OV-3 details information exchanges and identifies who exchanges information, what information is exchanged, why the information is necessary, and how the information exchange must occur. There is no one-to-one mapping of OV-3 information exchanges to OV-2 needlines/interactions; rather, many individual information exchanges may be associated with one needline.

Information exchanges express the relationship across the three basic architecture data elements of an OV model (operational activities, operational nodes, and information flow) with a focus on the specific aspects of the information flow and the information content. Certain aspects of the information exchange can be crucial to the operational mission and should be tracked as attributes in OV-3. For example, if the subject architecture concerns tactical battlefield targeting, the timeliness of the enemy target information is a significant attribute of the information exchange.