RESILIVANCE · Educational guide · 2 min read
1. What decision are we testing?
Choose objectives such as activation authority, recovery prioritization, or customer communication. Agree the evidence needed to demonstrate success. Attendance alone is not evidence of readiness.
2. What service must continue?
Describe the minimum output, its recipients, and the period it must be sustained. Participants need a shared operating objective to prioritize resources.
3. Which assumptions will we challenge?
Choose realistic constraints such as an unavailable supplier, absent staff, limited data, or an unusable recovery location. Keep the scenario focused on the objectives.
4. Who can authorize action?
Identify who activates plans, approves exceptional spending, communicates externally, and accepts reduced service. Test deputies and escalation when the usual decision maker is unavailable.
5. How do handoffs work?
Follow information from the first report through assessment, decisions, execution, and updates. Capture unclear ownership and communication channels instead of resolving all uncertainty informally.
6. How do we observe safely?
Assign a facilitator and observer. Capture timing, assumptions, decisions, and evidence. Agree boundaries so a discussion does not accidentally trigger production changes or external notifications. Distinguish simulated from completed actions.
7. Who owns improvements?
Close with prioritized actions, accountable owners, target dates, and evidence needed for closure. Schedule a follow-up and retest important weaknesses after remediation.
General educational guidance. Recommendations depend on your organization’s circumstances.