Exercises must be capability/objective-based, well-designed, and planned if they are to be effective. Be sure to design your training and exercises to test your existing plans, policies, and procedures. The following characteristics are key to successful training and exercises:

• They must be based on relevant, true-to-life scenarios.
• They test all aspects of the plan.
• The questions and problems must be objectives-based and move from simple to complex.
• Evaluation should be focused on actions, not on individuals.

In other words, the exercises should challenge participants with real-life situations in a no failure environment. It is important that the focus of after action analysis is on what went wrong, and not who is to blame, because many of the best lessons are learned from failed attempts.

Remember to include damage assessment in broader, multi-agency full-scale disaster exercises as well, so that all team members can work together efficiently. Another useful practice is to encourage like training across multiple jurisdictions and agencies. Having similar training programs can help teams work together more efficiently following a hazard event.