The Dynamic OODA Loop: Amalgamating Boyd’s OODA Loop and the Cybernetic Approach to Command and Control ASSESSMENT, TOOLS AND METRICS

This paper presents the Dynamic OODA loop, or DOODA loop for short, a generic model of Command and Control (C2) stemming from Boyd’s OODA loop and cybernetic models of C2. The DOODA loop is formulated in terms of functions that must be accomplished for effective C2, and these functions are then studied in terms of (partially overlapping) processes. The DOODA loop preserves the prescriptive richness of the cybernetic approach in that it represents all the sources of delay in the C2 process envisioned by that approach, and thus escapes the limited focus on speed of decision making characteristic of discussions of C2 based on the OODA loop. The DOODA loop organises research on C2 and provides direction for studies aimed at finding ways of improving C2 effectiveness in that it specifies the functions that need to be accomplished for effective C2.