Having a well-prepared response to different scenarios is not just a wise move; it’s a necessity, especially in a world where the unexpected is practically anticipated. We have all been in unfortunate circumstances because of a lack of foresight and planning. But the tabletop exercise is one tried-and-true technique for mitigating the unknown in an organisation. It offers business continuity leaders and employee safety a low-cost but effective approach to determining emergency preparation before a crisis happens.
What is a Tabletop Exercise?
A tabletop exercise (TTX) is like a rehearsal for the unexpected. It is a structured and interactive simulation designed to help teams come together to determine how to respond to a crisis. A TTX helps participants familiarise themselves with the response process and allows administrators to evaluate the effectiveness of the organisation’s emergency preparedness.
Potential scenarios for tabletop exercises include a natural disaster, a cyberattack, a pandemic response, or anything else that may derail operations, but these may vary depending on the nature of the industry and the location of the organisation.
How Do Tabletop Exercises Work?
In a tabletop exercise, employees with emergency roles usually come together to discuss different simulated tabletop exercise situations. Since a tabletop exercise takes place in a non-threatening simulated environment, participants can comfortably rehearse their roles, ask questions, and fix problem areas.
For instance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), responsible for coordinating emergent responses during officially declared disasters, regularly utilises tabletop exercises to test and evaluate policies, procedures, equipment, current plans, and more. Federal Emergency Management Agency also uses tabletop exercises to define roles and responsibilities to maintain interagency coordination and enhance communication while responding to natural disasters and other emergency scenarios.
How to Create a Powerful Tabletop Exercise for Effective Team Building
Step 1: Design
1). Define the tabletop exercise objectives and outcomes.
Make it clear what you aim to accomplish during the exercise. Also, decide how to use the outcome once the exercise ends.
2). Select the right participants and exercise team.
Choose the security partners who handle real emergencies as your players. You want the key decision-makers in the room: executives, operations personnel, local and state officials, emergency responders, and even vendors—to choose observers who can positively contribute to discussions and utilise the lessons learned. Create a dynamic exercise team that presents experience and new ideas.
3). Create an interactive scenario and exercise plan.
Create a strong, believable scenario that matches your objectives but doesn’t get too caught up in it. Spend your time creating fantastic questions, a detailed game strategy, and an approach that will involve all participants in an interactive discussion.
Step 2: Engage
1). Design an interactive, no-fault environment.
Create an environment that builds trust and promotes discussion to avoid the rigidity of a tabletop exercise. Create a physical space that supports interaction and declare it a “no-fault zone” so individuals can ask questions freely and make mistakes. Also, ensure you engage all participants and guide them through the activities that will result in the best outcome.
2). To get insight, ask probing questions.
Use a skilled facilitator who can help you identify critical issues and gain useful insights. Maintain a decent script while remaining flexible and responsive to the conversation. Besides, know where to probe for further information.
3). Record issues, lessons, and significant gaps.
Do not solely rely on notetakers; instead, record and evaluate essential points in real-time during the exercise: Utilise visual tools and a timeline to observe how decisions are made as an event progresses.
Step 3: Learn
1). Generate an after-action report.
Create an after-action report (AAR) to document the exercise and outline future actions. Highlight important points using well-organised diagrams, opportunities for improvement, lists of best practices, and lists of resources. Also, make it useful and easy to read.
2). Generate a specific, near-term strategy.
The best way to implement lessons learned is to use the after-action report to generate a specific near-term plan for the organisation. Avoid trying to do everything at once. We recommend starting with the simple, low-hanging improvements and proceeding from there.
3). Provide tools and resources to boost learning.
Leverage the exercise by providing participants with access to hands-on tools and resources that will help them enhance their plans. And if you want to motivate them, give them a scaled-down version of the tabletop exercise so they can run with their team members.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Tabletop Exercises
Pros
- Tabletop exercises are a low-cost but effective approach to determining emergency preparation before a crisis happens.
- Tabletop exercises create a low-stress environment to test response strategies without real-world consequences, allowing you to make mistakes and learn without risking your organisation.
- Tabletop exercises help participants think critically, make decisions, and evaluate reactions as if dealing with an emergency.
- Tabletop exercises shine a light on critical vulnerabilities and weaknesses in existing response plans.
- Tabletop exercises enable participants to learn to assess situations and make informed decisions, enhancing their ability to respond quickly and intelligently to crises.
- Organisations can evaluate their ability to adapt to unexpected developments.
- Tabletop Exercises encourage effective communication between participants.
Cons
- Tabletop exercises can’t replicate the real-time urgency your team will experience in a real crisis, so they don’t indicate how well your team will perform under pressure.
- Since tabletop exercises are simulations, participants may not experience as much pressure and stress as they would in an actual crisis. They may think emergency planning and emergency response are easy.
- Tabletop exercises usually involve discussions and decision-making, lacking the physical actions needed in actual emergencies.
- People’s reactions in a simulated exercise might not be the same as in a real crisis such as a malware attack.
- Although tabletop exercises are great for testing strategic thinking and decision-making, they might not thoroughly evaluate certain physical actions or technical skills needed in a real crisis.
Tabletop Exercises vs. Other Exercises
A tabletop exercise is one of four exercises used to assess emergency plans and procedures. They are often used in fields such as cybersecurity, emergency management, business continuity planning, and military training, to mention a few. The other three types of exercises (now that we know what tabletop exercise is) include functional exercises, full-scale exercises, and walkthroughs.
1. Functional Exercises
A functional exercise allows emergency team players to perform their roles and responsibilities in a simulated environment. For this exercise, a scenario is usually given, such as a profound business system failure or a specific hazard. Besides, with a functional exercise, participants want to “try-out” certain procedures and resources.
2. Full-Scale Exercises
You might have participated in a full-scale exercise while working at a healthcare organisation, in a government job, or serving in the military. With full-scale exercise, the more “real” the experience may be for participants, the better. Local businesses, new organisations, and law enforcement agencies are usually notified before full-scale exercises and given roles to perform.
3. Walkthroughs
A walkthrough is used for basic team training to introduce them to their roles and responsibilities. During a walkthrough exercise, team members usually perform the role in question, trying to understand how the organisation’s business continuity plans will proceed. Furthermore, a walkthrough can be a handy tool to ensure those involved understand the crisis communication and escalation procedures.
Frequently Asked Questions on the Table Top Exercise
1. Do tabletop exercises work?
Yes, tabletop exercises are best for organisations with an incident response plan already in place. With exercises, organisations can build on what they already know. Without a rehearsed plan, improvising during an exercise could negatively impact business continuity, cause reputation damage, and lead to monetary losses.
2. What are the benefits of tabletop exercise?
Here are some of the benefits of tabletop exercises:
- A tabletop exercise is a low-cost but effective approach to determining emergency preparation before a crisis happens.
- It creates a low-stress environment to test response strategies without real-world consequences, allowing you to make mistakes and learn without risking your organisation.
- It helps participants think critically, make decisions, and evaluate reactions as if dealing with an emergency.
- It shines a light on critical gaps and weaknesses in existing response plans.
- It enables participants to learn to assess situations and make informed decisions, enhancing their ability to respond quickly and intelligently to crises.
3. Why is it called tabletop exercise?
As the name implies, tabletop exercises are played around a table, with participants responding to the leader’s questions and describing a scenario with recommendations from their organisation’s emergency plans.
4. How long is a tabletop exercise?
The duration of a tabletop exercise can vary depending on the incident, objectives, complexity, and goals of the exercise, as well as the organization conducting it. However, most tabletop exercises generally take between 1 and 4 hours.
5. What is the conclusion of the tabletop exercise?
To conclude the tabletop exercise, the facilitator usually puts together an After Action Report (AAR) that summarizes the exercise, includes lessons learned and crucial information brought up during the discussion, an itemized list of actions for improvement and a schedule for finishing these items.
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