Concept of operations

A concept of operations, often shortened to CONOPS, is a document that describes the characteristics of a proposed system from the point of view of the person who will use it. It is used to communicate both quantitative and qualitative system characteristics to every stakeholder, and it is widely used in military and governmental work. A typical CONOPS states the goals and objectives of the system, the strategies, tactics, policies and constraints that affect it, the organizations and activities involved, the responsibilities and authorities delegated, and the operational processes for fielding, maintaining and eventually retiring the system. It tells a narrative of how the system is meant to be implemented and defines the roles of stakeholders, while stopping short of being an implementation or transition plan. Guidance standards exist, beginning with the 1998 IEEE guide for concept of operations documents, later folded into the ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148 requirements engineering standard. In joint military use the term names the statement of what a force commander intends to accomplish and how.