COURSE SUMMARY (This course is one of six essential courses required for Security Certification under the Infrastructure Resilience Research Group, IRRG, Office of the Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Design, Carleton University.)

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The Business Continuity Management Course (BCM) provides participants with the knowledge required to develop and implement a user-friendly business continuity program.  This course covers the necessary management framework that builds resilience; identifies potential threats and risks that could negatively impact the mandate of the organization; and takes you through the plan development including the business impact analysis and recovery strategies.  The uniqueness of this course is practicality and focus on authentic program requirements.  

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Module l focuses on the planning requirements and the engagement of managers and subject matter experts.  It examines the scope and key elements of the business continuity planning process including governance, business impact analysis, recovery strategies and developing and facilitating exercises to test the plan so the organization is in a state of readiness to enable the continuation of critical services, in the event of an emergency.    

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The module includes discussions on the importance of leadership and support for the program with specific accountabilities, roles and responsibilities and the need to engage interdependent stakeholders in the process considering MOUs and agreements for the supply chain.    Participants will discuss their individual departmental BCM infrastructure and identify where the program areas can be strengthened and improved with respect to compliance and effectiveness.     

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Module 2 will provide the knowledge required to plan and implement the BCP.  It will define issues and elements to think about during the planning process that will facilitate the development of the overall plan. Module 2 is detailed and analytical taking into consideration the business impact analysis process, threat identification and risk analysis.   Participants will learn the logic of data gathering, analysis, and identifying realistic recovery strategies and decide on the best approach to garner support from senior management and obtain buy in from the program managers.

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Business continuity is linked to the mandate of the department and the legislative and policy framework therefore participants will situate themselves in specific program areas in order to identify the critical services, recovery strategies and business continuity plan development.  They will also learn how to integrate the program specific elements with the corporate enablers that are required to have a successful business continuity program.

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Exercising and testing the plan will conclude Module 2 and prepare the participants for a situational exercise that will engage their knowledge and experience as they work through the situation discussing options and best practices.   

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Module 3 will provide key knowledge and tips that should be considered when developing an actual scenario based exercise.   It will prepare the participants to take responsibility for planning and executing a tabletop exercise and engaging senior management at the executive level or from an operational more detailed perspective, for program managers.   A scenario will be presented and participants will work collectively through questions and situations so that they will be able to develop a table top exercise for their own organization.  

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At the end of the course participants will be able to: 

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• Explain the key elements of a business continuity plan

• Describe the difference between corporate and program specific critical services

• Analyse risks to programs and prepare recovery strategies

• Decide on the best methodology to educate managers and executives on business continuity requirements

•  Plan and facilitate a table-top exercise

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Who should attend:

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The Business Continuity Management Course has been designed for both new business continuity employees and those who are managing the business continuity program and already engaged in risk analysis, plan preparation and exercise development and want to update and enhance their plans.

Whether you are a novice or an experienced business continuity officer you will benefit from this course.   

For employees who are interested in broadening their scope of knowledge in order to advance their career, business continuity is a key element of the security management framework.