A well written plan is crucial to disaster recovery
A well organised disaster recovery plan will directly affect the recovery capabilities of the organisation. The contents of the plan should follow a logical sequence and be written in a standard and understandable format.
Effective documentation and procedures are extremely important in a disaster recovery plan. Considerable effort and time are necessary to develop a plan. However, most plans are difficult to use and become outdated quickly.
Poorly written procedures can be extremely frustrating. Well written plans reduce the time required to read and understand the procedures, resulting in a better chance of success if the plan has to be used. Well written plans are also brief and to the point.
Standard format for disaster recovery procedures
A standard format for the procedures should be developed to facilitate the consistency and conformity throughout the plan. Standardisation is especially important if several people write the procedures. Two basic formats are used to write the plan: background information and instructional information.
Background information should be written using indicative sentences, while the imperative style should be used for writing instructions. Indicative sentences have a direct subject-verb-predicate structure, e.g. “Earthquakes cause considerable damage.” Imperative sentences start with a verb (the pronoun “you” is assumed) and issue directions to be followed, e.g. “Tell employees to evacuate the building.”
Recommended background information includes:
- purpose of the procedure
- scope of the procedure (e.g. location, equipment, personnel, and time associated with what the procedure encompasses)
- reference materials (i.e. other manuals, information, or materials that should be consulted)
- documentation describing the applicable forms that must be used when performing the procedures
- authorisations listing the specific approvals required
- particular policies applicable to the procedures.
Instructions should be developed on a preprinted form. A suggested format for instructional information is to separate headings common to each page from details of procedures. Headings should include:
- subject category number and description
- subject subcategory number and description
- page number
- revision number
- superseded date.
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