ISO TS 22317-2021 PDF

Full title and description

ISO/TS 22317:2021 — Security and resilience — Business continuity management systems — Guidelines for business impact analysis. This Technical Specification provides guidance to help organizations design, implement and maintain a formal, documented business impact analysis (BIA) process tailored to their needs; it does not prescribe a single uniform BIA method.

Abstract

This document gives guidance for an organization to implement and maintain a formal and documented business impact analysis (BIA) process appropriate to its needs. It is applicable to organizations of any type, size or sector and can be adapted to organizational objectives, resources and constraints. The guidance supports identification of critical activities, impact assessment, time‑frames for disruption, and prioritization for resource allocation and recovery planning.

General information

• Status: Published.
• Publication date: 17 November 2021 (Edition 2, 2021-11).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 03.100.01 (Company organization and management in general).
• Edition / version: Edition 2 (2021).
• Number of pages: 36 pages.

Scope

Provides guidelines to implement and maintain a formal, documented BIA process appropriate to an organization’s needs. The document covers identification and analysis of disruptive impacts over time, identification of dependencies and critical activities, determination of acceptable outage timeframes and priorities for recovery, but does not mandate a single BIA methodology. It is applicable to private, public and not‑for‑profit organizations of all sizes.

Key topics and requirements

• Establishing a documented BIA process proportionate to organizational context and resources.
• Identification of critical activities, business functions and supporting resources (people, information, infrastructure, suppliers).
• Assessment of impacts across categories (financial, operational, legal/regulatory, reputation) and over time.
• Determining time‑related priorities such as maximum acceptable outage, recovery time objectives and sequencing for restoration.
• Mapping dependencies and interdependencies (internal and external) to inform recovery strategies.
• Guidance on data collection, stakeholder engagement, analysis techniques and reporting results to inform business continuity planning.

Typical use and users

Intended for business continuity and resilience professionals, risk managers, continuity planners, auditors, consultants and organizational leaders responsible for continuity of operations. Useful to organizations preparing or improving a BIA to support ISO 22301 implementation or broader resilience programmes.

Related standards

Closely related to the ISO 22300 family and ISO 22301 (Business continuity management systems — Requirements); ISO/TS 22317 is referenced as guidance when conducting BIA for BCMS implementation. It replaces ISO/TS 22317:2015 and is part of the suite of ISO/TC 292 security and resilience deliverables.

Keywords

business impact analysis; BIA; business continuity; BCM; recovery time objective (RTO); acceptable outage; impact assessment; critical activities; dependencies; resilience.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO/TS 22317:2021 is a Technical Specification that provides guidelines for designing and carrying out a business impact analysis (BIA) as part of a business continuity management system (BCMS).

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers guidance on establishing a documented BIA process, identifying critical activities and dependencies, assessing impacts over time, determining recovery priorities and timeframes, and producing outputs to inform business continuity planning. It does not prescribe a single method or template.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: BCM practitioners, continuity planners, risk managers, auditors, consultants and organizational leaders who need to conduct or oversee a BIA and align continuity arrangements with organizational objectives.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: ISO/TS 22317:2021 (Edition 2) is the current Technical Specification, published 17 November 2021; it supersedes ISO/TS 22317:2015. The ISO catalogue indicates the 2021 edition was reviewed and confirmed in its 5‑year review cycle.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is part of the ISO security and resilience / business continuity family (including ISO 22300 and ISO 22301) and was developed by ISO/TC 292. It is intended to be used alongside those standards when implementing or improving a BCMS.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Business impact analysis (BIA), business continuity management (BCM), resilience, recovery time objective (RTO), acceptable outage, critical activities, dependencies, impact assessment.