What are the seven steps of the Military Decision-making Process?

• A. Receipt of Mission, Mission Analysis, Course of Action Development, COA Analysis, COA Comparison, COA Approval and Orders Production, Dissemination, and Transition
• B. Receipt of Mission, Issue a WARNORD, Make a Tentative Plan, Initiate Movement, Conduct Reconnaissance, Complete the Plan, Issue the Plan and Supervise and Refine
• C. Frame an Operational Environment, Frame the Problem, Develop an Operational Approach to Solve the Problem, Develop the Plan, Solve the Plan and Execute
• D. Receipt of Mission, Craft the Problem Statement, Course of Action Development, Solve the Problem, Complete the Plan, Issue the Order, Dissemination and Transition

Answer: (A)

The main idea is a structured way to turn a mission into a clear plan through analysis, development, and formal orders. The seven steps follow a logical progression from understanding what must be done to producing and sharing the plan for execution: Receipt of Mission, Mission Analysis, Course of Action Development, COA Analysis, COA Comparison, COA Approval, and the final step of Orders Production, Dissemination, and Transition. This sequence captures how planners first grasp the mission, explore possible courses of action, compare them, and then formalize and spread the chosen plan for others to carry out. Other options mix in actions that aren’t part of this canonical seven-step flow, such as issuing WARNORDs, initiating movement, or framing an environment as separate MDMP steps, which is why they don’t match the standard sequence.