text: Chapter 4
  ASSESS
  4-122. Assessmentis the determination of the progress toward accomplishing a task,creating a condition,
  or achieving an objective (JP 3-0). Assessment is continuous;it precedes and guides every operationsprocess
  activity and concludes each operation or phase of an operation. The BCT commander and staff conduct
  assessments by monitoring the current situation to collect information;evaluating progress towards attaining
  end state conditions, achieving objectives, and performing tasks; and recommending or directing action to
  modify or improve the existing COA. The commander establishes priorities for assessment in planning
  guidance, CCIRs, EEFI, and decision points. By prioritizing the effort, the commander avoids excessive
  analyses when assessing operations.
  4-123. Throughout the operations process, the BCT commander’s personal assessment is integrated with
  those of the staff, subordinate commanders, and other unified action partners. Primary tools for assessing
  progress of the operation include the operation order,the COP,personal observations,running estimates,and
  the assessment plan. The latter includes measures of effectiveness (MOEs), measures of performance
  (MOPs), and reframing criteria. The commander’s visualization forms the basis for the commander’s
  personal assessment of progress. Running estimates provide information,conclusions,and recommendations
  from the perspective of each staff section. (See ADP 5-0 for the assessment process during the operations
  process.)
  Assessment Plan Development
  4-124. Critical to the assessment process (see paragraph 4-128) is developing an assessment plan. The BCT
  uses an assessment working group (when established) to develop assessment plans when appropriate. A
  working groupis a grouping of predetermined staff representatives who meet to provide analysis,coordinate,
  and provide recommendations for a particular purpose or function (FM 6-0). A critical element of the
  commander’s planning guidance is determining which assessment plan to develop. An assessment plan
  focused on attainment of end state conditions often works well. It is also possible,and may be desirable,to
  develop an entire formal assessment plan for an intermediate objective,a named operation subordinate to the
  base operation plan,or a named operation focused solely on a single line of operations or geographic area.
  The time, resources, and added complexity involved in generating an assessment plan strictly limit the
  number of such efforts.
  4-125. The BCT commander and staff integrate and develop an assessment plan within the MDMP. As the
  commander and staff begin mission analysis,they also need to determine how to measure progress towards
  the operation’s end state.
  4-126. In order to measure progress towards an objective,criteria are established which provide measurable
  points from which analysis can be conducted. The staff then determines the method to collect on these criteria.
  The criteria or individual criterion may require specific means of measurement. These types of measurement
  fall under the categories of quantitative measurement and qualitative measurement. Quantitative
  measurement is observations that are based on measurements and numbers. For example, the number of
  violent incidents per day in a city block. Qualitative measurements are observations that are not based on
  measurements and numbers. They typically involve using the senses,knowledge,or insights. For example,
  the reason why there has been an increase or decrease in violent incidents in a city block. In regard to human
  behavior, analysis of quantitative measurements should be tempered with qualitative analysis whenever
  possible.
  4-127. During planning, the commander and staff or assessment working group (when established)
  develops an assessment plan using six steps. FM 6-0 provides a detailed discussion on each step during
  assessment plan development. The six steps are—
  (cid:122) Step 1—Gather tools and assessment data.
  (cid:122) Step 2—Understand current and desired conditions.
  (cid:122) Step 3—Develop an assessment framework.
  (cid:122) Step 4—Develop the collection plan.
  (cid:122) Step 5—Assign responsibilities for conducting analysis and generating recommendations.
  (cid:122) Step 6—Identify feedback mechanisms.