DRI Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield DRI facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which of the following is a characteristic of a GOOD Business Continuity Plan document? → Concise, actionable checklists with clear roles and contact information
2. Which of the following best describes 'crisis fatigue' among stakeholders? → Declining public attention and responsiveness after repeated crisis communications
3. What term describes the documented set of procedures used to move operations from a primary site to an alternate site? → Activation and Relocation Plan
4. In DRI's Professional Practices, which element is critical when onboarding a new critical vendor? → Validating that the vendor has a tested and documented BC plan
5. Which element is NOT a required component of an ISO 22301 BCMS policy statement? → Specific RTO and RPO targets for critical processes
6. What role does documentation play in Disaster Recovery Institute International professional practice? → It creates accountability, supports decision-making, and provides legal protection
7. A company discovers that its DR backups are stored in the same building as the primary data center. What risk does this create? → The same physical disaster could destroy both production data and backups simultaneously
8. In business continuity, 'interdependency analysis' is conducted to: → Map how critical business processes rely on each other and on shared resources
9. DRI Professional Practices recommend that business continuity plans should be exercised at minimum: → At least annually
10. Why is staying current with industry developments important for Disaster Recovery Institute International professionals? → To provide the best possible service using current knowledge and practices
11. In DR planning, 'single point of failure' (SPOF) analysis is conducted to: → Identify components whose failure would disrupt the entire recovery process
12. A financial services firm needs to recover its trading platform with zero data loss. Which replication approach best supports this requirement? → Synchronous replication
13. A warm standby site differs from a cold standby site primarily because it: → Has pre-configured systems that require minimal setup to activate
14. Which element should be established FIRST when designing a new exercise? → Exercise objectives
15. A BC program scorecard shows RTO compliance at 62% during the last tabletop exercise. The most appropriate immediate response is to: → Analyze which processes failed to meet RTOs and develop targeted improvement plans
16. In a parallel test, what distinguishes it from a full interruption test? → Parallel tests activate DR systems without shutting down the primary environment
17. How should risks be prioritized? → Based on probability of occurrence and potential impact
18. Which term describes the reputational damage an organization suffers when a crisis reveals that its actual values conflict with its stated values? → Hypocrisy attribution
19. When a public warning system is activated during an emergency, the message should follow the SAME format, which typically includes: → What is happening, who is at risk, what protective action to take, and when/where
20. Which DR strategy is MOST appropriate for a non-critical system with an RTO of 72 hours and a very limited budget? → Cold site
21. Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the need to update a recovery strategy after it has been documented? → The organization moves its primary data center to a new building
22. A recovery strategy that routes incoming customer calls to an outsourced call center during a disaster is an example of which strategy type? → Third-party service provider arrangement
23. Which crisis communication principle states that the organization should be the first to report bad news about itself? → Steal thunder
24. What is a key limitation of relying solely on tape backup as a recovery strategy for a business with a 4-hour RTO? → Tape restoration is slow and may take longer than the stated RTO
25. Which NIST publication provides the primary framework for federal agency information security programs, including contingency planning requirements? → NIST SP 800-53
26. Which of the following BEST describes the role of an Emergency Support Function (ESF) in the National Response Framework? → A grouping of government capabilities organized by functional area for response
27. Which of the following best describes a 'warm site' in disaster recovery planning? → A partially equipped site that requires some setup time before use
28. An organization uses a 'lessons learned registry.' What is the primary purpose of this document? → To capture and track insights from incidents and tests for future improvement
29. During a crisis, which communication principle is MOST critical for maintaining stakeholder trust? → Providing timely, accurate, and transparent information
30. In the context of crisis management, what does the term 'Joint Information Center (JIC)' refer to? → A facility where response organizations coordinate public information activities