Waterford Fire Service Business Continuity Assignment Brief 2026 | SETU

Waterford Fire Service Business Continuity Assignment Brief

Due : 1 October 2026

Purpose of this brief

This document sets out a Waterford Fire Service project for the Business Continuity Project Management assignment. The official Assignment Brief 2026/27 governs assessment requirements. The course checklist and module descriptor provide useful implementation detail and recommended sources. The assignment is 3,000 words ±10%, divided into 900 words for Question 1, 900 for Question 2 and 1,200 for Question 3.

Proposed project

Proposed title: Business Continuity and Operational Resilience Programme for Waterford Fire Service.

The project should be presented as a 2–3 year business continuity programme for Waterford Fire Service. The central continuity problem should be framed as the organisation’s ability to maintain its selected mission-critical activity when one or more of its own critical resources, facilities, personnel, systems, equipment or supporting dependencies are disrupted.

This distinction is important. The assignment is a business continuity project, not a general major-emergency response plan. Irish major-emergency-management arrangements should therefore provide the operational and policy context, while the assignment’s required business continuity and project-management models should provide the analytical structure.

Required source hierarchy

Use Irish and EU material prominently to establish Waterford’s organisational, emergency-management and resilience context. Use the prescribed Hiles, PMI, ISO 22301 and Kerzner material for the concepts required by the module. Attribute each factual claim to the document that supports it, and distinguish published policy from an unverified operational assumption.

Table 1 Sources and their use

Question 1 – Stakeholders and PMBOK documents (900 words)

Question 1 is worth 25 marks. Set the scene for a two to three year Waterford Fire Service programme; map and analyse stakeholders on a power/interest grid; use the class stakeholder-register template for a practical engagement plan; and identify and discuss other project management documents at each lifecycle stage using PMI (2017).

Required content

• Introduce the proposed 2–3 year Waterford Fire Service business continuity programme and its purpose.
• Identify the stakeholders relevant to the programme.
• Map the stakeholders on a power/interest grid.
• Complete the stakeholder register using the class template: identification, assessment, classification, and current/desired/action. Place the full register in an appendix if needed and discuss its key findings within the 900-word main answer.
• Treat the Action column as the stakeholder engagement plan and justify the proposed action by reference to the stakeholder’s position on the power/interest grid.
• Identify and discuss a reasoned selection of documents for each project lifecycle stage, citing PMI (2017).

Suggested PMI lifecycle documents

Table 2 Suggested project documents by lifecycle stage

Table 2 suggests a defensible selection, not a fixed list imposed by the official assignment brief. Explain how each chosen document supports the Waterford programme, with a concise discussion across all five stages (PMI, 2017).

Question 2 – Business continuity analysis (900 words)

Question 2 is worth 25 marks. Follow the official brief’s sequence from mission-critical activity and BIA through threat assessment, risk strategy and continuity strategy. The class checklist supplies useful prompts for the table fields and matrix.

(a) Mission-critical activity

Select one precisely bounded mission-critical Waterford Fire Service activity and justify it using the definition of a mission-critical activity in the BCI and DRJ glossary (BCI and DRJ, 2017) and critical success factor (CSF) logic. Check the original wording before quoting it.

A suitable direction for consideration is the mobilisation and deployment of an operational emergency response. The final wording and boundaries of the activity should be defined before completing the BIA.

(b) Business Impact Analysis

Complete the required BIA table. It must include all six specified elements:

Table 3 Business impact analysis fields

MTPD, RTO and minimum resumption levels should be justified. Avoid presenting unsupported operational figures as established Waterford Fire Service policy.

(c) Threat assessment

Assess threats to that activity on the 2 × 2 High/Low probability and High/Low impact matrix taught in class. Apply and explain Hiles’ Manage, Reduce, Accept and Plan responses (Hiles, 2010); do not imply that a quadrant alone establishes a Waterford-specific risk rating.

The threat assessment should be specific to the selected Waterford Fire Service activity. Examples may include loss of premises, personnel disruption, fleet/equipment unavailability, communications/ICT disruption, utility failure, fuel/supply disruption or other threats, but only threats supported by the chosen activity and evidence should be retained.

(d) Risk strategy

Set out the risk strategy that follows from the completed 2 × 2 assessment. The strategy must logically demonstrate how the assessed threats lead to the proposed controls, contingency arrangements and priorities.

(e) Continuity strategy

Consider the options set out by Hiles (2014): do nothing; bunker; continuous processing through a warm or hot site; budge up; quick resupply; off-site storage; working from home; stockholding; and ICT recovery. Choose and justify a feasible combination for the selected operational activity by comparing implementation cost, expected disruption impact and recovery capability. State why any option is unsuitable for front-line response. Question 3 must test the chosen strategy.

Question 3 – Test schedule (1,200 words + Gantt chart)

Question 3 is worth 35 marks, with a further 15 marks for the Gantt chart. Derive the exercise programme from the continuity strategy in Question 2(e). Name and apply Armit’s four stages: audit, walkthrough, component testing and large-scale testing (Armit, 2010, cited in Hiles, 2010, as presented in Unit 1 slide 111). Use the course test-plan checklist on slide 110 when defining objectives, scope, participants, resources, timing, evaluation and follow-up; check the slide for its exact fields.

Required schedule inputs

Present the schedule inputs in a table or Gantt chart. The Fincomp matrix format and person-day estimates are useful class guidance for doing this; attribute them to class material rather than the official assignment brief. Include:

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
• Activity list using verbs.
• Duration estimates.
• Resource requirements in person-days.
• Assumptions list.
• Add a review-and-acceptance task before each milestone, following the class checklist.

Schedule-process discussion

For each schedule process, explain its inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs. Name and demonstrate both the Critical Path Method (CPM) and leads and lags as minimum scheduling tools. Link dependencies and estimates to the actual exercise work, then explain what the schedule and critical path reveal (PMI, 2017; Kerzner, 2013).

MS Project requirements

Develop the Gantt chart in MS Project. Show the critical path and include at least one lead and one lag, as required by the official assignment brief. Include milestones as set out in the class material. Save the completed Gantt chart as a separate PDF for submission.

The sequence should be internally coherent: the test programme must test the continuity strategy selected in Q2(e), and the activities, resources and milestones must be capable of delivering the stated test objectives.

Suggested Waterford Fire Service programme structure

The following phases provide an illustrative Waterford planning framework. Refine them against the selected Q2(e) strategy, the official brief and the exercise test plan. The class Fincomp matrix can guide the detailed schedule.

Table 4 Illustrative programme phases

Irish and EU context – how it should be used

Use the Framework for Major Emergency Management to explain Irish coordination and preparedness arrangements (Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, 2006). Use the National Risk Assessment of Ireland 2023, Updated in 2026, only to frame relevant Irish national threats; substantiate Waterford-specific ratings separately (Office of Emergency Planning, 2026a).

The European Union (Resilience of Critical Entities) Regulations 2024 transpose Directive (EU) 2022/2557, while the National Strategy on the Resilience of Critical Entities 2026–2029 provides current Irish resilience policy context (Government of Ireland, 2024; European Parliament and Council, 2022; Office of Emergency Planning, 2026b). Do not claim that Waterford Fire Service has been formally designated a critical entity without evidence.

Use Waterford City and County Council’s Annual Service Plan 2026 and its published Fire Service information for claims that those sources actually support (Waterford City and County Council, 2026a; 2026b). Check the final source documents and access details before submission.

Irish and EU sources should carry the local policy and organisational analysis. Hiles (2010; 2014), PMI (2017), ISO 22301:2019 and Kerzner (2013) should support the business-continuity and project-management methods.

Required presentation and submission

Table 5 Presentation and submission checks

Quality-control checklist before submission

• Q1 contains the power/interest grid and the completed stakeholder register, not merely a narrative stakeholder list.
• The stakeholder Action column is explicitly justified by the power/interest position.
• Q1 discusses a justified selection of project documents across all five lifecycle stages, with PMI (2017) cited; it does not mislabel the suggested list as compulsory.
• Q2 contains one clearly defined mission-critical activity and uses both the BCI and DRJ mission-critical activity definition and CSF logic.
• The BIA contains every required field: impact, MTPD, RTO, minimum resumption level, priority and supporting resources.
• The 2 × 2 threat assessment uses the required High/Low probability and High/Low impact categories and Hiles’ Manage/Reduce/Accept/Plan responses.
• The continuity strategy in Q2(e) is explicitly justified against cost and impact.
• Q3 follows directly from the strategy selected in Q2(e).
• Q3 provides the WBS, verb-led activities, durations, resource assumptions and, where following the class matrix, person-day estimates.
• A review-and-acceptance step precedes each milestone in the class-based schedule.
• The schedule-process discussion explicitly explains CPM and leads and lags as tools and techniques.
• The MS Project Gantt contains milestones, at least one lead, at least one lag and the critical path.
• Irish and EU sources are used prominently for organisational, emergency-management and resilience context, while Hiles, PMI, ISO 22301 and Kerzner remain part of the required theoretical foundation.
• No unsupported Waterford-specific operational figures, RTOs, MTPDs, staffing levels or legal obligations are presented as fact.
• Every in-text citation is represented accurately in the bibliography; AI-use is declared under the applicable course policy.

Reference list for the assignment brief

• BCI and DRJ (2017) Glossary of Business Continuity Terms. Available at: https://www.thebci.org/knowledge/business-continuity-glossary.html (Accessed: 5 April 2020).
• Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (2006) A Framework for Major Emergency Management. Dublin: Government of Ireland.
• European Parliament and Council (2022) Directive (EU) 2022/2557 on the resilience of critical entities and repealing Council Directive 2008/114/EC.
• Government of Ireland (2024) European Union (Resilience of Critical Entities) Regulations 2024, S.I. No. 559/2024.
• Hiles, A. (2010) Definitive Handbook of Business Continuity Management. 3rd edn. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
• Hiles, A. (2014) Business Continuity: World-Class Business Continuity Management: Global Best Practices. 4th edn. Connecticut: Rothstein Publishing.
• International Organization for Standardization (2019) ISO 22301:2019 Security and resilience – Business continuity management systems – Requirements. Geneva: ISO.
• Kerzner, H.R. (2013) Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. 11th edn. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/itcarlow/detail.action?docID=1113482 (Accessed: [date]).
• Office of Emergency Planning (2026a) National Risk Assessment of Ireland 2023 (Updated in 2026). Dublin: Government of Ireland.
• Office of Emergency Planning (2026b) National Strategy on the Resilience of Critical Entities 2026–2029. Dublin: Government of Ireland.
• Project Management Institute (2017) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). 6th edn. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
• Waterford City and County Council (2026a) Annual Service Plan 2026. Waterford: Waterford City and County Council.
• Waterford City and County Council (2026b) Fire Service. Waterford: Waterford City and County Council.

Source precedence and citation checks

The official Assignment Brief 2026/27 takes precedence for assessed requirements and submission rules. The supplied class checklist adds practical guidance, including the Fincomp matrix, person-day estimates and review-and-acceptance tasks; the module descriptor supplies learning outcomes and recommended reading. Check any difference against the official brief before submitting the assignment.

The bibliography records the Irish Framework under its 2006 issuing department. Cite Armit (2010) or Cornish (2010) as secondary sources when their ideas are known only through Hiles (2010). The BCI and DRJ glossary is cited consistently as the 2017 edition identified in the Unit 1 handouts. Disclose this AI-assisted brief in the assignment’s AI-use declaration according to the course AI Mate guidance.