text: Chapter 12
  Assessments
  12-1. Assessment is a continuous process that measures the overall effectiveness of employing joint force
  capabilities during military operations. It is also a determination of the progress toward accomplishing a
  task, creating a condition, or achieving an objective (JP 3-0). The assessment process monitors the effects
  of actions on mission accomplishment. Operational assessments have three enduring purposes. First, they
  monitor the nature, scope, and severity of a situation. Second, they track a military force’s implementation
  of a plan in combination with collaborating agencies. Finally, operational assessments evaluate progress
  towards achieving goals or objectives. Commanders and staffs must integrate assessments into the Army
  design methodology and conceptual planning. Assessments are crucial for successful adaptation and
  innovation by commanders within their respective areas of operation. Assessments are also essential in any
  type of transition. They are a key ingredient in adapting and learning. Assessments must be part of initial
  design. Commanders and staffs must conceptualize what is actually important and determine how to
  question those assumptions from the beginning of understanding a problem. (See ADRP 5-0 and ADRP 6-0
  for doctrine on assessments.) Assessment precedes and is integrated into every operations activity and
  entails two broad, enduring tasks:
  * Continuously monitoring the current situation (including the environment as it affects friendly
  forces, enemy forces, and the population) and the progress of the operation.
  * Evaluating the operation against established criteria, expected outcomes, and the desired end
  state.
  12-2. Commanders, assisted by their staffs, continuously evaluate an operation’s progress against the
  established commander’s intent, mission, and concept of the operation. Based on their assessments,
  commanders may adjust the operation and associated activities to better achieve the end state and adjust
  assessment criteria to address the most credible and relevant activities.
  12-3. The critical role of assessment necessitates establishing measures of effectiveness and performance
  during planning. Commanders choose these measures carefully so that they align with the overall
  operational design and the superior commander’s intent. These measures reflect the interrelationship among
  the lines of effort. Commanders and staffs revise their assessment and measures of effectiveness and
  performance as an operation progresses to most effectively focus limited collection and analytical
  resources.
  12-4. Sound assessment blends qualitative and quantitative analysis with the judgment and intuition of all
  leaders. Commanders must apply assessments carefully, as counterinsurgency operations most often
  involve complex societal issues that may not lend themselves to quantifiable measures of effectiveness.
  Moreover, bad assumptions and false data can undermine the validity of both assessments and conclusions
  drawn from them. Data and metrics can inform a commander’s assessment. However, they must not be
  allowed to dominate it in uncertain situations. Subjective and intuitive assessment must not be replaced by
  an exclusive focus on data or metrics. Commanders must exercise their professional judgment in
  determining the proper balance.
  ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORKS
  12-5. Several assessment frameworks have been developed over the past decade. Depending on their
  specific purpose, they can be used as tools to develop an interagency initial assessment, assess conflicts, or
  measure progress. For example, the Interagency Conflict Assessment Framework is a recognized and very
  useful initial assessment framework (See United States [U.S.] Government publication Interagency Conflict
  Assessment Framework). Alternatively, units may use some form of systems analysis based on the
  operational variables.