Formation
From Orson Scott Card Wiki
Formations are memorized/correographed maneuvers that teams go to great lengths to perfect, much like a football team does. All battles prior to Ender's first as commander of Dragon Army were fought exclusively using one type of formation or another. Ender introduced the idea of more "flexible" fighting, allowing his Toon Leaders to have more responsibility and make certain critial decisions, such as how to approach a star or achieve any other goal established by Ender.
