Guide to Capability-Based Planning

The first step in implementing CBP is to establish an appropriate management structure and division of responsibility. Achieving this requires commitment at senior levels and without it the benefits of CBP will be limited. This is sometimes referred to as “institutionalizing” CBP. The goals of designing the CBP process should include the following:

• Determine who will do what work (effectiveness analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and tradeoff studies within and among capabilities);
• Determine who has responsibility for the outcomes (approval and coordination);
• Determine the resources required (for analysis, as well as R&D);
• Determine how long a planning cycle will take;
• Determine what the outcome or outcomes of the process will be;
• Determine the products to be produced; and
• Ensure the process meets constraints such as timeliness.

There are many inherent challenges involved in implementing a CBP process. These include:

• Pluralism among defense interests and the number of stakeholders;
• The need to reflect the coalition context within which operations will be undertaken;
• The need for cost estimates on a consistent basis, including costs for force elements that may not yet exist;
• Resource provision for both the development and execution of the CBP process. CBP may require the development of new tools such as force structure analysis tools and costing models, if not already in the national inventory.
• It can be difficult to work at the high level of abstraction required by CBP;
• Program alignment is problematic given differing timescales for generation of Capability components, e.g. people and equipment;