I don't think there is any way to be 100% positive that a plan will get implemented correctly, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to get it to that point.  I feel that the most important thing we can do to make sure it is implemented as planed is by training and testing.  The first step is making sure all team members and members of the company know about the plan and what their roles are.  The second step is testing.  Testing is imperative.  With enough testing users should be prepared for what they have to do when the plan is executed.  However the testing doesn't rule out the natural human response of panicking.  You can train 100 times and everything goes great, but when implemented you may have one person that freaks out and doesn't do their job.  The plan can help here also by being flexible enough to handle those types of issues.

-Dave

There are three main objectives, if met, that will ensure the DR plan gets executed as planned: (1) total suppprt from senior management (2) training of personnel involved in the execution of the plan and (3) testing of the DR plan. If these three objectives are met there should be less resistance in getting the DR plan executed as planned.

As always, Andre' is spot-on! If there is support from senior managenet the rest of the company should comply. Then if the training is complete, to the plan specifications and reveals any issues that would support up-dating the plan, we are coming full cirle.

However, if the testing doesn't get the seriousness of those on the teams it could be it's own worst nightmare. Never improving, updating, or evolving with the times....

Chris,

I agree and I know I mentioned the testing and training but you bring up the good point that the DR professionals can't make sure it is executed 100%.  The team and senior management have to take that responsibility.  What if a consultant created the plan...they won't be there when it is implemented (probably not), the team has to step up and do it right.  Great point!

-Dave

Good plans will often attempt to provide controls for the decision making process in order to ensure predictability as well as sound and prudent logic. One good way of providing this logic would be to utilize flow charts, these basic charts help to simplify the decision making process during a disaster which may be a high stress time. The existance of the flow chart allows for a successor to take over the decison making process and while maintainng consistency with his/her predecessor.

An often overlooked element of truly exceptional planning is the contingency plan. The contingency plan is the plan for when things in the original plan go wrong. more mature organizations would be well served to ensure that contingency planning is a part of the overall DR planning process. There is no perfect plan, but DR professionals can ensure preparedness.

Executing a DR plan when it needs to be executed is the paramount reason for creating the plan. If the plan cannot be executed when needed, there is no need to create it. Frequent testing and training are some major ways to ensure that a DR is executed whenever needed. Without testing, it will be difficult to determine a lapse in the plan after a lengthy period. With the testing comes updating the plan (up-to-date documentation). If any changes are made, tests should be performed to ensure that recovery paths are available for such changes. Employees should be trained on a regular basis to keep up with the changes in the plan  and know their roles and required skills set. Another important aspect is making sure that management is kept up-to-date on changes within the plan, and that the necessary resources are readily available to implement the plan. Having the Board and Senior Management signing off on a plan and not keeping them abreast of changes in the plan that might require changes to previously approved DR plans might cause a hurdle when it comes to executing a plan with major changes which management is not aware of.

The plan should be written to be executed in phases such that it will be flexible to implement.

I agreed Ritchie, testing is one of the key factors. A plan can be well written, but if the testing environment is not fully equipped to simulate the actual environment during a testing, the plan might prove futile when it is time for execution. As simple as it might sound to perform certain tasks, it will be in the best interest of the team members to ensure that those tasks are routinely performed during each testing phase. For example, OS installation could be simple and one might argued that it is easy and I don't need to do that test. But until you find out that you can't find the driver for a legacy SCSI adapter in one of your servers, you will realize that it is not just putting the disk in and doing the normal installation.