Command and Control as Design

This is the final paper in a series of papers presented at previous ICCRTS conferences from 2005 on, and in the International C2 Journal, aiming at developing a science of command and control (C2). Specifically, the aim has been to search for an appropriate ontological framework for the study of C2 which will let us escape from the current fragmentation of the field. This work has led to the view of C2 as one of the “sciences of the artificial”, i.e., it is a science of artifacts, or of design. In this paper I will summarize the results of these studies as they relate to the understanding of C2 systems and C2 as a function, and extend the framework to an analysis of C2 as an activity in an attempt to demonstrate that the design framework provides a coherent view of the field of C2 as a whole. This should open up the possibility for cumulative growth of C2 research.