If you can't measure it - you can't manage it.

This is an old management adage. Indeed it was Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) who is attributed with having said "measure what can be measured - and make measurable what cannot be measured".

In business, measure those activities or results that are important to successfully achieving your organisation's goals. Key Performance Indicators, also known as KPI or Key Success Indicators (KSI), help an organisation define and measure progress toward its goals.

Below is a set of Key Performance Indicators for Business Continuity Planning derived from the British Business Continuity Standard - BS 25999. They have been set into our free Excel spreadsheet tool and are offered for you to take a self assessment and reflect on the resilience of your business.

Element 1 Agreed, Owned, Accessible.
Indicator Be agreed by top management and understood by those who will put the plan into effect; Be owned by a named person(s) who is responsible for the plan’s review, update and approval; Be accessible to those with responsibilities defined within them.

Element 2 Up-To-Date.

Indicator Be reviewed at planned intervals, and when significant changes occur to the organization or its activities; Be under version control with formal change notification and distribution records.

Element 3 Aligned with other arrangements.

Indicator Be aligned with other contingency arrangements external to the organization

Element 4 Purpose and Scope.
Indicator Contain defined purpose and scope

Element 5 Roles and Responsibilities

Indicator Contain defined roles and responsibilities for people and teams having authority during and following an incident

Element 6 Invocation and Communication

Indicator Contain a method by which each plan is invoked, meeting locations with alternatives, up-to-date contact and mobilization details for any relevant agencies, organizations and resources that might be required to support the response; Contain guidelines and criteria regarding which individuals have the authority to invoke the plan and under what circumstances; Contain identified lines of communications, roles and responsibilities, key tasks and reference information

Element 7 Prioritized Critical Activities

Indicator Contain prioritized objectives in terms of the critical activities to be recovered, the timescales in which they are to be recovered and the recovery levels needed for each critical activity

Element 8 Procedures, Tasks and Resources.

Indicator Contain details of the consequences of a business disruption and the processes and procedures to enable continuity and recovery of critical activities.Contain details of actions and tasks that need to be performed; nominated person(s) to manage the tasks, and details of the resources (and their availability) required at different points in time.

Element 9 Assumptions

Indicator Contains details of the planning assumptions - including out of scope issues.

Element 10 Risk Management

Indicator Contain details to manage the immediate consequences of a business disruption giving due regard to the welfare of individuals; strategic and tactical options; especially considerations regarding prevention of further loss or unavailability of critical activities.

Element 11 Record Keeping

Indicator Contain a method for the recording of vital information about the incident, actions taken and decisions made.  

Element 12 Stakeholder Information

Indicator Contain a reference to the essential contact details for all key stakeholders.

Element 13 Communication Protocols

Indicator Contain details on how and under what circumstances the organization will communicate with staff and their relatives, key stakeholders and emergency contacts.

Element 14 Media Management

Indicator Contain details on the organization’s media response following an incident, including: the incident communications strategy; preferred interface with the media; guideline or template for drafting a statement for the media; and appropriate spokespeople.

Element 15 Stand Down

Indicator Contain a process for standing down once the incident is over.


When you enter your attributed level of capability (or score) against these fifteen criteria, it is displayed on a single graph.