Strategic, tactical, and operational plans should always be activated:

The CBCI 7.0 course specifies that activation of strategic, tactical, and operational plans must be based on the conditions or triggering events detailed in each specific plan. Each plan type serves distinct purposes at different organizational levels and phases of incident response. Strategic plans set the overarching direction; tactical plans translate this into actions, and operational plans provide detailed task instructions. The triggering conditions—such as incident severity, scope, or impact—dictate when each plan should be activated to optimize resource use and response effectiveness. Simultaneous activation is neither practical nor efficient. Activation cascading from the strategic team is a controlled process, but ultimately depends on predefined triggers, ensuring an orderly and appropriate escalation.