Scenario Development | Phase 3 – Develop

After exercise parameters are defined, exercise training objectives are prioritized and approved, and unit training tasks are selected, the planner must conduct a significant amount of research about the planned OE to gain a situational understanding across all the domains and dimensions that a training audience may encounter during an exercise. Understanding the operational environment and the Army’s operational concept are critical to design exercises and develop scenarios in support of training and education.

The purpose of the develop phase is to provide a compilation of products that set the initial conditions and timeline of events imposed on the training audience. Within the scenario, the training audience is presented with problems, completes tasks, and makes decisions to achieve training outcomes. Although the resolution of a scenario can vary greatly, it always addresses the operational environment and general situation.​

The products that will be developed, not all inclusive, are the:

• Operational Environment Assessment
• Road to War
• Opposing Force (OPFOR) Structure and Capabilities
• OPFOR Countertasks and Missions
• Master Scenario Event List (MSEL)
• Information Environment Messaging
• Intelligence Reporting
• Warfighting Functions Actions
• Cyberspace and Electromagnetic Spectrum Actions
• Joint and Coalition Partner Capabilities and Actions
• Orders, Plans, and Instructions

Examples  of these products can be found on the ESA webpage at  https://oe.tradoc.army.mil/esa-exercise-support-application/