What is a Critical Process?
A critical process is a process within an organization that is essential for achieving its mission and objectives, and whose failure or disruption can have significant negative consequences for the organization. Critical processes are typically those that are necessary to deliver key products or services, maintain compliance with laws and regulations, ensure the safety of employees or customers, or protect the organization’s assets.
Examples of critical processes may include:
Financial reporting and control processes
Production or service delivery processes
Supply chain and procurement processes
Information technology and cybersecurity processes
Health and safety processes
- Compliance and regulatory processes
The identification and management of critical processes is a key component of effective risk management and business continuity planning. Organizations must identify their critical processes, assess the risks associated with those processes, and implement measures to ensure that they are resilient in the face of potential disruptions or failures. This may involve contingency planning, redundancy, and backup systems, as well as ongoing monitoring and testing to ensure the effectiveness of these measures.