The first step in a sensible disaster recovery process is to consider the potential impacts of each type of disaster or event. This is critical - how can you properly plan for a disaster if you have little idea of the likely impacts on your business/organization of the different scenarios?

Having established the impacts, it is now equally important to consider the magnitude of the risks which could result in them. This is another vital activity. It will determine which situations are most likely to occur and thus which should attract most attention during the planning process.

Fortunately, a method has emerged to simplify these tasks. The COBRA method and tool was launched in the early nineties, and has since evolved into a fully comprehensive solution for all these needs.

COBRA

COBRA was first released in 1991, exclusively as a security risk analysis product. In many ways it changed the way risk was viewed and approached. All the elements of risk were dynamically and automatically linked: threats, vulnerabilities, controls, etc.

Since then, COBRA has evolved and advanced further. It now includes a selection of knowledge pods and is equipped for all risk assessment requirements. It offers a comprehensive solution, offering: simplicity of use, business formatted (Word) output, flexibility, full knowledge pod control, and so on. It is widely viewed as the worlds leading method and product for risk analysis.

The web site below provides significant detail on the use of COBRA for both impact and risk analysis: 

An Introduction to Risk Analysis