The OODA Loop

The OODA Loop is useful for navigating complex situations, emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to decision-making. The OODA Loop encourages individuals and organizations to continuously adapt their understanding of the situation and their actions based on new information. This dynamic nature is crucial for maintaining a high level of situational awareness, particularly in rapidly evolving environments.

What is OODA

The OODA Loop is a strategic tool developed by military strategist and United States Air Force Colonel John Boyd. OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. It’s a decision-making process to help individuals and organizations operate effectively in competitive environments. The loop emphasizes the importance of adapting quickly to changing situations through a continuous cycle of interactions.

Typically, it is drawn like above.

Observe or Sense (Analysis) – Gathering information and understanding the current environment and situation: In Observe mode, you focus on understanding the current situation. This section helps you dissect and comprehend an organization’s various elements and dynamics, paving the way for insightful analysis.
Orient (Diagnosis): Analyzing and using the information to update your view of reality. While the analysis does not directly imply an assessment, the main focus of the diagnosis is developing an opinion about the findings.
Decide (Design) – Making decisions based on observations and orientation: Finally, we delve into organizational design. This part guides you through the critical decisions involved in proposing changes and improvements to an organization’s structure and processes, utilizing the principles of VSM.
Act (Ways of Change)- Taking action to implement the decision: Last, we choose a procedure to implement the findings. This can mean a traditional change process or an iterative approach. We discuss some of the options and the reasons why you would choose one over the other.

After taking action, the loop restarts with observation to assess the actions’ success and to react to any changes in the situation.

The process helps to control the “blast radius,” i.e., the impact of an intervention. The loop allows interventions to be treated as experiments. It is intended to be performed rapidly and continuously, allowing quick reactions and flexibility in response to a situation’s dynamics, leading to improved strategic outcomes.

The OODA Loop is not a Loop.

What looks like a linear process in this illustration is much more complex and open. In any case, the OODA loop is not a loop, the popular understanding of the OODA loop as a simple, circular decision cycle that favors speed simply wrong.

However, the OODA process is not circular… Military forces do not in practice wait to observe until they have acted. Observation, orientation and action are continuous processes, and decisions are made occasionally in consequences of them. There is no OODA loop. The idea of getting inside the enemy decision cycle is deeply flawed.

Observation, orientation, and action are continuous processes, the idea of simply “getting inside the enemy’s decision cycle” is flawed.

It is an open system: you can enter and exit it anywhere.

OODA is not a Loop

Any “phase” can become current, depending on the situation. This dynamic nature keeps you engaged and active in the decision-making process. A simple example would be the famous hand on the hob. This certainly does not lead to you orienting yourself, designing the reaction, and then taking your hand off the hob. Instead, it is a sequence of sense -> act.

But there is no automatic cause of pain here, either. I modified the example slightly so that the Christmas tree burns. I may grab it anyway and throw it out of the patio door.

In Boyd’s view, there are many loops at different speeds simultaneously; the opponent reacts in the same way and, in turn, forces me to respond. OODA is a holistic checklist and reminds us not to run off at the first observation but to invest time, willpower, and energy in assessing the situation. This investment is valuable and can lead to more informed decisions.

Boyd’s concept of orientation went beyond simply understanding the current situation. It involved integrating observed data with existing mental models, cultural biases, and past experiences to develop a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the unfolding situation. This deep level of orientation was essential for making effective decisions and acting swiftly in complex and dynamic environments._

The OODA Loop is a set of Views. Perhaps a better picture than a loop is a situation in which we continuously view the system in focus with different “hats,” i.e., perspectives, and are always ready to integrate contributions from every perspective.

OODA as a set of Viewpoints

A broader view

OODA is part of developing a mental model of the current situation. Creating relevant mental concepts requires constant improvement and adaptability of existing mental models.

Boyd’s view on things is much broader. The OODA Loop is part of a discussion of strategy and gaining a competitive advantage. Boyd uses and incorporates many of the scientific themes of his time (“zeitgeist”), including ideas from physics, biology, and chaos theory. His view includes a view of the shift from the Newtonian paradigm of closed, deterministic systems to a view of the world as a complex adaptive system.

The Importance of “Orientation”

Boyd’s concept of “Orientation” is crucial, he placed significant emphasis on the “Orient” viewpoint. He believed that an individual’s or organization’s ability to rapidly and accurately orient themselves to the situation was the key to gaining a decision-making advantage.

“Orientation, seen as a result, represents images, views, or impressions of the world shaped by genetic heritage, cultural traditions, previous experiences, and unfolding circumstances.”

Boyd about Survival and Adaptivity

Boyd’s concepts revolve around themes of organizational survival and its solution – adaptability.
He portrays Adaptability as a Strategic Imperative: Adaptability is identified as the key to success for organizations and armed forces.

A system must be able to change and adapt as conditions require.
adaptability is linked with the need to understand one’s own relative power position (shih).
“The shih constantly shifts according to what is happening in the internal and external environment of the state. At any one time the shih is formed by intangible factors such as morale, opportunity, timing, psychology and logistics.”

About John Boyd
The best way to explore the work of John Boyd is probably: Osinga, Frans P. B. 2007. Science, Strategy and War: The Strategic Theory of John Boyd (Strategy and History). Taylor and Francis
A deep dive into practical applications of the OODA loop is: OODA Loopers on Youtube