Set objectives and operational periods

Objectives are the work of the response, written down: what must be done, by which position, in which operational period. Create them, post them to the Forum, and track each one from created to completed. Operational periods give the objectives their time boxes, starting with a default 12-hour initial period.

Before you start

Requires an IAP licence. You need to be in an active Virtual Emergency Operations Centre (VEOC) session. Objectives are assigned to positions, so assign positions first.

Create an objective

Open Objectives from the Incident Action Plan features.
Create the objective. You can post it to the Forum, append a safety message, and assign it to a position.

Manage objectives

Each objective carries four controls:

Edit (blue pencil): change the objective.
Status update: mark the objective as in progress or completed.
Copy: copy the objective to the Forum, or into another operational period. Recurring objectives move between periods this way instead of being retyped.
Delete (trash can): remove the objective.

Operational periods

The initial response period is set to 12 hours by default. Each period lists its name, start date and time, end date and time, duration, who created it, and whether it is active or inactive.

To add more periods, click the Add Operational Period icon in the top right.

Where objectives flow

Objectives do double duty in the documentation. When you auto-generate an ICS 201 form, selecting an operational period pulls its objectives into the Current & Planned Objectives section. Keep objectives current and the paperwork writes itself.