202205031247 OODA loop of action

Developed by USAF Colonel John Boyd, the OODA loop is a cyclic method for decision making. The steps are designed to be carried out repeatedly in overlapping, differently sized feedback and feed-forward loops.

The eponymous steps are

2. Observe — Gather information from a range of sources
3. Orient — Understand where we are and where we want to be
4. Decide — Develop a plan of action
5. Act — Carry out the plan

flowchart TD
  OBSERVE --->|feed-forward|ORIENT
  ORIENT --->|feed-forward|DECIDE
  DECIDE --->|feed-forward|ACT
  ORIENT -->|feedback|OBSERVE
  DECIDE -->|feedback|OBSERVE
  ACT -->|feedback|OBSERVE
  
  subgraph OBSERVE
    direction RL
    o((observations))
    o1([unfolding\ncircumstances]) --> o
    o2([outside\ninformation]) --> o
    o3([unfolding interaction\nwith environment]) --> o
    o4([implicit guidance\nand control]) --> o
  end

  subgraph ORIENT
  end

  subgraph DECIDE
  end

  subgraph ACT
  end

The loop has been adapted for business uses under different names. One such popular name is the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle.