Investigation of a Graphical CONOPS Development Environment for Agile Systems Engineering

This report investigates the current approaches to Concept of Operations (CONOPS) development in use in various DoD and commercial organizations with the goal of understanding why CONOPS creation is such a lengthy process, and how the process can be made more agile. A number of CONOPS are cataloged and analyzed to understand which parts of the current standards are used by the creators of a CONOPS. Traditional CONOPS creation processes are discussed based on literature and face-to- face interviews with those involved with creating CONOPS in both traditional and non- traditional domains. Based on these findings, an agile CONOPS process that emphasizes stakeholder involvement and expedites shared mental models development is put forth. Additionally, current and emerging technologies that might be applicable to creating a graphical CONOPS are discussed. Finally, recommendations for future research to develop a toolbox for creating graphical CONOPS are presented.