What is a tabletop exercise?

A tabletop exercise is a rehearsal on paper: you talk through a bad day without touching any systems:

• Nothing is switched off - no risk, no downtime, no cost beyond half an hour.
• Two people and a notepad is enough for a small business.
• The output is a list of stall points - the moments where you realise nobody knows the next step.

Every stall point converts into an hour or two of unglamorous fixing that you now know is worth doing.