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CRISC Practice Question: A business continuity manager wants to identify…
A business continuity manager wants to identify risks that could disrupt critical business processes. Which source of information would be MOST valuable for identifying such risks?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates choose historical incident reports (D) thinking past failures are the best predictor, but CRISC emphasizes proactive identification of all risks—including those never experienced—which only a BIA can systematically uncover by analyzing process criticality and dependencies.
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
✓
Business impact analysis (BIA) documentation
The Business Impact Analysis (BIA) documentation is the most valuable source because it systematically identifies critical business processes, their dependencies (e.g., specific servers, databases, network links), and the maximum tolerable downtime (MTD) for each. This directly pinpoints which risks would cause unacceptable disruption, making it the foundational input for risk identification in continuity planning.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Organizational charts
Why it's wrong here
Charts show hierarchy, not risks.
- ✗
Industry benchmarks on downtime
Why it's wrong here
Benchmarks are averages, not specific to the organization.
- ✓
Business impact analysis (BIA) documentation
Why this is correct
BIA identifies critical processes, dependencies, and recovery objectives.
- ✗
Historical incident reports
Why it's wrong here
Incident reports are reactive and may not cover emerging risks.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CRISC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA 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 CRISC exam.