Which type of disaster recovery plan (DRP) test requires the whole organization to participate in...

A dry run disaster recovery plan test requires broad organizational participation in a simulated disaster scenario without executing all production-impacting tasks. Managing Cloud principles explain that dry run testing validates coordination, communication, and procedural readiness while avoiding the risks of full operational disruption.

In a dry run, teams follow documented recovery steps conceptually or in limited execution, verifying that dependencies, responsibilities, and sequencing are correct. This approach provides higher fidelity than tabletop exercises, which are discussion-based, while avoiding the operational risks of full or parallel tests.

Parallel tests involve running recovery systems alongside production, and full tests execute all recovery actions, often causing service disruption. Therefore, a dry run offers a balanced method to test preparedness across the organization without full execution.