What to change
Ask for a demonstrated recovery path, not just possession of an archive. The handover should explain the backup's scope, required software, dependencies and any missing configuration without exposing secrets unnecessarily. Have an authorised maintainer who did not create the backup restore it in an isolated environment. Their questions reveal undocumented assumptions. Acceptance should include a usable sample of public routes and assets, showing that the file is operationally meaningful.
A worked example
Illustrative example
Illustrative test: The replacement maintainer restores a sample without borrowing the creator's personal machine. An incoming maintainer may receive a backup archive but discover that restoration requires an undocumented tool and separate image store. The isolated rehearsal exposes those dependencies while the outgoing supplier can still explain them. Updated instructions let the second maintainer restore representative pages and assets independently. Your practice records the remaining limits, distinguishing an operationally useful backup from a file that was successfully handed over but never shown to work.
What this means for your practice
A backup archive has value only if an authorised maintainer can use it to recover the required service. Ask for instructions describing its contents, missing pieces, necessary tools and separate configuration dependencies. Have someone who did not create it perform an isolated restoration. Their questions often reveal undocumented assumptions. Review a sample of pages and assets from the restored copy, with secret access handled through the proper account process. The practice should know the backup's limits as well as its strengths. Successfully downloading a compressed file proves possession, but it does not establish that the website can be brought back without the original developer's personal machine.
How to check the result
The backup has a reproducible restoration route and known limitations.
A mistake to avoid
A successfully downloaded archive is not proof of recoverability.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
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