HSEEP tabletop exercises
HSEEP tabletop exercises, run by AI, in 60 minutes.
FEMA HSEEP is the standard every public-sector emergency preparedness program exercises against. Annual Tabletop runs HSEEP-conformant exercises end-to-end — AI facilitation, HSEEP-template AAR, CISA CTEPs and NIST 800-84 crosswalks generated automatically.
What this page covers
A practitioner-level guide, not a keyword page.
- What HSEEP actually requires (in practitioner language).
- How the Annual Tabletop AAR maps to the HSEEP template.
- Which scenarios in our library are HSEEP-anchored.
- How public-sector buyers procure this.
The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) is FEMA's standard for exercise design and evaluation. State EM coordinators, CISA, and most federal grant programs that touch preparedness expect HSEEP conformance — which means a specific exercise structure, a specific AAR template, and specific capability targets.
Annual Tabletop ships an HSEEP-conformant workflow by default. Atlas, our AI exercise director, runs the exercise using HSEEP-anchored injects. At the end, the AAR is populated with the HSEEP sections your state coordinator expects: capability targets, core capabilities, key issues, recommendations, and an Improvement Planning Package stub.
Beyond HSEEP, every AAR carries the CISA CTEPs crosswalk and the NIST SP 800-84 crosswalk alongside. One exercise, three audit trails. The same session that satisfies HSEEP also demonstrates CTEPs alignment to CISA and §3 exercise documentation to NIST reviewers.
Recommended scenarios
Start with these.
- RansomwareAdvanced
County Election Systems — Ransomware 14 Days Before the General
Your county BoE's ePollbook vendor reports a confirmed ransomware encryption event 14 days before the November general election. Walk the room through containment, COOP activation, and public communication under HSEEP.
- NIST 800-84
- FEMA HSEEP
- CISA CTEPs
- NIST CSF 2.0
FAQ
Questions practitioners ask
Is Annual Tabletop officially endorsed by FEMA?
FEMA does not endorse tabletop tools. HSEEP is a published standard we conform to — the same way any vendor or jurisdiction uses the HSEEP template. The AAR follows the HSEEP structure; your state EM coordinator reviews against that standard.Does an HSEEP tabletop need a certified exercise controller?
HSEEP recommends trained exercise design and control for discussion-based exercises. Atlas plays the Master Scenario Events List (MSEL) role — it drives the exercise through the inject sequence and captures decisions. Your human controller can observe, or participate as a player.How long should an HSEEP tabletop run?
HSEEP does not prescribe a duration. Most jurisdictions run 60–180 minutes. Annual Tabletop's default cadence is 60–90 minutes, sized to fit into an IT-committee meeting or an EOC shift.Can I use this to meet my state's mandated annual exercise?
In most states, yes. The AAR is HSEEP-conformant and signed/timestamped. State mandates vary — check with your state EM coordinator, but in our experience an HSEEP AAR is the evidence they're looking for.