Ultimate Guide to creating your Crisis Exercise

As June begins announcing the start of summer, we are preparing to deliver a higher number of tailored simulations this month across no less than eight industry sectors. All of which includes a broad range of client skills and talents.

Crisis Scenarios are widely recognised as the shortest route to maturing our ability to cope with stress when the unexpected happens. By exercising and testing strategies, theories and plans it provides people with the validation and experience within a safe learning environment. 

At Armstrong we are often asked how we help choose and then craft a scenario. We asked our CEO, Chris Oliver, for his thoughts on the essentials of crafting your own scenario and how to put your team through their paces

Armstrong : How do you choose a good scenario, if you are new to crisis exercises?

Chris :

"If this is your first time, don't worry. Take comfort it is not as difficult as it might appear to be, and it is certainly never having to sit there with a blank piece of paper staring into space and waiting for inspiration."

"I find it helpful to look at three things. First the risk register. What worries you and keeps us up at night? Then, what about previous incidents. What happened and how did you treat them? Then lastly, what if any, exercises has your business run in the past.

Those three core pieces of information will set us on the right road, but there is one last thing to add. Just check out what does good practice, even regulation (if you are regulated) say you must test regularly : Information Technology Disaster Recovery, Cyber, Communications, Client Services ?

That brings us close to selecting the type and even the complexity of our scenario. All you need to add to the recipe is to decide how mature is your organisation, and therefore how simple or complex the scenario will be. I often check out my thoughts with someone in the business who will not play in the exercise, and also remember when designing the scenario in the end your team must 'win'."

Armstrong : Is its simple to design & choose your objectives once you have selected the scenario?

Chris :

"Yes, put simply. What do we want from the test? To exercise our plans? Or test our Business Impact Analysis information is right? Perhaps it is to exercise our teams and see how well they work together with the right people in the right roles and responsibilities? Or it is about how well communication works during an impact? Maybe more or several of these. This list goes on and often has more than one objective, but clearly articulating what you are testing at the start, to the all the participants, will produce some effective and lasting outcomes and good guidance as you craft the scenario."

In designing the scenario I like to take a storyboard approach, it's where the creativity starts. If we have decided the type of scenario, the objectives of what we are testing and the outcomes of what we want to see we are half way to getting the story or scenario together.

Every challenging impact or disruption starts with some basic information, very often lacking in details, leaving people unable to understand exactly what has happened and asking them to solve problems. Then gradually over time it becomes more obvious what has happened. That's how our storyboard should develop - an initial briefing that sets out where we start and why the team has been called together and poses the question what do we do, with what plans and analytical information / solutions. It goes on to develop over time with further 'injects' of information at the appropriate time. These will bring light to what has happened or to detail further impacts that are caused as time has gone on, you will have to decide that."

Armstrong : How do you decide on who should participate, the attendees ?

Chris :

"Start with the people listed in your plans. Is it a Crisis Management exercise or more an Operational Continuity exercise? Not everyone will be available, that shouldn't stop you as we never know when a disruption will happen and people will be on holiday or absent. If there are some core people unavailable involve their deputies. A number of mature organisations will even choose holiday periods like August to run scenarios, deliberately.

If you are testing roles and responsibilities then it's key you have those people, if you are testing teams then ensure you have the right make up of people. Don't forget to have an exercise control team, a few people who have read and checked the whole scenario and will help you by playing along and drip feed the players with accurate results, what they can do and what they can not."

Armstrong : What is the ideal duration for a scenario?

Chris :

"Time is an important factor in your scenario design and making it engaging. It is often affected by:

• How long many people can participate for

• How complex (mature) the scenario is

• Your judgement of how fast or slow teams will respond to the information you present them with

• The ability to keep it engaging and punchy

• Finding a natural end

There is nothing worse that dragging out a scenario over two days as an audience gets stale, when you can simulate within minutes the advancement of time over several hours.

I'm often asked how many injects should we include in the storyboard and that is often down to how complex and how long you hold the exercise for."

Armstrong : What tips do you have for good engagement during the Exercise itself?

Chris :

"Preparation work for the day is essential and we often make sure:

• Players are up to date on their information. They won't often use assets as regularly as you; plans, BIAs, risk assessments, emergency contacts.

• Often a well crafted pre brief can get everyone on the same page before they have got into the room - either physical or virtual.

However you decide to carry it out (and initial exercises really do benefit from people being in the same location) either physical or visual, making sure you have some simple things in place will smooth the experience:

• Breakout rooms

• Physical break or rest times with refreshments

• A well crafted simple presentation with the initial briefing and injects later

• Recap periods to review a 'state of the nation'

• Simulated multi media. Its easier than ever today to create simulated media injects that suspend disbelief

• Incorporating 'actors' to come and deliver injects. You have a wide range to choose from: Emergency services personnel and local planning officers are mandated to get involved in these type of community exercises, other employees, local drama clubs are all good untapped resources.

A good exercise director will recognise just how fast or slow the team are at responding and will have their foot on the 'gas pedal' to speed it up or slow it down. Pre-planning is essential but being able to adjust and respond to that on the day is critical, and be very careful of injecting or answering questions you didn't script. Its always easy to say 'we don't have that information'.

Sometimes players (often subject matter experts) will say 'that couldn't happen', don't feel the need to explain if you have a well crafted scenario the only response is 'that sound like you are right, but it has, now what will you do?"

Armstrong : How to you bring the exercise to a good conclusion?

Chris :

"If you have been dynamically leading the exercise have you achieved all the objectives that you first set out to test. Have you recorded what worked well and what could do with some improvements? Where there any gaps? Did the right people do the right things?

Most importantly did your team 'win' at the end of the day. There is nothing worse than a scenario where it really feels you would have struggled to finish.

Perhaps the best way to conclude your scenario is to understand if there very much else left to do. Remember that a crisis management team always stands down when there is nothing left for it to do and it goes back to business as usual. Have you got there, or is there little left for them to do? That's a great point to leave it on a high note."

Armstrong : What should we include in a debrief?

Chris :

"Let's talk about the Hot Debrief. The scenario has finished, you take a pause or perhaps a few minutes break, then ask for feed back. What worked for those people who took part and what didn't. Try to match the good notes with the challenges they faced - for every good point give me one bad point or visa versa.

Then the Cold Debrief. Be prepared to follow up with a short survey with open ended questions, once the players have had a few day back at their normal roles. All of these will help produce their picture and their perspective and after all it will be them running the response in the event of a real impact"

Armstrong : After the exercise how to you deal with remediations?

Chris :

"I always feel there are different types of remediations. Perhaps something that didn't work well, well that's ok, this is what these are set to find out. What we try to do is ask the questions:

• Is it a failure in the plans, or the preparation, and can a gap be closed, if so how

• Is it a wrong role or responsibility

• Is it a misunderstanding and need for further training (as a group or an individual)

• Is the right person in post to fulfil that task

Drawing up a list and sharing this with the exercise control team and the management is a good step forwards in maturing people and plans, with dates, responsibilities and expected outcomes.

All these lead to increasing the level of knowledge, experience and understanding, raising maturity and ultimately helping to decide on your next crisis exercise and scenario."