Mission analysis (MA) is often performed iteratively with stakeholder needs and requirements generation to better understand the problem (or opportunity) space, as well as the solution space. The execution of this process enables a systems engineer to then establish a set of stakeholder requirements for a potential SoI, or other solution, that could provide a capability or service needed by the acquirer, the users, and the other stakeholders in a defined environment.
MA is part of the larger set of concept definition activities - the phase of systems engineering in which the problem space and the needs of the stakeholders are closely examined; this occurs before any formal definition of the (SoI) is developed. In fact, the activities of concept definition determine whether the enterprise strategic goals and stakeholder needs will be addressed by a new system, a change to an existing system, a service, an operational change or some other solution. Mission analysis focuses on the identification of the primary purpose(s) of the solution, while stakeholder needs and requirements definition explores what capabilities stakeholders desire and may include some detail on the performance of certain aspects of the solution.
The purpose of MA is to understand a mission/market problem or opportunity, analyze the solution space, and initiate the life cycle of a potential solution that could address the problem or take advantage of an opportunity. MA is a type of strategic or operations analysis related to needs, capability gaps, or opportunities and solutions that can be applied to any organization that evolves its strategy for its business objectives.
MA, in some domains called market analysis (glossary) or business analysis, is the identification, characterization, and assessment of an operational problem or opportunity within an enterprise. The definition of a mission need in a problem space frames the solution, both in terms of the direct application to the mission or business function, and in terms of the context for the resulting solution. MA is used to define needed (or desired) operational actions, not hardware/software functions; that is, it is focused on defining the problem space, not the solution space. It characterizes the operational need in terms of mission description/provisions and the environment/context, together with the proposed enterprise concept of operations (ConOps) and operational scenarios. The primary products of MA are the revised ConOps of the enterprise, the operational concept, the operational scenarios for the mission, and the context in which the solution will exist.
MA may include mathematical analysis, modeling, simulation, visualization, and other analytical tools to characterize the intended mission and determine how to best achieve the needs/objectives. MA evaluates alternative approaches to determine which best supports the stakeholder needs (among both materiel and non-materiel solution alternatives, also known as product solutions and service/operational solutions). Thus, MA defines the problem space and analyzes the solution space alternatives using quality attribute constraints driven by the enterprise objectives.
Mission Analysis and Concept of Operations
MA and the ConOps are broadly used in defense and aerospace organizations to analyze and define how a system is intended to operate, as well as how the major operations or operational scenarios are intended to be performed. They take into account the strategic, operational, and tactical aspects of the identified scenarios.
In order to determine appropriate technical solutions for evolving enterprise capabilities, systems engineering (SE) leaders interact with enterprise leaders and operations analysts to understand
• the enterprise ConOps and future mission, business, and operational (MBO) objectives;
• the characterization of the operational concept and objectives (i.e., constraints, mission or operational scenarios, tasks, resources, risks, assumptions, and related missions or operations); and
• how specific missions or operations are currently conducted and what gaps exist in those areas.
They then conceptually explore and select from alternative candidate solutions. This interaction ensures a full understanding of both the problem space and the solution space. The alternative candidate solutions can include a wide range of approaches to address the need, as well as variants for an approach to optimize specific characteristics (e.g., using a different distribution of satellite orbit parameters to maximize coverage or events while minimizing the number of satellites). Analysis, modeling and simulation, and trade studies are employed to select alternative approaches (NDIA 2010).
The ConOps, at the organization level, addresses the leadership's intended way of operating the organization. It may refer to the use of one or more systems (as black boxes) to forward the organization's goals and objectives. The ConOps document describes the organization's assumptions or intent in regard to an overall operation or series of operations within the business in regards to the system to be developed, existing systems, and possible future systems. This document is frequently embodied in long-range strategic plans and annual operational plans. The ConOps document serves as a basis for the organization to direct the overall characteristics of future business and systems. (ISO/IEC 2011)
In commercial sectors, MA is often primarily performed as market analysis. Wikipedia defines market analysis as a process that: . . . studies the attractiveness and the dynamics of a special market within a special industry. It is part of the industry analysis and this in turn of the global environmental analysis. Through all these analyses, the chances, strengths, weaknesses, and risks of a company can be identified. Finally, with the help of a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis, adequate business strategies of a company will be defined. The market analysis is also known as a documented investigation of a market that is used to inform a firm's planning activities, particularly around decisions of inventory, purchase, work force expansion/contraction, facility expansion, purchases of capital equipment, promotional activities, and many other aspects of a company. (Wikipedia Contributors, 2012)
Mission Analysis as Part of Enterprise Strategy Development
Periodically, most enterprises re-evaluate their strategy with respect to their mission, vision, and positioning to accomplish their goals.
As the enterprise evolves the strategy, it is essential to conduct the supporting MA or strategic analysis for each element of the enterprise to determine readiness to achieve future objectives. This analysis examines the current state to identify any problems or opportunities related to the objective achievement and aids the enterprise in fully understanding and defining the problem space. The analysis examines the external environment and interfaces in search of impacts and trends, as well as the internal enterprise to gauge its capabilities and value stream gaps.
Additionally, a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis may be performed. As the problem space is defined, the stakeholder needs are defined and transformed into stakeholder requirements that define the solutions needed. These requirements include those that address customer and mission needs, the future state of core processes and capabilities of the enterprise, and the enablers to support performance of those processes and capabilities. Finally, MA is engaged again to examine the solution space. Candidate solutions that span the potential solution space are identified, from simple operational changes to various system developments or modifications. Various techniques are applied to analyze the candidates, understand their feasibility and value, and select the best alternative.