Subject Area 1: Program Initiation and Governance
What you must understand
Business continuity begins with governance, not tactics. Candidates should be able to distinguish the program (ongoing capability) from the plan (a document) and from incident response (a tactical reaction). Know the roles: executive sponsor, steering committee, BC coordinator/manager, business unit owners, and recovery teams. Understand the concept of the BC policy as the charter that authorizes the program, defines scope, and assigns accountability. Know that authority flows from top management and that a program without executive sponsorship is a common root cause of failure.
Traps in questions
- Confusing accountability (senior management, business owners) with responsibility (BC coordinator doing the work).
- Assuming the BC manager owns recovery of business functions; the business unit owner does.
- Selecting a technical solution when the question is really about governance, authority, or scope.
- Treating scope as "all systems"; scope should be driven by risk and criticality.
Worked example / rule of thumb
A question asks who approves the BC policy. The coordinator drafts it, but the executive sponsor/top management approves it. Rule of thumb: the person who can commit the organization's resources owns the program. When a stem mentions "insufficient budget" or "competing priorities," the correct answer usually involves elevating to executive sponsorship or the steering committee, not a better tool.