ooda-loop

OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) is John Boyd's continuous decision loop for moving under time pressure and uncertainty. It catches the failure of acting on a stale mental model: you observe what is happening now, orient by breaking and rebuilding your model, decide the next move as a hypothesis, act small and fast, then loop on the result. Orientation is the heart of it, and tempo is the weapon.

The four stages, how they feed each other, and the pitfalls live in references/ooda-loop.md. Load that file before facilitating.

When to use

The user is in a fast-moving, uncertain situation where the situation keeps changing while they think: a live incident, a competitive surprise, a negotiation, a fast-shifting market. OODA favors a usable model and a quick rhythm over a complete analysis.

When the user has ample time and a stable problem, prefer a slower, more deliberate method. For a repeating improvement cycle that tests a change against a prediction, use pdca-cycle. To first sort what kind of problem this is (clear, complicated, complex, chaotic) before choosing how to act, use cynefin. When the uncertainty is about the long-range future rather than the next few minutes, use scenario-planning.

Language

Facilitate and write the log in the language the user is writing in. The reference file is English; keep the framework keyed to it regardless of output language.

Inputs