Unit Objective

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Unit Objective

• List and explain the eight exercise design steps

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Step 1 Assess Needs

• Begin with your plan
• Hazards and priorities
• Vulnerable areas
• Functions in need of rehearsal
• Potential participants and program areas.
• Past exercises
• Exercise requirements
• Capabilities

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Assessing Needs

• Learn from past exercises
• Who participated?
• To what extent were objectives achieved?
• What lessons were learned?
• What problems were revealed, and what is needed
  to resolve them?
• What improvements have been made since, and have
  they been tested?

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Needs Assessment Results

• Primary and secondary hazards
• Problems, weak functions
• Skills requiring practice
• Improvements requiring testing
• Untested facilities, personnel, equipment
• Weaknesses in emergency plan or SOPs
• Need for role clarification
• Need for certain types of exercises

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Step 2 Define the Scope
Defining the scope Setting realistic limits

• Factors that help define scope
• Expense
• Availability of resources
• Seriousness of the problem
• Capacity of the exercise to address the problem
• Designers skills and experience
• Exercise length

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Defining Scope

• Scope includes the
• Type of emergency.
• Location.
• Functions.
• Participants.
• Exercise type.

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Defining Scope

• Location
• Choose a realistic site.
• Consider traffic problems and safety issues.
• Functions
• List operations to be practiced.
• Be specific about the procedures addressed within
  each function.

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Defining the Scope

• Participants
• Which organizations need to be involved to carry
  out the functions being tested?
• Which representatives from those organizations
  should be there?
• Narrow the list to those who are required in
  order to carry out the actions.

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Defining the Scope

• Exercise type
• What exercises are most needed?
• What experience have personnel had with various
  types of exercises?
• What stress level do we want?
• What types of exercises are mandated by
  regulatory requirements?

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Step 3 Write a Purpose Statement

• Purpose statement A broad statement of the
  exercise goal
• Governs objectives, which determine subsequent
  steps
• Clarifies reasons for the exercise
• Useful for communicating with media and community

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Step 4 Define Objectives

• Objectives Descriptions of the performance you
  expect from participants to demonstrate
  competence
• Objectives are essential for
• Design process.
• Exercise conduct.
• Evaluation.
• Followup.

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What Makes a Good Objective?

• Clear, concise, focused on participant
  performance
• Should contain
• Action, stated in observable terms.
• Conditions under which the action will be
  performed.
• Standards (or level) of performance.

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A Good Objective

• Should state who should do what under what
  conditions according to what standards.

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SMART Objectives

• S imple
• M easurable
• A chievable
• R ealistic
• T ask oriented

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Is This a Useful Objective?
To demonstrate an understanding of the procedures
necessary in protecting responder health and
safety.
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Points of Review

• Objective Demonstrate the adequacy of displays
  and other materials to support emergency
  operations
• Points of Review

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Word Choice

• Use concrete words.
• Avoid vague verbs, such as
• Know.
• Understand.
• Appreciate.
• Show the ability to.
• Be aware of.
• Use action words.

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Step 5 Compose a Narrative

• Narrative A brief description of the scenario
  events that have occurred up to the exercise
  beginning.
• Sets the mood
• Provides information that sets the stage for
  later action

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Narrative Characteristics

• A good narrative
• Is usually 1 to 5 paragraphs long.
• Is very specific.
• Is phrased in present tense.
• Is written in short sentences.
• May develop the situation chronologically (event
  with warning time).
• May emphasize the emergency environment.

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Step 6 Write Major Detailed Events

• Events are
• Occurrences that happen as a result of the
  emergency described in the narrative.
• Problems requiring actions that will meet the
  objectives.
• Careful scripting is required to
• Produce a convincing, unified scenario.
• Create an exercise governed by objectives.

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Developing Major Events

• Major events
• Big problems.
• Likely events calling for realistic action.
• To develop major events
• 1. Identify major occurrences that would follow
  the narrative events.
• 2. Select those that might generate situations
  to test the objectives.

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Developing Detailed Events

• Detailed events
• Specific problem situations that will prompt one
  or more expected actions.
• To develop detailed events
• Plan detailed events and expected actions
  together.
• Work backwards from the actions.
• List specific problems likely to stem from major
  events, and actions that would be expected to
  address them.

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Detailed Events Example

• Major event Estimates of passenger casualties
  rise to 200 deaths and at least 70 severe burn
  victims.
• Possible detailed events
• Mortuary cannot accept so many remains.
• Local hospitals lack specialized facilities and
  personnel to treat large numbers of severe burn
  victims.
• The Red Cross has agreed to set up an information
  center to link victims and their families.

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Step 7 List Expected Actions

• Expected actions Actions or decisions you want
  participants to carry out in order to demonstrate
  competence.
• Types of actions
• Verification.
• Consideration.
• Deferral.
• Decision.

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Listing Expected Actions

• List only those that involve the participating
  organizations.
• List expected actions for all exercise
  participants.
• It is not necessary for each detailed event to
  generate responses from all participants.

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Step 8 Prepare Messages

• Messages
• Communicate detailed events.
• Evoke a response (decision or action) to meet
  objectives.
• Are transmitted by phone, radio, note, fax, in
  person.
• Must come from credible source, through credible
  channels.

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Messages, Events, and Actions

• One message may represent one event or . . .
• Several messages may be needed to notify
  participants of an event.
• Each message is designed to generate one or
  more expected actions.

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Message Variables

• Message source
• Transmission method
• Message content
• Recipient
• These variables influence the action taken

• WHO?
• HOW?
• WHAT?
• TO WHOM?
• To what EFFECT?

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Message Format
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Spontaneous Messages

• In tabletop and functional exercises, most
  messages are prescripted.
• Participants do not always respond as
  anticipated.
• Controllers and simulators must be ready to ad
  lib.
• Designers should give them ideas for handling
  situations beforehand.

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Composing a Message

• Begin with an expected action.
• Decide
• What message would provoke that action?
• Who will send it? Who will receive it?
• What should the message say?
• How will the message be transmitted?
• Keep it realistic!
• Practice with a partner . . . does the message
  work?

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Master Scenario of Events List

• Includes
• List of events.
• Time of occurrence.
• Expected actions.
• Organized by time of occurrence
• Used to monitor progress, keep exercise on
  schedule
• Should NOT be shown to participants

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Exercise Alternatives

• Exercise-based training courses
• E.g., FEMAs Integrated Emergency Management
  Course (IEMC).
• Prepackaged exercises
• Many exercise incidentsnatural, hazmat,
  terrorist, etc.
• Should be adapted to local setting.

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Unit Summary

• In Unit 4, we
• Discussed the eight-step design process.
• Applied each step in the initial development of
  an exercise.

Next The Tabletop Exercise