A degraded-mode procedure is a documented temporary way to continue essential work when normal digital systems are unavailable or impaired. It may use paper forms, offline records, or manual communication so that critical services can keep operating until systems are restored.
In cyber security and continuity planning, these procedures reduce the impact of outages caused by attacks, technical failures, or other disruptions. They should identify who can authorize the fallback, what work takes priority, and how temporary records will be protected and reconciled with digital systems afterward. Organizations should test the procedure under realistic conditions: an improvised workaround can create missing, duplicated, or inconsistent data if staff do not know how to use it.