Unit Objective

1. Unit Objective • List and explain the eight exercise design steps

2. 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

3. 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?

4. 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

5. 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

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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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?

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. A Good Objective Standards Conditions Within 15 minutes after the evacuation notice is given, Who members of the EOC will complete notification procedures to school administrators. Specific action • Should state who should do what under what conditions according to what standards.

14. SMART Objectives • S imple • M easurable • A chievable • R ealistic • T ask oriented

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

16. Points of Review Display Yes No ¨ ¨ 1. Status boards available in facility 2. Status boards used ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ 3. Status boards kept updated by ________ ¨ ¨ 4. Maps available 5. Maps up to date ¨ ¨ • Objective: Demonstrate the adequacy of displays and other materials to support emergency operations • Points of Review:

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

18. 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

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. Message Variables Message source Transmission method Message content Recipient These variables influence the action taken WHO? HOW? WHAT? TO WHOM? To what EFFECT?

29. Message Format EMERGENCY EXERCISE<MESSAGE> TO: METHOD FROM: NO: TIME: CONTENT: ________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ ACTION TAKEN: ____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

30. 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.

31. 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?”

32. 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

33. Exercise Alternatives • Exercise-based training courses: • E.g., FEMA’s Integrated Emergency Management Course (IEMC). • Prepackaged exercises: • Many exercise incidents—natural, hazmat, terrorist, etc. • Should be adapted to local setting.

34. 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