Test Plans

Before a radio test is conducted, a test-plan for that test should be written. If the test is small, or the group of radio operators involved is small, the test-plan can be informal. But, if the test or the group of people involved is large, the test-plan should be formal to provide better communication between people. Details about test plans are given in Tips for Drafting an Emergency Disaster Response Exercise Plan, QST, June, 2015. This page gives suggestions for informal test plans. The QST article gives tips for more formal plans.

Informal plans for radio tests can be given via informal conversations between the test-originators and the personnel involved. Suggestions about the scope of the tests and the sponsoring organizations can be given by supervisors of the organizations. These suggestions can be modified by supervisors of the radio groups to include aspects important to radio operators. A radio group might be organized to provide temporary communications between divisions or personnel of the sponsoring group. Tests might be scheduled periodically to test the quality and availability of the temporary communications. In addition, the tests might be modified by radio-net managers to include additional aspects that are important to radio operators. For example, a test might involve communications from lower groups of the organization to higher management of the organization. The net manager might suggest that communications, such as thank you comments, be sent from higher manager to the lower groups. In addition, the net manager might suggest that radio operators be available for specific blocks of time to simulate staffing of radio operators in shifts, even though no messages will likely be sent during the latter part of the time; the use of shifts is likely in real emergencies. Informal conversations and email and/or tweets are good forms of communication in informal plans.