The Escalation Path Tabletop Kit: an AI incident tabletop exercise template
When an automated system produces an output that is wrong enough to matter, who stops it, who is told, and how fast? If your organization has that answer written down, this ninety-minute exercise shows whether it holds when real people try to use it against a clock.
The kit walks your team through a replenishment system that has been releasing oversized purchase orders since Tuesday night, one stage at a time: the buyer who notices, the halt authority who is on a flight, the counsel call before the loss is known, the vendor who only opens a ticket, and the Friday morning update to leadership. Every stage records what was decided, how long it took and what evidence it rested on.
What is in the kit
- Facilitator guide with safety rules, preparation and agenda
- Scenario pack of five stages, plus a blank stage card for your own system
- Role cards, including the delegate and counsel
- Evidence record, debrief, readiness check and action list
- One-page board summary and rerun triggers
- Three more scenario starters: pricing, quality release and customer-facing generation
What it shows, and what it does not
- It exposes unclear authority, missed contacts, unusable triggers and late notification
- It does not prove the technical stop, fallback or restart works; the kit shows how to record what still needs testing
- It is a discussion-only exercise and an operating tool, not legal advice
Get the kit: PDF and Word
The PDF is for reading and printing for the room. The Word file is for adapting the scenario to your own system and filling in the records. Both links arrive by email.
Related: the AI Incident Template for recording a real incident, and the AI and Data Situation Assessment if the exercise shows your path cannot be relied on yet.