Plan Tab

Joint Planning Process / MDMP — JP 5-0

Purpose

The Plan tab is where operational design becomes actionable. It implements the Joint Planning Process (JPP) 7-step workflow and the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP) governance framework. Staff develop, wargame, compare, and approve courses of action through a structured, auditable process with AI augmentation and human decision gates at every critical juncture.

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Components

7-Step JPP Workflow Engine

The Plan tab enforces the full JPP sequence:

1. Planning Initiation — Receive and frame the planning directive.
2. Mission Analysis — Analyze the operational approach from the Design tab, identify specified/implied/essential tasks, and refine the problem statement.
3. COA Development — Generate candidate courses of action.
4. COA Analysis (Wargaming) — Test each COA against adversary responses.
5. COA Comparison — Evaluate COAs against weighted criteria.
6. COA Approval — Commander selects or modifies a COA.
7. Plan Development — Develop the approved COA into a full plan or order.

Each step has defined entry/exit criteria. The workflow engine tracks which steps are complete and which require action.

COA Development with Collaborative Editing

• Real-time collaborative editing powered by Yjs CRDT framework.
• Multiple staff members can simultaneously draft and refine COA elements.
• Version history with full attribution — see who contributed what and when.
• Structured COA templates covering scheme of maneuver, task organization, synchronization, and risk assessment.

Wargaming (Action-Reaction-Counteraction)

• Structured wargaming using the action-reaction-counteraction method.
• Each turn: friendly action, adversary reaction (AI-assisted red teaming), friendly counteraction.
• Records decisions, outcomes, and branch/sequel triggers.
• AI red team simulator provides realistic adversary responses based on doctrine and the knowledge graph.

COA Comparison Matrices

• Side-by-side comparison of COAs against commander-defined criteria.
• Weighted scoring with justification for each rating.
• Visual matrix output suitable for decision briefings.
• AI-assisted comparison highlights key differentiators and trade-offs.

MDMP Governance Gates

The Plan tab enforces 18 governance gates across 9 MDMP phases:

Phase	Key Gates
Receipt of Mission	Planning timeline, initial guidance
Mission Analysis	Mission statement approval, commander's intent
COA Development	COA brief, staff concurrence
COA Analysis	Wargame results validation
COA Comparison	Criteria weighting approval
COA Approval	Commander's decision
Orders Production	Staff review, legal review
Rehearsal	Rehearsal completion
Transition	Handoff acknowledgment

Each gate requires explicit approval from the authorized role before the workflow advances. Gate status is visible to all staff.

Assumption Registry

• Centralized log of all planning assumptions.
• Each assumption tracked with: source, rationale, owner, validation status, and impact if invalid.
• AI assumption auditor periodically checks assumptions against new information from the Understand tab.
• Invalid assumptions trigger reassessment alerts.

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AI Agents

Agent	Function
COA Generator	Proposes candidate courses of action based on the operational approach and available forces.
Red Team Simulator	Generates realistic adversary responses during wargaming based on adversary doctrine and capabilities.
COA Comparator	Provides analytical comparison of COAs against evaluation criteria.
Adversary Modeler	Maintains and updates the adversary model throughout the planning process.
Effect Cascader	Models second- and third-order effects of proposed actions.
Escalation Modeler	Assesses escalation risk for proposed actions across the conflict spectrum.
Deception Detector	Flags potential adversary deception indicators in intelligence feeding the plan.
Assumption Auditor	Validates planning assumptions against current intelligence and flags stale or contradicted assumptions.
Orders Validator	Checks draft orders for completeness, internal consistency, and doctrinal compliance.
Uncertainty Quantifier	Estimates confidence levels and uncertainty ranges for key planning factors.
Data Bias Detector	Identifies potential biases in data sources and analysis feeding the planning process.
Problem Framing	Assists with refining the problem statement during mission analysis.
ROE Compliance	Checks proposed actions against rules of engagement and legal constraints.

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Human Checkpoints

The Plan tab is designed around the principle that AI advises, humans decide:

• COA Approval — Only the commander can select a COA for plan development.
• Plan Approval — The completed plan requires commander endorsement before orders can be generated.
• Governance Gates — All 18 MDMP gates require explicit human approval from the authorized role.
• Wargame Decisions — Friendly actions are human decisions; AI provides the adversary response for reaction.

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Role Access

Role	Access
Commander	Approves COAs, plans, and key governance gates.
J5 Plans	Primary planner. Leads COA development and plan production.
J3 Operations	Contributes to COA development, leads wargaming execution.
J2 Intelligence	Provides intelligence input, validates adversary models.
All staff	Participate in collaborative planning per their functional area.

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Data Flow

Design Tab
  (Operational Approach, CoG Analysis, LOEs)
        |
        v
  +-------------------------------+
  | Mission Analysis              |
  | COA Development & Wargaming   |
  | COA Comparison & Approval     |
  | Plan Development              |
  +-------------------------------+
        |
        v
  Direct Tab (Order Generation)

Inputs

• Operational approach and CoG analysis (from Design tab)
• Lines of effort/operation
• Commander's guidance and intent
• Intelligence estimates and knowledge graph
• Assumptions from Design tab

Outputs

• Approved courses of action
• Completed plans
• Validated assumptions
• Wargame results and decision records
• Draft orders ready for formatting in the Direct tab

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Doctrinal Reference

• JP 5-0, Chapters V-XI: Joint Planning Process
• ADP 5-0, The Operations Process — Planning
• ATP 5-0.1, Army Design Methodology
• MDMP, FM 6-0: Commander and Staff Organization and Operations

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Part of the BASTION Capability Tabs documentation.