5.7.3 (HL)—Impact of contingency planning

Contingency planning can shorten downtime, protect people and reputation, and clarify priorities, but it also consumes time and resources and may create false confidence.

Plans expose dependencies and improve resilience when rehearsed; unused plans still need updating as suppliers, systems and regulations change.

Weigh preparation cost against likelihood and impact, then test the plan’s recovery time and single points of failure.

A retailer pays for a second payment provider; the cost is justified if a failed provider would stop all sales during peak season.

A plan stored in a folder is not resilience; capability must be available and tested.