Which step follows COA Development in the Joint Planning Process?

Which step follows COA Development in the Joint Planning Process?

• A. Initiation
• B. Mission Analysis
• C. COA Development
• D. COA Analysis and Wargaming

Answer: (D)

Evaluating and refining potential courses of action through detailed analysis and wargaming is what follows COA Development. Once you’ve drafted several COAs, you analyze each one to understand feasibility, risk, cost, and resource needs, and you use wargaming to simulate how the operation would unfold against likely enemy actions and environmental constraints. This process reveals gaps, assumptions, bottlenecks, and vulnerabilities, allowing you to adjust or even discard COAs before committing to a final choice. The outcome is a clearer understanding of which COAs are viable and worthy of comparison, setting up the next step where the best options are weighed against each other before approval and plan development.

Evaluating and refining potential courses of action through detailed analysis and wargaming is what follows COA Development. Once you’ve drafted several COAs, you analyze each one to understand feasibility, risk, cost, and resource needs, and you use wargaming to simulate how the operation would unfold against likely enemy actions and environmental constraints. This process reveals gaps, assumptions, bottlenecks, and vulnerabilities, allowing you to adjust or even discard COAs before committing to a final choice. The outcome is a clearer understanding of which COAs are viable and worthy of comparison, setting up the next step where the best options are weighed against each other before approval and plan development.