Clarifying Mission Before Requirements Proliferate
Autonomous Vehicle Developer • Multi-Stakeholder Program • 10-month engagement
The Challenge
An autonomous vehicle program had rushed into requirements definition with three stakeholder organizations pulling in different directions. By the time they realized mission intent wasn't aligned, they had 8,500+ requirements—many of which contradicted each other or served unclear operational scenarios.
Requirements proliferated to 8,500+ items before mission intent was clear
Three stakeholder organizations defined 'mission success' differently
Architecture decisions felt arbitrary—no clear operational context to anchor them
System boundaries were assumed, not defined—leading to scope creep and interface ambiguity
Requirements reviews surfaced questions that should have been answered in CONOPS
The Approach
We stepped back to architect the CONOPS before further requirements work—treating mission intent as a system architecture problem, not a documentation exercise.
Stakeholder Intent Reconciliation
Facilitated workshops with mission owner, operational users, and sustainment teams to surface implicit assumptions and conflicting success criteria. Documented 34 operational assumptions that had never been explicitly stated.
Operational Context & Scenario Architecture
Defined mission phases, operational modes, actors, environments, and failure scenarios. Created structured operational context that could inform architecture and requirements.
System Boundary & Responsibility Definition
Clarified what the system is—and is not—responsible for. Resolved 12 major interface ambiguities by making boundaries explicit.
Operational Risk Analysis
Identified operational assumptions that drive architectural risk. Surfaced 23 high-risk assumptions requiring early validation.
Requirements & Architecture Alignment Guidance
Provided framework for translating CONOPS architecture into system requirements—preventing requirements from drifting from mission intent.
The Results
Key Insight
"We had jumped straight to requirements without understanding mission context. The CONOPS architecture work forced us to answer foundational questions we'd been avoiding. That clarity eliminated thousands of unnecessary requirements and gave our architecture real grounding."— Chief Systems Architect, Autonomous Systems
Is your mission intent clear enough to guide decisions?
Let's architect your CONOPS before requirements proliferate further.