The answer is step-by-step recovery procedures and a list of critical contacts. These are essential components of a disaster recovery plan because the DRP must provide clear technical instructions to restore IT systems, applications, and data after a disaster, while the contact list ensures that key personnel, vendors, and stakeholders can be reached immediately to execute those procedures. On the CISA exam, this concept tests your understanding that a DRP is an operational, technical document—not a high-level strategy—so the correct choices will always focus on actionable recovery steps and communication channels. A common trap is selecting broad business continuity items like insurance policies or alternate site selection, which belong to the BCP, not the DRP. Remember the mnemonic “RECOVER”: Recovery steps and Emergency contacts are the two pillars of any DRP.
CISA Practice Question: Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience
This CISA practice question tests your understanding of information systems operations and business resilience. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which TWO of the following are essential components of a disaster recovery plan (DRP)?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Steps for restoring IT systems
Option A is correct because the primary purpose of a DRP is to restore IT systems and operations after a disaster. The plan must include step-by-step recovery procedures for critical systems, applications, and data to ensure business continuity. Without these steps, the DRP cannot guide the recovery team through the technical restoration process.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Steps for restoring IT systems
Why this is correct
Restoration procedures are a core component of DRP.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Detailed financial audit procedures
Why it's wrong here
Financial audit is not part of DRP.
✗
Employee performance reviews
Why it's wrong here
Performance reviews are unrelated to disaster recovery.
✓
List of critical contacts
Why this is correct
Contacts are essential for communication during a disaster.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Backup media rotation schedule
Why it's wrong here
Backup rotation is part of backup policy, not typically in DRP.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse operational procedures like backup rotation schedules (Option E) with the essential recovery-focused components of a DRP, but the DRP itself does not include the rotation schedule—it only references the use of backups.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
A DRP typically includes RTOs and RPOs for each system, which dictate the maximum acceptable downtime and data loss. The recovery steps must align with these metrics, specifying the order of system restoration (e.g., restoring domain controllers before application servers) and the use of off-site backups or replication. In a real-world scenario, a DRP might detail how to failover to a secondary data center using DNS changes and storage replication protocols like iSCSI or Fibre Channel.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the CISA exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience — This question tests Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Steps for restoring IT systems — Option A is correct because the primary purpose of a DRP is to restore IT systems and operations after a disaster. The plan must include step-by-step recovery procedures for critical systems, applications, and data to ensure business continuity. Without these steps, the DRP cannot guide the recovery team through the technical restoration process.
What should I do if I get this CISA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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