What C2 and GOMA Mean

C2 and GOMA is what I research and they are the main focus of this blog. Defining those terms is probably the first and the most fundamental step, so let’s get to it.

Command & Control (C2) is a scientific approach toward management that originated in the military. It strives to achieve comprehensive automation throughout all levels and areas of organization management (originally managing troops in battles) in a very complex and dynamic environment.  Command & Control gave us a good starting point in our research. We abstracted and applied those principles to non-military domains, and then we expanded it by introducing new concepts and ideas. To state it simply, C2 is management through comprehensive automation to achieve goals, which leads us to GOMA.

Goal-Oriented Management Automation (GOMA) is a more descriptive term than Command & Control, but essentially means the same thing: management through comprehensive automation to achieve goals. We use these two terms interchangeably. Let me show you why with an example.

Example 1: Military C2 definition

“The exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of a mission. Commanders perform command and control functions through a command and control system.”

By breaking that definition into individual statements we can see:

• “The exercise of authority and direction … over assigned and attached forces” - Management
• “Accomplishment of a mission” - Goals
• “Perform … functions through a command and control system” - Automation

In other words, “The application of management principles to achieve goals through automation.” Or, like we stated before, “Management through comprehensive automation to achieve goals.”

Here is my own definition of C2/GOMA:

“Principles, models, and methodologies to analyze, design, and integrate goal-oriented management automation systems.”

This is what I’ve researched. In general, when I say “C2” or “GOMA” I mean “comprehensive automation” versus the chunky and fragmentary automation that exists today.