For a credit union that is just starting out with Disaster Recovery planning, we always recommend that you perform a table top scenario that impacts your whole credit union.

We recommend starting with a scenario like a fire – something that will impact your data center as well as your whole headquarters. Table top exercises enable you to work through what would happen in a similar situation, and set clear expectations for each employee’s roles and responsibilities.

As you start progressing through more mature types of table top exercises, you can grow more specific by performing a pandemic exercise or a cyber-hacking exercise.

Eventually, you can run a table top exercise before you do your Disaster Recovery (DR) test. Roll the declaration from your crisis management team into your Disaster Recovery testing, where you will have your end users, and your IT department bringing up all the different systems.

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