290 CHAPTER 6 / PROJECT ACTIVITY PLANNING

Event occurrence

Discovery by
employee

No Immediate Yes
danger?

Establish Employee
control pulls alarm
of event or
Dials 911
or May trip
Phones fire dept. automatic alarm
or
Notify local Notifies shift
supervisor superintendent’s
office

Comply with
Notify all
reporting
personnel in area
requirements

No Yes
Immediate
danger

Take
protective
action

Notify shift
supervisor

Shift
superintendent
ensures
initial response

Figure 1 Event Discovery and Initial

planning should run the exercise. Stage 4 is the debriefing of members of the Chicago Police Department, the FBI, and the
the exercise, providing a basis for further action and bring- Secret Service to examine various scenarios and work out
ing a sense of closure to the exercise. Stage 5, follow-up what would be done. Chicago Police also observed training
planning, concerns how the outcomes of the debriefing will and security practices for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games
be handled and getting commitment to developing plans for lessons they could bring back to the DNC in Chicago.
based on the tabletop exercise. Tabletop exercises are generally used in the beginning of
Tabletop exercises were used in planning for security crisis planning and focus on managerial information flows—
for the 1996 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in who we talk to, what we do, who needs what information,
Chicago (O’Connor, 1996). The Federal Emergency Man- and so forth. Issues surface in tabletops. Tabletops are a
agement Agency (FEMA) facilitated tabletop exercises with training device used to elicit understanding by carefully

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guiding the participants through a simulated emergency Table 1. Summary of Crisis Planning Tools
requiring a response. Although tabletop exercises are
Tools Output
typically less expensive to conduct than drills or field
exercises, they cannot substitute for the simulation of Risk analysis Identification of risks
actual emergency events available through drills and field Contingency plan Steps to take based on identified
exercises. risks
Tabletop exercises should be conducted every quarter to Logic chart Specific steps to take in a crisis
keep emergency plans, procedures, and necessary thinking Tabletop exercise Rehearse, discuss, and solidify a
fresh in project managers’ minds. Thinking through the specific emergency response
decisions beforehand in an evaluative session such as a
tabletop pays off when a real crisis occurs.
Tabletop exercises force managers to think through the Recommendations for Project Managers
decisions made during a crisis in advance, thereby reducing While we don’t have a closed set of comprehensive strate-
the need for decision-making during the crisis and reduc- gies to offer other project managers to better plan for cri-
ing the time needed to make those decisions. “A tabletop is ses, we do have several recommendations to offer based
accomplished in controlled phases to allow discrete, indi- on experience in emergency management. Considering the
vidual answers, which focuses group attention on each point uncertainty involved in crisis management, we would be
and thereby promotes a common understanding of roles and wary of any closed set of strategies. Crisis management,
responsibilities and the entire response sequence by all par- by definition, is perplexing, constantly changing, full of
ticipants” (Walker & Middleman, 1988). The tabletop exer- uncertainties, and challenging to any manager, especially
cise is a versatile tool that can be applied to all phases of the project manager. Crisis planning logically parallels the
project management. The overarching benefit of tabletops uncertain nature of crisis management. Although there is no
is they require people and systems to pay attention both simple solution to the complex problems posed by crises,
during development and as the system evolves (Walker & here are our recommendations:
Middleman).
One essential element to have in place for effective cri- • Even for small projects, assign the job of develop-
sis management is a notification system. An effective noti- ing at least a two-page risk analysis and contingency
fication system not only provides for contacting emergency plan before the project begins. This is similar to a
response units, authorities, and key decision-makers, but company appointing a manager of business interrup-
also provides for accounting for personnel whereabouts and tion planning.
disposition.
After the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing, a plan to
• Assign the job of producing a notification sequence.
track the whereabouts of U.S. athletes and officials was • Use logic charts to design procedures that won’t go
deployed within 15 minutes of the blast (Lloyd, 1996). Dick awry during a crisis.
Schultz, executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee, • Use tabletop exercises, because few people will
stated: “In a two-hour time span, we not only determined look at a logic chart or even a procedure when a cri-
the location of everybody, we had them secured. We had sis occurs. Project managers will depend on what
put together a crisis management plan for as many situa- they’ve practiced, and this underscores the need and
tions as we needed to” (Lloyd, 1996). Each U.S. Athlete was value of tabletops.
issued a pager, the first time that this was ever done in an • Conduct these tabletop exercises quarterly to ensure
Olympics. The ability to account for all athletes and their readiness and to update procedures and responsibilities.
whereabouts provides evidence for the effectiveness of their
crisis plan. • Establish authority for crisis management before
the crisis. The project manager isn’t always the best
Risk analysis, contingency planning, logic charts, and
emergency manager, so choose the person who has
tabletop exercises represent several of the more common
greatest knowledge of the operational issues associ-
tools to help plan for crises in projects. Table 1 summa-
ated with the crisis.
rizes these tools by output. Project managers should think
through their projects, in consultation with other project • Use emergency planning processes in projects,
personnel, to select and use the tools judged to be most including risk analysis and contingency planning.
effective for the specific project. Once selected, these tools • Design effective, accurate, and timely feedback sys-
should be developed and tested to ensure people understand tems to provide early warning signs of failure and
how to use them and what types of outcomes will result. impending crises. A structured management process
Most certainly, any test of the tools results in refinement of can help in focusing attention on regular tracking of
the tools and learning on participants’ behalf. relevant and critical indicators to surface the little

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