Business Writing

Klariti Guide to Writing Business Continuity Plans with AI Prompts

Posted on by Alan Thompson
17
Jun

Writing a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a monumental task. It requires meticulous planning, deep institutional knowledge, and the ability to anticipate a wide range of potential disruptions. The process is often complex, time-consuming, and can feel overwhelming.

Fortunately, Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude offer a powerful new way to streamline this process. By using carefully crafted instructions, known as prompts, you can leverage AI as a brilliant, tireless assistant to help you draft, refine, and validate your BCP.

This guide will teach you how to use the provided set of BCP prompts to transform your writing process, improve the quality of your plan, and save you valuable time.

Get your Business Continuity Plan with 100 Prompt Examples

What is a Prompt?

Think of a prompt as a detailed instruction you give to an AI. A simple prompt might be, “write about business continuity.” This will give you a generic, high-level essay.

A strategic prompt, however, is a precise command that tells the AI not just what to write about, but how to write it. The prompts you have been given are designed with a specific structure to maximize their effectiveness:

  • Persona: Defines the expertise the AI should adopt (e.g., “As a BCP strategist…”). This sets the tone and ensures the output is professional.
  • Task: Describes the exact action to perform (e.g., “Draft a BCP policy statement…”).
  • Context: Grounds the prompt in your specific needs (e.g., “…for [Organization Name]”).
  • Format: Ensures the output is structured correctly (e.g., “…create a table with columns for…”).

What is a Prompt for Business Continuity Plans?

A BCP prompt is a precision tool designed to generate content for a specific section of your Business Continuity Plan template. Instead of asking the AI a general question, you are commanding it to act as a subject matter expert and produce a draft that aligns perfectly with the document’s structure.

For example, instead of asking “What are some risks?”, you use the prompt:

As a security consultant, generate a risk assessment table for deliberate disruptions at [Organization Name]. Evaluate scenarios like terrorism, sabotage, and theft, rating each for probability and impact using a 1-5 scale.

This prompt doesn’t just ask for risks; it commands the AI to:

  1. Act like a security consultant.
  2. Create a table (a specific format).
  3. Focus on “deliberate disruptions” (a specific category).
  4. Include specific examples (terrorism, sabotage).
  5. Use a 1-5 rating system for probability and impact.

The result is a structured, relevant, and immediately usable piece of content for section 3.1 of your BCP.

How to Use Prompts to Write, Edit, Refine, and Check Your BCP

These prompts are not just for writing new content. They are versatile tools for every stage of the documentation process.

1. Writing (Drafting New Sections)

This is the most straightforward use. When you’re facing a blank page for a new section, a prompt can generate a high-quality first draft in seconds.

  • Example: You need to write the introduction to your BCP (Section 1).
  • Action: Copy the corresponding prompt.
  • Prompt: 
    As a business continuity expert, draft a compelling introduction for [Organization Name]'s BCP. Explain the importance of BCP and list the plan's major goals, such as minimizing interruptions, limiting damage, and ensuring rapid service restoration.
  • Result: The AI will produce a well-structured introductory paragraph that establishes the plan’s purpose and outlines its key objectives, which you can then customize.

2. Editing (Improving Existing Content)

Suppose you have an existing draft that is weak, vague, or poorly worded. You can use a prompt to have the AI rewrite and improve it.

  • Example: Your current “Purpose” section (1.1) reads: “This plan is to help us recover from a disaster.” It’s too simple.
  • Action: Copy your existing text and combine it with the prompt.
  • Prompt: 
    Rewrite the following text to be more professional and specific, acting as a BCP planner for the [System Name]. The goal is to create a formal purpose statement. Here is the current text: "This plan is to help us recover from a disaster."
  • Result: The AI will transform your simple sentence into a formal purpose statement, likely including phrases like “establishes procedures to recover,” “maximize the effectiveness of operations,” and “assign responsibilities to designated personnel.”

3. Refining (Adding Detail and Specificity)

A good BCP is specific. Prompts are excellent for turning general ideas into detailed, actionable content.

  • Example: You have a bulleted list of “Critical Business Functions” (Section 1.4) but no detail on outage tolerance.
  • Action: Use the prompt for that section to structure your data.
  • Prompt: 
    As a business continuity analyst, create a table identifying the critical business functions for [Organization Name]. For each function, specify the Maximum Acceptable Outage Time and its Recovery Priority. Use the following functions as a starting point: [List your functions here].
  • Result: The AI will create a formatted table with columns for “Critical Business Function,” “Maximum Acceptable Outage Time,” and “Recovery Priority,” prompting you to fill in the critical details for each function in a structured way.

4. Checking (Validating and Finding Gaps)

You can use prompts to challenge your own work and identify potential omissions. This involves asking the AI to review your content from an adversarial or auditor’s perspective.

  • Example: You’ve completed the “Single Points of Failure” section (4.2.2) but want to be sure you haven’t missed anything.
  • Action: Copy your completed section into the LLM.
  • Prompt: 
    As an experienced IT risk auditor, review the following list of single points of failure for a financial services company. What common SPOFs might be missing from this list? Please categorize your suggestions by Hardware, Software, People, and External Dependencies. [Paste your completed section here].
  • Result: The AI will analyze your list and provide suggestions for potential gaps, such as a specific third-party data feed, a critical but overlooked network switch, or dependency on a single person with unique credentials.

Your Step-by-Step Workflow: From Prompt to Plan

  1. Step 1: Open Your Tools

    Have your two main documents open side-by-side:

    1. The Excel spreadsheet containing the list of 100+ BCP prompts.
    2. Your Business Continuity Plan MS Word template.

  2. Step 2: Select Your Prompt

    Navigate the Excel spreadsheet to the section of the BCP you want to work on (e.g., Section 2.1, “Policy”). Click on the cell containing the prompt and copy it (Ctrl+C).

  3. Step 3: Engage the AI

    Open your preferred LLM (like ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) and paste the prompt into the input box (Ctrl+V). Before you hit Enter, replace any placeholders like [Organization Name] or [System Name] with your specific information. This customization is crucial for getting a relevant response.

  4. Step 4: Review and Critique the Output

    The AI will generate a response within seconds. Do not just copy and paste it. Read it carefully. You are the final authority. Review it with this mindset:

    • Accuracy: Is the information factually correct for your organization?
    • Specificity: Is it specific to your operations, or is it too generic?
    • Tone: Does it match the professional tone of a formal BCP?
    • Completeness: Does it fully address every part of the prompt?

  5. Step 5: Iterate and Refine (The Art of the Follow-Up)

    The first response is just the starting point. The real power comes from follow-up prompts. Treat it like a conversation with your assistant.

    • If the response is too long, say: “Make this more concise.”
    • If you need more detail, say: “Expand on the point about recovery phase objectives.”
    • If you want a different format, say: “Put this into a table with columns for ‘Role’, ‘Responsibility’, and ‘Primary Contact’.”
    • If you want to add more context, say: “Now, rewrite this but assume our primary risk is a prolonged power outage.”

    Continue this back-and-forth conversation until the output is exactly what you need.

  6. Step 6: Integrate into Your BCP

    Once you are satisfied with the refined AI-generated content, copy it from the LLM interface. Go to your MS Word BCP template, navigate to the correct section, and paste the content. Ensure the formatting (fonts, headings, etc.) matches the rest of your document.

    Repeat this process for each section of your BCP. You can tackle the plan sequentially or jump to the sections where you need the most help.

Best Practices

  1. You Are the Expert, AI is the Assistant: The AI provides drafts and ideas, but you provide the institutional knowledge, critical thinking, and final approval. Your expertise is irreplaceable.
  2. Never Use Raw Output: Always review, edit, and customize the AI’s response. A BCP is a critical legal and operational document that requires human oversight.
  3. Guard Sensitive Information: Be cautious about pasting confidential or proprietary information (e.g., secret recovery procedures, employee personal data) into public AI models. Paraphrase or use placeholders for sensitive details.
  4. Save Successful Conversations: If a particular chain of prompts gives you a great result, save it. You can reuse that “recipe” for other documents.

By following this guide, you can effectively harness the power of AI to create a more robust, comprehensive, and professional Business Continuity Plan in a fraction of the time. 

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Alan Thompson