DORA

For a DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) project in the context of banking and insurance, the focus is on ensuring operational resilience, cybersecurity, and compliance with regulatory requirements. Here’s a breakdown of the deliverables typically required for a DORA compliance project, as well as the project manager’s role:

Role of the Project Manager

The project manager plays a central role in coordinating, executing, and ensuring timely delivery of all these components:

1. Planning and Coordination: Develops a project plan that outlines timelines, milestones, resources, and deliverables required for DORA compliance.
2. Stakeholder Communication: Acts as the liaison between teams, regulatory bodies, and stakeholders to keep everyone informed of progress, challenges, and requirements.
3. Risk Management: Identifies potential risks to project success and works with risk management teams to address ICT risks and ensure resilience aligns with DORA requirements.
4. Resource Allocation: Ensures the right resources are assigned, from technical personnel to external auditors, and manages budget constraints effectively.
5. Compliance Oversight: Monitors project activities to ensure alignment with DORA regulations, conducting periodic reviews to keep the project on track.
6. Testing and Validation Support: Coordinates testing exercises (e.g., incident response simulations) and ensures results are documented and used to improve resilience.
7. Documentation and Reporting: Ensures all deliverables are well-documented and organized for audit and reporting purposes, tracking progress and compliance with DORA throughout the project.

The project manager’s ability to coordinate across departments, manage timelines, and ensure adherence to regulatory requirements is critical to the successful delivery of a DORA compliance project.

Key Deliverables for a DORA Compliance Project

1. Gap Analysis and Compliance Assessment:
   • Description: Conduct a comprehensive gap analysis to identify the current state of compliance against DORA requirements.
   • Deliverable: Gap analysis report that includes existing gaps, risks, and areas requiring improvement to align with DORA standards.
2. Operational Resilience Framework:
   • Description: Develop or update the operational resilience framework, ensuring that it includes processes for risk management, incident response, and business continuity in line with DORA.
   • Deliverable: Operational resilience framework document outlining policies, procedures, and resilience measures.
3. Risk Management Strategy:
   • Description: Develop a risk management strategy covering ICT risks, including identification, assessment, monitoring, and reporting of risks.
   • Deliverable: A detailed risk management plan that specifies protocols for managing ICT risks, incident reporting, and escalation.
4. Incident Response and Recovery Plans:
   • Description: Create or revise incident response and disaster recovery plans to meet DORA requirements, including roles, responsibilities, escalation paths, and response timelines.
   • Deliverable: Incident response and recovery plan that ensures rapid response to incidents and outlines recovery strategies.
5. Third-Party Risk Management Framework:
   • Description: Establish guidelines for assessing and monitoring third-party providers, ensuring their resilience aligns with DORA requirements.
   • Deliverable: A third-party risk management framework with guidelines for evaluating, monitoring, and managing third-party ICT service providers.
6. Compliance Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms:
   • Description: Implement tools and processes for continuous monitoring and periodic reporting of compliance with DORA.
   • Deliverable: Compliance monitoring and reporting system that provides ongoing insights and scheduled reports on compliance status.
7. Employee Training and Awareness Programs:
   • Description: Develop training programs to ensure staff awareness of DORA compliance requirements, including specific roles in incident response and resilience.
   • Deliverable: Training materials, sessions, and certification of completion for employees.
8. Testing and Validation of Resilience Measures:
   • Description: Conduct regular testing, such as penetration testing, resilience testing, and simulation exercises, to validate the effectiveness of operational resilience measures.
   • Deliverable: Test reports and recommendations for improvement based on test results.
9. Audit and Assurance Reports:
   • Description: Prepare documentation for internal and external audits, providing evidence of compliance with DORA.
   • Deliverable: Comprehensive audit reports showing compliance with DORA standards and any remediation actions.
10. Continuous Improvement Plan:

• Description: Establish a framework for regularly reviewing and enhancing resilience practices, aligned with DORA requirements.
• Deliverable: Continuous improvement roadmap detailing steps to strengthen resilience and compliance over time.