Within the defined area, the analyst identifies the significant characteristics of the environment: the elements that could materially influence the operation and therefore need further analysis in Steps 2 and 3. Think of:
- dominant terrain, rivers and urban areas;
- the road and rail network and critical infrastructure;
- known or suspected enemy groupings;
- population concentrations and civil actors;
- weather and seasonal influences within the planning horizon.
Selecting is the real work here: everything cannot be analyzed. The significant characteristics form the research agenda; what isn't on the list only gets attention in Step 2 if new information forces it.
First intelligence gaps and requirements
Defining the battlespace immediately reveals what we don't know. These intelligence gaps are translated into the first requirements and candidate PIRs:
Gap: "Unknown whether the enemy still occupies the bridgeheads east of the river." → Requirement: "Determine which enemy units are present in zone X" → candidate PIR once a decision hinges on it (whether or not to cross north).
These gaps drive the first collection effort — even before Step 2 begins. This is where IPB and the Intelligence Cycle interlock from the very first moment.
Products of Step 1
| Product | Content |
|---|---|
| AO overlay | Boundaries and coordination lines of the own AO |
| AI overlay | The broader area from which information is needed, with time horizon |
| List of significant characteristics | The research agenda for Steps 2 and 3 |
| Initial requirements / PIR list | The first gaps, translated into collection needs |
Best practices, pitfalls and AI
✔ Define the AI from the enemy's perspective (where could he bring effect from?), not from the convenient map sheet · ✔ explicitly account for the time dimension · ✔ include all dimensions (air, EMS, information) · ✔ record gaps directly as requirements · ✔ revise the definition whenever the mission or enemy picture changes.
✘ Equating the AI with the AO · ✘ seeing the battlespace as only a ground plane · ✘ never revisiting the definition · ✘ skipping significant characteristics and trying to analyze "everything" · ✘ leaving seams with adjacent units unnamed.
AI support in Step 1: travel-time and range analyses for determining the AI, generating draft lists of significant characteristics from geo-data and baseline intelligence, and formulating candidate gaps from the mission order.
» Step 1 sets the playing field: AO (responsibility), AI (information need), area of influence (own reach).
» The battlespace has more dimensions than ground: air, spectrum, information and time.
» Output is a research agenda: significant characteristics plus the first gaps and PIRs.
» An error in Step 1 propagates through every following step.