Design: Thinking not Process

Abstract

Senior officers capable of critical and creative thinking are needed more than ever to plan and conduct operations in strategic and operational environments that offer ever-changing uncertainties in increasingly complex conditions. Officers who have a broad body of knowledge gained through experience and extensive study and capable of identifying and evaluating potential military response options within the context of a grand strategy are necessary to achieve the goals of the nation. The development of such officers requires a shift in their extensive focus from the operational and tactical environments to the strategic environment. This is a tremendous undertaking given that by far one spends the majority of one's career at those lower levels of war and promotion to senior ranks relies upon excellence in tactical thinking and execution. The aim of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, is to educate strategically minded officers with the ability to view military affairs in the broadest context. This essay posits that integrating design as a process within JOPP is a shortsighted attempt to legislate thinking whereas the more appropriate option would be to develop officers capable of design thinking. To develop senior officers who possess the requisite worldview, critical and creative thinking must underpin the concept of design. Senior officers must understand the role constraints play within design and how the strategic environment is affected. Two accepted approaches in design thinking, analysis/synthesis and conjecture/analysis, could provide senior officers with the unique perspectives necessary for planning at all levels of war. In addition, the unique skills that specific personality types possess that make strategic-thinking and design thinking more inherently natural must be recognized and promoted.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 15, 2011
Accession Number
ADA551056

Entities

People

  • Dan Mccauley

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Cognition
  • Congress
  • Doctrine
  • Education
  • Judgment
  • Law
  • Military Education
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Personality
  • Psychology
  • Social Sciences
  • Thinking
  • Training
  • Unified Combatant Commands

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Systems Analysis and Design