Before any major escalation, the opening stages of an exercise reveal whether teams can recognise a problem, share information and organise the response.
Controlling the immediate hazard does not automatically restore normal operations. A useful tabletop exercise should test what happens around the response as well.
Emergency response plans usually define how responders reach the incident. A useful exercise tests what happens when that route cannot be used.
Emergency plans define responsibilities clearly. Real incidents still require responsibility, information and authority to move between people and teams.
