Define the business need
Ask which services need to return first and what information loss the business could tolerate. Record these as objectives to validate, not commitments inferred from a product description.
Map the dependencies
Restoration may require identity services, DNS, application secrets, licences and connectivity. Record who can access each dependency when the primary system is unavailable.
Test a realistic restoration
A completed backup job shows that a process ran. A restoration exercise examines whether the resulting data can support the required service. Agree a safe test environment and record the result and unresolved steps.
Maintain the runbook
Update recovery instructions after significant system changes. Keep access controlled and make the approved runbook available to the responsible people during an outage.