avoid Chart/Graph Pitfalls
27. VIEWING BIA (AND OTHER) DATA GEOGRAPHICALLY
28. REALITY CHECK; HAVE YOU MET THE GOALS?
29. CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
30. SO, WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO FROM HERE?
GLOSSARY
APPENDICES
Appendix A –
BUILDING A SYSTEM TO MANAGE THE PROCESS
Assumptions For Our Examples
Common Data Fields
Impact Category Data Fields
Appendix B –
A SPREADSHEET APPROACH
A Spreadsheet For Collecting Data
A Spreadsheet For Analyzing Data
A Spreadsheet For Dependency
Information
Appendix C –
A RELATIONAL DATABASE APPROACH
General
Building The Database
Queries
Forms As Input Screens
Analytics
Reports
Importing Data, Using Database with Spreadsheets
Troubleshooting Data Import
Forms As Menus
Customizing The Database To Your
Environment
Appendix D –
CONTENTS OF THE ACCOMPANYING CD
Using the CD-ROM
File Types
Macintosh
Sub-Folders/Directories
Files Contained on the CD-ROM
Troubleshooting
Legal Notice
Questions or Feedback