Map to assets & resources
Mapping assets & resources to processes & activities
In most organizations, processes & activities are supported by a range of assets & resources that must be fully functioning and available for critical processes & activities to continue to be undertaken in an uninterrupted fashion. These operational components must be mapped to each other using the business continuity mapping process in order to examine the affect and consequences of an interruption to any one component. The level of dependency that one component has to each mapped component should also be assessed and recorded. This enables the BIA values to be calculated accordingly.
The purpose of the mapping activity in this module is to link assets & resources to processes & activities. Click the "Mapped" icon to view BIA components mapped to the selected process or activity. In Module 4, click on the "Map assets & resources to processes or activities" button. In the pop-up that appears, assets & resources that have already been mapped to the selected processes or activities are displayed in the left hand list box.
The full list of assets & resources are displayed in the right hand list box. The assets & resources that have already been set up in Module 5 are already listed here. This list box supports the linking of key assets & resources to the selected processes or activities as part of the mapping process. The dropdown at the top of the list box supports filtering of the full list of assets or resources by asset or resource type. This allows easier viewing of substantial numbers of assets or resources as would probably apply in larger organizations. Click the dropdown to select the asset or resource type you wish to view. The default display is "All assets or resources". Use the top arrow to add assets or resources to the "Mapped key assets & resources" list box. Use the lower arrow to remove processes from the "Mapped key assets & resources " list box.
Add a new asset or resource
During the mapping process, where the User needs to add a new asset or resource it can be done from within module 4. Clicking the "+" button at the foot of the Key asset or resource list box in module 4, opens up a pop-up window that allows the User to add a new asset or resource and assign an asset & resource type code. 
To add a new asset or resource, enter the new asset or resource name in the pop-up window, and click the "Save" button. The list of key assets and resources will be immediately updated.
Delete selected asset or resource
To delete an existing asset or resource, select the required record and click the delete button. If the asset or resource does not have existing mapped relationships then a pop-up will appear asking you to confirm this action. 
If the asset or resource has one or more existing mapped relationships then a warning message will appear and these will need to be cleared before the deletion process can be completed. Mapped relationships are usually cleared through the mapping (out) arrows.
Edit selected asset or resource
To make changes to the name or type of a selected asset or resource, click the "Edit" button and a new pop-up will appear. 
Type in or correct the asset or resource name and / or change the asset or resource type, then click the "Save" button and the record will be automatically updated in the list box.
Understanding RTO, MTPD & criticality values
Each process or activity will have an RTO, MTPD and criticality value once it has been mapped to a product, service or other critical objective once this deliverable has been set up in the BIA area. The RTO, MTPD and criticality values for the critical objectives (calculated during the BIA process) are automatically passed on to the mapped processes with adjustments for the level of dependency. Likewise the resultant RTO, MTPD and criticality values for the processes are automatically passed on to the mapped assets & resources, again with adjustments for level of dependency. Where an asset or resource is mapped to more than one processes, the lowest value RTO and MTPD and highest risk criticality is passed on to the mapped asset or resource. Calculated BIA values may be manually overwritten by the User.
Reference material:
- More details on business continuity can be obtained from www.business-continuity-expert.com/bce-business-continuity.htm
- Go to www.business-continuity-expert.com/bce-business-continuity-management.htm for explanations on business continuity management
- To obtain extra info on contingency management go to www.business-continuity-expert.com/bce-contingency-management.htm
- Further details can be found at www.business-continuity-expert.com/index.htm