About
Scenarios
IPAWS Alerting Authorities are required to perform Monthly Proficiency Demonstrations (MPDs) using the IPAWS Technical Support Services environment to maintain IPAWS access. This requirement can become routine and boring. Therefore, IPAWS introduces Scenario-Based MPDs that are pre-developed short scenarios to make your proficiency demonstration experience more interesting and useful.
About Required Demonstrations
Monthly Proficiency Demonstration (MPD)
If you are an IPAWS Alerting Authority (AA), you are required to send a monthly practice message to the IPAWS Technical Support Services Facility (TSSF) environment. The purpose is to increase AA proficiency and confidence when issuing an Alert and Warning Notification, and most importantly to lessen the risk of errant messages. The following rules apply:
- Miss 1 month = friendly reminder
- Miss 2 months = notification to your state IPAWS authority
- Miss 3 months = risk of having IPAWS connectivity disabled
The IPAWS Customer Support Branch monitors TSS activity for MPD compliance. The IPAWS Office does not want to disable anyone’s connectivity to IPAWS. So, to encourage participation, we sought mechanisms to make the MPDs more beneficial and interesting to you.
Scenario-Based Monthly Proficiency Demonstration
A Scenario-Based MPD leverages an adjustable template composed by TSSF staff. The scenarios cover a variety of hazards and incidents. They are created to be flexible, scalable and adaptable, which allows you to modify the scenarios to fit the needs of your jurisdiction(s). Scenario-Based MPDs include a situation followed by 4-5 applicable questions and are similar to mini-table top exercises (10-15 minutes). The purpose is to facilitate collaboration among participants and trigger critical thinking/decision-making, reducing the feeling of routine. Benefits include:
- Evaluation of decision-making processes regarding public notification;
- Assessment of internal policies and procedures; identify gaps;
- Determination of IPAWS effectiveness; and
- Development of templates for incidents.
“We are going to use the scenario for our exercise next month. We appreciate that the exercise was catered to us.” – City of San Fernando Police Department
“This definitely helped us with our message creation.” – City of San Fernando Police Department
Have Questions?
IPAWS TSSF staff are available to assist you with performing a Scenario-Based MPD. Support is typically provided virtual, via webinar, but we welcome visitors to the TSSF anytime. You can reach the TSSF at 1-84-IPAWSLAB or 1-844-729-7522.
Scenarios
Additional resources, such as the Event Code Glossary and the Alert Standardization Checklist, can be found in the IPAWS Library.