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Scenario Development Steps

nce the exercise goals and objectives have been formulated and the type of exercise
selected, there are further considerations in the exercise planning process.These include
O developing support materials such as an exercise participant handbook/manual and
evaluation forms, and scheduling a training or briefing session. Such a session will ensure that
all exercise participants, including the team conducting and evaluating the exercise, the players
(e.g.,“victims,” hotline callers, community members, etc.), and others are clearly informed
about their roles in the exercise prior to its start.These steps are discussed more fully, includ- Scenario Development Steps
ing examples, on page 16 (Developing Exercise Briefing Materials).

The scenario is the foundation of an effective exercise. It lays the groundwork for develop-
ment of exercise objectives and selection of public health emergency exercise criteria.The
process for scenario development is the same, regardless of whether an exercise will be con-
ducted entirely within an LPHA or as part of a larger multigency exercise.An LPHA may
*
select a scenario from the Suite of 15 National Planning Scenarios, as long as the
chosen scenario is plausible for the jurisdiction.

When developing drills, or tabletop, functional, or full-scale exercises, follow these steps:

1 Use agency content experts to assist in 4 Do a “talk-through” with the entire
planning team to identify possible prob-
scenario development.
lems and areas in need of improvement.
2 Research and gather background infor- Finalize the scenario, including the
5 development of simulations and injects
mation to make the scenario realistic.†
needed for scenario flow if the exercise
3 Draft and review the scenario with the includes response to changing
exercise planning team.
information.

*These scenarios represent a range of potential natural disasters or deliberately caused events and are expected to be the
basis of the National Exercise Program. Use of these scenarios can facilitate cross-agency collaboration or evaluation.
See Appendix D.

†This is needed even if the exercise makes use of one of the National Planning Scenarios. 9