First of its kind - this comprehensive guide details global best practices for those involved in Business Continuity Management (BCM) and related disciplines

The Good Practice Guidelines (GPG)

These updated guidelines draw upon the considerable academic, technical and practical experiences of the members of the Business Continuity Institute – senior practitioners who have developed and shaped the concept of business continuity internationally, which makes this publication the most well-rounded and detailed edition released to date.

The BCI GPG is the authoritative view of what business continuity is all about, providing a baseline and common language to help the profession, and individual practitioners, mature as well as serve as a benchmark for business continuity management programs in any public, private or non-profit organization.

GPG 2010 is therefore intended for use by practitioners, consultants, auditors and regulators with a working knowledge of the rationale for BCM and its basic principles. They are not primarily intended to be a beginner’s guide, although they do provide much excellent material for those wishing to become certified BCM practitioners through the CBCI examination scheme. Newcomers to the discipline should also work alongside an experienced practitioner or attend an appropriate education program.

What has changed from the earlier 2008 version?

The main components remain the same but there have been some refinement of language and more emphasis on global trends and issues. There are no longer any cross references to BS25999 and no implied direct correlation between GPG2010 and BS25999, other than at the highest level expressed by the Lifecycle model.

The Good Practice Guidelines 2010 still covers the six phases of the BCM Lifecycle but now links them more directly to what are now defined as Professional Practices (PP). The 6 PPs are sub-divided into 2 Management Practices and 4 Technical Practices.

Management Practices

• Policy & Programme Management
• Embedding BCM in the Organization’s Culture
  

Technical Practices

• Understanding the Organization
• Determining BCM Strategy
• Developing and Implementing a BCM response
• Exercising, Maintaining and Reviewing

BCI Training and the BCI Certificate examination are both based on the Good Practice Guidelines and both of these are being updated to ensure compatibility with GPG 2010. It is planned to have new training modules available from May 2010 ahead of a new examination from October 2010 to give students ample time to revise for their exam.

For the traditional business continuity professional, the all new 2010 GPG will now be available as a beautiful hard bound textbook, as well as the option to purchase the digital download version.