13. The Need for System-Related Documentation

Writing a disaster recovery plan is a documentation exercise that requires much thought, determination, and collaboration. As you have realized by now, it can be a very time-consuming project. There is considerable effort in writing a cohesive, comprehensive, and fully functional disaster recovery plan. One result of the DR planning project is that there will typically be a positive impact on your IT department. Yes, I am serious! Many IT staff members will realize the upfront importance and criticality of systems documentation. Before the project, you would typically find documentation lacking inside IT shops. DR plans force you to document, and for some, it is for the first time.

Prior to a writing a disaster recovery plan, try to find an i5 administrator who feels motivated to produce documentation for a process that is “never to be used by anyone.” There lies the problem, and that’s the wrong perception within IT. The individuals charged with the documentation task might view it in the beginning as a complete waste of time and effort. Many i5 system administrators would argue, “What’s the point?”