COURSE OVERVIEW:

Welcome to the Business Continuity Planning course. This program will equip you with the skills and knowledge to design, lead, and complete business continuity planning (BCP) projects that protect critical operations, support rapid recovery, and meet organisational and stakeholder expectations. Throughout this course, you will learn how to integrate BCP into project management practice so that continuity planning is structured, well-governed, and capable of delivering robust, tested plans rather than documents that sit on a shelf.

This course begins by clarifying what is meant by business continuity planning (BCP) and how BCP relates to disaster recovery plan projects within an organisational context. You will examine how to initiate the BCP project, the role and responsibilities of the business continuity manager, how to define the scope of the BCP project, and how to set realistic timelines, major milestones, and expectations, as well as what items should be included in the BCP budget, how to select and brief the project team, how to roll out the project to that team, and how to identify the key stakeholders whose input and support are essential.

Project planning for effective continuity work is then explored so that every activity is visible, sequenced, and under control. This section explains how to identify the BCP project activities, determine BCP project activity durations, and sequence the activities into a coherent project plan, and it also shows how to plan a risk assessment for the project itself, understand the common project plan risks, conduct meetings in the proper way, and apply the major steps required to get your BCP project off to a good start.

Attention then turns to executing and controlling the BCP project so that plans progress from design to implementation under disciplined oversight. This section covers how to execute and control the BCP project using structured project management practices, how to develop and use a BCP project communications plan, how to report progress and issues using that communications plan, and how to meet broader BCP project reporting expectations for sponsors, governance groups, and other stakeholders.

The course then examines how to validate and maintain the effectiveness of the continuity arrangements you have developed, and how to close the project in a structured way. This section explains how to test your completed plans in a realistic but controlled manner, how to set up and enforce a testing schedule for the project so that exercises become routine rather than ad hoc, how to close the BCP project once deliverables are in place, and the steps involved in closing the project while ensuring that ownership, documentation, and ongoing improvement responsibilities are clearly handed over.

By the end of this course, you will be able to define and initiate a BCP project, specify scope, milestones, and budgets, and assemble and lead an effective continuity planning team. You will know how to structure project activities, integrate risk assessment, run effective BCP meetings, and monitor and report progress through a clear communications plan. Most importantly, you will be equipped to test, refine, and formally close BCP projects in a way that leaves your organisation with practical, exercised continuity and recovery plans, clear accountabilities, and a foundation for continuous improvement in resilience.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

·       What is meant by business continuity planning (BCP)?

·       What is a disaster recovery plan project?         

·       How to initiate the BCP project?    

·       The business continuity manager’s role  

·       The scope of the BCP project        

·       The timelines, major milestones, and expectations of the BCP project

·       The items that should be included in BCP budget

·       How to select a team for the BCP project?

·       How to roll out the project to the team?

·       How to identify the stakeholders for the BCP project?

·       How to identify the BCP project activities?       

·       How to determine BCP project activity durations?

·       How to sequence the activities?    

·       How to plan a risk assessment?

·       What a common project plan risks include?

·       The proper way to conduct a meeting

·       The major steps for getting your project off to a good start

·       How to execute and control the BCP project?

·       The BCP project communications plan

·       How to report using the communications plan?

·       The BCP project reporting    

·       How to test your “Completed” plans?      

·       How to set up and enforce a testing schedule for the project?

·       How to close the BCP project?      

·       The steps involved in closing the project

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.