Business Continuity Planning (BCP) Checklist

Assign a BCP Owner

Designate a team member to lead continuity planning and updates.

Define BCP Objectives

Outline what you’re protecting (e.g., customer SLAs, communication channels).

Establish a BCP Policy

Create a brief written policy defining scope, roles, and review frequency.

Review Annually

Ensure your plan is reviewed and updated at least once a year or after major changes.

Identify Critical Business Functions

List out core functions like support, finance, sales, development.

Determine Maximum Acceptable Outage (MAO)

How long can each function be offline before there’s a major impact?

Prioritize Recovery Order

Rank which functions must come back online first to minimize damage.

Map Dependencies

Identify vendors, tools, and personnel required to support each function.

Create a BCP Contact List

Include names, roles, phone numbers, and backup contacts.

Create Internal Communication Plan

Define how teams will stay in touch during an outage (e.g., Slack, Signal, Zoom).

Create External Communication Plan

Outline who notifies customers, vendors, regulators, and how.

Store Plans Securely & Accessibly

Save copies in both cloud and offline formats with restricted access.

Plan for Office Inaccessibility

Ensure remote access is available for all staff.

Plan for Staff Unavailability

Define role backups and cross-training procedures.

Plan for Vendor Downtime

Identify alternatives and SLAs for key tools (e.g., payment processors, cloud providers).

Backlog Management Strategy

Have a plan for prioritizing tasks and resolving backlog post-interruption.

Conduct Tabletop Exercises

Simulate a business interruption (e.g., key vendor outage) with your leadership team.

Log Lessons Learned

After exercises or real events, record gaps and needed updates.

Update the Plan

Immediately revise documentation to reflect new decisions or team changes.

Share with Key Stakeholders

Make sure team leads and vendors know their roles in continuity.