What are the key outputs of the Course of Action Development step?

During the Course of Action Development step within the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP), the primary focus is on generating draft courses of action (COAs) that provide various options for the commander to consider in response to the mission. This step is crucial because it lays the groundwork for evaluating potential COAs later in the process.

The draft courses of action are formulated based on the analysis of the mission, the enemy situation, and the available resources and time constraints. This step encourages creative thinking and collaborative input from the planning team, which is essential for presenting viable and innovative solutions to the commander. Without these draft COAs, the subsequent evaluation and comparison of alternative plans would not be possible, as there would be no preliminary options to assess.

While other outputs like final orders and decisions, resource assessments, and team capability reports play significant roles in the overall planning process, they are not the primary deliverables of the Course of Action Development phase. Final orders and decisions emerge later in the MDMP after the evaluation and selection of the best COA, resource assessments would be conducted during different phases to ensure that necessary assets are aligned effectively, and team capability reports support overall situational awareness but are not the core output of this specific step.