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- Management Reference Guide
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Strategic Management
- Establishing Goals, Objectives, and Strategies
- Aligning IT Goals with Corporate Business Goals
- Utilizing Effective Planning Techniques
- Developing Worthwhile Mission Statements
- Developing Worthwhile Vision Statements
- Instituting Practical Corporate Values
- Budgeting Considerations in an IT Environment
- Introduction to Conducting an Effective SWOT Analysis
- IT Governance and Disaster Recovery, Part One
- IT Governance and Disaster Recovery, Part Two
- Customer Management
- Identifying Key External Customers
- Identifying Key Internal Customers
- Negotiating with Customers and Suppliers—Part 1: An Introduction
- Negotiating With Customers and Suppliers—Part 2: Reaching Agreement
- Negotiating and Managing Realistic Customer Expectations
- Service Management
- Identifying Key Services for Business Users
- Service-Level Agreements That Really Work
- How IT Evolved into a Service Organization
- FAQs About Systems Management (SM)
- FAQs About Availability (AV)
- FAQs About Performance and Tuning (PT)
- FAQs About Service Desk (SD)
- FAQs About Change Management (CM)
- FAQs About Configuration Management (CF)
- FAQs About Capacity Planning (CP)
- FAQs About Network Management
- FAQs About Storage Management (SM)
- FAQs About Production Acceptance (PA)
- FAQs About Release Management (RM)
- FAQs About Disaster Recovery (DR)
- FAQs About Business Continuity (BC)
- FAQs About Security (SE)
- FAQs About Service Level Management (SL)
- FAQs About Financial Management (FN)
- FAQs About Problem Management (PM)
- FAQs About Facilities Management (FM)
- Process Management
- Developing Robust Processes
- Establishing Mutually Beneficial Process Metrics
- Change Management—Part 1
- Change Management—Part 2
- Change Management—Part 3
- Audit Reconnaissance: Releasing Resources Through the IT Audit
- Problem Management
- Problem Management–Part 2: Process Design
- Problem Management–Part 3: Process Implementation
- Business Continuity Emergency Communications Plan
- Capacity Planning – Part One: Why It is Seldom Done Well
- Capacity Planning – Part Two: Developing a Capacity Planning Process
- Capacity Planning — Part Three: Benefits and Helpful Tips
- Capacity Planning – Part Four: Hidden Upgrade Costs and
- Improving Business Process Management, Part 1
- Improving Business Process Management, Part 2
- 20 Major Elements of Facilities Management
- Major Physical Exposures Common to a Data Center
- Evaluating the Physical Environment
- Nightmare Incidents with Disaster Recovery Plans
- Developing a Robust Configuration Management Process
- Developing a Robust Configuration Management Process – Part Two
- Automating a Robust Infrastructure Process
- Improving High Availability — Part One: Definitions and Terms
- Improving High Availability — Part Two: Definitions and Terms
- Improving High Availability — Part Three: The Seven R's of High Availability
- Improving High Availability — Part Four: Assessing an Availability Process
- Methods for Brainstorming and Prioritizing Requirements
- Introduction to Disk Storage Management — Part One
- Storage Management—Part Two: Performance
- Storage Management—Part Three: Reliability
- Storage Management—Part Four: Recoverability
- Twelve Traits of World-Class Infrastructures — Part One
- Twelve Traits of World-Class Infrastructures — Part Two
- Meeting Today's Cooling Challenges of Data Centers
- Strategic Security, Part One: Assessment
- Strategic Security, Part Two: Development
- Strategic Security, Part Three: Implementation
- Strategic Security, Part Four: ITIL Implications
- Production Acceptance Part One – Definition and Benefits
- Production Acceptance Part Two – Initial Steps
- Production Acceptance Part Three – Middle Steps
- Production Acceptance Part Four – Ongoing Steps
- Case Study: Planning a Service Desk Part One – Objectives
- Case Study: Planning a Service Desk Part Two – SWOT
- Case Study: Implementing an ITIL Service Desk – Part One
- Case Study: Implementing a Service Desk Part Two – Tool Selection
- Ethics, Scandals and Legislation
- Outsourcing in Response to Legislation
- Supplier Management
- Identifying Key External Suppliers
- Identifying Key Internal Suppliers
- Integrating the Four Key Elements of Good Customer Service
- Enhancing the Customer/Supplier Matrix
- Voice Over IP, Part One — What VoIP Is, and Is Not
- Voice Over IP, Part Two — Benefits, Cost Savings and Features of VoIP
- Application Management
- Production Acceptance
- Distinguishing New Applications from New Versions of Existing Applications
- Assessing a Production Acceptance Process
- Effective Use of a Software Development Life Cycle
- The Role of Project Management in SDLC— Part 2
- Communication in Project Management – Part One: Barriers to Effective Communication
- Communication in Project Management – Part Two: Examples of Effective Communication
- Safeguarding Personal Information in the Workplace: A Case Study
- Combating the Year-end Budget Blitz—Part 1: Building a Manageable Schedule
- Combating the Year-end Budget Blitz—Part 2: Tracking and Reporting Availability
- References
- Developing an ITIL Feasibility Analysis
- Organization and Personnel Management
- Optimizing IT Organizational Structures
- Factors That Influence Restructuring Decisions
- Alternative Locations for the Help Desk
- Alternative Locations for Database Administration
- Alternative Locations for Network Operations
- Alternative Locations for Web Design
- Alternative Locations for Risk Management
- Alternative Locations for Systems Management
- Practical Tips To Retaining Key Personnel
- Benefits and Drawbacks of Using IT Consultants and Contractors
- Deciding Between the Use of Contractors versus Consultants
- Managing Employee Skill Sets and Skill Levels
- Assessing Skill Levels of Current Onboard Staff
- Recruiting Infrastructure Staff from the Outside
- Selecting the Most Qualified Candidate
- 7 Tips for Managing the Use of Mobile Devices
- Useful Websites for IT Managers
- References
- Automating Robust Processes
- Evaluating Process Documentation — Part One: Quality and Value
- Evaluating Process Documentation — Part Two: Benefits and Use of a Quality-Value Matrix
- When Should You Integrate or Segregate Service Desks?
- Five Instructive Ideas for Interviewing
- Eight Surefire Tips to Use When Being Interviewed
- 12 Helpful Hints To Make Meetings More Productive
- Eight Uncommon Tips To Improve Your Writing
- Ten Helpful Tips To Improve Fire Drills
- Sorting Out Today’s Various Training Options
- Business Ethics and Corporate Scandals – Part 1
- Business Ethics and Corporate Scandals – Part 2
- 12 Tips for More Effective Emails
- Management Communication: Back to the Basics, Part One
- Management Communication: Back to the Basics, Part Two
- Management Communication: Back to the Basics, Part Three
- Asset Management
- Managing Hardware Inventories
- Introduction to Hardware Inventories
- Processes To Manage Hardware Inventories
- Use of a Hardware Inventory Database
- References
- Managing Software Inventories
- Business Continuity Management
- Ten Lessons Learned from Real-Life Disasters
- Ten Lessons Learned From Real-Life Disasters, Part 2
- Differences Between Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity , Part 1
- Differences Between Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity , Part 2
- 15 Common Terms and Definitions of Business Continuity
- The Federal Government’s Role in Disaster Recovery
- The 12 Common Mistakes That Cause BIAs To Fail—Part 1
- The 12 Common Mistakes That Cause BIAs To Fail—Part 2
- The 12 Common Mistakes That Cause BIAs To Fail—Part 3
- The 12 Common Mistakes That Cause BIAs To Fail—Part 4
- Conducting an Effective Table Top Exercise (TTE) — Part 1
- Conducting an Effective Table Top Exercise (TTE) — Part 2
- Conducting an Effective Table Top Exercise (TTE) — Part 3
- Conducting an Effective Table Top Exercise (TTE) — Part 4
- The 13 Cardinal Steps for Implementing a Business Continuity Program — Part One
- The 13 Cardinal Steps for Implementing a Business Continuity Program — Part Two
- The 13 Cardinal Steps for Implementing a Business Continuity Program — Part Three
- The 13 Cardinal Steps for Implementing a Business Continuity Program — Part Four
- The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
- The Origins of ITIL
- The Foundation of ITIL: Service Management
- Five Reasons for Revising ITIL
- The Relationship of Service Delivery and Service Support to All of ITIL
- Ten Common Myths About Implementing ITIL, Part One
- Ten Common Myths About Implementing ITIL, Part Two
- Characteristics of ITIL Version 3
- Ten Benefits of itSMF and its IIL Pocket Guide
- Translating the Goals of the ITIL Service Delivery Processes
- Translating the Goals of the ITIL Service Support Processes
- Elements of ITIL Least Understood, Part One: Service Delivery Processes
- Case Study: Recovery Reactions to a Renegade Rodent
- Elements of ITIL Least Understood, Part Two: Service Support
- Case Studies
- Case Study — Preparing for Hurricane Charley
- Case Study — The Linux Decision
- Case Study — Production Acceptance at an Aerospace Firm
- Case Study — Production Acceptance at a Defense Contractor
- Case Study — Evaluating Mainframe Processes
- Case Study — Evaluating Recovery Sites, Part One: Quantitative Comparisons/Natural Disasters
- Case Study — Evaluating Recovery Sites, Part Two: Quantitative Comparisons/Man-made Disasters
- Case Study — Evaluating Recovery Sites, Part Three: Qualitative Comparisons
- Case Study — Evaluating Recovery Sites, Part Four: Take-Aways
- Disaster Recovery Test Case Study Part One: Planning
- Disaster Recovery Test Case Study Part Two: Planning and Walk-Through
- Disaster Recovery Test Case Study Part Three: Execution
- Disaster Recovery Test Case Study Part Four: Follow-Up
- Assessing the Robustness of a Vendor’s Data Center, Part One: Qualitative Measures
- Assessing the Robustness of a Vendor’s Data Center, Part Two: Quantitative Measures
- Case Study: Lessons Learned from a World-Wide Disaster Recovery Exercise, Part One: What Did the Team Do Well
- (d) Case Study: Lessons Learned from a World-Wide Disaster Recovery Exercise, Part Two
In part two of this series I described several activities to perform prior to conducting an effective table top exercise (TTE). Similarly, in part three I explained specific actions to take during and immediately after conducting such an exercise. In this concluding section I offer numerous tips for facilitators to use prior, during and immediately following a TTE.
Tips Prior to the Exercise
- Selecting the business unit – for the first few table top exercises, select a business unit that has a simple, straight-forward business continuity plan; one with few processes and whose business sponsor is exceptionally supportive of the process; this will ensure greater likelihood of quick wins and early successes.
- Identifying the business continuity plan sponsor – this person is the first or second level manager of the plan owner; a second level manager may become involved if several related plans all fall under this manager.
- Developing objectives – these can be of two types: generic objectives that relate to most all plan such as validating the information in a plan; and specific objectives that relate to an individual plan such as testing how a specialized check-printing process will be recovered.
- Identifying participants – include all members of the recovery team, and others recommended by the plan sponsor; in some cases it may be appropriate to include support staff or vendor representatives.
- Determining the date and time of exercise – This choice should be made to maximize attendance; availability of participants and rooms should be considered, as well as input from the plan sponsor; midweek and mornings are usually preferable.
- Arriving at number and place of locations – for the first table top exercise a single room works best; for more complex scenarios multiple rooms, or even multiple buildings, may be used.
- Selecting appropriate scenarios – offer several scenarios to the plan sponsor, but have one in particular as first choice; discuss with plan sponsor the reasonableness and likelihood of the scenario selected, and look for any peculiarities about it that participants could challenge you on.
- Choosing number and type of unplanned events – for the first few table top exercises only one or two unplanned events should be used; the timing and frequency of unplanned events should depend on how much ease or difficultly the participants are having in dealing with the original scenario.
- Listing assumptions – the intent of this list is to address questions participants will have concerning the specifics of the scenario; this list should attempt to prevent issues arising that could bring the exercise to an abrupt halt; the plan sponsor should be encouraged to add to this list during and after the initial meeting, and up to the time of the exercise.
- Proposing an agenda – the agenda should cover at least a two-hour period with a minimum of one hour for the actual recovery exercise and at least thirty minutes for the lessons learned; include a short break; discuss agenda with plan sponsor.
- Scheduling meeting – check availability of participants and rooms prior to sending out meeting invitation; attach to the invite a copy of the agenda, objectives and assumptions and solicit feedback; reference the meeting invitation email that went out earlier.
- Developing attendance sheet – include on the sheet space for name, extension and department; emphasize the printing out of name to ensure legibility.
- Ensuring on-time full attendance – consider sending out reminder emails a day or two before the exercise; for especially critical personnel consider face-to-face reminders; encourage all to show up ahead of time.
- Optimizing set-up of room(s) – ensure room(s) have adequate white boards, markers, post-it note flipchart paper and easels, pens and, if needed, a conference telephone.
Tips During the Exercise
- Distributing materials – staple the four initial materials together (agenda, objectives, assumptions and session evaluation) and pass them out prior to start of meeting; this saves times during the meeting and also encourages everyone to sit up at the table.
- Distributing Plans – bring several copies of the business continuity plan but do not offer them to participants unless specifically requested.
- Circulating attendance sheet – periodically check that the attendance sheet is being signed by everyone attending; it is often easy to have the sheet stop with one person and not being signed by others.
- Discussing agenda, objectives and assumptions – briefly discuss these three items; ask if any clarification is needed; participants should already have seen these from the meeting invite, but do not presume that they read them, understood them, or brought copies of these documents with them; copying this information on flipcharts or a whiteboard for emphasis is another option to consider using.
- Discussing ground rules, time-lining and roles – ground rules
pertain to the facilitation of the exercise and include such items as no leaving
the room once exercise has begun, and no asking the facilitator how to recover
(though specific questions about the scenario and unplanned events should be
allowed);
time-lining means establishing a ratio of 'scenario-time' to 'real-time'; for example, five minutes of 'real-time' may equate to one hour of 'scenario-time' so that a one hour exercise equates to 12 hours of 'scenario-time';
the roles and responsibilities of persons such the facilitator, scribe, timekeeper, and other observers should be explained and clarified; in some instances these roles may be all the same person; these roles are defined under Terms and Definitions in Part One.
- Using unplanned events – these events should be used judiciously; if the participants are struggling to recover even basic operations (which may happen during an initial exercise), consider withholding the use of unplanned events, or use only one toward the end of the exercise to familiarize the team with the concept.
Tips for Post-Exercise Activities
- Conducting lessons learned – ensure every person participates during the round-robin brainstorming; each person must contribute a response or 'pass'; emphasize responses should be kept short (5 to 10 words) and brief (5 to 10 seconds); do not allow any questions, judgments or discussion to take place during the brainstorming.
- Voting on responses – instruct everyone to rank their top five choices for each of the two major categories of 'thinks we did well' and 'improvements we could make'.
- Compiling report – use sample report from other divisions to pattern final report.
This concludes the four-part series on how to conduct a truly effective table top exercise (TTE). As with most endeavors of this kind, practice does indeed make perfect. You may want to start small, or with a limited audience, or with a very simple business continuity plan. But by all means, start. Nothing provides valuable experience like actually performing the exercise; and nothing leads to improvements quicker than valuable experience. Good luck.