SY0-701 Security Program Management and Oversight Practice Question
During a tabletop exercise, the team realizes no one has a list of who to notify if the online ordering system goes down. Which continuity planning element is missing?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse an asset inventory (which lists what you have) with a communication plan (which lists who to call), leading them to pick Option C because they think knowing the system's hardware is necessary for notification, but the question specifically asks about 'who to notify,' not 'what is affected.'
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Communication plan, because it defines who must be contacted and how.
A communication plan is the missing continuity planning element because it specifically defines the stakeholders who must be notified during an outage (e.g., internal teams, vendors, customers) and the methods of contact (e.g., email, SMS, phone tree). Without this plan, the team cannot execute the notification procedures required by the business continuity plan (BCP) to coordinate response and recovery efforts for the online ordering system.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Data retention schedule, because it defines how long records are kept.
Why it's wrong here
A data retention schedule specifies how long records, logs, and other data must be kept to meet legal, regulatory, and operational requirements. It is concerned with the data lifecycle—what to store and when to delete—not with the real-time process of alerting personnel and stakeholders during an incident. Even if a retention schedule were followed, it would not tell responders whom to notify, which channels to use, or how to escalate issues, so it cannot substitute for a communication plan.
- ✓
Communication plan, because it defines who must be contacted and how.
Why this is correct
A communication plan identifies the people, groups, and channels used during an outage or incident. If no one knows who to notify, the organization lacks a key continuity component that supports coordinated response and stakeholder awareness.
- ✗
Asset inventory, because it lists all hardware and software in use.
Why it's wrong here
An asset inventory catalogs hardware and software, including IP addresses, versions, and locations, which is useful for identifying what systems might be affected by an outage. However, it does not capture human roles, contact preferences, or the notification hierarchy needed to coordinate a response during a disruption. While an inventory helps you know what to protect, it does not help you decide who to call first, so it fails to meet the team's immediate need for a contact list.
- ✗
Network segmentation, because it separates sensitive systems from user networks.
Why it's wrong here
Network segmentation is a security architecture control that creates isolated subnets or zones to limit lateral movement and contain a breach. It is a preventive technical measure, not a procedural document for incident communication; even a perfectly segmented network leaves the team unaware of which executives, help desk staff, or public relations contacts should be alerted. Segmentation may contain damage but does not enable stakeholder coordination, so it is irrelevant to the identified gap in outage notification.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Security Policies and Procedures
Key term
Business Continuity Planning
Business Continuity Planning is the process of creating a strategy to keep an organization's essential functions running during and after a major disruption.
Key term
Tabletop exercise
A tabletop exercise is a discussion-based session where team members talk through their response to a simulated emergency scenario to test plans and identify gaps without actually running any systems or deploying resources.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SY0-701 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SY0-701 exam.