Preparedness Toolkit

Introduction

The Evaluation page of an exercise site provides access to four features related to exercise evaluation.

• EEG Development: The Exercise Development area allows users with appropriate permissions to create Exercise Evaluation Guides (EEGs) based on the objectives created for the exercise. (Exercise Objectives must first be added to the exercise by the Exercise Manager on the Exercise Data page.) EEG Authors, Lead Evaluators, and Exercise Managers can create and assign EEGs.
• EEG Completion: The EEG Completion area allows Exercise Evaluators and Exercise Managers to post observations and ratings for EEGs.
• Build AAR: The Build AAR area allows Lead Evaluators and Exercise Managers to review the observations made for each Exercise Objective, capture Strengths and Areas for Improvement, and assign final ratings that should be captured in the After Action Report (AAR). A pre-populated AAR template can be exported from this area. It will include all exercise objectvies, strengths, areas for improvement, and final ratings.
• Improvement Plan: The Improvement Plan area allows Lead Evaluators and Exercise Managers to enter corrective actions in the system based on the areas for improvement that were identified when building the AAR. A pre-populated Improvement Plan template can be exported from this area. It will include all corrective actions and their associated areas for improvement.

EEG Development

Create EEG

Exercise objectives are added by an Exercise Manager within the Exercise Data area of an exercise site. The system allows these exercise objectives to be mapped to mission areas and core capabilities that apply to the exercise. While this mapping is optional when adding exercise data, an exercise objective must be mapped to one or more core capabilities in order for that execise objective to be used during EEG development.

Once exercise objectives have been created and paired with capabilities for the exercise, EEG Authors, Lead Evaluators, and Exercise Managers will have the ability to create an EEG for each objective and capability pairing. To create an EEG, expand the target exercise objective, select the Actions button beside the target core capability, and select Create.

Once you have launched the Create EEG window, create the capability targets relevant to that exercise objective and core capability by selecting the "New Capability Target" button.

Populate the Capability Target field. Provide the Source for the capability target, if relevant.

To add critical tasks to each capability target, populate the Critical Task field and select the Add button. Repeat these steps until all critical tasks have been added.

Once you are finished populating this capability target, select the "OK" button at the bottom of the pop-up window to save the information.

You may edit or delete any capability targets or critical tasks that have been added by selecting the edit or delete icons beside the item you would like to change. You may change the order of the capability targets or critical tasks by selecting the up or down arrows located next to the item you would like to move.

As you add capability targets, you may periodically opt to save your work by selecting the Save button at the bottom of the pop-up window.

As part of EEG development, you will also want to assign the EEG to at least one venue and evaluator for completion. To assign the EEG from within the Create EEG window, select the Assignments tab.

A venue and evaluator are paired together and assigned to the EEG. Multiple pairings may be assigned to the EEG.

Exercise venues are managed by an Exercise Manager within the Exercise Data area of an exercise site. If a new venue is required, the Exercise Manager may add it.

The Evaluator field pulls from a list of people that is centrally stored in PrepToolkit. People's names and details (title, agency, email address, etc.) are stored centrally and used across multiple exercises in the system. These names are stored separately from PrepToolkit users so that individuals who do not hold a PrepToolkit account can be assigned as evaluators. When populating the Evaluator field as part of the EEG assignment, you are really referencing a person entry that is centrally stored in PrepToolkit. If the target person is not found as you begin typing in this field, select the New button to create the person entry centrally in PrepToolkit.

Once you have chosen your venue and evaluator, select the Add button to assign the venue and evaluator pairing to the EEG.

Once your capability targets and EEG assignments have been entered, you may select Save & Close.

Edit EEG

To edit an EEG, expand the target exercise objective, select the Actions button beside the target core capability, and select Edit.

Selecting edit will launch an Update EEG window. This update window mirrors the fields and layout of the window used when creating the EEG.

EEG Workflow

EEGs follow a three-state workflow. Upon creation, the EEG enters the Draft workflow state. It then proceeds to Submitted and on to Approved before being used by Evaluators observing exercise conduct.

The diagram below outlines:

• the states available in this workflow
• the roles that can promote the EEG to the next workflow state (captured across the top of the diagram).

Once an EEG has been created and edited (if needed) and is in a fairly stable state, the creator of the EEG can submit the EEG for review and approval. To submit the EEG, expand the target exercise objective, select the Actions button beside the target core capability, and select Submit.

After the EEG has been submitted, a Lead Evaluator or Exercise Manager must review and approve it. (Alternatively, they may review and return it to a draft state.) Until the EEG is approved, it will not be available for use in the Exercise Completion area. To approve an EEG, expand the target exercise objective, select the Actions button beside the target core capability, and select Approve.

Print EEG

If a copy of an EEG is needed at any point in the workflow (draft, submitted, or approved), a Microsoft Word version of the document may be exported. To export the EEG file, expand the target exercise objective, select the Actions button beside the target core capability, and select Print EEG.

EEG Completion

Create Ratings and Observations

All EEGs that have been approved as part of EEG Development will be made available in the EEG Completion area of the Evaluation page. Exercise Evaluators, Lead Evaluators, and Exercise Managers have access to this area.

For each approved EEG, the assigned evaluator, evaluation location, mark of completion, exercise objective, core capability, and overall rating will be displayed. To see additional details, including the capability targets, observations, and ratings, select the plus icon on the left side of the EEG row.

Exercise Evaluators and Exercise Managers may enter observations and ratings for EEGs assigned to them or on behalf of another evaluator. (Lead Evaluators may only view; they cannot enter observations and ratings.) To add observations and ratings, select the Actions button for the target EEG, then select Edit.

1. Add an observation and rating for a capability target by selecting the edit icon for the applicable capability target. Select a target rating from the drop-down list and enter an observation in the Observation field. Select OK to apply these entries and return to the overall Create Ratings and Observations window.
2. Remove inapplicable capability targets by selecting the delete icon for the appropriate capability target. Note: Deletion will be immediate. This deletion will be permanent if the overall EEG ratings and observations are saved.
3. Assign an overall EEG rating by selecting a rating from the drop-down list.

As you add ratings and observations, you may periodically opt to save your work by selecting the Save button at the bottom of the pop-up window. Once you're finished with your entries, you may select Save & Close.

Edit Ratings and Observations

To edit the observations and ratings for an EEG, select the Actions button beside the target EEG, and select Edit.

Selecting edit will launch an Update Ratings and Observations window. This update window mirrors the fields and layout used when first entering the ratings and observations.

Complete EEG

Once all ratings and observations have been entered for an assigned EEG, the assigned EEG should be marked as complete. Until this is done, the ratings and observations will not be made available when building the AAR. To complete the EEG, select the Actions button beside the target EEG, and select Complete.

Print EEG

If a copy of an EEG is needed, a Microsoft Word version of the document may be exported. If ratings or observations have been entered, these entries will be included in the exported EEG. To export the EEG file, select the Actions button beside the target EEG, and select Print EEG.

Build AAR

Lead Evaluators and Exercise Managers can assign final ratings for each exercise objective and core capability pairing. They can also input strengths and areas for improvement. These pieces of data can then be exported in a pre-populated AAR template. To enter AAR data, select the edit icon beside the target exercise objective and core capability pairing to display the Update AAR Data window.

As you add AAR data, you may periodically opt to save your work by selecting the Save button at the bottom of the pop-up window.

Final Rating for Exercise Objective and Core Capability

The default tab displayed in the Update AAR Data window is the Rating tab.

1. All EEGs that have been assigned ratings and observations and marked as complete will be displayed in a list for their relevant exercise objective. To view details about the observations and ratings assigned to individual capability targets, select the information icon for the target EEG.
2. After reviewing the ratings assigned by the individual evaluators, a final rating may be assigned to the exercise objective by selecting a rating from the drop-down list.

Strengths for Exercise Objective and Core Capability

To enter strengths for the exercise objective and core capability pairing, select the Strengths tab.

1. To add a strength, select the New Strength button. Review the critical tasks and completed EEGs as needed. Populate the strength field and select OK to apply this entry and return to the overall Update AAR Data window.
2. You may edit any strengths that have been added by selecting the edit icon beside the item you would like to change.
3. You may delete any strengths that have been added by selecting the delete icon beside the item you would like to remove.
4. You may change the order of the strengths by selecting the up or down arrows located next to the item you would like to move.

Areas for Improvement for Exercise Objective and Core Capability

To enter areas for improvement for the exercise objective and core capability pairing, select the Areas for Improvement tab.

1. To add an area for improvement, select the New Area for Improvement button. Review the critical tasks and completed EEGs as needed. Populate the Area for Improvement field as well as the Reference and Analysis fields, as needed. If you would like the area for improvement to appear in the Improvement Plan, toggle the "Include in Improvement Plan" switch to "Yes." Select OK to apply these entries and return to the overall Update AAR Data window.
   
2. You may edit any areas for improvement that have been added by selecting the edit icon beside the item you would like to change.
3. You may delete any areas for improvement that have been added by selecting the delete icon beside the item you would like to remove.
4. You may change the order of the areas for improvement by selecting the up or down arrows located next to the item you would like to move.

Once you're finished entering AAR data, you may select Save & Close.

Print AAR

A Microsoft Word version of the AAR may be exported. If final ratings, strengths, and/or areas for improvement have been entered, these entries will be included in the exported AAR. To export the AAR file, select the Print AAR button on the top right side of the page.

Improvement Plan

Once evaluators' observations have been analyzed and final ratings, strengths, and areas for improvement have been captured, corrective actions may be created to include in the Improvement Plan. Lead Evaluators and Exercise Managers have the ability to create corrective actions.

Create Corrective Action

To create a corrective action, select the New Corrective Actions button near the top of the page.

The core capability, area for improvement, and corrective action text must be identified in order for the corrective action to be created. The remaining fields must be populated in order to assign the corrective action to an organization and point of contact (POC).

1. To identify the core capability and area for improvement, select the "Select" button on the top right side of the window. All areas for improvement marked for inclusion in the Improvement Plan (during the building of the AAR) will be available. Select the appropriate core capability and area for improvement pairing to associate it with your corrective action.
2. Enter your corrective action, up to 2,000 characters.
   Note: At this point, you may select Save at the bottom of the window if you do not yet want to assign the corrective action to an organization and POC.
3. Select the appropriate capability element for your corrective action: Planning, Organizing, Equipping, Training, or Exercising.
4. Identify the organization responsible for addressing the corrective action. Organization names and details are stored centrally in PrepToolkit to be used across multiple exercises in the system. When populating this field for a specific corrective action, you are really referencing an organization's details that are centrally stored in PrepToolkit. If the target organization is not found as you begin typing in this field, select the New button to create the organization centrally in PrepToolkit so it can be used for your corrective action.
   
5. Identify the PrepToolkit user who is to serve as the POC for the corrective action. If the target POC is not yet a PrepToolkit user, that individual must register with PrepToolkit and create a PrepToolkit account. The user account must be vetted and approved by a manager of PrepToolkit before the user can be assigned as a Corrective Action POC.
6. Identify the target date for the completion of the corrective action. Select the Target Date field to display a calendar from which you can select a date.

Once you have populated the appropriate fields, select the Save button at the bottom of the window to create the corrective action.

You may change the order of the corrective actions by selecting the up or down arrows located next to the item you would like to move.

Edit Corrective Action

To edit a corrective action, select the edit icon beside the target corrective action.

Selecting the edit icon will launch an Update Corrective Action window. This update window mirrors the fields and layout of the window used when creating the corrective action.

Delete Corrective Action

To delete a corrective action, select the delete icon beside the target corrective action.

Print Improvement Plan

A Microsoft Word version of the Improvement Plan may be exported. If any corrective actions have been added, these entries will be included in the exported Improvement Plan. To export the Improvement Plan file, select the Print Improvement Plan button on the top right side of the page.