Crisis Sim Exercise Methodology

Question 1

What should you set for your exercise?

Answer 1

Set a clear goal for your exercise and communicate it to the team participating, along with business-specific context.

Question 2

How should you communicate the exercise goal to participants?

Answer 2

Communicate the goal, why it’s relevant and essential, any applicable prep labs or resources, and what to expect during the exercise.

Question 3

What are some tips for running the exercise event?

Answer 3

Ensure participants understand the value, encourage collaboration, drive urgency with time limits, create a safe space for errors, and have a post-exercise debrief.

Question 4

How long should the exercise last?

Answer 4

Ten minutes per inject if live/collaborative, 1-2 weeks if individual mode, quickly if drill mode. Account for a debrief session.

Question 5

What are some exercise facilitation styles?

Answer 5

The customer can customize, but some styles are presentation mode, facilitator-led discussion, individual mode, and drill mode relay.

Question 6

What facilitator tips are provided?

Answer 6

Ensure value is understood, encourage collaboration, drive urgency, create a safe space, and have a debrief.

Question 7

What reference materials can be used?

Answer 7

Optional internal collateral like incident response playbooks or process documentation.

Question 8

How can roles be assigned during the exercise?

Answer 8

Roles can reflect current org roles, be assigned to teams/roles, or have everyone play the same role.

Question 9

What are the steps in the exercise project checklist?

Answer 9

Define goals, identify the audience, select a scenario, customize, identify facilitation style, test run, schedule, send communications, prepare logistics, run the exercise, hotwash, analyze results, debrief.

Question 10

What should be included in the organizational exercise overview template?

Answer 10

Exercise name, facilitator, month/year, goals, scenario details, participants, metrics, key dates for test run, exercise, debrief.

Question 11

What is the purpose of conducting an organizational exercise?

Answer 11

To practice crisis management and response, helping participants become familiar with making decisions in a crisis.

Question 12

What should be included in advance team communications?

Answer 12

Exercise goal, relevance, importance, applicable prep labs, internal resources, and briefing information.

Question 13

What is the role of a facilitator during the exercise?

Answer 13

To ensure participants understand the value, encourage collaboration, drive urgency, create a safe space for errors, and conduct a debrief.

Question 14

How should injects be timed during a live collaborative exercise?

Answer 14

Estimate 10 minutes per inject, potentially increasing time if feedback is shared with each inject.

Question 15

What is the recommended timeline for individual mode exercises?

Answer 15

1-2 weeks.

Question 16

How should drill-mode exercises be conducted?

Answer 16

Quickly, each person completed their injects as fast as possible to proceed to the next person.

Question 17

What should be done after the exercise is complete?

Answer 17

Conduct a post-exercise debrief to reinforce learnings and key takeaways.

Question 18

What are some optional materials that can be used during the exercise?

Answer 18

Incident response playbooks or process documentation.

Question 19

How can participant roles be determined for the exercise?

Answer 19

Based on current organizational roles, assigned to teams/roles outside of daily duties, or everyone playing the same role.