COMMAND DECISION: CRISIS RESPONSE

Immersive leadership simulation for high-stakes decision-making

When disaster strikes, leaders don’t get the luxury of time. Command Decision: Crisis Response is an interactive eLearning experience that drops participants into the middle of a fast-moving crisis. Every choice impacts morale, logistics, public trust, and the outcome, making it a powerful way to practice leading under pressure.

The Challenge

Traditional training often teaches leadership in theory, but doesn’t replicate the stress and uncertainty of real-world crisis response. I wanted to build something more engaging, a scenario where learners could feel the weight of their decisions and see how small choices ripple through an entire organization.

The Solution

Command Decision is a replayable, branching simulation built in Storyline 360 with randomized “fog-of-war” elements. Learners must:

  • Make critical decisions under time pressure.

  • Balance competing priorities such as logistics, risk, and morale.

  • Adapt when unexpected “Black Swan” events change the game.

No two runs are the same, encouraging learners to try again, explore different paths, and see how various leadership styles play out.

Building Metacognition

A key design feature is the reflection cycle. Learners don’t just make choices; they get structured opportunities to review their decisions, reconsider alternatives, and evaluate what they might have done differently. At the end of the course, a personalized after-action review highlights:

  • Strengths — the best decisions the learner made.

  • Blind spots — questionable calls that created ripple effects.

This reflection loop encourages metacognition, the ability to think about one’s own thinking, and helps leaders internalize lessons for future scenarios.

Random Chance & Replayability

Crises are unpredictable, and the simulation mirrors that reality. Randomized events and branching storylines mean that:

  • Learners encounter different challenges each time they play.

  • Outcomes vary widely, with more than 1600 possible paths and endings based on choices and chance.

  • Replayability is built in; no two playthroughs unfold the same way.

This ensures leaders stay engaged and can experiment with new approaches in each run.

Why It Works

  • Immersive: Learners are in the seat of command, not just reading about leadership.

  • Reflective: Built-in metacognitive reviews deepen learning.

  • Unpredictable: Randomized events and multiple endings keep the training fresh.

  • Transferable Skills: While the scenario is framed around a natural disaster, the skills apply to military, corporate, and public-sector leaders.

My Role

I designed and developed the entire experience from instructional strategy and scenario writing to UI design, voiceover, and technical development. Tools included:

  • Storyline 360 (interactive development)

  • Affinity Photo, Designer, Publisher (visual design)

  • Clipchamp (voiceover and video)

Simplified FlowChart and walk-through

The learning experience in Command Decision: Crisis Response follows a structured yet dynamic flow that challenges learners to make leadership decisions under pressure while adapting to random chance and reflecting on past actions.

  • Scenario Start

    • The unfolding crisis is framed for the learner

    • Objectives are briefed

    • Orientation to the Heads Up Display is provided

    • Learners are the key leader in the crisis response effort.

  • Choose Liaison

    • Choice of liaison subtly shapes tones of later interactions

    • Influences everything in the simulation.

      • An example of this would be if your chosen liaison is very skilled in logistics and one of the black swan events happens to be about logistics, their liaison status might help soften the blow.

      • Conversely, if your liaison was known to be weak in logistics, they may worsen the situation.

  • Black Swan Event #1

    • Randomized event could be good, bad, or a mixture

    • Learners decide how to respond balancing risk, resources, and morale

  • Discussion and Reflection #1

    • Learners decide the type of brief to give after the black swan event

    • Reflect on their decisions and how those decisions have shaped the situation.

  • Black Swan Event #2

    • A second randomized event that could be good, bad, or a mixture

    • Learner is again asked to evaluate incomplete to they should respond to this sitauation.

  • Discussion and Reflection #2

    • Learners are provided conflicting reports of a dangerous situation.

    • They are reminded of past decisions and how those decisions have affected the current situation

  • Levee Scenario

    • Learners decide how to react to the potentially dangerous situation

      • Send a team

      • Send a drone

      • Wait for more information

    • Each option has the potential to be right or wrong, with a weighted randomized chance.

  • After-Action Review (AAR)

    • Learners are provided a structured review of their decisions