Definition
The people and processes around a system can absorb a correction once it is made. Staff know the fallback, queues can hold the load, and the manual path has been exercised recently enough to work. It is the second of three levels of reversibility.
It matters because most corrections fail here rather than at the switch. Operational reversibility is what a withdrawal rehearsal measures, and its absence turns technical reversibility into a claim nobody will test during an incident.
AgencyBurden
Tests that show it is in place
- The fallback path has been run with real volume within a stated interval.
- Staffing for the fallback is costed and available, not notional.
- Backlog accumulated during a rehearsal is measured and shown to be recoverable.
Evidence to keep
- Artifact: A rehearsal report showing the fallback carrying real work for a stated period.
- Behavior: Frontline staff executing the manual path without escalation during a drill.
- Metric: Backlog accumulated per hour of fallback operation, and time to clear it.
References