Problem
Planning loses direction when it ignores established warfighting principles.
Action
Use maneuver warfare and mission command principles to guide each planning choice.
Outcome
The plan supports decisive action under changing conditions.
Chapter: Planning Overview - Doctrinal Underpinnings
Problem
Unstructured planning can leave major questions unanswered.
Action
Move through problem framing, course development, war gaming, comparison, orders development, and transition.
Outcome
The staff produces a complete plan through a shared process.
Chapter: Planning Overview - Synopsis of the Marine Corps Planning Process
Problem
Rigid staff work can separate planning from the commander's judgment.
Action
Keep the commander involved while the staff works continuously and adapts to new information.
Outcome
The plan remains useful as the situation changes.
Chapter: Planning Overview - Tenets of the Marine Corps Planning Process
Problem
A team can solve the wrong problem when it acts on a weak understanding of the situation.
Action
Study the environment and define the central problem before developing solutions.
Outcome
Planning effort focuses on the conditions that matter most.
Chapter: Problem Framing - Design
Problem
Complex situations cannot be understood through isolated facts alone.
Action
Use Marine Corps Design Methodology to connect the environment, the problem, and the desired conditions.
Outcome
The staff gains a shared view of what must change.
Chapter: Problem Framing - Introduction to Marine Corps Design Methodology
Problem
The staff cannot develop aligned options without a clear direction from the commander.
Action
Describe how actions should move the force from current conditions toward desired conditions.
Outcome
Course development follows a common operational direction.
Chapter: Problem Framing - Commander's Operational Approach
Problem
Subordinate units lose preparation time when they receive guidance late.
Action
Send available mission details and initial guidance as soon as planning begins.
Outcome
Subordinate units can begin useful preparation earlier.
Chapter: Problem Framing - Issue the Warning Order
Problem
Separate staff efforts can create conflicting views of the problem.
Action
Integrate functional analysis into shared estimates and planning products.
Outcome
The commander receives a coherent picture of the situation.
Chapter: Problem Framing - Staff Actions
Problem
New information can make the original understanding of the problem inaccurate.
Action
Review the problem frame whenever important conditions or assumptions change.
Outcome
Later planning remains based on current conditions.
Chapter: Problem Framing - Considerations
Problem
A vague option cannot be tested or executed reliably.
Action
Build each course of action with clear tasks, forces, sequence, purpose, and required support.
Outcome
Each option can be judged as a realistic solution.
Chapter: Course of Action Development - Develop Courses of Action
Problem
The commander cannot guide development when an option is difficult to understand.
Action
Brief each course of action with its concept, tasks, organization, risks, and support needs.
Outcome
The commander can identify needed changes before war gaming.
Chapter: Course of Action Development - Course of Action Development Brief
Problem
War gaming can become unfocused without clear priorities.
Action
Direct the staff toward key concerns and define criteria for judging each course of action.
Outcome
The war game produces information that supports the commander's decision.
Chapter: Course of Action Development - Commander's Wargaming Guidance and Evaluation Criteria
Problem
Similar courses of action give the commander little real choice.
Action
Develop options with meaningful differences in method, timing, organization, or use of force.
Outcome
The commander can compare genuine alternatives.
Chapter: Course of Action Development - Considerations
Problem
Poor preparation causes the war game to miss important actions and constraints.
Action
Gather required products, assign participant roles, and establish the rules before starting.
Outcome
The staff can test each course of action efficiently.
Chapter: Course of Action War Game - War Game Preparations
Problem
One war game method may not expose the most important features of every operation.
Action
Select a technique that matches the terrain, mission, time, and decisions under study.
Outcome
The analysis concentrates on the operation's critical parts.
Chapter: Course of Action War Game - War Game Techniques
Problem
A plan can appear sound when enemy reactions and changing conditions are ignored.
Action
Examine each action through the lens of action, reaction, and counteraction.
Outcome
The staff exposes likely risks and required decisions.
Chapter: Course of Action War Game - Conduct of the War Game
Problem
Useful findings are lost when the staff relies on memory.
Action
Capture decisions, risks, resource needs, decision points, and required plan changes during the war game.
Outcome
The staff can use the findings in later planning.
Chapter: Course of Action War Game - Recording the War Game
Problem
Initial estimates may no longer support the course of action after detailed testing.
Action
Update staff estimates, supportability judgments, and supporting concepts with war game findings.
Outcome
Each course of action reflects realistic support requirements.
Chapter: Course of Action War Game - Refine Staff Estimates, Estimates of Supportability, and Supporting Concepts
Problem
The commander cannot compare options without understanding how each one performed.
Action
Present key events, risks, decisions, advantages, disadvantages, and proposed changes for each course of action.
Outcome
The commander receives a clear basis for further guidance.
Chapter: Course of Action War Game - Prepare Course of Action War Game Brief
Problem
The staff may compare options using factors that do not reflect the commander's priorities.
Action
State the guidance and criteria the staff must use for the final comparison.
Outcome
The comparison focuses on what matters most to mission success.
Chapter: Course of Action War Game - Commander's Comparison and Decision Guidance
Problem
An untested assumption can hide a serious weakness in a course of action.
Action
Question each important assumption as the staff tests the operation.
Outcome
The plan depends on fewer hidden risks.
Chapter: Course of Action War Game - Considerations
Problem
Unorganized analysis makes meaningful differences between options hard to see.
Action
Prepare comparison tools that show how each course of action meets the commander's criteria.
Outcome
The commander can review the options efficiently.
Chapter: Course of Action Comparison and Decision - Prepare Course of Action Comparison and Decision Products
Problem
A numerical score can hide the operational meaning of an option's strengths and weaknesses.
Action
Explain the important advantages, disadvantages, risks, and tradeoffs of each course of action.
Outcome
The commander understands what each choice requires.
Chapter: Course of Action Comparison and Decision - Course of Action Comparison and Decision Discussion
Problem
Planning cannot advance until the force has one approved operational direction.
Action
Choose, reject, or modify a course of action based on judgment and comparison results.
Outcome
The staff receives a firm basis for developing the order.
Chapter: Course of Action Comparison and Decision - Commander's Decision
Problem
Subordinate planning can drift from the selected course of action when new guidance is delayed.
Action
Issue an updated warning order with the decision and its immediate planning effects.
Outcome
Subordinate units can align their work with the approved direction.
Chapter: Course of Action Comparison and Decision - Update the Warning Order
Problem
The staff may misapply a decision when its reasons and limits are unclear.
Action
Record the selected course of action with the commander's guidance, accepted risks, and required changes.
Outcome
Orders development preserves the commander's intent.
Chapter: Course of Action Comparison and Decision - Considerations
Problem
The selected course of action may lack enough detail to guide coordinated execution.
Action
Turn the selected course of action into a clear sequence of operations and supporting actions.
Outcome
The force gains a practical model for execution.
Chapter: Orders Development - Refine the Concept of Operations
Problem
Units cannot execute well when instructions are incomplete or unclear.
Action
State the situation, mission, execution, support, and command arrangements in the proper order format.
Outcome
Subordinate units receive the information needed to act.
Chapter: Orders Development - Prepare the Order or Plan
Problem
Late changes can make parts of the order conflict with the commander's decision.
Action
Review the full order against the approved concept, intent, resources, timing, and guidance.
Outcome
The final order remains faithful to the selected course of action.
Chapter: Orders Development - Orders Reconciliation
Problem
Tasks and details can conflict across the base order and its annexes.
Action
Compare all sections and annexes for matching tasks, times, locations, resources, and responsibilities.
Outcome
The order gives every unit consistent instructions.
Chapter: Orders Development - Orders Crosswalk
Problem
An unapproved order does not provide authoritative direction for execution.
Action
Present the completed order to the commander for review and approval.
Outcome
The force receives an authorized plan for action.
Chapter: Orders Development - Approve the Order or Plan
Problem
A perfect order delivered too late can reduce subordinate preparation.
Action
Use clear language and release the order when units still have time to prepare.
Outcome
Subordinate units can understand the plan and act sooner.
Chapter: Orders Development - Considerations
Problem
Execution teams can lose planning knowledge during a rushed handoff.
Action
Organize the people, products, facilities, and schedule needed for the transition before the order is complete.
Outcome
The handoff transfers essential knowledge without delay.
Chapter: Transition - Transition Preparation
Problem
Reading the order alone may not reveal misunderstandings or coordination gaps.
Action
Use briefs, rehearsals, and turnovers to transfer the plan to those who will execute it.
Outcome
Execution teams develop a shared understanding of the operation.
Chapter: Transition - Transition Events
Problem
A transition can fail when critical decisions and planning logic remain with the planning team.
Action
Transfer the intent, concept, tasks, assumptions, risks, decisions, and control measures needed for execution.
Outcome
The executing force understands both the plan and its basis.
Chapter: Transition - Transition Components
Problem
A subordinate unit may misunderstand its mission without realizing the error.
Action
Have subordinate leaders explain their mission and planned execution in their own words.
Outcome
The commander can correct misunderstandings before execution.
Chapter: Transition - Confirmation Briefs