The Tabletop Exercise
Planning Process:
From Conception to Action
Business Continuity Preparedness
Prevention
Recovery
Train, Test,
Evaluate,
Revise
Response
Planning
Key Steps in the Exercise
Planning Process
1. Review the Business
Continuity Plan/Pandemic
Plans
2. Define a Goal for the Exercise
3. Form an Exercise Design
Team
4. Develop Exercise Objectives
Key Steps in the Exercise
Planning Process (cont.)
5.
6.
7.
8.
Develop the Scenario
Identify Players
Decide on a Format
Develop Scripts and Data
Injects
9. Address Facilitation Issues
10. Consider the After Action
Report/ Improvement Plan
Step 1:
Review the Business
Continuity Plan/Pandemic
Plans
Plan Review
• Keep in mind that exercises have
multiple utilities:
– Test existing plans
– Assess decision-making
– Brainstorm/identify issues
– Educate
– Provide experience
– Enhance communication
– Build relationships
– Identify gaps in planning
Plan Review
• Consider the following:
– When was the plan last exercised?
• What were the recommendations?
• What changes were made?
• How successful was it?
– Have other significant changes
occurred that warrant an exercise?
– What are the key areas that should
be exercised at this point? (Review
the CIDRAP 10-point Framework.)
Step 2:
Define a Goal for the
Exercise
The Exercise Goal
• Clarifies the overall reason for
conducting the exercise.
• Sets the stage for developing the
exercise objectives.
• May test a completed plan or may
be exploratory.
• May relate to one business unit or
to multiple units.
• An exercise may have more than
one goal.
Review Workshop Notes:
Exercise Goals
Step 3:
Form a Design Team
Form a Design Team: What to
Consider
• Identify a Team Leader or
Coordinator.
• Identify potential team members:
– Expertise
– Representation from involved
units/departments
– Experience with exercises (if
possible)
• Keep the size of the Design Team
manageable.
The Team Leader
• Will be responsible for all phases of
the exercise.
• Should be able to:
– Devote adequate time to the
exercise design.
– Understand the exercise process.
– Be familiar with the business
continuity plan.
Design Team:
Role of Members
• Provide input into objectives.
• Agree upon the scenario and topics
for modules.
• Review content for accuracy and
completeness.
• Serve as technical resources.
• Get “buy in” from the business
units that will participate in the
exercise.
Design Team:
Role of Members (cont.)
• Provide input into the format and
flow of the exercise.
• Identify/recommend players.
• Provide input into exercise
facilitation issues.
• Generally not players in the
exercise.
Before the First Meeting of the
Design Team
• Develop a set of expectations for
members.
• Develop a list of issues for the
first meeting.
• Draft basic materials if possible.
• Develop a work plan/timeline.
Review Workshop Notes:
Initial Design Team Meeting
Step 4:
Develop Exercise
Objectives
Objectives:
• Help to define the scenario.
• Assure that players have a
common understanding of what
to accomplish.
• Provide a way to organize the
modules.
• Provide a basis for the After
Action Report/Improvement Plan.
Review Workshop Notes:
Exercise Objectives
Step 5:
Develop the Scenario
The Scenario: General
Considerations
• Use the exercise goal (or goals) and
objectives in crafting the scenario.
• Make the scenario plausible.
• Be accurate and factual.
• Make the scenario industry-specific.
• Be sure the scenario involves all
business areas that will be
participating in the exercise.
Review Workshop Notes:
Scenarios
Step 6:
Identify Players
Players
• Cover appropriate
units/departments/ teams.
• Get the “right level” of people at the
table:
– Operational staff
– Decision makers
• Decide whether or not to brief the
players ahead of time (if so, decide
to what level).
Players (cont.)
• Decide whether or not to invite
observers (if applicable).
• To test redundancy or back-ups,
consider “eliminating” some key
players during the course of the
exercise.
Potential Participants
• Individuals:
– Chief Executive Officer
– Chief Operating Officers
– Chief Financial Officer
– Crisis Management Team Members
– EOC (Emergency Operations Center)
Coordinator
Potential Participants
• Departments:
– Business Continuity
– Communications
– Facilities Management
– Finance
– Human Resources
– Information Technology
– Legal
– Risk Management
Potential Participants
• Departments:
– Operations
– Public Relations
– Safety
– Sales and Marketing
– Security
– Technology
– Training
Potential Participants
• Others (as indicated):
– Contractors
– Supply chain partners
– Vendors
– Government contacts (local
public health, local emergency
management)
Step 7:
Decide on the Format
Format:
Issues to Consider
• Physical lay out of the exercise
• Organizational structure
– Facilitator
– Controllers
– Simulators
– Scribe/recorder
– Evaluators
• Agenda
Format: Lay Out
• All players at one table (15 to 25 is
optimal; 50 is the maximum).
• Key players at one table with
supporting players behind them.
• Players at multiple tables (e.g., by
business unit or incident command
structure).
Format: Lay Out (cont.)
• Players in different rooms (e.g.,
simulate a crisis management center
in one room with other players
elsewhere).
• Observers usually sit around the
perimeter of the room and are
clearly delineated from the players.
Logistics
Planning
Incident Command
Operations
Finances
BU
BU
BU
BU
BU
Senior Management
BU
BU
*BU: Business Unit
BU
BU
RT
RT
RT
RT
RT
Crisis Management
Team
RT
RT
Screen
*RT: Response Team
Risk Management
Operations
Information
Technology
Finance
Human Resources
Public Relations
Format: Organization
• With one large table, use a large group
discussion.
• If multiple tables, consider using a
combination of large/small group
discussions.
• Break out rooms may be useful for small
group discussions (particularly for large
events).
• Consider using more than one track,
based on functional response area.
Format: Organization (cont.)
• Facilitator
– Presents the scenario.
– Keeps the discussions on topic.
– Makes sure that key issues are
addressed.
– Prioritizes issues.
• Controllers
– Assist facilitator.
– Keep the exercise on track.
Format: Organization (cont.)
• Simulators
– Represent other organizations
who may interact with players.
– Add events/injects to the scenario.
– May be used as “patients” or
“victims.”
• Scribe/recorder
– Documents key ideas/action items.
Format: Organization (cont.)
• Evaluators
– Observe the exercise.
– May be members of the Design
Team.
– Record observations (may use
an evaluation form).
Format: Organization (cont.)
• Use flip charts for certain
discussions (large or small group):
– To brainstorm ideas.
– To identify assets, gaps in
resources, training needs.
– Identify action items.
– As an effective way to track the
discussion.
Format: Agenda
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Registration
Opening remarks
Background information
Introduction to the exercise
– Ground rules
– Assumptions
Modules with discussion time
“Hot wash”/debrief
Complete evaluations
Adjourn
Step 8:
Develop Modules and Data
Injects
Modules
• Modules “tell the story” of the
scenario.
• Each exercise usually has several
modules.
• Use “real-time” and use a virtual
clock.
• Create a “live” environment.
• May want to use “roadblocks” or
unplanned events in the modules.
Table of Modules
• Each module can focus on:
─An issue, set of objectives, or an
event.
─A time period.
• Develop a table as an outline.
– Provides a mechanism to plan out
the exercise.
– Takes into consideration the time to
allot to each module.
– Organizes key issues.
Table of Modules (cont.)
Topic
Summary Key
of events issues
Injects/
Time
activities allotted
Review Workshop Notes:
Table of Modules
Examples of Data Injects
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
News reports
Data summaries
Maps
Photos
Diagrams
Event summaries
Case reports
Videos
Phone calls
Recommendations
Data Injects
Use injects to:
• Provide critical information
necessary for decision-making.
• Provide actionable information.
• Add color to the scripts.
• “Fill out” the scenario.
• Add a sense of realism to the
story.
Step 9:
Address Facilitation
Issues
Step 10:
Think Ahead to the After
Action Report
Common Pitfalls in Planning
• Pre-existing plans that the
exercise is designed to test are
not well developed or
documented.
• Participants have not thought
through the issues that the
exercise is trying to address; poor
timing for the exercise.
• Appropriate changes/
improvements have not occurred
since the last exercise.
Common Pitfalls in Planning
(cont.)
• The “right people” are not at the
table.
• The exercise moves to slowly and
people get bored.
• Not enough time for discussions to
really address the issues.
• The facilitator is not familiar with
the group or the issues.
The Key to Success:
Remember that “the devil is
in the details!”