Document: 40-business-continuity.md
Version: 1.0.0

Purpose

This document defines the business continuity standards used across all Rundown engineering operations.

Business continuity ensures that Rundown can continue delivering services during operational disruptions by preparing people, processes, infrastructure, and documentation for unexpected events.

The objective is to minimize operational interruption while protecting client trust and engineering quality.

Business Continuity Philosophy

Resilient organizations do not rely on perfect systems.

They rely on recoverable systems.

Business continuity is achieved through preparation, documentation, redundancy, and disciplined operational practices rather than reacting to emergencies after they occur.

Objectives

Business continuity aims to:

• Maintain client service.

• Protect client data.

• Preserve operational knowledge.

• Restore critical systems quickly.

• Reduce operational disruption.

• Support long-term organizational resilience.

Scope

Business continuity applies to:

• Engineering operations

• Infrastructure

• Documentation

• Client communication

• Internal processes

• Third-party services

Continuity planning should consider both technical and operational risks.

Operational Risks

Examples include:

• Hosting provider outage

• Internet disruption

• Hardware failure

• Security incidents

• Data corruption

• Third-party service outages

• Loss of team availability

• Human error

Risk planning should prioritize realistic scenarios.

Critical Assets

Rundown should maintain documented access to:

• Source code repositories

• Hosting platforms

• DNS management

• Cloudflare

• Database backups

• Object storage

• Project management system

• Documentation

• Domain registrations

• Email infrastructure

Critical operational assets should never depend on a single individual.

Documentation

Operational knowledge should be documented.

Examples include:

• Deployment procedures

• Recovery procedures

• Infrastructure configuration

• Client environments

• Standard operating procedures

Institutional knowledge should exist independently of individual team members.

Communication

During operational disruptions:

• Communicate early.

• Communicate accurately.

• Communicate consistently.

• Avoid speculation.

Client communication should prioritize transparency while providing verified information.

Third-Party Dependencies

Every project should identify critical external services.

Examples:

• Hosting provider

• Cloudflare

• Email provider

• Payment gateway

• CMS

• Analytics

• Monitoring

Dependencies should be reviewed periodically to understand their operational impact.

Continuity Planning

Continuity planning should define:

• Critical systems

• Recovery priorities

• Alternative procedures

• Key contacts

• Escalation paths

Plans should remain practical rather than theoretical.

Knowledge Sharing

Engineering knowledge should be:

• Documented

• Version controlled

• Accessible

• Regularly reviewed

Operational continuity should not depend upon undocumented expertise.

Periodic Reviews

Business continuity plans should be reviewed periodically.

Review topics include:

• Recovery procedures

• Documentation accuracy

• Infrastructure changes

• Team responsibilities

• Third-party dependencies

Continuity plans should evolve alongside the organization.

Engineering Decision

Organizational Resilience

Status: Accepted

Decision

Rundown maintains documented operational practices that enable continued service during technical, operational, or organizational disruptions.

Reasoning

A structured continuity strategy:

• Protects client relationships.

• Preserves operational capability.

• Reduces business risk.

• Supports long-term organizational growth.

• Reinforces engineering discipline.

Business Continuity Checklist

Review periodically to verify:

• Critical assets documented.

• Operational procedures documented.

• Recovery plans reviewed.

• Backups verified.

• Key contacts updated.

• Third-party dependencies reviewed.

• Knowledge shared across the team.

• Continuity plan tested where appropriate.

Summary

Business continuity ensures that Rundown can continue delivering reliable engineering services even during unexpected disruptions.

By emphasizing preparation, documentation, recoverability, and organizational resilience, Rundown protects its clients, its engineering standards, and its long-term ability to operate successfully.

Related Documents

• 29-monitoring-logging.md

• 30-backup-recovery.md

• 31-security-hardening.md

• 39-incident-management.md

Related ADRs

• ADR-003: Documentation Information Architecture