Table-top exercises expose gaps in roles, timing, and approvals before a real incident hits. Use injects, a master scenario events list, and evaluators to stress-test decisions and comms flows.
What planning artifact structures scenario flow in a table-top exercise?
A list of vendor invoices
A random list of hypothetical questions
A social media calendar
A Master Scenario Events List (MSEL) with timed injects and expected actions
Who should run the exercise to keep play realistic and on-schedule?
The CEO acting as both player and judge
Only legal counsel, to control messaging
A controller/facilitator team separate from participants, with evaluators capturing observations
Any volunteer from the audience
Which objective style best fits professional simulations?
Only financial KPIs
Entertainment-focused goals for morale
Specific, measurable objectives tied to decision speed, accuracy, and coordination
Vague goals like ‘do better at crisis’
When designing injects, what raises realism without leaking PII or secrets?
Publish internal chat logs to the public
Rely only on verbal prompts
Use redacted-but-realistic artifacts (emails, posts, dashboards) with fictionalized data
Use actual customer records to ‘raise the stakes’
Which element strengthens cross-functional decision-making practice?
Skipping approvals to move faster than reality
Letting each team improvise processes
Rehearsing approval paths with time-boxes and backup approvers
Extending timelines to avoid pressure
What should be captured immediately after the exercise for learning?
Only a score out of 10
An after-action review with findings, owners, and deadlines for fixes
A celebratory post on social media
An anonymous survey with no actions
What signal indicates an exercise needs market-specific variants?
Different regulatory disclosures and language requirements across regions
A competitor’s unrelated campaign
Time-zone differences alone
Personal preferences of a single executive
Which data is most useful for evaluating communication performance in the exercise?
Total number of emails sent
Length of the press release
Likes on internal posts
Time to first statement, accuracy against verified facts, and cadence adherence
What common failure mode do injects specifically test for?
Font choices in slides
Breakdowns at handoffs between Legal, PR, and Operations
Calendar colour-coding issues
Disagreements about lunch options
How often should core teams run table-top exercises for high-severity risks?
Only after a severe real incident
Once per decade to avoid fatigue
At least annually, with additional drills after major changes in products or leadership
Every week regardless of resources
Starter
Build your core skills: message discipline, realistic drills, and consistent internal cascades.
Solid
Strong fundamentals—tighten timing, localisation, and evidence-backed updates.
Expert!
Excellent command—your spokes, drills, and cascades are battle-tested.
