text: Chapter 3
  Determine Constraints
  3-34. When determining constraints, the staff considers legal, political, operational, and rules of
  engagement constraints that might constrain reconnaissance, security, intelligence operations, and
  surveillance. The staff must consider planning constraints such as limits of reconnaissance, earliest time
  information is of value, and not earlier than times. In some cases, the commander may impose constraints
  on using certain collection assets. In other cases, system constraints such as the weather, crew rest, or
  maintenance cycle limitations may impose limits the staff must consider.
  Identify Critical Facts and Assumptions
  3-35. When staffs identify critical facts and assumptions, they identify critical facts and assumptions
  pertinent to information collection planning that they will use later in COA development. For example, a
  critical fact might be that imagery requests may take 72 to 96 hours to fulfill or that the human intelligence
  effort requires significant time before a good source network is fully developed.
  3-36. Developing assumptions for planning include the availability and responsiveness of organic assets
  and resources from higher echelons. For example, the staff might use a certain percentage (representing
  hours) of unmanned aircraft system support available on a daily basis, weather and maintenance permitting.
  Perform Risk Assessment
  3-37. When performing a risk assessment, the staff considers the asset’s effectiveness versus the protection
  requirements and risk to the asset. For example, placing a sensor forward enough on the battlefield that it
  can return valuable data and information may put the asset at high risk of being compromised, captured, or
  destroyed. The calculus of payoff versus loss will always be determined by mission variables and the
  commander’s decision.
  3-38. In some cases, friendly forces may reveal a collection capability by taking certain actions. If it is
  important to keep a collection capability concealed, then the staff carefully considers every lethal or
  nonlethal action based on current intelligence.
  Determine Initial CCIRs and EEFI
  3-39. Determining initial CCIRs and EEFI is the most important prerequisite for information collection
  planning. The staff refines the list of requirements they derive from the initial analysis of information
  available and from intelligence gaps identified during IPB. They base this list on higher headquarters tasks,
  commander’s guidance, staff assessments, and subordinate and adjacent unit requests for information.
  3-40. The staff then nominates these requirements to the commander to be CCIRs and EEFI. Commanders
  alone decide what information is critical based on their experience, the mission, the higher commander’s
  intent, and input from the staff. The CCIRs are the primary focus for information collection activities.
  Develop the Initial Information Collection Plan
  3-41. The initial information plan is crucial to begin or adjust the collection effort to help answer
  requirements necessary to develop effective plans. The initial information collection plan sets information
  collection in motion. Staffs may issue it as part of a warning order, a fragmentary order, or an operation
  order. As more information becomes available, staffs incorporate it into a complete information plan to the
  operation order.
  3-42. At this point in the MDMP, the initial information plan has to be generic because the staffs still must
  develop friendly COAs. The basis for the plan is the commander’s initial information collection guidance,
  the primary information gaps identified by the staff during mission analysis, and the enemy situational
  template developed during IPB. (See chapter 4 for additional information on tasking and directing
  collection assets.)