Glossary · T
Tabletop exercise
A tabletop exercise is a facilitated discussion in which the people who would respond to an incident walk through a realistic scenario, make the decisions they would make and discover where the plan breaks.
Extended definition
In more detail.
Tabletops test decisions, roles and communication without touching live systems. They reveal that nobody knows who can authorize a shutdown, that the insurer’s notification clause was never read, or that a key person has no deputy. They are run at least annually and after changes to leadership or the plan, and their records are evidence that regulators, insurers and customers ask for.
In our work
Where it appears.
By David Selakovic · Published 2026-10-16 · Revised 2026-10-16 · Reviewed every 180 days