Role guide
Plan author
You built an emergency plan. The app made you its Author automatically. You're responsible for keeping it accurate, sharing it with the right circle, and re-walking it once a quarter.
Who this is for
Anyone who's opened the Plan builder and saved a plan. You can be the Author of multiple plans (one per group, one per scenario). Authorship is automatic — the Author is whoever clicked Save.
At a glance
GoalA one-page plan everyone in your circle could act on without you
PermissionsEdit and delete your plan, share it with a circle (sets it as visible to all members), unshare it, add collaborators by email
Cannot doTransfer authorship, force people to read it
Time commitment~10 minutes per quarter
Success looks likeEvery member of the shared circle can name the meeting point and the code word
Core responsibilities
- Make the plan a real plan, not a list of contacts. The four bits that matter most: meeting point, out-of-region contact, code word, top 3 emergency contacts. Everything else is optional.
- Share with one circle, not several.One plan per group keeps it clear. If you have a Family circle and a Flatmates circle, build two plans — don't share the same one with both.
- Walk the plan with the circle.Once when you create it, then again every quarter. The plan exists so people can act without you. They can't do that if they've never read it.
- Keep contacts current.Phone numbers change. Numbers that don't work during an emergency are worse than no numbers — they waste time.
- Add collaborators where it makes sense. Family plans usually have a co-author (a partner). Add them as a collaborator (Plan → open plan → collaborators) so they can update it too.
Recurring workflows
Weekly
- If anything material has changed (new address, new phone, new family member), update the plan immediately.
Monthly
- Open the plan, read it through. Anything stale? Fix it now.
Quarterly
- Re-walk the plan with the circle. Out loud. Test the code word. Make sure the meeting point is still accessible (gates that lock at certain times, construction).
- Test the out-of-region contact: actually call them and make sure the number works and they're still willing to be the relay.
Annually
- Whole-plan rewrite. Keep what works, drop what didn't. Add scenarios you've learned about (e.g. flooding routes you didn't know about last year).
Exception flows
- You wrote the plan but want someone else to own it:add them as a collaborator. They can edit. Authorship can't be transferred today.
- You shared with the wrong circle: open the plan, change Shared with to the right circle, save. Members of the old circle lose access immediately.
- You want to keep the plan private: set Shared with to Just me and save. Plan stays in your account but no circle sees it.
Common mistakes
- Building the plan and never sharing it. An unshared plan helps you and only you.
- Picking a meeting point that's far / locked / on the wrong side of a major road. Walk to it. Test it.
- Choosing an out-of-region contact who lives in the same emirate. The point is they aren't affected by the same event. Pick someone in a different country if possible.
- Treating the plan as one-and-done. Plans go stale faster than you think.
What success looks like
- Every shared circle member can recite the meeting point.
- The out-of-region contact knows they're the relay.
- The plan was last reviewed less than 3 months ago.
What the "code word" is for
It's a single word your circle agrees in advance. If a message arrives that doesn't include it (or includes the wrong one), assume the sender isn't who they say they are — it's a check against impersonation, coercion, and pranks. Pick something nobody else would guess. Change it once a year.