Disaster Recovery Plan Writer

Overview

The Disaster Recovery Plan Writer creates comprehensive, actionable DR plans for IT infrastructure of any scale. Built on NIST SP 800-34 and ISO 22301 frameworks, it generates tailored recovery strategies for cloud-native, hybrid, and on-premises environments with specific procedures for AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Unlike generic DR templates, this skill adapts plans to your exact infrastructure, RTO/RPO targets, budget constraints, and compliance requirements. Each plan includes Business Impact Analysis, tiered recovery strategies (backup-restore through active-active), database and application DR procedures, communication templates, testing schedules, detailed runbooks for common scenarios, and regulatory compliance mapping.

Companion skill: Use the Incident Response Playbook Builder for tactical incident response procedures that complement your DR plan.

Step 1: Copy the Skill

Click the Copy Skill button above to copy the complete DR planning framework to your clipboard.

Step 2: Open Your AI Assistant

Open Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your preferred AI assistant.

Step 3: Paste and Customize

Paste the skill and provide your infrastructure context:

• {{infrastructure_type}} - Environment type (cloud-native, multi-cloud, hybrid-cloud, on-premises, edge-distributed)
• {{critical_systems}} - Your critical systems (web-application, database, object-storage, container-orchestration, etc.)
• {{rto_target}} - Maximum acceptable downtime (near-zero, 15-minutes, 1-hour, 4-hours, 24-hours)
• {{rpo_target}} - Maximum acceptable data loss (near-zero, seconds, 5-minutes, 1-hour, 24-hours)
• {{budget_tier}} - DR budget allocation (minimal, low, mid-range, high, enterprise)

Example Output

When you request a DR plan for a hybrid cloud environment with 1-hour RTO, the skill generates:

• Full Business Impact Analysis template with system tier classification
• DR strategy recommendation (warm standby) matched to your RTO/RPO and budget
• AWS-specific failover procedures (Route 53 failover, Aurora Global Database, S3 CRR)
• Database replication setup with PITR configuration
• Communication plan with stakeholder notification matrix and templates
• Four runbooks: region failure, database corruption, ransomware DR, vendor outage
• Testing schedule with tabletop exercises, simulations, and annual full failover
• SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance control mapping with audit evidence checklist

Key Features

• NIST SP 800-34 Framework - Complete contingency planning lifecycle from BIA through maintenance
• 4 DR Strategy Tiers - Backup-restore, pilot light, warm standby, and multi-site active-active with architecture diagrams and cost estimates
• Cloud-Specific Procedures - Detailed failover runbooks for AWS, Azure, and GCP with exact service configurations
• Backup Strategy Framework - 3-2-1-1-0 rule, immutable backups, air-gapped storage, and scheduled backup matrices
• Database DR Coverage - Replication strategies, PITR for PostgreSQL/MySQL/MongoDB, logical vs. physical backups
• Application DR - Stateless vs. stateful recovery, Kubernetes multi-cluster failover, DNS failover configuration
• Communication Plan - Stakeholder notification matrix, internal status templates, executive briefs, customer notices
• DR Testing Framework - Six test types from tabletop to full failover with schedule templates and report format
• Scenario Runbooks - Region failure, database corruption, ransomware DR activation, vendor outage
• Compliance Mapping - SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, NIST CSF, GDPR, FedRAMP, CMMC
• Cost Estimation - Per-strategy cost breakdowns and ROI framework (downtime cost vs. DR investment)
• Plan Maintenance - Review triggers, annual checklist, version control, and distribution procedures

Customization Tips

• Startup/SMB teams: Start with backup-restore for non-critical systems and pilot light for your database; the skill provides cost-optimized recommendations
• Enterprise environments: Request active-active strategy for Tier 1 systems with warm standby for Tier 2; include multi-cloud redundancy
• Healthcare organizations: Specify HIPAA compliance to get ePHI-specific backup encryption and contingency plan requirements (164.308(a)(7))
• Financial services: Include PCI DSS and SOC 2 compliance requirements for automatic inclusion of audit evidence checklists
• Multi-cloud strategy: Provide both cloud providers to get cross-provider DR procedures with provider-specific runbooks

Best Practices

1. Complete the BIA template with actual business owners before finalizing RTO/RPO targets
2. Test backup restoration monthly, not just backup creation (untested backups are not backups)
3. Conduct tabletop exercises quarterly and full failover tests annually
4. Store DR documentation in offline-accessible locations (not only in systems that may be down during a disaster)
5. Update the DR plan within 2 weeks of any major infrastructure change
6. Pair with the Incident Response Playbook Builder for complete resilience coverage

Related Skills

See the “Related Skills” section above for complementary security and DevOps skills that enhance your disaster recovery capability.