Designing, delivering, and evaluating objective-based exercises and training readiness
Exonaut® has become the global de facto standard for military training and exercise management software. The highly scalable and configurable platform enables allied forces across the globe to plan, programme, design, manage and optimise complex exercises, training progressions and experimentation. Data driven, it enables users to assess, visualise and exploit training data in order to enhance decision support, build capabilities and increase training readiness.
Accredited at NATO Secret and Unclassified levels, Exonaut is used from Individual to Joint levels across the live, virtual and constructive spectrum. It is available as a standalone solution or with a team of dedicated support staff to manage exercises and administration. Exonaut is deployable with on-premise, cloud-hosted or hybrid options.
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4C White Paper: A Modern Training Management Tool for the Swedish Armed forces
Download resourceExonaut® Exercise Planning and Programming Solution
Download resource4C Solution Brief – Experimentation & Trials Management
Download resource4C White Paper: Exonaut® Integration Engine
Download resourceFAQ
Why use a software platform for training and exercise management?
Exercises have become much more complex. Often utilising a blend of live, virtual and constructive simulations and involving a broad range of actors in support of the primary training audience. Training objectives need to be mapped to the training audience and to activities which is a complex and time consuming task. Whilst this can be managed in office type tools, version control across multiple sites is difficult to control. Exonaut® is specifically designed to facilitate this process, provide a single version of the truth and allow rapid re-use of existing exercise data.
How does Exonaut® help in managing training progression?
Exercises have become much more complex. In a synthetic training environment, utilising a blend of live, virtual and constructive simulations, exercises now also involve a broad range of actors in support of the primary training audience. Training objectives need to be mapped to the training audience and to activities, which is a complex and time-consuming task. Whilst this can be managed in office-type tools, version control across multiple sites is difficult to control. Exonaut® is specifically designed to facilitate this process, provide a single version of the truth and allow rapid re-use of existing exercise data.
What objectives can Exonaut® manage?
Exonaut® can manage a broad range of Objective types.
- Training Objectives can be managed supported by enabling objectives to specified tasks, conditions and standards and, where appropriate, supported by Checks for Trainers to ensure that Observer/Trainers have a common standard against which to judge performance.
- Exercise Objectives can be measured to ensure the exercise is delivering the required level of training.
- Evaluation objectives can be managed again supported by appropriate Force Standards against which evaluators can make objective assessments.
- Experimentation objectives can be entered to support an experimentation plan or trial plan to ensure there is a uniform method of data capture and a single repository for the experimental data.
Can Exonaut® be used for both individual and collective training events? Is the system scalable?
Exonaut® can be configured to support both individual, team and larger collective training events. The system has been used to support training at every level from platoon up to corps HQ level and on multinational, inter-agency and widely distributed training events. Exonaut® is highly scalable and can manage multiple objective, entity (those doing the training) and activity (the exercises or training events) sets simultaneously. A unique aspect of Exonaut® is its ‘master–slave’ configuration which allows exercise/events to be planned in a central location, executed in a remote site and then analysed/exploited back at the central location whilst maintaining full data coherence.
What happens if I don’t want to make assessments of training performance in Exonaut® but instead just want to record training deficiencies for assurance purposes?
Exonaut® can allow you to record training performance, but it can also easily be configured to simply record training that has occurred and training that has not. In this way it allows the chain of command to understand what training risk they hold without impinging on the field commander’s ability to grade his own formations.
What other solutions relevant to Defence do you offer?
Aside from training, Exonaut® also provides a world leading end to end risk management platform. Whether programme, security or organisation wide, risks and assumptions can be managed in Exonaut® following the ISO 31000 methodology for risk management. Risk Registers can be set up according to any number of parameters e.g. unit, locations and resources.
Exonaut® takes users through the process of identification, assessment, evaluation and treatment, allowing dispersed users to collaboratively manage risk and ensuring a single version of truth risk picture. This delivers a real time visualisation of all risks and assumptions in relation to specific impact criteria. These impact criteria are configurable in the software and can differ from register to register as required. The system also provides a dynamic workflow for monitoring the status of tasks issued in order to reduce or limit training risk. The aggregation functionality enables users to consolidate data contained within several risk registers and analyse problem areas and key mitigation requirements.
Is Exonaut® NATO security compliant and accredited?
The core Exonaut® Training and Exercise Management solution is NATO accredited at both NATO Unclassified and NATO Secret. The solution is on the NATO Approved Fielded Purchase List (AFPL).
How does Exonaut® help decision makers?
A wide range of objective data can be readily analysed providing commanders with transparent, auditable and assured evidence on which to base decisions. Exonaut® is supported by a range of analytical tools that can provide a series of configurable dashboards to facilitate the visualisation of complex data. Such dashboards can be configured to support a wide range of users displaying for example, performance, progression and training readiness data.
How do you prevent unauthorised data access?
Exonaut® has both back-end and user configurable permissions to prevent those without the requisite permissions from seeing or editing data in the system.
How do you integrate with Simulation Systems?
Exonaut® has a built-in integration framework supporting two way communication with simulation systems HLA and DIS interfaces are supported. Other plugins are available (e.g. social media) and can be created easily. The integration enables display of the exercise common operating picture in Exonaut® as well as the ability to inject commands into the simulation from the exercise management tool.
How do you ensure quality deliveries?
In accordance with our ISO 9001 certification, we have developed a well-defined quality assurance methodology. It is based on commonly agreed Rational Unified Process (RUP) for project management. 4C Strategies have several experienced quality controllers whose mission is to evaluate and assure the quality of all our deliveries. Our business continuity and crisis management methodology also follows the international standards ISO 22301 and BS 11200.
Why use our expert consultants?
To provide our Military expertise, our consultants are largely recruited, either directly or indirectly from the military, for their subject matter expertise and experience. They remain up to date through the wide exposure they get to various military clients on delivery. We have found that most military staff change roles every 2 or 3 years so continuity is difficulty to maintain; 4C Strategies provide that continuity.