BCI Business Impact Analysis 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the first step in conducting a Business Impact Analysis?
- Documenting recovery strategies and procedures
- Identifying and prioritizing critical business activities (Correct answer)
- Developing recovery time objectives for all systems
- Assessing the financial impacts of each disruption scenario
Correct answer: Identifying and prioritizing critical business activities
Identifying and prioritizing critical business activities is the foundational first step, as all subsequent BIA work depends on knowing which activities exist and which matter most.
Question 2: Which type of impact is NOT typically assessed in a Business Impact Analysis?
- Financial impact from lost revenue
- Reputational impact with customers
- Regulatory and legal compliance impact
- Employee satisfaction scores (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Employee satisfaction scores
BIAs typically assess financial, reputational, regulatory/legal, and operational impacts; employee satisfaction scores are not a standard BIA impact category.
Question 3: What information-gathering technique is most commonly used when conducting a Business Impact Analysis?
- Focus groups with external stakeholders
- Questionnaires and structured interviews with process owners (Correct answer)
- External benchmarking against industry peers
- Financial audits of historical records
Correct answer: Questionnaires and structured interviews with process owners
Questionnaires and structured interviews with process owners are the most common BIA data collection methods because they capture direct operational knowledge from those who perform the work.
Question 4: How should business activities be categorized during a BIA?
- By department budget size
- By number of employees involved
- By criticality and time-sensitivity (Correct answer)
- By geographic location of the function
Correct answer: By criticality and time-sensitivity
Business activities should be categorized by their criticality and time-sensitivity to establish recovery priorities and appropriate RTO/RPO targets.
Question 5: What does a 'recovery timeline' in a BIA document represent?
- The historical record of past incidents and their durations
- The sequence and schedule for restoring business functions after a disruption (Correct answer)
- Employee work schedules maintained during normal operations
- IT system maintenance windows for planned downtime
Correct answer: The sequence and schedule for restoring business functions after a disruption
A recovery timeline documents the sequence and schedule for restoring business functions after a disruption, based on established RTOs and recovery priorities.
Question 6: When should a Business Impact Analysis be reviewed and updated?
- Only after a major disaster has occurred
- Every five years as part of routine planning cycles
- Periodically and following significant organizational changes (Correct answer)
- Only when new IT systems are implemented
Correct answer: Periodically and following significant organizational changes
A BIA should be reviewed on a regular periodic cycle and updated following significant organizational changes such as restructuring, new products, or acquisitions.
Question 7: What is a 'workaround' in the context of business continuity and BIA?
- A permanent solution implemented to prevent a recurring problem
- A temporary measure to maintain business functions when normal resources are unavailable (Correct answer)
- An IT patch applied during scheduled system maintenance
- A financial instrument used to hedge against business risks
Correct answer: A temporary measure to maintain business functions when normal resources are unavailable
A workaround is a temporary measure used to maintain critical business functions when normal processes, systems, or resources are unavailable during a disruption.
BCI Business Impact Analysis 2
What is the first step in conducting a Business Impact Analysis?