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3/10/2014
How to Conduct a Tabletop
Exercise
Deonna S. Johnson,
Emergency Management Coordinator
Milwaukee County Emergency Management,
2014
AGENDA
 What is an Exercise
 8-Exercise Design Steps
 Purpose of Exercising
 Evaluation
 Types of Exercises
 Sample TTX
 Common Exercise Types
 Resources
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What is an Exercise
 It is a focused practice activity
 Paces the participants in a simulated situation; and
 Requires them to function in the capacity that would
be expected of them in a real event.
 "We did not anticipate that airliners would be commandeered and
turned into guided missiles; but the fact that we practiced for
other kinds of disasters made us far more prepared to handle a
catastrophe that nobody envisioned."
—Rudolph W. Giuliani, former mayor of New York City
Purpose of Exercising
 To create a learning environment for the validation of
current emergency operations plan, polices and
procedures.
 Clarify roles and responsibilities
 Improve coordination and communication
 Identify gaps
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Types of Exercises
Discussion-based Exercises
 Provide a forum for discussing
or developing plans and
procedures.
Operations-based Exercises
 Deployment of resources and
personnel.
 Typically focus on strategic and
POLICY-ORIENTED issues.
 Execution of plans, policies,
agreements and procedures.
 DOES NOT INVOLVE
deployment of resources.
 Identify resource gaps in an
operational environment
3 Common Exercises
 Tabletop Exercise
 A facilitated discussion utilizing a scenario in an informal
low stress environment.
 Functional Exercise
 A fully simulated interactive exercise that validates the
coordination, command and control between various
multi-agency coordination centers. No deployment of
actual resources. Highly stressful environment.
 Full-Scale Exercise
 A multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional activity involving
actual deployment of resources in a coordinated
response, as if a real incident had occurred.
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Design an Exercise: 8 Step Process
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Assess needs
Define scope
Write a statement of purpose
Define objectives
Compose a narrative
Write major and detailed events
List expected actions
Prepare messages
Step 1: Assess Needs
 Establishes the reason (s) or need (s) to do an
exercise while defining areas to be exercised
 Review your Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA)
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List the various hazards in your community
Airplane Crash
Winter Storm
Drought
Tornado
Epidemic (biological
attack/outbreak)
Sustained power failure
Fire/Firestorm
Flood
Train derailment
Hostage/Shooting
Hazardous material
spill/release
Workplace Violence
Drought
Terrorism
WHAT SECONDARY EFFECTS FROM THOSE HAZARDS ARE
LIKELY TO IMPACT YOUR ORGANIZATION?
Communication system breakdown
Power outages
Transportation blockages
Business interruptions
Mass evacuations/displaced population
Overwhelmed medical services
Other
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Ranking your Hazards
 What are the highest priority hazards? Consider such
factors as:
Frequency of occurrence
Relative likelihood of occurrence
Magnitude and intensity
Location (affecting critical areas or infrastructure)
 #1 Priority hazard:
 #2 Priority hazard:
 #3 Priority hazard:
Step 2: Define
the Scope
5 key elements of scope
Type of emergency
Usually limited to one major
Location
Specific place where hazard
could realistically occur
Functions
List the operations that the
participants will practice.
Clear & narrowly defined
Participants
Who needs to be involved?
Decision makers
Exercise type
TTX, FX, or FSX
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Step 3:
Write a Statement of Purpose
Broad statement of the exercise
goal
 Clarifies for the chief executive and potential
participants why the exercise is being conducted.
Purpose Statement Example
 “The purpose of the proposed________(enter
exercise type such as tabletop) exercise is to improve
_____, _______, and ______ (enter the operations or
functions from the exercise scope) by involving ____,
______, and _____ (enter individuals by position)
from _____, _____, and ____ (enter organization
names) in a simulated _____ (enter hazard) at _____
(enter location).”
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Step 4:
Define Objectives
 An objective is a description of the performance you
expect from participants to demonstrate competence.
 More specific than purpose statement
 Provide a framework for scenario development
 Provide exercise evaluation criteria
 No more than 10 objectives (depending on size)
SMART Objectives
Discuss the process and tools used to provide overall management
and coordination of emergency public information and warnings.
http://www.fema.gov/core-capabilities
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Step 5:
Compose a Narrative
 A scenario is the story line that drives an exercise
 Today is Wednesday, March 5, 11:00am.
 Narrative: National Weather Service issued a tornado warning
for Happy County from 7:30am until 8:45am. Reports of rotation
and funnel clouds, destructive hail, deadly lightning and heavy
rain, have been received with this storm. Due to an unusual
warm front lingering in the area, temperature is currently 72
degrees and the predicted high is 84 degrees.
 The tornado touched West Corners, Central City and East Grove
around 7:50am.
Scenario cont.
 At 8:30am, facilities management for Happy County Courthouse
initiated a damage assessment process and found the building
sustained severe damage to the internal and external portions of
the facility. Additionally, assessments indicate that the facility
has undertaken approximately 8 inches of water in the
basement.
 Facilities management is currently assessing other county
facilities.
 Utility providers are estimating about 75, 000 customers are
without power, including Happy County Courthouse.
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Step 6:
Writing Major Events
 Major events are big problems resulting from the
emergency.
 The courthouse is without power and 8 inches of water in
basement
 Preliminary estimates show 75,000 customers without
power.
Step 7:
List Expected Actions
 Expected actions are the actions or decisions that you
want participants to carry out in order to
demonstrate competence.
TYPES OF ACTIONS
Verification
Gather or verify information
Consideration
Consider info, discuss among
players, negotiate, consult
plan.
Deferral
Defer action to later, put
action on priority list
Decision
Deploy or deny resources
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Step 8:
Problem Statements/Messages
 A tabletop can succeed with just a few carefully
written messages or problem statements.
 Usually directed to a single person or organization,
although others may be invited to join in the
discussion.
 Typically proceeds the narrative with questions.
Message Example
1. What are facilities management initial notifications
and how are those notifications made?
2. Who are you required to notify at this point in the
incident and how are you making these
notifications?
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Applying the Design Steps
 8 Step Process will be used to create your situation
manual “SITMAN”.
 The “SITMAN” is what the participants will refer to
throughout the exercise. This is a summary of
everything—it provides a synopsis of the exercise.
HOW A TABLETOP WORKS
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Facilities and Materials
 Identify exercise participants “Players”
 Operations Center or conference facility
 Materials:
 Emergency plans
 Maps
 Other references
 Arrange room in small groups or a U-shaped layout
KEY ACTIONS
 Set the stage
 Involve everyone
 Focus on in-depth problem solving
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Facilitating the Exercise
 Strategies for setting the stage
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Welcome
Briefing
Narrative
Ice breaker
Facilitating the Exercise
 Strategies for involving everyone
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Organize messages
Encourage
Elicit-do not provide- solutions
Eye contact
Reinforcement
Redirect if necessary
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Tips for Facilitators
 Keep discussion focused on how critical tasks would
be performed
 Always remain neutral, objective, and fair
 Record all ideas and facts
 Allow real situations to be used as examples
 Players should speak to each other, not you
 Do not allow the group to transfer ownership of the
process, problem, or recommendation to you
 Honor break, lunch, and quitting times
SAMPLE TABLETOP
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Tabletop Agenda
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10:00 a.m.
10:45 a.m.
11:10 a.m.
11:45 a.m.
12:00 p.m.
Registration
Module 1: Warning
Module 2: Response
Break
Hot Wash/Debrief
WELCOME
Tabletop Exercise
 Introductions
 Name, Agency, Title, Role
 Roles and Responsibilities
 Participants (Players)
 Representatives at the table and participate in discussion
 Observers
 Support the participants but do not participate in the
discussion
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Exercise Rules
 Respond based on your knowledge of current plans
and capabilities
 Make your best decision based on the circumstances
presented.
 Varying viewpoints, even disagreements are
expected. Stress-free environment.
Sample TTX Exercise Objectives
 Public Information & Warning
 Discuss your protocol for managing emergency public
information and warnings and how emergency warnings will be
conducted.
 Operational Communications
 Discuss how immediate incident alert & notifications will be
conducted.
 Critical Transportation (Citizen Evacuation & Shelter-inPlace)
 Describe how activation of evacuation and/or shelter-in-place
protection operations will be conducted.
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Module 1:
Scenario
 March 5, 10:00am – The tornado produced severe
thunderstorms and heavy rain in Happy County and a
flash flood resulted.
 Within 3 hours, 6 to 9 inches of water were reported.
 Happy County Courthouse and the adjacent medical
examiner’s building have reported that their facilities
have undertaken approximately 8 inches of water in
their basements.
Key Issues
 8 inches of water reported in Courthouse and Medical
Examiner’s Office
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Module 1: Questions
1. Who would be the incident commander (leader) for
this incident?
2. What are your immediate, intermediate and long
term priorities?
3. Who are you required to notify at this point in the
incident and how are you making these
notifications?
Module 2:
SCENARIO cont.
 A fire has resulted due to lightning striking Happy
County Courthouse and an evacuation has been
ordered.
 Medical Examiner’s Office is evacuating due to
uprooted trees destroying windows and a loss of
power.
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SCENARIO cont.
 Happy County Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
has been activated.
 75,000 customers without power within the County.
 County Executive is proclaiming a State of Emergency
for Happy County.
Key Issues
 Courthouse fire and evacuation
 Medical Examiner’s office evacuation
 Power outages throughout County
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Module 2: Questions
1. What agency plans do you have to support this
incident?
2. How are you communicating with onsite and offsite
employees?
3. What message/s are you directing to the public?
Wrap-Up Activities
 Participants and observers complete feedback forms that
should solicit, at a minimum:
 Improvements to future exercises
 Level of satisfaction
 Conducting a debriefing or Hot Wash
 Planners should address comments from feedback forms
in future exercises
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training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.aspx
www.llis.dhs.gov/hseep
www.county.milwaukee.gov/emergencymanagement
emergencymanagement.wi.gov/training/exercises.asp
Tabletop Resources, 2014
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