Exercising
A Business Continuity Plan that hasn't been tested is a guess. Exercising is how you find out whether your plan actually works, before a real event forces you to find out the hard way.
We design and facilitate exercises that put your plans and your people to the test. The goal isn't to catch anyone out; it's to surface the gaps, build confidence, and make sure your organisation is genuinely ready.
Typically, we recommend the BCP is exercised in conjunction with a crisis management exercise. This is because:
A crisis commonly starts “on the shop floor” and the impacted team escalates it up the management chain.
The impacted team is responsible for the immediate response, assessing the impact and liaison with emergency services.
However, during most crises, decisions need to be made that are above the delegated authority of the impacted team.
The big decisions, crisis communications and informing the Board is the responsibility of the Crisis Management Team.
Often the biggest challenge for participants in an exercise is clear communications between these two teams.
Why exercising matters
It uncovers gaps before they become problems. Every exercise we facilitate reveals something: an outdated contact list, a Recovery Procedure that doesn't match how systems actually work, a role that two people think belongs to someone else. Found in an exercise, these are fixable. Found during a real crisis, they're costly.
It builds leadership capability. Managing a crisis well is a skill. It takes practice. Exercises give your leadership team the chance to rehearse decision-making, communication and coordination under simulated pressure, so they're not learning on the job when it matters. It’s about improving muscle memory!
It's required. APRA-regulated entities are required to test their BCP’s annually under CPS 230. ASX participants have similar obligations. For all organisations, regular exercising is considered best practice and will enable your organisation to recover more quickly if it suffers an outage.
Types of exercises we facilitate
Tabletop exercises A structured discussion-based exercise where your leadership team works through a simulated scenario. Efficient, little disruption and effective for testing decision-making and escalation processes. Well suited to senior executives and Crisis Management Teams.
Walkthrough exercises A step-by-step review of Recovery Procedures with the staff responsible for executing them. Identifies gaps in documentation and builds staff familiarity with the plan.
Simulation exercises A more immersive exercise that simulates a real event and requires participants to make decisions and take actions as if the disruption were actually occurring. The most effective format for exercising full recovery capability.
What you get
After every exercise that we facilitate, you receive:
An independent assessment of your organisation's performance
A SWOT analysis identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
Prioritised recommendations for improving your plans and capability
Documentation suitable for Board reporting and regulatory evidence
What our customers say
“The team at Continuity Matters were great! The feedback we received following the crisis management exercise was an important part of the improvement process.”
Independent State Government Agency
“I really enjoyed the exercise - in particular, the support and encouragement in applying the contents of the BCP to the scenarios.”
Not for profit organisation
