Resource dependency mapping: understand what your business cannot operate without.
Most businesses know their important assets. Fewer can see how one unavailable resource flows through several products, services and customer commitments.
Begin with business activities
Choose the activities that create value or protect the business: taking orders, delivering a service, producing goods, paying staff or meeting a safety obligation. This keeps the map tied to operational outcomes rather than becoming an inventory diagram.
Connect the resources
- People and specialist knowledge.
- Applications, data and devices.
- Suppliers, outsourced services and logistics.
- Premises, utilities, vehicles and equipment.
- Communications channels and external authorities.
Read the map in both directions
Looking downstream shows which activities are affected when a resource fails. Looking upstream shows everything one activity requires. Both views matter: one supports incident response; the other supports planning and investment.
Spot weak points
A resource linked to many critical activities deserves attention. An activity with only one provider, one trained person or one operating location may have a single point of failure. Unlinked resources can reveal incomplete analysis or records that are no longer relevant.
Use the map to decide
Dependency information should shape recovery order, alternative suppliers, cross-training, manual workarounds, backup arrangements and exercise scenarios. In gecko continuity, the same live links drive the visual map and the loss-of-resource response view.
Sources and further guidance
Australian guidance used in preparing this article. General information only; obtain advice for your circumstances.