# CONOPS in Airport Operations The pattern that works for airport technology deployment: gap analysis first, then Concept of Operations (CONOPS) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) review, then platform implementation, then stakeholder training. The order matters. Technology deployed without first aligning the operational concept is shelfware. ## What a CONOPS Actually Is A CONOPS defines how an airport intends to operate: who makes which decisions, when, using what information, under what authority. It's the operational doctrine. Most airports don't have an explicit one. They have accumulated habits, tribal knowledge, and informal agreements between stakeholder teams that evolved over decades. When you deploy a new A-CDM or TAM system without first documenting and updating the CONOPS, you're automating the current mess rather than enabling a better operating model. ## The Deployment Sequence **Gap analysis.** Diagnostic: what systems exist, what data flows where, where are the information blind spots, where do manual workarounds paper over system failures. **CONOPS review.** Prescriptive: given what we want to achieve (the AOP targets), how should decisions flow between stakeholders, and what information does each role need? **Platform implementation.** Configured to the CONOPS, not the other way around. **Stakeholder training.** The most underrated step. [[Airport Collaborative Decision Making]] and [[Total Airport Management]] require every stakeholder to change how they share information and make decisions. Ground handlers need to update milestone timestamps in real time. Airlines need to share accurate TOBT estimates. ATC needs to feed departure sequence data back into the platform. If any single stakeholder doesn't participate fully, the collaborative model degrades to the lowest common denominator. The technology works. The change management is where deployments stall or succeed. See [[Gall's Law]]. Related: [[Airport Operations MOC]], [[Airport Collaborative Decision Making]], [[Total Airport Management]], [[Deployment Velocity]], [[Bespoke Engineering in Industrial AI]] --- Tags: #deeptech #systems #firstprinciple