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RESULTS-ORITNTED Training Description
Course Duration
5 Days
Training Delivery Method
Classroom (Instructor-Led) or Online (Instructor-Led)
Instructors Languages
English / Arabic / Urdu / Hindi / Pashto
Certification Provider
PECB - Canada
Certificate Validity
2 Years (Extendable with additional training hours)
Course Average Passing Rate
97%
Competency Assessment Criteria
Practical Assessment and Knowledge Assessment
Post Training Reporting
Post Training Report + Candidate(s) Training Evaluation Forms
Training Design Methodology
ADDIE Training Design Methodology
Certificate of Successful Completion
Verifiable certification is provided upon successful completion.
Course Overview
An organization without a Business Continuity Management System is not prepared for disruption — it is only unaware of how unprepared it is. When a cyberattack locks critical systems, a supply chain failure cuts off essential materials, a regional infrastructure failure disables power or communications, or a public health crisis reduces workforce availability, the organizations that continue to deliver their products and services are not lucky — they have spent time before the event identifying their critical activities, quantifying how long they can survive without them, and building and testing the recovery strategies that allow them to restore them within acceptable timeframes. The organizations that lose customers, revenue, and reputation during the same event have not.
This training course develops the comprehensive competency required to plan, implement, manage, and continually improve a Business Continuity Management System — BCMS — in full conformance with ISO 22301:2019: Security and Resilience — Business Continuity Management Systems — Requirements. Participants develop Lead Implementer competency across all ISO 22301:2019 clause requirements — from organizational context and leadership through planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, and improvement — including the four core BCMS operational processes: Business Impact Analysis — BIA, Risk Assessment — RA, Business Continuity Strategy — BCS, and Business Continuity Plan — BCP development. Key recovery parameters covered include Recovery Time Objective — RTO, Recovery Point Objective — RPO, Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption — MTPD, and Minimum Business Continuity Objective — MBCO. Implementation guidance follows ISO 22313:2020: Security and Resilience — Business Continuity Management Systems — Guidance. Risk management methodology follows ISO 31000:2018: Risk Management — Guidelines. Internal audit competency follows ISO 19011:2018: Guidelines for Auditing Management Systems. The course integrates ISO 9001:2015: Quality Management Systems for management system alignment and applies Plan-Do-Check-Act — PDCA and Root Cause Analysis — RCA throughout. Participants are prepared to sit the ISO 22301 Lead Implementer certification examination.
Key Learning Objectives
Interpret all clauses of ISO 22301:2019 from the perspective of a BCMS Lead Implementer.
Develop an ISO 22301:2019 BCMS implementation project plan with defined phases, milestones, and responsibilities.
Conduct a Business Impact Analysis — BIA — to identify critical activities, dependencies, and recovery time requirements.
Determine RTO, RPO, MTPD, and MBCO for each critical activity identified in the BIA.
Conduct a BCMS risk assessment per ISO 31000:2018 to identify and evaluate threats to critical activities.
Develop a Business Continuity Strategy selecting recovery options appropriate to each critical activity.
Develop Business Continuity Plans — BCPs — with defined response procedures, roles, and escalation protocols.
Design and execute a BCMS exercise and testing program to validate BCP effectiveness.
Conduct an ISO 22301:2019 internal audit per ISO 19011:2018 and manage corrective actions.
Prepare an organization for ISO 22301:2019 certification audit.
Course Outline
Day 1 — ISO 22301:2019 Framework and BCMS Initiation
1. Introduction to Business Continuity and ISO 22301:2019
1.1 Business Continuity Fundamentals
Business continuity — the capability to continue delivering products and services at acceptable levels during and after disruption.
Disruption types — cyberattacks, infrastructure failure, supply chain disruption, pandemic, natural hazard, and utility loss.
The cost of no continuity — revenue loss, regulatory penalty, customer attrition, and reputational damage.
ISO 22301:2019: Security and Resilience — Business Continuity Management Systems — Requirements — the international BCMS standard.
ISO 22301:2019 purpose — enabling organizations to continue critical operations at predefined levels during disruption.
ISO 22313:2020: Security and Resilience — Business Continuity Management Systems — Guidance — implementation guidance companion to ISO 22301:2019.
High Level Structure — HLS — aligns ISO 22301:2019 with ISO 9001, ISO 45001, and ISO 27001 for integrated management system implementation.
Lead Implementer role — planning, executing, managing, and sustaining BCMS implementation across the organization.
1.2 ISO 22301:2019 Clause Structure
Clause 4 — Context of the Organization: understanding internal and external issues, interested parties, and BCMS scope.
Clause 5 — Leadership: top management commitment, BC policy, and organizational roles and responsibilities.
Clause 6 — Planning: risk and opportunity management, BC objectives, and planning to achieve them.
Clause 7 — Support: resources, competence, awareness, communication, and documented information.
Clause 8 — Operation: BIA, risk assessment, BC strategy, BC plans, and exercise program.
Clause 9 — Performance Evaluation: monitoring, measurement, internal audit, and management review.
Clause 10 — Improvement: nonconformity, corrective action, and continual improvement.
Clause 8 is the most operationally intensive clause — containing all four core BCMS processes.
2. BCMS Implementation Project Initiation
2.1 Implementation Planning
BCMS implementation project plan — defining phases, deliverables, milestones, responsibilities, and timelines.
Gap analysis — comparing the organization's current BC capability against ISO 22301:2019 clause requirements.
Implementation phasing — context and scope first, then BIA and risk assessment, then strategy and plans, then exercise and audit.
Stakeholder mapping — identifying and engaging all internal and external stakeholders before implementation begins.
Executive sponsorship — securing top management commitment per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 5.1 before implementation.
Resource allocation — identifying the budget, personnel, and time required for each implementation phase.
2.2 Organizational Context and Scope
Internal context — organizational structure, culture, resources, dependencies, and strategic objectives.
External context — regulatory environment, supply chain dependencies, geopolitical risks, and market conditions.
Interested parties — identifying all stakeholders with requirements relevant to the BCMS.
BCMS scope — defining the products, services, locations, and organizational units covered by the BCMS.
Scope documentation — the scope statement is a mandatory documented information requirement per Clause 4.3.
Scope boundary decisions — excluding a critical function from scope creates an unacceptable resilience gap.
3. Leadership and BC Policy
Top management commitment per Clause 5.1 — BC policy, resource allocation, and visible leadership in BC activities.
BC policy — a formal statement of the organization's commitment to business continuity per Clause 5.2.
BC policy content — scope, objectives, commitment to testing, and continual improvement obligations.
BC roles and responsibilities per Clause 5.3 — assigning accountability for each BCMS process element.
BC Manager role — the designated individual responsible for leading the BCMS on behalf of top management.
BC policy communication — all relevant personnel must be aware of the BC policy and their role within it.
Day 2 — Business Impact Analysis and Risk Assessment
4. Business Impact Analysis
4.1 BIA Methodology
Business Impact Analysis — BIA — the process of identifying critical activities and quantifying the impact of their disruption over time.
BIA purpose — determining which activities must be recovered first and within what timeframe.
Critical activity — any activity whose disruption for more than the MTPD would threaten the organization's survival or reputation.
Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption — MTPD — the maximum time a critical activity can be unavailable before the impact becomes unacceptable.
Recovery Time Objective — RTO — the target time within which the critical activity must be restored after disruption.
RTO must always be shorter than MTPD to provide a recovery margin.
Recovery Point Objective — RPO — the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time.
Minimum Business Continuity Objective — MBCO — the minimum level of output required to meet critical business obligations during recovery.
4.2 BIA Process Execution
BIA data collection — structured interviews, questionnaires, and process documentation review.
Impact categories — financial, reputational, regulatory, operational, and contractual impact over time.
Impact over time graph — plotting cumulative impact for each critical activity to determine MTPD.
Resource dependency mapping — identifying the people, technology, facilities, and suppliers each critical activity depends on.
Interdependency analysis — critical activities that depend on other internal activities requiring sequential recovery planning.
BIA output — a prioritized list of critical activities with RTO, RPO, MTPD, MBCO, and resource requirements for each.
BIA validation — reviewing BIA findings with process owners and top management before proceeding to strategy.
5. BCMS Risk Assessment
5.1 Risk Assessment Methodology
BCMS risk assessment per ISO 31000:2018: Risk Management — Guidelines — identifying threats to critical activities.
Risk identification — determining the threats that could disrupt each critical activity identified in the BIA.
Threat categories — natural hazards, technology failure, supply chain disruption, cyber incidents, and human factors.
Likelihood assessment — estimating the probability of each identified threat occurring.
Consequence assessment — evaluating the impact of each threat on critical activity availability.
Risk rating — Likelihood × Consequence — prioritizing threats requiring continuity controls.
Risk treatment — selecting continuity strategies that reduce the probability or consequence of each prioritized threat.
5.2 Risk Register and Treatment
BCMS risk register — documenting each identified threat with likelihood, consequence, risk rating, and treatment action.
Residual risk — the risk remaining after continuity controls are implemented and accepted by management.
Risk treatment options — avoid, reduce, transfer, or accept — selected based on risk appetite and resource availability.
Risk appetite — the level of continuity risk the organization is prepared to accept without additional controls.
Risk register review — updated annually and after every significant incident or organizational change.
Day 3 — Business Continuity Strategy and Plan Development
6. Business Continuity Strategy
6.1 Strategy Development
Business Continuity Strategy — BCS — selecting the recovery options that will restore each critical activity within its RTO.
Strategy options — alternate site, manual workaround, outsourcing, mutual aid, technology backup, and stockpiling.
Alternate site strategy — a secondary location where critical activities can be relocated during a primary site disruption.
Manual workaround — operating the critical activity without technology for the duration of the RTO.
Mutual aid agreement — pre-arranged arrangement with another organization to share resources during disruption.
Technology recovery strategy — backup systems, cloud failover, and data replication to meet the RPO.
Supply chain continuity strategy — dual sourcing, safety stock, and alternative supplier qualification.
Strategy cost-benefit — selecting the most cost-effective strategy that achieves the RTO and MBCO.
6.2 Resource Requirements for Strategy
People requirements — minimum staffing levels and competencies required to operate each recovery strategy.
Technology requirements — hardware, software, communications, and data access needed at the recovery location.
Facility requirements — space, utilities, and access requirements for the alternate site strategy.
Supplier requirements — confirmed supply continuity arrangements documented in supplier contracts.
Financial requirements — pre-authorizing emergency expenditure thresholds before a disruption occurs.
Resource pre-positioning — ensuring recovery resources are available and accessible before an incident.
7. Business Continuity Plan Development
7.1 BCP Structure and Content
Business Continuity Plan — BCP — documented procedures for responding to and recovering from disruption.
BCP activation trigger — the defined criteria or escalation threshold that activates the BCP.
Incident response structure — the command and coordination structure for managing disruption during the recovery period.
Crisis Communications Plan — internal and external communication procedures during and after a disruption.
Recovery task lists — step-by-step actions for restoring each critical activity to MBCO within the RTO.
Role assignments — naming the specific individuals responsible for each recovery task in the BCP.
Contact directories — emergency contact lists for all internal teams, suppliers, regulators, and key customers.
BCP version control — documented information controlled per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 7.5.
7.2 Incident Response and Escalation
Incident notification — the defined process for detecting, assessing, and escalating a disruption event.
Initial response actions — immediate protective steps taken before BCP activation is confirmed.
Escalation criteria — defining when an incident moves from operational management to crisis management.
Crisis Management Team — CMT — the senior leadership body responsible for strategic decisions during major disruption.
Recovery team activation — notifying and mobilizing the recovery teams from the BCP contact directory.
Stakeholder communication — notifying customers, regulators, and suppliers according to the Communications Plan.
Resumption — returning to normal operations from MBCO recovery level after the disruption is resolved.
Day 4 — Exercise Program, Performance Evaluation, and Internal Audit
8. BCMS Exercise and Testing Program
8.1 Exercise Types
BCMS exercise per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 8.5 — mandatory program to validate BCP effectiveness before a real disruption.
Awareness exercise — a walkthrough discussion of the BCP without operational activation.
Tabletop exercise — scenario-based discussion where the team talks through BCP activation decisions.
Functional exercise — activating specific BCP components without full operational disruption.
Full-scale exercise — simulating a complete disruption event with all BCP components activated.
Technical test — testing backup systems, data recovery, and technology failover against the RPO.
Exercise frequency — at minimum annually — with full-scale exercises at a frequency determined by risk.
8.2 Exercise Design and Evaluation
Exercise objectives — defined in advance to measure specific BCP elements against RTO and MBCO criteria.
Scenario development — realistic disruption scenario based on the risk assessment threat categories.
Exercise observers — independent observers assess BCP effectiveness and participant performance.
Exercise report — documenting findings, gaps, and improvement actions immediately after the exercise.
Corrective actions from exercise — assigned to named owners with completion dates and tracked to closure.
BCP update — all exercise findings resulting in BCP gaps must trigger a BCP revision before the next exercise.
9. Performance Evaluation and Management Review
BCMS performance monitoring per Clause 9.1 — KPIs measuring BIA currency, exercise completion, and corrective action closure rate.
Proactive BC indicators — BCP update frequency, exercise completion rate, and training completion rate.
Reactive BC indicators — number of activations, RTO achievement rate, and post-incident corrective action count.
Management review per Clause 9.3 — formal annual review of BCMS performance by top management.
Management review inputs — audit findings, exercise results, incident activations, and stakeholder feedback.
Management review outputs — resource decisions, BCMS scope changes, and continual improvement commitments.
Applying PDCA — Plan-Do-Check-Act to the full BCMS management cycle.
10. ISO 22301:2019 Internal Audit
10.1 Internal Audit Planning
Internal audit obligation per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 9.2 — a documented audit program with planned frequency.
Audit program — scheduling audits of all BCMS clauses within the audit cycle period.
Auditor competence per ISO 19011:2018: Guidelines for Auditing Management Systems — knowledge, skills, and objectivity.
Auditor independence — auditors must not audit their own work or areas of direct responsibility.
Audit plan — scope, criteria, methods, and the specific clauses to be audited in each session.
Opening meeting — confirming audit scope, method, and schedule with the auditee before the audit begins.
10.2 Audit Execution and Reporting
Audit evidence collection — document review, interviews, and observation of BCMS processes and records.
Nonconformity classification — major nonconformity, minor nonconformity, and observation.
Major nonconformity — complete absence or systemic failure of a required ISO 22301:2019 clause element.
Minor nonconformity — isolated lapse in an otherwise functioning BCMS requirement.
Audit report — documenting findings, nonconformities, and positive practices within the agreed timeline.
Corrective action per Clause 10.1 — root cause analysis of each nonconformity before the corrective action is defined.
Applying RCA — Root Cause Analysis to BCMS nonconformities — identifying the system gap, not just the symptom.
Day 5 — Continual Improvement, Certification Preparation, and Case Studies
11. Continual Improvement and BCMS Maintenance
Continual improvement obligation per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 10.2 — improving BCMS suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness.
BIA review — mandatory after any significant organizational change, new product launch, or major incident.
Risk assessment review — updated annually and following any significant change to the threat environment.
BCP maintenance cycle — reviewing and updating BCPs after every exercise, incident activation, or BIA revision.
Lessons learned program — capturing and applying learning from incident activations and exercises.
BCMS maturity model — assessing and progressing BCMS capability from reactive to proactive to embedded.
Embedding BC into organizational culture — making BC awareness part of induction, training, and annual review cycles.
12. ISO 9001:2015 and Management System Integration
ISO High Level Structure enables ISO 22301:2019 to be integrated with ISO 9001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, and ISO 27001.
Shared documented information — combining policy, context, audit program, and management review across integrated standards.
ISO 9001:2015 Clause 7.5 — documented information control requirements apply identically in ISO 22301:2019.
Integrated internal audit — auditing multiple management systems simultaneously to reduce burden and duplication.
Business continuity and quality — BC protects the organization's ability to deliver quality products and services during disruption.
ISO 9001:2015 Clause 6.1 — risk and opportunity identification aligns with BCMS risk assessment methodology.
13. Certification Audit Preparation
ISO 22301:2019 certification — third-party audit by an accredited certification body verifying BCMS conformance.
Stage 1 audit — document review of BCMS policies, scope, BIA, risk assessment, and BC plans.
Stage 2 audit — on-site verification of BCMS implementation effectiveness across all Clause 8 processes.
Common Stage 1 findings — missing scope documentation, incomplete BIA, and undocumented risk treatment decisions.
Common Stage 2 findings — BCPs not tested, exercise findings not addressed, and RTO not validated through exercise.
Certification readiness checklist — reviewing all mandatory documented information requirements before the Stage 1 audit.
Surveillance audits — annual audits confirming continued BCMS conformance between three-year recertification cycles.
14. HSE and Quality Management Integration
Business continuity and HSE — the BCMS must address the safety of personnel during disruption and recovery operations.
Evacuation and personnel accountability — integrated into the BCP incident response structure per ISO 45001:2018 Clause 8.2.
HSE risk during recovery — non-standard recovery activities create new hazards requiring HIRARC assessment.
Quality records during disruption — maintaining ISO 9001:2015 documentation obligations at MBCO operating levels.
Regulatory compliance during disruption — BCPs must identify regulatory reporting obligations triggered by an incident.
Applying PDCA to BCMS — Plan the BIA and strategy, Do implement BCPs, Check through exercise and audit, and Act to improve.
15. Case Studies, Group Discussions, and Exam Preparation
Case studies from BCMS implementation and activation in Middle East oil and gas, financial services, utilities, and government environments including organizations that achieved full recovery within RTO during a major cyber incident because their BCP was tested, organizations that failed to restore critical IT systems within MTPD due to an untested technology recovery strategy, and organizations that lost key customers during supply chain disruption because their BIA had not identified supplier dependency as a critical risk — and the importance of ISO 22301:2019 Lead Implementer competency in building resilience before disruption occurs.
Group discussion on BCMS implementation challenges in regional environments including conducting BIA in complex GCC petrochemical and government organizations with multiple critical activity interdependencies, designing exercise programs that satisfy ISO 22301:2019 Clause 8.5 without disrupting high-availability operational environments, and integrating ISO 22301:2019 with ISO 9001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, and ISO 27001 in organizations pursuing an integrated management system in the Middle East.
Lead Implementer certification exam preparation — reviewing all five BCMS competency domains, working through scenario-based exam questions covering BIA, RTO/RPO determination, strategy selection, BCP activation, exercise design, nonconformity classification, and corrective action development.
Day 1 — ISO 22301:2019 Framework and BCMS Initiation
1. Introduction to Business Continuity and ISO 22301:2019
1.1 Business Continuity Fundamentals
Business continuity — the capability to continue delivering products and services at acceptable levels during and after disruption.
Disruption types — cyberattacks, infrastructure failure, supply chain disruption, pandemic, natural hazard, and utility loss.
The cost of no continuity — revenue loss, regulatory penalty, customer attrition, and reputational damage.
ISO 22301:2019: Security and Resilience — Business Continuity Management Systems — Requirements — the international BCMS standard.
ISO 22301:2019 purpose — enabling organizations to continue critical operations at predefined levels during disruption.
ISO 22313:2020: Security and Resilience — Business Continuity Management Systems — Guidance — implementation guidance companion to ISO 22301:2019.
High Level Structure — HLS — aligns ISO 22301:2019 with ISO 9001, ISO 45001, and ISO 27001 for integrated management system implementation.
Lead Implementer role — planning, executing, managing, and sustaining BCMS implementation across the organization.
1.2 ISO 22301:2019 Clause Structure
Clause 4 — Context of the Organization: understanding internal and external issues, interested parties, and BCMS scope.
Clause 5 — Leadership: top management commitment, BC policy, and organizational roles and responsibilities.
Clause 6 — Planning: risk and opportunity management, BC objectives, and planning to achieve them.
Clause 7 — Support: resources, competence, awareness, communication, and documented information.
Clause 8 — Operation: BIA, risk assessment, BC strategy, BC plans, and exercise program.
Clause 9 — Performance Evaluation: monitoring, measurement, internal audit, and management review.
Clause 10 — Improvement: nonconformity, corrective action, and continual improvement.
Clause 8 is the most operationally intensive clause — containing all four core BCMS processes.
2. BCMS Implementation Project Initiation
2.1 Implementation Planning
BCMS implementation project plan — defining phases, deliverables, milestones, responsibilities, and timelines.
Gap analysis — comparing the organization's current BC capability against ISO 22301:2019 clause requirements.
Implementation phasing — context and scope first, then BIA and risk assessment, then strategy and plans, then exercise and audit.
Stakeholder mapping — identifying and engaging all internal and external stakeholders before implementation begins.
Executive sponsorship — securing top management commitment per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 5.1 before implementation.
Resource allocation — identifying the budget, personnel, and time required for each implementation phase.
2.2 Organizational Context and Scope
Internal context — organizational structure, culture, resources, dependencies, and strategic objectives.
External context — regulatory environment, supply chain dependencies, geopolitical risks, and market conditions.
Interested parties — identifying all stakeholders with requirements relevant to the BCMS.
BCMS scope — defining the products, services, locations, and organizational units covered by the BCMS.
Scope documentation — the scope statement is a mandatory documented information requirement per Clause 4.3.
Scope boundary decisions — excluding a critical function from scope creates an unacceptable resilience gap.
3. Leadership and BC Policy
Top management commitment per Clause 5.1 — BC policy, resource allocation, and visible leadership in BC activities.
BC policy — a formal statement of the organization's commitment to business continuity per Clause 5.2.
BC policy content — scope, objectives, commitment to testing, and continual improvement obligations.
BC roles and responsibilities per Clause 5.3 — assigning accountability for each BCMS process element.
BC Manager role — the designated individual responsible for leading the BCMS on behalf of top management.
BC policy communication — all relevant personnel must be aware of the BC policy and their role within it.
Day 2 — Business Impact Analysis and Risk Assessment
4. Business Impact Analysis
4.1 BIA Methodology
Business Impact Analysis — BIA — the process of identifying critical activities and quantifying the impact of their disruption over time.
BIA purpose — determining which activities must be recovered first and within what timeframe.
Critical activity — any activity whose disruption for more than the MTPD would threaten the organization's survival or reputation.
Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption — MTPD — the maximum time a critical activity can be unavailable before the impact becomes unacceptable.
Recovery Time Objective — RTO — the target time within which the critical activity must be restored after disruption.
RTO must always be shorter than MTPD to provide a recovery margin.
Recovery Point Objective — RPO — the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time.
Minimum Business Continuity Objective — MBCO — the minimum level of output required to meet critical business obligations during recovery.
4.2 BIA Process Execution
BIA data collection — structured interviews, questionnaires, and process documentation review.
Impact categories — financial, reputational, regulatory, operational, and contractual impact over time.
Impact over time graph — plotting cumulative impact for each critical activity to determine MTPD.
Resource dependency mapping — identifying the people, technology, facilities, and suppliers each critical activity depends on.
Interdependency analysis — critical activities that depend on other internal activities requiring sequential recovery planning.
BIA output — a prioritized list of critical activities with RTO, RPO, MTPD, MBCO, and resource requirements for each.
BIA validation — reviewing BIA findings with process owners and top management before proceeding to strategy.
5. BCMS Risk Assessment
5.1 Risk Assessment Methodology
BCMS risk assessment per ISO 31000:2018: Risk Management — Guidelines — identifying threats to critical activities.
Risk identification — determining the threats that could disrupt each critical activity identified in the BIA.
Threat categories — natural hazards, technology failure, supply chain disruption, cyber incidents, and human factors.
Likelihood assessment — estimating the probability of each identified threat occurring.
Consequence assessment — evaluating the impact of each threat on critical activity availability.
Risk rating — Likelihood × Consequence — prioritizing threats requiring continuity controls.
Risk treatment — selecting continuity strategies that reduce the probability or consequence of each prioritized threat.
5.2 Risk Register and Treatment
BCMS risk register — documenting each identified threat with likelihood, consequence, risk rating, and treatment action.
Residual risk — the risk remaining after continuity controls are implemented and accepted by management.
Risk treatment options — avoid, reduce, transfer, or accept — selected based on risk appetite and resource availability.
Risk appetite — the level of continuity risk the organization is prepared to accept without additional controls.
Risk register review — updated annually and after every significant incident or organizational change.
Day 3 — Business Continuity Strategy and Plan Development
6. Business Continuity Strategy
6.1 Strategy Development
Business Continuity Strategy — BCS — selecting the recovery options that will restore each critical activity within its RTO.
Strategy options — alternate site, manual workaround, outsourcing, mutual aid, technology backup, and stockpiling.
Alternate site strategy — a secondary location where critical activities can be relocated during a primary site disruption.
Manual workaround — operating the critical activity without technology for the duration of the RTO.
Mutual aid agreement — pre-arranged arrangement with another organization to share resources during disruption.
Technology recovery strategy — backup systems, cloud failover, and data replication to meet the RPO.
Supply chain continuity strategy — dual sourcing, safety stock, and alternative supplier qualification.
Strategy cost-benefit — selecting the most cost-effective strategy that achieves the RTO and MBCO.
6.2 Resource Requirements for Strategy
People requirements — minimum staffing levels and competencies required to operate each recovery strategy.
Technology requirements — hardware, software, communications, and data access needed at the recovery location.
Facility requirements — space, utilities, and access requirements for the alternate site strategy.
Supplier requirements — confirmed supply continuity arrangements documented in supplier contracts.
Financial requirements — pre-authorizing emergency expenditure thresholds before a disruption occurs.
Resource pre-positioning — ensuring recovery resources are available and accessible before an incident.
7. Business Continuity Plan Development
7.1 BCP Structure and Content
Business Continuity Plan — BCP — documented procedures for responding to and recovering from disruption.
BCP activation trigger — the defined criteria or escalation threshold that activates the BCP.
Incident response structure — the command and coordination structure for managing disruption during the recovery period.
Crisis Communications Plan — internal and external communication procedures during and after a disruption.
Recovery task lists — step-by-step actions for restoring each critical activity to MBCO within the RTO.
Role assignments — naming the specific individuals responsible for each recovery task in the BCP.
Contact directories — emergency contact lists for all internal teams, suppliers, regulators, and key customers.
BCP version control — documented information controlled per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 7.5.
7.2 Incident Response and Escalation
Incident notification — the defined process for detecting, assessing, and escalating a disruption event.
Initial response actions — immediate protective steps taken before BCP activation is confirmed.
Escalation criteria — defining when an incident moves from operational management to crisis management.
Crisis Management Team — CMT — the senior leadership body responsible for strategic decisions during major disruption.
Recovery team activation — notifying and mobilizing the recovery teams from the BCP contact directory.
Stakeholder communication — notifying customers, regulators, and suppliers according to the Communications Plan.
Resumption — returning to normal operations from MBCO recovery level after the disruption is resolved.
Day 4 — Exercise Program, Performance Evaluation, and Internal Audit
8. BCMS Exercise and Testing Program
8.1 Exercise Types
BCMS exercise per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 8.5 — mandatory program to validate BCP effectiveness before a real disruption.
Awareness exercise — a walkthrough discussion of the BCP without operational activation.
Tabletop exercise — scenario-based discussion where the team talks through BCP activation decisions.
Functional exercise — activating specific BCP components without full operational disruption.
Full-scale exercise — simulating a complete disruption event with all BCP components activated.
Technical test — testing backup systems, data recovery, and technology failover against the RPO.
Exercise frequency — at minimum annually — with full-scale exercises at a frequency determined by risk.
8.2 Exercise Design and Evaluation
Exercise objectives — defined in advance to measure specific BCP elements against RTO and MBCO criteria.
Scenario development — realistic disruption scenario based on the risk assessment threat categories.
Exercise observers — independent observers assess BCP effectiveness and participant performance.
Exercise report — documenting findings, gaps, and improvement actions immediately after the exercise.
Corrective actions from exercise — assigned to named owners with completion dates and tracked to closure.
BCP update — all exercise findings resulting in BCP gaps must trigger a BCP revision before the next exercise.
9. Performance Evaluation and Management Review
BCMS performance monitoring per Clause 9.1 — KPIs measuring BIA currency, exercise completion, and corrective action closure rate.
Proactive BC indicators — BCP update frequency, exercise completion rate, and training completion rate.
Reactive BC indicators — number of activations, RTO achievement rate, and post-incident corrective action count.
Management review per Clause 9.3 — formal annual review of BCMS performance by top management.
Management review inputs — audit findings, exercise results, incident activations, and stakeholder feedback.
Management review outputs — resource decisions, BCMS scope changes, and continual improvement commitments.
Applying PDCA — Plan-Do-Check-Act to the full BCMS management cycle.
10. ISO 22301:2019 Internal Audit
10.1 Internal Audit Planning
Internal audit obligation per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 9.2 — a documented audit program with planned frequency.
Audit program — scheduling audits of all BCMS clauses within the audit cycle period.
Auditor competence per ISO 19011:2018: Guidelines for Auditing Management Systems — knowledge, skills, and objectivity.
Auditor independence — auditors must not audit their own work or areas of direct responsibility.
Audit plan — scope, criteria, methods, and the specific clauses to be audited in each session.
Opening meeting — confirming audit scope, method, and schedule with the auditee before the audit begins.
10.2 Audit Execution and Reporting
Audit evidence collection — document review, interviews, and observation of BCMS processes and records.
Nonconformity classification — major nonconformity, minor nonconformity, and observation.
Major nonconformity — complete absence or systemic failure of a required ISO 22301:2019 clause element.
Minor nonconformity — isolated lapse in an otherwise functioning BCMS requirement.
Audit report — documenting findings, nonconformities, and positive practices within the agreed timeline.
Corrective action per Clause 10.1 — root cause analysis of each nonconformity before the corrective action is defined.
Applying RCA — Root Cause Analysis to BCMS nonconformities — identifying the system gap, not just the symptom.
Day 5 — Continual Improvement, Certification Preparation, and Case Studies
11. Continual Improvement and BCMS Maintenance
Continual improvement obligation per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 10.2 — improving BCMS suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness.
BIA review — mandatory after any significant organizational change, new product launch, or major incident.
Risk assessment review — updated annually and following any significant change to the threat environment.
BCP maintenance cycle — reviewing and updating BCPs after every exercise, incident activation, or BIA revision.
Lessons learned program — capturing and applying learning from incident activations and exercises.
BCMS maturity model — assessing and progressing BCMS capability from reactive to proactive to embedded.
Embedding BC into organizational culture — making BC awareness part of induction, training, and annual review cycles.
12. ISO 9001:2015 and Management System Integration
ISO High Level Structure enables ISO 22301:2019 to be integrated with ISO 9001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, and ISO 27001.
Shared documented information — combining policy, context, audit program, and management review across integrated standards.
ISO 9001:2015 Clause 7.5 — documented information control requirements apply identically in ISO 22301:2019.
Integrated internal audit — auditing multiple management systems simultaneously to reduce burden and duplication.
Business continuity and quality — BC protects the organization's ability to deliver quality products and services during disruption.
ISO 9001:2015 Clause 6.1 — risk and opportunity identification aligns with BCMS risk assessment methodology.
13. Certification Audit Preparation
ISO 22301:2019 certification — third-party audit by an accredited certification body verifying BCMS conformance.
Stage 1 audit — document review of BCMS policies, scope, BIA, risk assessment, and BC plans.
Stage 2 audit — on-site verification of BCMS implementation effectiveness across all Clause 8 processes.
Common Stage 1 findings — missing scope documentation, incomplete BIA, and undocumented risk treatment decisions.
Common Stage 2 findings — BCPs not tested, exercise findings not addressed, and RTO not validated through exercise.
Certification readiness checklist — reviewing all mandatory documented information requirements before the Stage 1 audit.
Surveillance audits — annual audits confirming continued BCMS conformance between three-year recertification cycles.
14. HSE and Quality Management Integration
Business continuity and HSE — the BCMS must address the safety of personnel during disruption and recovery operations.
Evacuation and personnel accountability — integrated into the BCP incident response structure per ISO 45001:2018 Clause 8.2.
HSE risk during recovery — non-standard recovery activities create new hazards requiring HIRARC assessment.
Quality records during disruption — maintaining ISO 9001:2015 documentation obligations at MBCO operating levels.
Regulatory compliance during disruption — BCPs must identify regulatory reporting obligations triggered by an incident.
Applying PDCA to BCMS — Plan the BIA and strategy, Do implement BCPs, Check through exercise and audit, and Act to improve.
15. Case Studies, Group Discussions, and Exam Preparation
Case studies from BCMS implementation and activation in Middle East oil and gas, financial services, utilities, and government environments including organizations that achieved full recovery within RTO during a major cyber incident because their BCP was tested, organizations that failed to restore critical IT systems within MTPD due to an untested technology recovery strategy, and organizations that lost key customers during supply chain disruption because their BIA had not identified supplier dependency as a critical risk — and the importance of ISO 22301:2019 Lead Implementer competency in building resilience before disruption occurs.
Group discussion on BCMS implementation challenges in regional environments including conducting BIA in complex GCC petrochemical and government organizations with multiple critical activity interdependencies, designing exercise programs that satisfy ISO 22301:2019 Clause 8.5 without disrupting high-availability operational environments, and integrating ISO 22301:2019 with ISO 9001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, and ISO 27001 in organizations pursuing an integrated management system in the Middle East.
Lead Implementer certification exam preparation — reviewing all five BCMS competency domains, working through scenario-based exam questions covering BIA, RTO/RPO determination, strategy selection, BCP activation, exercise design, nonconformity classification, and corrective action development.
Group Exercises
Integrated BCMS implementation planning workshop — teams develop a phased BCMS implementation project plan for a presented organizational scenario covering gap analysis, BIA scope, risk assessment plan, BC strategy options, BCP structure, exercise program design, internal audit program, and certification readiness checklist — presented for facilitator and peer review against ISO 22301:2019 clause requirements.
BCMS tabletop exercise — groups manage a presented major disruption scenario as the Crisis Management Team, applying BCP activation, escalation, resource mobilization, stakeholder communication, and RTO tracking — debriefed for exercise findings, BCP gaps, and corrective action development per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 10.1 and RCA.
Gained Core Technical Skills
Ability to interpret all clauses of ISO 22301:2019 from a Lead Implementer perspective — identifying clause requirements, mandatory documented information, and implementation evidence obligations.
Proficiency in conducting a Business Impact Analysis — determining RTO, RPO, MTPD, and MBCO for each critical activity and producing a prioritized recovery list with resource dependency mapping.
Competency in conducting a BCMS risk assessment per ISO 31000:2018 — identifying threats, rating risks, selecting treatment options, and maintaining a documented risk register.
Skill in developing a Business Continuity Strategy — selecting and justifying recovery options for each critical activity that achieve the RTO and MBCO within the resource constraints of the organization.
Ability to develop Business Continuity Plans — including activation trigger, incident response structure, recovery task lists, role assignments, CMT escalation, and stakeholder communications.
Proficiency in designing and executing a BCMS exercise program per Clause 8.5 — from tabletop through full-scale exercise — with objective setting, scenario development, observer assessment, and corrective action development.
Competency in planning and conducting ISO 22301:2019 internal audits per ISO 19011:2018 — collecting evidence, classifying nonconformities, writing audit reports, and managing corrective actions through RCA.
Skill in preparing an organization for ISO 22301:2019 certification — Stage 1 documentation readiness, Stage 2 implementation evidence, and surveillance audit maintenance.
Ability to apply PDCA and RCA to the BCMS continual improvement cycle — updating BIA, risk register, BCPs, and exercise program to maintain system effectiveness per ISO 22301:2019 Clause 10.2.
Services Geographical Coverage
In Tamkene Training Center or at our client's facility (On-Site), Covering All Saudi Arabia Cities and Locations:
Targeted Audience
Business Continuity Managers and BC coordinators responsible for implementing, managing, and maintaining a BCMS within their organization.
Risk managers and enterprise risk officers who need BCMS competency to integrate business continuity into the organizational risk management framework.
Quality managers and management system professionals responsible for integrating ISO 22301:2019 with ISO 9001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, and ISO 27001.
IT disaster recovery managers and technology risk professionals responsible for technology recovery strategies, RPO achievement, and data backup program management.
Consultants and project managers contracted to lead ISO 22301:2019 BCMS implementation or gap assessment programs.
Any professional responsible for planning, implementing, auditing, or managing a Business Continuity Management System — or seeking the internationally recognized ISO 22301 Lead Implementer certification.
Practical Assessment
BIA exercise — conducting a BIA for a presented organizational scenario, identifying critical activities, determining MTPD and RTO for each, mapping resource dependencies, and producing a prioritized recovery list with documented justification for each RTO determination.
BCP development exercise — developing a BCP response procedure for a presented disruption scenario including activation trigger, incident response structure, recovery task list, role assignments, and stakeholder communication sequence — assessed against ISO 22301:2019 Clause 8.4 BCP content requirements.
Internal audit exercise — planning and conducting a presented ISO 22301:2019 internal audit segment per ISO 19011:2018, collecting evidence, classifying findings as major nonconformity, minor nonconformity, or observation, and writing corrective action requests with RCA requirements.
Knowledge Assessment
Framework and initiation questions — ISO 22301:2019 eight clause structure in sequence, MTPD versus RTO distinction, BIA purpose and output, and BCMS scope mandatory documented information requirement under Clause 4.3.
BIA and risk assessment questions — four BIA recovery parameters defined, impact over time graph purpose, ISO 31000:2018 risk rating formula, and residual risk definition after treatment.
Strategy and BCP questions — seven BC strategy option types, BCP activation trigger definition, Crisis Management Team role, and RPO technical recovery requirement.
Audit and improvement questions — ISO 19011:2018 auditor independence requirement, major versus minor nonconformity distinction, RCA application to BCMS nonconformities, and ISO 22301:2019 Clause 8.5 exercise frequency minimum requirement.
Why Choose This Course
Aligned with ISO 22301:2019, ISO 22313:2020, ISO 31000:2018, ISO 19011:2018, ISO 9001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018.
Covers all ISO 22301:2019 clauses from a Lead Implementer perspective — developing the ability to plan, lead, and sustain BCMS implementation, not just understand the standard.
BIA — including RTO, RPO, MTPD, and MBCO determination — is practiced under assessment conditions as the most critical BCMS implementation competency.
BCP development is assessed as a practical deliverable — developing the documentation skill that produces BCPs organizations can actually activate.
The tabletop exercise group activity develops Crisis Management Team competency under scenario pressure — the skill that determines real-world recovery effectiveness.
Incorporates Middle East BCMS implementation challenges including conducting BIA in complex GCC petrochemical and government organizations, designing exercise programs without disrupting high-availability operations, and integrating ISO 22301:2019 with other ISO management systems in organizations pursuing integrated certification in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar.
Note: This course outline, including specific topics, modules, and duration, can be customized based on the specific needs and requirements of the client.
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