ABSTRACT
Effective contingency planning (CP) begins with the development of an organization process of documentation, training, and complementing the procedures and documents with a contingency planning policy for each information system. Interim measures of a CP may include relocation of information systems and operations to an alternate site, recovery of information system functions using alternate equipment, or performance of information system functions using manual methods. Recovery of mission-essential functions (MEFs) is addressed by Continuity of Operations (COOP) plans or business continuity plans (BCPs). The COOP plan focuses on restoring an organization's MEFs at an alternate site and performing those functions for up to 30 days before returning to normal operations. A BCP may be written for mission/business functions within a single business unit or may address the entire organization's processes. The BCP may be scoped to address only the functions deemed to be priorities.
