A complex systems approach to operational planning Alex Ryan

Operational Planning An operational plan is a description of military operations, with a prescribed order, that are intended to achieve a desired end state. Operational planning is one of the functions in military command and control (C2).

Advantages of Current Planning Process Robust Flexible Well understood Tried and tested Achieves synchronisation to Commander’s intent Scales with tasks from low level tactical to operational

Disadvantages of Current Planning Process Doesn’t scale with complexity: –Of objectives –Of context Emphasises control over mission command Not designed for pushback Not designed for “Edge” organisations Hard to automate Time consuming Enemy centric

A Simplified Account of the Current Process Strategic JTF BG JOC CT ⅓ ⅔ t Synchronisation

Fragmented Planning Do we really need a synchronised, monolithic plan? Planning fragments can be viewed as a network More responsive Allows parallelism Allows self-organisation Facilitates automation and re-use Closer integration between planning and execution

Caveat Emptor This idea is embryonic, oversimplified and high risk. It has not been fully thought out! However, it seems to be a good fit to the IOCS theme… so let’s discuss it