The US Army lists five principles that should be considered whenever developing or critiquing a tactical plan.
These tactical principles apply everywhere from the playground brawl to a platoon size linear ambush.
They are...
SIMPLICITY - understandable by everyone with as few steps as possible. Every step, ever movement, every turn is the potential for disaster. There is no "fancy" in tactics, the best are brutal and blunt.
SPEED - Tactical plans should be executed as quickly as possible, you should strive to be on your next move before your enemy realizes completely what your last move was.
SURPRISE - Whenever you are initiating a conflict your enemy should not even realize he is in a conflict until you are almost done. As civilians we are more likely to be reacting to conflict initiated by others - but if you pre-plan and work on your skills surprise is still possible. (Think a bad-guy holding a knife having two rounds center mass before he even gets a chance to think he mugged the wrong person.)
SECURITY - Even if you do the other three right you have to protect your flanks/rear. If you don't the bad-guy can do the same thing to you.
VIOLENCE of ACTION - There is no halfway, when your mindset leads you to conclude it is time violence go all out, all the way. Apply all your power to the outset. If you imagine a game of escalation then you are playing the enemies game.
