Rothstein Associates Inc.

EXERCISE SOURCEBOOK:
A RESEARCH REVIEW
by James W. Morentz, Ph.D.

Examines research conclusions to find the most important principles and
problems in
exercising. It reviews more than 60 simulation studies in the emergency field and contains
‘how to’ hints on state-of-the-art computer simulation.

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“This report is presented in six chapters. The first chapter provides a background
to
exercises, including some definitions, principles, trends, and lingering questions. The
second
chapter presents the argument made In favor of conducting emergency management
exercises. It summarizes the purposes for which exercises are undertaken and reports on
some actual outcomes of exercises. This chapter also expresses a central theme of our
findings: Emergency management exercises show need of improvement in follow-up and
incremental program development.

“Chapter Three is a lengthy treatment of the exercise development process. It
begins by
recounting the steps identified in the literature to develop an exercise. Some Important
suggestions are made, based on both literature and our interviews with Advisory Board
members and others, that several actions are important to undertake before making a
commitment to an exercise. Included in these actions are the development of objectives and
the selection of a type of exercise to conduct. A three-part typology of exercises is provided
with specific criteria for selecting among seminars, operations simulations, and field
exercises. We call these Pre-commitment Activities and they culminate in a directive by the
jurisdiction's government.

“Chapter Three continues with an analysis of the three elements necessary to plan
an
exercise (a development team, tasking, and scheduling) and then turns to a review of the
literature on nine major tasks of exercise development. These are: (1) Refining objectives,
(2)
Scenario and message development, (3) Participant selection, Including staff and
player-operator positions,, (4) Physical facilities, (5) Displays, (6) Communication forms and
formats, (6) Public Information, (8) Training, and (9) Briefing.

“Chapter Four describes techniques for conducting an exercise for all types In
general
and specifically for seminars, operations simulations, and field exercises. This chapter also
describes ways to collect data during the exercise that will be useful in evaluation and
discusses the issue of safety during the exercise.

“Chapter Five describes evaluation techniques and the importance of feedback to the
success of the exercise. Such topics as timing the debriefing, the role of evaluators, and
criteria for evaluating are examined here. Feedback introduces the concept of follow-up
which is treated In Chapter Six. The literature was extremely brief about this important topic
which is the key to improving the emergency management system and helping the
jurisdiction
move toward its next exercise.

“Chapter Seven turns to the current and future state-of-the-art in exercising,
computer-aided exercises. Two articles constitute this chapter, The first describes the most
advanced forms of computerized simulations in which maps and databases are merged in
response to player reactions to depict the actual effects of an emergency on the computer
screen. The second article examines how computers can be used as tools for local exercise
designers and advocates the development of a library of exercises that people could draw
upon and tailor to their own exercise needs.”

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO EXERCISES
Definitions
Principles of Exercising
Trends In Emergency Management Exercises


THE ARGUMENT FOR EXERCISING
The Argument in Support of Exercises
Exercises as Tools
Purposes of Exercises
Outcomes of Exercises
Outcomes Depend on Follow-up


EXERCISE DEVELOPMENT
What's Involved In Exercise Development?
Precommitment Activities
Literature Criteria
Suggested Criteria
Planning the Exercise
Exercise Preparation Tasks

4: CONDUCTING AN EXERCISE
Techniques of Conducting an Exercise
Conducting Seminars
Operations Simulations and Field Exercises


EVALUATION AND FEEDBACK
Principles of Evaluation
The Evaluators
Timing of Debriefing
Debriefing Procedures
Evaluative Dimensions of Emergency Management Exercises
Outline of Evaluation Reports


FOLLOW-UP
Two Types of Follow-up
Follow-up: An Opportunity
Follow-up in Program Development


COMPUTER-AIDED SIMULATION -- TWO VIEWS ON THE POTENTIAL FOR
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT EXERCISES
Computer Simulation for Emergency Management: Tomorrow's Dream is Today's Reality by
Jerome E. Dobson
Emergency Information System Scenario Generator

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CONTACTS

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1984, 114 pages. Order #DR-243.
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1-888-ROTHSTEin

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