The ICS-215 and ICS-215A are valuable tools to document information for preparing the IAP. They are virtually essential to identifying the supervisory organization, tactical assignments, and resource needs to satisfy the operational objectives established by the IC/UC and to identify potential safety risks that may disrupt any tactical activities.

While not actually a part of the IAP, completed ICS-215 and ICS‑215A documentation provides the core data needed to prepare other ICS forms that are components of an IAP.