Concept Development and Experimentation
Encyclopedia
Concept Development & Experimentation (CD&E) is the application of the structure and methods of experimental science to the challenge of developing future military capability.
CD&E is a forward looking process for developing and evaluating new concepts, before committing extensive resources. CDE is a process to identify the best solution not only from a technical perspective, but also for possible solutions for challenges involving doctrine, organization, training, and material to achieve significant advances in future operations. CD&E is a way of thinking your way through the future before spending money.
Developing and identifying future oriented concepts allows you to:
The potential impacts on interoperability and increased capabilities by emerging concepts must be captured by some process and exploited.
Concept development gives broad and sometimes ill-defined ideas a chance to be
examined by groups of experts in a logical process. These ideas can come from different sources: e.g. Ministry of Defense, industry, servicemen organizations or partners.
They can be generated by staff processes, operational experience, formal
analytical work, or published proposals. There need be no
boundaries on the types of ideas that enter the concept development process, although
some simpler ones that modify techniques or procedures might be ‘fast-tracked’ into
practice because they are intuitively
sound. Typically, promising ideas with a
broader scope are explored and refined
through workshops and larger seminars
to the point where more mature concepts
are formed. These concepts are further
debated in committees or working
groups and, if accepted, are submitted to
the experimental process.
Once validated and accepted, concepts are incorporated into military organizations – for example,
through doctrine and capability development processes.
CD&E is a forward looking process for developing and evaluating new concepts, before committing extensive resources. CDE is a process to identify the best solution not only from a technical perspective, but also for possible solutions for challenges involving doctrine, organization, training, and material to achieve significant advances in future operations. CD&E is a way of thinking your way through the future before spending money.
Developing and identifying future oriented concepts allows you to:
- test their validity/feasibility;
- take advantage of other studies/experiments conducted and
- save resources and avoid duplication.
The potential impacts on interoperability and increased capabilities by emerging concepts must be captured by some process and exploited.
Concept development gives broad and sometimes ill-defined ideas a chance to be
examined by groups of experts in a logical process. These ideas can come from different sources: e.g. Ministry of Defense, industry, servicemen organizations or partners.
They can be generated by staff processes, operational experience, formal
analytical work, or published proposals. There need be no
boundaries on the types of ideas that enter the concept development process, although
some simpler ones that modify techniques or procedures might be ‘fast-tracked’ into
practice because they are intuitively
sound. Typically, promising ideas with a
broader scope are explored and refined
through workshops and larger seminars
to the point where more mature concepts
are formed. These concepts are further
debated in committees or working
groups and, if accepted, are submitted to
the experimental process.
Kinds of Experiments
Different kinds of experiments can be conducted:- Discovery Experiments relieve more details of the scrutinized problem.
- Hypothesis experiments validate specific thesis and
- Demonstration experiments provide an insight into the realization of the a concept.
Once validated and accepted, concepts are incorporated into military organizations – for example,
through doctrine and capability development processes.
Literature
- Nato Code of Best Practice for C2 Assessment, CCRP Publication Series, 2002 (http://www.dodccrp.org)
- Alberts, David S., Hayes, Richard E: Code of Best Practice for Experimentation, CCRP Publication Series, 2002 (http://www.dodccrp.org)
- Alberts, David S., Hayes, Richard E: Campaigns of Experimentation, CCRP Publication Series, 2005 (http://www.dodccrp.org)
- Guide for Understanding and Implementing Defense Experimentation (GUIDEx), The Technical Cooperation Program, 2006, (http://www.dtic.mil/ttcp/guidex.htm) GUIDEx Book (http://www.dtic.mil/ttcp/GUIDExBookFeb2006.pdf) GUIDEx Pocketbook (http://www.dtic.mil/ttcp/GUIDExPocketbookMar2006.pdf) GUIDEx Triptych (http://www.dtic.mil/ttcp/GUIDExPamphletMar2006.pdf)
External links
- Concept Development and Experimentation at NATO Allied Command TransformationAllied Command TransformationAllied Command Transformation is a NATO military command, which was formed in 2003 after North Atlantic Treaty Organisation restructuring....
, (http://www.act.nato.int/organization/transformation/jeeacdeindex.htm)
- Concept Development and Experimentation at US Joint Forces CommandUnited States Joint Forces CommandUnited States Joint Forces Command was a former Unified Combatant Command of the United States Armed Forces. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno...
, (http://www.jfcom.mil/about/abt_j9.htm)