Begin with the functions the business must keep available and the consequences of losing them. Capacity and backup storage alone do not answer those questions.
Separate availability from recovery
| Requirement | Decision it expresses |
|---|---|
| Availability target | The service condition and measurement period used to assess uptime |
| Recovery-time objective | The intended time to restore the defined service after disruption |
| Recovery-point objective | The acceptable age or loss of recoverable data under the agreed scenario |
| Data location | Where the relevant records may be processed and stored |
| Access control | Who may operate, change or recover the environments |
Specify the assumptions and dependencies behind each target. A backup schedule is an input to recovery planning, not proof that a complete service can be restored within the target.
Include the external systems in the design
Map game providers, payment services, identity checks, data feeds and reporting connections. A restored application may still be unable to process transactions if credentials, network access or supplier state do not match.
Agree who handles patching, monitoring, deployments and incident communication. Keep production access and approval for sensitive changes explicit. Coordinate the boundary with technical support.
Request a restore exercise
Restore the agreed environment and verify the critical journeys. Reconcile financial and account state, inspect pending events and confirm the connections needed for operation. Record the actual conditions and result against the acceptance requirements.
Include a failed deployment or unavailable dependency in the exercise. The team needs criteria for continuing, rolling back or escalating, rather than simply a statement that backups exist.
Scope the infrastructure service
Send the architecture, operating markets and recovery needs. Include current hosting, deployment process and the team that will operate the service. The proposal should distinguish infrastructure delivery, ongoing administration and the recovery obligations it accepts.