Capability inventory: a positioned review of acquired experience (using the military sphere as an example)

Abstract

Entities engaged in the development of their own capacities cannot bypass the need to conduct their inventory (accounting). Large-scale and systematic fulfillment of this need is observed in the military sphere, for example, in the processes of building up the defense forces of NATO member states and, more recently, of Ukraine. Activities related to capability inventory mainly take the form of creating lists or catalogs of capabilities, and their relatively short history indicates the presence of a research component. Improving the inventory process cannot do without conducting reviews of the acquired experience. Such a review should be positioned and use the basis for forming an attitude towards individual aspects of the phenomenon being reviewed. The formation of the initial position for the review is based on a systematic consideration of the subject area and its components: entities (capability, capability carrier, capability application process, capability level, capability level requirement, capability level assessment, etc.) and relations between entities (between individual capabilities or between capability carriers, as well as between capabilities and their carriers, etc.). Applying the formed position to the review made it possible to identify some deviations in the studied material, which can be classified as cases of using dubious or redundant concepts, mixing concepts, and also substitution of concepts. The focus on presenting inventory results in the form of text documents also appears problematic. The review results are intended for use in the processes of developing information technologies to support not only the inventory of capabilities but also the management of capabilities in general.