Crisis management survey: 16 questions for after the event
Sixteen questions for everyone involved in one named incident or exercise. Preview it, then open it in the editor.
- 16questions
- About 6 minto answer
- 5-point agreeplus two open answers
- 1 eventper response
The 16 crisis management survey questions
A crisis management survey asks the people involved in an incident what they knew, what reached them, what they could do and where events left the plan. This one covers one named incident or exercise per response. FEMA lists surveys among the data collection methods for evaluating an exercise.[1] Every question opens in the online survey creator.
The event
One event per answer.
- Which incident or exercise are you answering about?Use the name in your incident log.
- What was your part in it?A part in this event, not a job title.
Knowing what to do
Roles, the plan and who decides.
- I knew what my own role was as soon as this was declared.At declaration, not in hindsight.
- I could find the plan or the instructions I needed without asking somebody.Low scores point at where the plan is stored.
- I knew who was making the decisions at each stage.Handovers are where this breaks.
Getting the word
The alert, the updates, the route back.
- The first alert reached me through a channel I actually check.Finds the distribution list nobody has updated.
- The updates told me what to do next, not only what had happened.
- I knew where to send information I had that other people needed.The route upward, asked apart from the alert.
Being able to act
Access, decisions and raising a problem.
- I had the access and the permission needed to do my part.
- Decisions I was waiting on arrived soon enough to be useful.A decision that arrived after its window counts as late.
- I could raise a problem without waiting for the next scheduled update.
Where it differed
What the plan missed.
- Something happened during this that our plan did not cover.Agreement names a gap. Keep it out of the averages.
- Which of these got in your way during this incident?An option nearly everybody ticks is your first fix.
In your words, then the rating
Two optional open answers, then one rating.
- What worked, and should be kept exactly as it is next time?What to keep comes before what to change.
- What one change would have made the biggest difference on the day?One change, so the answers can be ranked.
- Overall, how well was this incident handled?The headline number, asked last.
How to use the crisis management questionnaire
Send it to everyone involved, affected or on standby, not only the response team. It asks for no name, so people can be candid about decisions and delays.
Send it once the response has stood down and close it inside seven days, while people remember the order of events. FEMA holds its player hotwash immediately after an exercise and uses it to give players time to fill out feedback forms.[1]
Score the agree items 5 down to 1 and average three blocks: questions 3 to 5, 6 to 8 and 9 to 11. Start with the lowest block. The share answering very well or well on question 16 is the number to compare with your next incident. End the review as FEMA's after-action meeting does, with deadlines and owners for the corrective actions.[1]
Crisis management survey FAQ
What questions should a crisis management survey ask?
Ask about one event: did people know their role, did the alert and the updates reach them, could they act, and what did the plan miss. Close with two open answers and an overall rating.
What should crisis communication questions cover?
Whether the first alert arrived on a channel people check, whether each update said what to do next, and whether people knew where to send information. Questions 6 to 8 ask that.
Is a crisis management survey the same as an after-action review?
It feeds one. The review is the meeting where corrective actions are agreed. FEMA says participant feedback forms help to generate the after-action report,[1] and a survey reaches people who cannot be in the room.
Can a crisis management survey test the plan after a tabletop exercise?
Yes. Name the exercise in question 1 and send the same sixteen questions. Keep exercise answers apart from real incidents.
Michael Hodge, survey methodology · Updated 2 October 2026 · How templates are reviewed
Sources (1)
- US Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP), January 2020. fema.gov
Run the review while people still remember the order
Sixteen questions, about six minutes. Put your incident name in question 1.
Use this template