Testing vs. Exercising- What’s the Difference?
The terms ‘testing’ and ‘exercising’ are often used interchangeably in the context of business continuity. Yet, they have very different meanings and purposes.
What words or phrases come to mind when you think about testing? “Pass/Fail?” “Right/Wrong?” “Good/Bad?” When you ‘test’ something or someone, you want to succeed (consciously or not) – get the “right” answer. I submit that in the context of business continuity, this can be an inappropriate – and even dangerous – motivator. If you’re being put to the test, you’re going to want to be right, to succeed. Are you willing to tell your management “we ran our business continuity test – and failed?”
On the other hand, when you exercise, you strive to improve yourself. To consider the obvious analogy, every time you run on the treadmill, you go for a little more distance, a little quicker time; every time you lift weights in the gym, you go for that one more repetition, a few extra pounds. In short, you’re clearly testing to failure and not testing for success – in other words, no sooner do you achieve your objective than you raise the bar further.
Let us apply this perspective to business continuity exercising (notice the choice of term). In my opinion, which I have refined over the 17 years since I first wrote the book, Disaster Recovery Testing: Exercising Your Contingency Plan (Rothstein Associates Inc., ISBN # 9781931332422), the mark of a successful exercise is the list of problems, obstacles and glitches uncovered. In short, if you don’t find problems, you’re not exercising hard enough.
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An unexercised contingency plan could be worse than no plan at all!
Be sure to read Disaster Recovery Testing: Exercising Your Contingency Plan, Philip Jan Rothstein, FBCI, Editor – the only book on this subject – for valuable tips, techniques and insights. Now only $49.00!
Tags: exercising, Testing
