BCM Strategy and Plan Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When selecting a continuity strategy, which factor MOST directly determines whether a hot site is justified over a warm site?
- Geographic distance from primary site
- Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD) for critical functions (Correct answer)
- Number of employees requiring relocation
- Annual IT budget allocation
Correct answer: Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD) for critical functions
MTD defines how long operations can be down before unacceptable consequences occur, directly dictating the required recovery speed and thus site readiness level.
Question 2: A BCP strategy that relies on a third-party vendor to supply emergency resources is BEST described as:
- Internal redundancy
- Mutual aid agreement
- Outsourcing strategy (Correct answer)
- Reciprocal arrangement
Correct answer: Outsourcing strategy
An outsourcing strategy delegates recovery capabilities to an external provider under a contractual service arrangement.
Question 3: Which document translates broad BCM strategies into specific, step-by-step operational instructions for staff?
- Business Impact Analysis report
- Business Continuity Plan (Correct answer)
- Risk register
- BCM policy statement
Correct answer: Business Continuity Plan
The Business Continuity Plan contains detailed procedures that operationalize recovery strategies for personnel during an incident.
Question 4: A company identifies that losing its customer database for more than 4 hours would be catastrophic. This threshold is known as the:
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
- Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD) (Correct answer)
- Minimum Business Continuity Objective (MBCO)
Correct answer: Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD)
MTD (also called Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption) is the longest period an organization can survive without a critical function before consequences become unacceptable.
Question 5: During strategy selection, 'do nothing' is occasionally a valid option when:
- Senior management prefers to avoid BCM costs
- The cost of mitigation exceeds the potential impact of the risk (Correct answer)
- Regulatory requirements do not mandate a response
- The organization has sufficient insurance coverage
Correct answer: The cost of mitigation exceeds the potential impact of the risk
When the cost of implementing a continuity strategy outweighs the financial and operational impact of the risk, accepting the risk (do nothing) may be a rational decision.
Question 6: Which element is MOST critical when developing a work area recovery strategy for a loss-of-building scenario?
- Employee commute distance to the alternate site
- Availability of sufficient workspace with necessary technology (Correct answer)
- Proximity of the alternate site to suppliers
- Cost per square foot of the alternate location
Correct answer: Availability of sufficient workspace with necessary technology
Staff must have the physical workspace and technology tools needed to perform critical functions at the alternate location.
Question 7: A financial services firm maintains a fully operational duplicate data center that mirrors its primary center in real time. This strategy is called:
- Cold standby
- Warm standby
- Hot standby (Correct answer)
- Mobile recovery
Correct answer: Hot standby
A hot standby (hot site) is a fully equipped, operational duplicate facility that can take over immediately with minimal or zero data loss.
BCM Strategy and Plan Development 2
When selecting a continuity strategy, which factor MOST directly determines whether a hot site is justified over a warm site?