Writing an After Action Report and Improvement Plan

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Writing an After Action Report and Improvement
Plan

• Elizabeth Jane Tangwall
• DVM, MEP
• Minnesota Department of Health,
• Office of Emergency Preparedness,
• Exercise Planner

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Why bother?

• Funding source requirements

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After Action Reports

• What do you gain?
• training
• planning

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Exercise cycle

• Self-sustaining
• programs

Plans, policies and procedures
Orientation training
After action report/ Improvement Plan
Exercise
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HSEEP

• Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program
• Provides a standardized methodology for
  designing, conducting and evaluating all
  exercises
• Builds self-sustaining exercise programs based on
  the Target Capabilities from the National
  Preparedness System

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HSEEP

• HSEEP (https//hseep.dhs.gov) Volumes
• I Overview and Exercise Program
  Management
• II Exercise Planning and Conduct
• III Exercise Evaluation and
  Improvement Planning
• IV Library
• V Prevention Exercises

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HSEEP

• HSEEP Toolkit
• National Exercise Schedule System
• Design and Development System
• Corrective Action Program (CAP) System
• Our focus today will from Volume III Exercise
  Evaluation and improvement Planning

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HSEEP Compliance

• Defined as adherence to specific HSEEP -mandated
  practices for
• Exercise program management,
• Design,
• Development,
• Conduct,
• Evaluation, and
• Improvement planning

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HSEEP Compliance

• In order for an entity to be considered HSEEP
  compliant it must satisfy four distinct
  performance requirements

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HSEEP Compliance

• Conduct an annual Training and Exercise Plan
  Workshop and developing and maintain a Multi-year
  Training and Exercise Plan.
• Plan and conduct exercises in accordance with the
  guidelines set forth in HSEEP Volumes I-III.
• Develop and submit a properly formatted
  After-Action Report/ Improvement Plan (AAR/IP).
• Track and implement corrective actions identified
  in the AAR/IP.

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Timelines for AAR and IPs

• Draft AAR (
• After Action Conference
• Final AAR and Improvement Plan (
• Tracking and retest

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Content of an AAR

• Objectives
• Evaluator information
• Hotwash information
• Participant Evaluations
• Integrity

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Objectives from the Exercise

• The objectives should address the Target
  Capabilities from the National Preparedness
  System

What are Target Capabilities?
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National Preparedness System

• Guides Federal funding allocations decisions
• Directs Federal and non-Federal efforts to build
  emergency response capabilities
• Establishes a means by which homeland security
  priorities are set.

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National Preparedness System

• National Planning Scenarios
• Universal Task List (UTL)
• Target Capabilities List (TCL)
• National Response Plan (NRP)
• National Incident Management System (NIMS)
• National Infrastructure Protection Plan

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Universal Task List

• Common Tasks (5)
• Prevent Mission (16)
• Protect Mission (13)
• Respond Mission (15)
• Recover Mission (14)

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Target Capabilities List

• Tasks are organized into 37 capabilities
• Leads to capabilities-based planning
• Exercise objectives should address the Target
  Capabilities List (TCL)

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Target Capabilities List

• Missions
• Common (4)
• Prevent (5)
• Protect (4)
• Respond (21)
• Recover (3)

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• Jane- this is where I think it would be good to
  insert whatever pieces you like form the Homeland
  security module 6 and 7.
• Just mark which ones you want incorporated and I
  will do that

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Content of the AAR

• Objectives
• Evaluator information
• Hotwash information
• Participant Evaluations
• Integrity

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Content of the AAR

• Objectives
• Evaluator information
• Hotwash information
• Participant Evaluations
• Integrity

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Content of the AAR

• Objectives
• Evaluator information
• Hotwash information
• Participant Evaluations
• Integrity

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Content of the AAR

• Participant Evaluations
• What went well?
• What didnt go so well?
• What should be improved?

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Content of the AAR

• Objectives
• Evaluator information
• Hotwash information
• Participant Evaluations
• Integrity

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Content of the AAR

• Integrity
• The content in the after action report for an
  exercise should come from the documents, actions,
  and participant comments in the exercise.

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Format of the AAR

• For this next section, please refer to the copy
  of the HSEEP After Action Report Template and
  their sample AAR from the HSEEP training
  materials provided with your handouts.

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Format of the AAR

• General
• The draft must be clearly identified as a draft
  with a large watermark
• The Final will be clearly identified as a final
  document.

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Format of the AAR

• Report cover should include
• Exercise Name
• Date(s) the exercise was conducted
• The words After Action Report/ Improvement Plan
• Date the AAR/IP was published
• Identify or add logos, color, or pictures

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Format of the AAR

• Administrative Handling Instructions
• For official use only (FUOU)
• By invitation only (IO)
• Sensitive but unclassified (SBU)
• Identify who may approve dissemination (e.g.
  sponsor agency or lead planner) and additional
  guidelines on use.
• Include a distribution list of recipients and the
  form in which the AAR/IP document is provided
  (paper, CD, electronic as a PDF)

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Format of the AAR

• Table of Contents
• Title and page number of each major component and
  each subcomponent in the report
• Caption and page number for each graphic

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Format of the AAR

• Executive Summary
• -a brief overview that includes
• Why the exercise was conducted
• What the community wanted to learn by
  participating
• What Mission, Capabilities, and Scenario was used
  to achieve the objectives.

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Format of the AAR

• Executive Summary (continued)
• Identify what was learned by participating in the
  exercise (limit to 3)
• Identify what needs further development or
  improvement (limit to 3)
• The Executive Summary should be less than two
  pages in length.

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Format of the AAR

• Section 1- Exercise Overview
• Exercise Name
• List the formal name of the exercise
• Type of Exercise
• Seminar, Workshop, Drill, Game, Tabletop,
  Functional Exercise, or Full-Scale Exercise
• Exercise Start Date
• Month, day, and year
• Exercise End Date
• Month, day, and year

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Format of the AAR

• Section 1- Exercise Overview (continued)
• Program
• Program from which funding originated
• Duration
• Total length of the exercise
• Location
• Specific information including city, state,
  federal region, country, or military installation
• Sponsor
• Name of Federal agency that sponsored

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Format of the AAR

• Section 1 Exercise Overview (continued)
• Funding Recipient
• Agency that received the funding
• Mission
• Common, Prevent, Protect, Response, Recovery
• Capabilities
• Provide a list addressed in the exercise

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Format of the AAR

• Section 1 Exercise Overview (continued)
• Scenario
• Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear
  detonation, Cyber, Agricultural, Natural
  Disaster, Other
• Exercise Planning Team
• Organization/agencies co-sponsoring and
  contributing to the planning team
• Number of Participants
• List total number of each group players,
  victim-role players, controllers, evaluators,
  observers, and facilitators

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Format of the AAR

• Section 2 Exercise Design Summary
• Exercise Purpose and Design
• 1-2 paragraphs on why the exercise was conducted
  and what the participants wanted to learn).
• Includes how it was organized, designed, funded
  etc. and any major issues encountered.

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Format of the AAR

• Section 2 Exercise Design Summary (continued)
• Capabilities and Activities identified for
  demonstration
• aligns exercise objectives with TCL list
• Summary of designed initiating events/ key
  scenario events
• the situation of events initially presented to
  the players, subsequent events introduced during
  the play, and times that these events occurred
• Planned simulations
• simulations identified in the design process

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Format of the AAR

• Section 3 Analysis of Capabilities Demonstrated
  
• Identifies the performance of the players for
  each Capability and associated Activity
• Provide a summary for each capability and
  describe how it was addressed in a
  discussion-based exercise or performed in an
  operations-based exercise.

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Format of the AAR

• Section 3 Analysis of Capabilities Demonstrated
  (continued)
• A subheading is made for each Activity in the
  Capability containing a observations that give an
  analysis of how well the tasks were carried out.
  Each observation is identified as a strength or
  an area that needs improvement.

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Format of the AAR

• Section 3 Analysis of Capabilities Demonstrated
• For each capability include
• Capability
• provide a summary
• For each Activity include
• Activity - short description of the activity
• Observation one sentence description
• Reference(s) plan, policy, procedure, or
  EEG
• Analysis description of what happened and
  the root cause
• Recommendation(s) usually broad
  suggestion for how to improve on the activity.

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Format of the AAR

• Section 4 Conclusion
• Summarize the exercise and give an overview of
  the strengths and primary areas for improvement
  identified in the evaluation.

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Format of the AAR

• Appendices
• Improvement Plan
• Lessons Learned (optional)
• Participant Feedback Summary (optional)
• Exercise Events Summary Table (optional)
• Performance Ratings (optional)
• Acronyms

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Format of the AAR

• AAR/IP are required for all exercises regardless
  of type.
• However, some discussion-based exercises such as
  seminars and workshops may have an abbreviated
  Analysis of Capabilities section.

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Format of the AAR

• Analysis of Capabilities section will provide
• Overview of guest and keynote speaker
  presentation
• Summary of discussion points
• Summary of results and recommendations

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Format of the AAR

• Make sure that you mark this
• as a DRAFT

DRAFT
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Improvement Plan
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After Action Conference

• Schedule with representatives from participating
  agencies and organizations (remember the Final is
  due at 60 days)
• Send the draft after action report at least a
  week ahead with instructions to review the AAR
  and the IP
• Request AAR edits at least 2 days prior to the
  after action conference

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Improvement Plan
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Thanks for Coming!

• Thank you!

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Contact Information

• Elizabeth Jane Tangwall, DVM MEP
• Minnesota Department of Health
• Office of Emergency Preparedness
• Exercise Planner
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email elizabeth.tangwall_at_health.state.mn.us