IT Disaster Prevention

5. Procedures

5.1 Train employees on how to use the system correctly.

Most computer problems are caused by employee error.

• Give employees adequate training before they begin to use the system.
• Explain and enforce procedures for using the system.
• State who is responsible for backing up data (see 6).

5.2 Establish appropriate security procedures.

See Security and the Internet.

5.3 Set out, and implement, a clear IT policy. Refer to the policy in your employment contracts.

• State what you consider to be unacceptable use of your systems.
• Specify which tasks should only be carried out by qualified personnel (eg software configuration or using diagnostic tools).
• State what kind of problems employees must refer to someone else. Simply rebooting a computer when it crashes may provide a temporary fix - but you will not find out the root cause.

5.4 Review your procedures regularly.

• Employees may ignore long-winded procedures if they find a shortcut.
• Routine warning messages tend to be ignored over time.