Contingency Plan After-Action Report

Contingency Plan After-Action Report template: The report of a contingency plan test, exercise or real activation, with findings, evaluation against objectives and corrective actions, based on the sample after-action reports in NIST SP 800-84.

Type	Program stage	Status	Template version	NIST basis
Report	Operate	Draft	1.0.0	SP 800-53 release 5.2.0

What it is

The report of a contingency plan test, exercise or real activation, with findings, evaluation against objectives and corrective actions, based on the sample after-action reports in NIST SP 800-84.

Controls satisfied

Control	Title
CP-4	Contingency Plan Testing
CP-2	Contingency Plan

Downloads

Variant	Ready to adopt	Annotated
All baselines	Word · Markdown	Word · Markdown

Preview (annotated)

Guidance

Write this report after every contingency plan test and every real activation of the plan. Its sections follow the sample after-action reports in NIST SP 800-84 (September 2006, current as of September 2026): introduction, scope, objectives, scenario, findings and evaluation results. Assessors look for two things: that findings led to corrective actions, and that the lessons changed the plan, the training or the next test (CP-2g).

System	Event	Date	Report author	Report date
Fill in: system name and identifier	Fill in: tabletop exercise, functional exercise or actual activation	Fill in: date	Fill in: name and title	Fill in: date

1. Introduction

Fill in: what was tested or what happened, why, and who took part; reference the test plan for a test

2. Scope

Fill in: the components, sites, teams and plan sections involved

3. Objectives and evaluation results

Objective	Met?	Observed result
Fill in: objective from the test plan	Fill in: met, partly met or not met	Fill in: what happened, with times against the RTO and RPO where measured

4. Scenario and timeline

Fill in: the scenario, or for a real event what happened

Time	Event or action
Fill in: time	Fill in: event or action

5. Findings

5.1 General findings

Fill in: overall observations, including what worked well

5.2 Specific findings and recommendations

ID	Finding	Recommendation	Owner	Due date	Tracking reference
Fill in: ID	Fill in: finding	Fill in: recommended action	Fill in: role	Fill in: date	Fill in: plan of action and milestones item or ticket

6. Plan, training and test changes

The results were reviewed by Fill in: who on Fill in: date (CP-4b). These changes follow from them (CP-2e, CP-2g, CP-4c):

• Contingency plan: Fill in: sections to update, or “none”
• Contingency training: Fill in: changes, or “none”
• Next test: Fill in: what the next test should cover

7. Supporting data

Fill in: logs, screenshots, restore times, sign-in sheets and other evidence, or where they are kept

8. Approval

Name	Title	Signature	Date
Fill in: name	System owner		Fill in: date