[6] BLUF aims to enable the receiver of a message to make faster decisions, especially for people who are busy, time-constrained, or overloaded with lots of information.
It is followed by essential background information that summarizes or enumerates the considerations (events or prior decisions) that led to the bottom line.
Two essential requirements include putting the main point at the beginning of the correspondence (bottom line up front) and using the active voice (for example, "You are entitled to jump pay for the time you spent in training last year").
And "Give members of Congress the Bottom Line Up Front; be direct and to the point using clear, concise, and straightforward language.
The various support units of the military also use the BLUF to convey their study and findings, as shown in the following abstract from a medical journal:"Bottom Line Up Front: In this perspective essay, ENS Ofir Nevo and Dr Laura Lambert briefly discuss the concept of an outward mindset and how they have applied it in the context of medical education.
ENS Nevo shares his story of deciding to attend medical school at the Uniformed Services University, as part of his desire and commitment to serve others.
ENS Nevo describes how an awareness of the choice of mindset helped him address these challenges and stay better connected to his purpose and calling.
A case analysis by Lambert further explores how the awareness and practice of an outward mindset may help students, residents, and attendings see how they can improve their own well-being and connection to the people that brought them to medicine in the first place.
Their experiences demonstrate how outward mindset principles can be a valuable tool for empowering students and physicians with a perspective that invites new solutions for the challenges of life and work.
"[12] Military officers also use short BLUF to convey a positive review, such as "Bottom line up front, you should read this book.
Lt Col Robert Spalding's article "America's Two Air Forces" (Summer 2009) is deeply flawed in both premise and argument.
Meaningful analysis of our aircraft requirements demands sound methodology and critical assessments that minimize internal biases.
While there is some merit in his general assessment of roles and missions for his "Two Air Forces" (kudos to his discussion of irregular warfare), the analysis offered – which is inadequate and often specious – fails to support his conclusions.
"[14]Among its many rules, the now-rescinded DA pamphlet mandated structuring written staff products with the main point, or bottom line, at the beginning.
The pamphlet said Army writers should give the bottom line up front, or BLUF, because "the greatest weakness in ineffective writing is that it doesn't quickly transmit a focused message."
Stating the key judgment and significance up front sets up the argument, ensures the message is clear, and highlights why the reader should care about the document.
In journalistic writing, BLUF resembles the inverted pyramid structure for the latter also aims to serve the readers well by arranging the story elements in descending order of importance.
Their analytic reports are often drafted for busy policymakers possessing limited time for consumption of information and who therefore prefer the main points and judgements plainly presented at the beginning.
For example, CIA Reports and Estimate 34-39's bottom-line-up-front judgment assessed Soviet intentions in Latin America, especially on what the Soviets would attempt: (1) winning support of Soviet positions by exploiting certain patterns in Latin American life that facilitate the Communist approach and by taking advantage of specific incidents for propaganda purposes; (2) reducing the extent of Western Hemisphere solidarity by exploiting historical antagonisms, opposed intensely nationalistic sentiments, and conflicting national interests; (3) causing dissention between political factions in some countries (particularly Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Cuba, and Guatemala) to the point of impairing political stability and of shifting the balance of power; (4) taking direct military action by harassing sea lines of communication between the US and Latin American through submarine action and by landing sabotage agents and small commando parties; and (5) and most important, reducing Latin American economic support of the US in several important fields.
Endemic poverty, corruption, powerful political opposition, factionalism, Manila's weakness in resources and capacity, and inflexibility on outcome hamper both sides."
Applying this to the policy world, the two examples show this BLUF structure with a second-order effect: (1) The Philippine President will probably sign key legislation for the peace accord, but opposition elements are likely to challenge the law in court and thwart implementation.
[5] The BLUF approach helps top-level managers and senior military officials in decision-making especially under severe time constraints, when faced with numerous issues on a given timeframe, and when communication of essential information is necessary in dealing with high-pressure situations.
Further, no information on what kind of error and even gave several links to the receiver instead of elaborating the methods and put a technical detail after asking for help.
The Persimmon Group had revealed that nearly 30% of office workdays are dedicated to reading and answering email and workers spend about 40% of their time in meetings.
[42] The BLUF method is most useful as part of the cognitive-behavioral approaches in primary care to get the physician understand information that may be beneficial for the patient.
Simon and Folen (2001) suggest using the bottom line up front (BLUF) format—the recommendation first, followed by the backup reasoning or rationale in clear and straightforward terms.
Building on earlier works, Conoley, Padula, Payton, and Daniels (1994), using archived footage of sessions, found that a patient was most likely to implement a recommended treatment if the following three conditions were matched: the recommendation needed to match the problem, should not be too difficult to follow [emphasis added], and should build on a patient's strengths.
It is beneficial in SEO writing since the goal is to make the readers go through the information until the end, and eventually heed the calls to action (CTAs).
Thirty-seven percent of these claims were serious adverse events, such as debilitating conditions (e.g., extended hospital stay, loss of arms or limbs, psychological trauma), and death.
During "hand-offs" or "handovers" (i.e., change of shift report), critical information about patient care is transferred between the outgoing and the incoming staff.