ATP-5-0-2-1 Staff Reference Guide Volume 1 Download
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Planning 07 December 2020 ATP 5-0.2-1 67 2-221. The following list of COA comparison techniques are presented in no particular order. These techniques serve as a starting point, but other methods also exist for comparing COAs. The critical thing to do is present the information using a technique that best allows the commander to understand the costs and benefits between each COA. Conduct COA Decision Briefing 2-222. After analysis and comparison, the staff identifies and recommend their preferred COA. If the staff cannot reach a decision, the COS or XO decides which COA to recommend. The staff then delivers a decision briefing to the commander. The COS or XO highlights any changes to each COA resulting from the COA analysis. The decision briefing includes— Introduction. Agenda. An updated IPB, facts, and assumptions (if there are significant changes). Commander requests for information from the staff. Brief review of— Approved problem statement and mission statement. Commander's and higher commander's intents. Threat COA(s) used for COA analysis. COA analysis technique used (if applicable). For each friendly COA— Assumptions used. Concept of operation brief review. COA analysis results. Modifications to friendly COA. COA Comparison Techniques: Descriptive. Instead of listing a numeric score for each COA, this technique relies on a few short sentences or bullets to convey advantages and disadvantages. Advantage: this is a good tool for starting dialogue. Disadvantages: comparing advantages and disadvantages in a time-constrained environment can be difficult, which can force limited dialogue and an incorrect decision. Comparison. Based on the number of COAs, each evaluation criterion receives a value from 1 to 10 with “1” being best. When all evaluation criterion are added together, the COA with the lowest value is chosen. Advantages: the comparison is easy to perform. Disadvantages: the comparison can distort differences between COAs. For example, if a potential operation has two evaluation criteria of “Fuel Used” and “Casualties,” comparing COAs using this technique potentially results in: one gallon of fuel equal to one casualty. Plus or Minus. For each evaluation criterion, instead of assigning a value, assign a “+” or “-” to signify the COA is either favorable or unfavorable. Add plusses and minuses for the criteria, with a plus neutralizing a minus for an overall score. For example, 3 “+”s and 2 “-”s results in a score of +1. Advantages: this technique is fast and provides an easy way to understand the information. Disadvantages: complex evaluation criteria might be over simplified. Relative Value. The raw score for each evaluation criterion is assigned a relative score of 0–100; the worst raw score receives a “0” and the best receives a “100.” The rest of the COAs raw scores receive a proportion of the score. Add scores together. The highest score is the recommended COA. Advantages: this technique better captures the advantages and disadvantages of each evaluation criterion. Disadvantages: the conversion to a score takes a stronger understanding of mathematics and ratios; therefore, this technique can be difficult to use initially.