Failed Implementation of Operational Design into the Marine Corps Planning Process and the Need for Systems Architecting
Abstract
This paper will attempt to find out whether the fundamentals of systems architecture are beneficial to a better understanding of the elements and goals of operational design as understood throughout the Department of Defense, and to provide a sound basis for its inclusion in the Marine Corps Planning Process (MCPP). On 24 August 2010, the United States Marine Corps published an update to Marine Corps Warfighting Publication (MCWP) 5-1, Marine Corps Planning Process (MCPP). This publication replaced and superseded the original MCWP 5-1, which was published on 5 January 2000 and was an attempt to incorporate operational design into the first step of MCPP. The major change renamed the first step to problem framing, attempting to emphasis a greater awareness and understanding of the background and environment in which a military operation would occur. This paper will first outline the fundamental USMC doctrine related to the development of the MCPP, describe the changes and emphasis to the MCPP from January 2000 to August 2010, evaluate the current MCPP in light of literature published on operational design, and compare and contrast the MCPP and operational design with the civilian discipline of systems architecting. The author argues that the discipline of' systems architecture will offer a gateway to a better understandinq of operational design and a possible foundation for its incorporation into the MCPP.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 06, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA600627
Entities
People
- Claiborne H. Rogers
Organizations
- Marine Corps University