During which step are Courses of Action (COAs) created?

During which step are Courses of Action (COAs) created?

• A. Analyze Mission
• B. Approve COAs
• C. Develop COAs
• D. Compare COAs

Answer: (C)

Creating Courses of Action happens during the COA development step. After mission analysis clarifies the constraints and intent, the staff drafts several distinct options for how to accomplish the mission, each with its own concept of operations, major tasks, and resource assumptions. The goal is to have multiple viable paths to test later in war-gaming and comparison, before any approval. This step is about generating options, not analyzing them, which comes next, nor approving them. So the best answer is the phase where COAs are formed: developing COAs.

Creating Courses of Action happens during the COA development step. After mission analysis clarifies the constraints and intent, the staff drafts several distinct options for how to accomplish the mission, each with its own concept of operations, major tasks, and resource assumptions. The goal is to have multiple viable paths to test later in war-gaming and comparison, before any approval. This step is about generating options, not analyzing them, which comes next, nor approving them. So the best answer is the phase where COAs are formed: developing COAs.