What provides evidence of potential limitations in a business continuity plan?

Testing the business continuity plan is essential because it directly reveals how well the plan functions under simulated conditions. During testing, organizations can identify gaps, weaknesses, or areas that do not perform as expected, providing firsthand evidence of potential limitations. The process helps evaluate whether the strategies, procedures, and resources devised in the plan are practical and effective in maintaining operations during disruptions.

In contrast, while disaster recovery document reviews can provide insights into documentation completeness and accuracy, they may not effectively highlight real-world execution challenges. Employee feedback on training offers valuable insights but is more subjective and may not comprehensively address systemic issues or operational constraints in the continuity plan itself. Finally, analyzing past incident reports is useful for understanding previous failures or successes but does not directly assess the current plan's capabilities and limitations as testing does. Thus, testing is the most definitive method for uncovering potential shortcomings in a business continuity plan.