The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the use of low cost, non-simulation-based wargames and seminars can provide credible Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership & Education, Personnel, Facilities, and Policy (DOTMLPF-P) input to the Capabilities Development Process and inform acquisition / lifecycle decisions. The Army Capabilities and Integration Center (ARCIC) and the Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) have used a variety of wargames and seminars to inform learning demands with regard to future force composition and doctrine development. This paper is a follow-up to the 2014 paper “Budgetary Implications of the Difference between Models and Simulations.� That paper discussed the differences between models and simulations and that significant cost savings have been realized through the use of low fidelity models by ARCIC and MCoE. This paper contains new information and contributes to the management and acquisition body of knowledge in that it focuses on providing the methodologies that ARCIC and MCoE follow in their wargames and seminars that US and Foreign Service readers can adopt to accomplish their own requirements. Discussion will include: 1) past ARCIC and MCoE seminars and wargames techniques, methodologies used and results; 2) lessons learned from execution of the events and how correcting them improved subsequent wargames and seminars; and 3) a methodology to conduct of wargames or seminars that inform capabilities development and/or acquisition decisions. The methodologies include: 1) the use of command and control systems and collaboration software to depict operational and tactical scenarios in order to compare alternative cases; 2) methods for effectively depicting changes to the tactical or operational situation in the use case; and 3) how to document wargame participants’ input concerning the learning demands of the capabilities development document or doctrine being proposed. The paper will conclude with future uses of the methodology and areas for continued research.
Improving Capabilities Development and Acquisition through Wargames and Seminars
5 Views