Knowledge Management in the

Intelligence Enterprise

For a complete listing of the Artech House Information Warfare Library,

turn to the back of this book.

Knowledge Management in the

Intelligence Enterprise
Edward Waltz

Artech House
Boston London
www.artechhouse.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Waltz, Edward.
Knowledge management in the intelligence enterprise/Edward Waltz.
p. cm.(Artech House information warfare library)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-58053-494-5 (alk. paper)
1. Military intelligence. 2. Knowledge management. 3. Military intelligence
United States. 4. Knowledge managementUnited States. I. Title. II. Series.
UB250.W33 2003
658.47dc21
2003041892

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Waltz, Edward
Knowledge management in the intelligence enterprise. (Artech House information
warfare library)
1. Intelligence services 2. Knowledge management 3. Business intelligence
I. Title
327.12
ISBN 1-58053-494-5
Cover design by Gary Ragaglia

2003 ARTECH HOUSE, INC.

685 Canton Street
Norwood, MA 02062

All rights reserved. Printed and bound in the United States of America. No part of this book
may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been
appropriately capitalized. Artech House cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of
a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service
mark.
International Standard Book Number: 1-58053-494-5
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003041892
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedicated to my daughter, Debbie

From her wheelchair, she has shown me
what the Scriptures describe as those believers who are
clothed with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12).

Contents
Preface

xiii

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

1.1

Knowledge in a Changing World

1.2

Categories of Intelligence

10

1.3

The Intelligence Disciplines and Applications

12

1.3.1
1.3.2

National and Military Intelligence

Business and Competitive Intelligence

15
17

1.4

The Intelligence Enterprise

17

1.5

The State of the Art and the State of the Intelligence

Tradecraft

20

1.5.1
1.5.2
1.5.3

National and Military Intelligence

Business and Competitive Intelligence
KM

20
21
22

1.6

The Organization of This Book

23

Endnotes
Selected Bibliography

24
26

The Intelligence Enterprise

29

2.1

The Stakeholders of Nation-State Intelligence

29

vii

viii

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

2.2

Intelligence Processes and Products

33

2.3
2.3.1
2.3.2

Intelligence Collection Sources and Methods

HUMINT Collection
Technical Intelligence Collection

35
37
38

2.4

Collection and Process Planning

40

2.5

KM in the Intelligence Process

42

2.6
2.6.1
2.6.2

Intelligence Process Assessments and Reengineering

Balancing Collection and Analysis
Focusing Analysis-Synthesis

44
45
45

2.6.3

Balancing Analysis-Synthesis Processes

46

2.7

The Future of Intelligence

Endnotes

48
51

Knowledge Management Processes

55

3.1

Knowledge and Its Management

56

3.2
3.2.1
3.2.2

Tacit and Explicit Knowledge

Knowledge As Object
Knowledge As Process

62
63
68

3.2.3

Knowledge Creation Model

71

3.3

An Intelligence Use Case Spiral

74

3.3.1
3.3.2
3.3.3

The Situation
Socialization
Externalization

75
77
78

3.3.4
3.3.5

Combination
Internalization

79
79

3.3.6
3.3.7

Socialization
Summary

79
80

3.4

Taxonomy of KM

80

3.5

Intelligence As Capital

85

3.6

Intelligence Business Strategy and Models

93

3.7
3.7.1

Intelligence Enterprise Architecture and Applications

Customer Relationship Management

96
98

Contents

ix

3.7.2
3.7.3

Supply Chain Management

Business Intelligence

98
100

3.8

Summary
Endnotes

102
104

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

107

4.1

Virtues and Disciplines of the Knowledge-Based

Organization

109

4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.3

Establishing Organizational Values and Virtues

Mapping the Structures of Organizational Knowledge
Identifying Communities of Organizational Practice

110
112
115

4.1.4
4.1.5

Initiating KM Projects
Communicating Tacit Knowledge by Storytelling

117
118

4.2
4.2.1

Organizational Learning
Defining and Measuring Learning

121
122

4.2.2
4.2.3

Organizational Knowledge Maturity Measurement

Learning Modes

123
125

4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2

Organizational Collaboration
Collaborative Culture
Collaborative Environments

129
131
133

4.3.3

Collaborative Intelligence Workflow

137

4.4
4.4.1
4.4.2

Organizational Problem Solving

Critical, Structured Thinking
Systems Thinking

142
143
147

4.4.3

Naturalistic Decision Making

150

4.5

Tradecraft: The Best Practices of Intelligence

151

4.6

Summary

153

Endnotes

153

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

159

5.1

The Basis of Analysis and Synthesis

160

5.2
5.2.1

The Reasoning Processes

Deductive Reasoning

167
167

5.2.2

Inductive Reasoning

168

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

5.2.3

Abductive Reasoning

173

5.3

The Integrated Reasoning Process

175

5.4

Analysis and Synthesis As a Modeling Process

180

5.5

Intelligence Targets in Three Domains

186

5.6

Summary

190

Endnotes

191

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

195

6.1

Intelligence Consumer Expectations

196

6.2

Analysis-Synthesis in the Intelligence Workflow

198

6.3

Applying Automation

203

6.4

The Role of the Human Analyst

205

6.5

Addressing Cognitive Shortcomings

207

6.6
6.6.1
6.6.2

Marshaling Evidence and Structuring Argumentation

Structuring Hypotheses
Marshaling Evidence and Structuring Arguments

209
210
211

6.6.3
6.6.4

Structured Inferential Argumentation

Inferential Networks

213
215

6.7

Evaluating Competing Hypotheses

223

6.8

Countering Denial and Deception

229

6.9

Summary
Endnotes

235
235

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

241

7.1

Externalization and Internalization in the Intelligence

Workflow

241

7.2

Storage, Query, and Retrieval Services

245

7.2.1
7.2.2

Data Storage
Information Retrieval

245
247

7.3

Cognitive (Analytic Tool) Services

249

7.4

Intelligence Production, Dissemination, and Portals

256

Contents

7.5

xi

Human-Machine Information Transactions and

Interfaces

264

7.5.1
7.5.2

Information Visualization
Analyst-Agent Interaction

264
265

7.6

Summary
Endnotes

267
268

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

271

8.1

Explicit Capture, Representation, and Automated

Reasoning

272

8.2
8.2.1

Automated Combination
Data Fusion

275
277

8.2.2
8.2.3

Data Mining
Integrated Data Fusion and Mining

283
288

8.3
8.3.1

Intelligence Modeling and Simulation

M&S for I&W

289
292

8.3.2

Modeling Complex Situations and Human Behavior

293

8.4

Summary

294

Endnotes

294

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

299

9.1

Intelligence Enterprise Operations

300

9.2

Describing the Enterprise Architecture

302

9.3

Architecture Design Case Study: A Small CI Enterprise

306

9.3.1
9.3.2
9.3.3

The Value Proposition

The CI Business Process
The CI Business Process Functional Flow

308
309
312

9.3.4
9.3.5
9.3.6

The CI Unit Organizational Structure and Relationships

A Typical Operational Scenario
CI System Abstraction

315
316
318

9.3.7

System and Technical Architecture Descriptions

319

9.4

Summary

322

Endnotes

324

xii

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

10

Knowledge Management Technologies

327

10.1

Role of IT in KM

327

10.2

KM Research for National Security Applications

331

10.3

A KM Technology Roadmap

332

10.4
10.4.1

Key KM Technologies
Explicit Knowledge Combination Technologies

335
335

10.4.2

Human-Computer Tacit-Explicit Exchange

Technologies
Knowledge-Based Organization Technologies

337
339

Summary
Endnotes

340
340

About the Author

343

Index

345

10.4.3
10.5

Preface
In this rapidly changing and volatile world, the expectations required of those in
the intelligence discipline are highknowledge of the hidden and foreknowledge of the unpredictable. The consumers of intelligencenational policymakers, military planners, warfighters, law enforcement, business leadersall expect
accurate and timely information about the their areas of interest and threats to
their security. They want strategic analyses, indications and warnings, and tactical details. This book is about the application of knowledge management (KM)
principles to the practice of intelligence to fulfill those consumers expectations.
I began this manuscript shortly before the September 11, 2001, terrorist
attack on the United States. Throughout the period that I was writing this
manuscript, the nation was exposed to an unprecedented review of the U.S.
intelligence organizations and processes; intelligence has entered our nations
everyday vocabulary. Unfortunately, too many have reduced intelligence to a
simple metaphor of connecting the dots. This process, it seems, appears all too
simple after the factonce you have seen the picture and you can ignore irrelevant, contradictory, and missing dots. Real-world intelligence is not a puzzle of
connecting dots; it is the hard daily work of planning operations, focusing the
collection of data, and then processing the collected data for deep analysis to
produce a flow of knowledge for dissemination to a wide range of consumers.
From a torrent of data, real-world intelligence produces a steady stream of reliable and actionable knowledge. Intelligence organizations have performed and
refined this process to deliver knowledge long before the term knowledge management became popular; today they are applying new collaborative methods
and technologies to hone their tradecraft. This book focuses on those methods
and technologies.
xiii

xiv

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

While the focus of this book is intelligence, it is also an outgrowth of a

2-day military KM seminar that I teach in the United States to describe the
methods to integrate people, processes, and technologies into knowledgecreating enterprises. I have benefited from my interaction with a wide range of
government and industry participants in the seminar, and the structure of this
book reflects their interests in a balance between the abstract, organizational,
practical, and technology aspects of KM.
The book progresses from an introduction to KM applied to intelligence
(Chapters 1 and 2) to the principles and processes of KM (Chapter 3). The characteristics of collaborative knowledge-based intelligence organizations are
described (Chapter 4) before detailing its principle craft of analysis and synthesis
(Chapter 5 introduces the principles and Chapter 6 illustrates the practice). The
wide range of technology tools to support analytic thinking and allow analysts to
interact with information is explained (Chapter 7) before describing the automated tools that perform all-source fusion and mining (Chapter 8). The organizational, systems, and technology concepts throughout the book are brought
together in a representative intelligence enterprise (Chapter 9) to illustrate the
process of architecture design for a small intelligence cell. An overview of core,
enabling, and emerging KM technologies in this area is provided in conclusion
(Chapter 10).
I am thankful to God for the understanding of my family in allowing me
the time to enter into my writing projects; I spent our vacation this year at a
northern Michigan cottage writing (while my daughter read and my wife completed puzzles). Their understanding runs deep and wide. I am also grateful for
the ever-present encouragement and support of Mark Lazaroff, Woody Spring,
and Dr. Christopher Davis, my leadership at Veridian, and for the insight and
encouragement for my research provided by Dr. Susan Durham. Thanks to Jeff
Malone of the Australian Department of Defence for his thorough review of the
manuscript; I incorporated virtually every one of excellent his comments to
make this book more accurate to the trade and more readable for the intelligence
user. I am particularly indebted to my friends and colleagues, Mike Bennett, Val
Johnson, Tom Tulenko, and Dr. Russ Vane for performing independent
reviews of sections of the manuscript to help me sharpen the finer points (and
avoid some real blunders). And, of course, I am grateful to have learned much
from a large number of devoted and uniquely talented individuals across the
intelligence community (IC); they are friends and colleagues whom I cannot
name. These analysts and operations officers, developers, and systems operators
have taught me the tradecraft, toned my optimism on technology solutions, and
guided my ideas toward real-world intelligence applications.

1
Knowledge Management and
Intelligence
This is a book about the management of knowledge to produce and deliver a
special kind of knowledge: intelligencethat knowledge that is deemed most
critical for decision making both in the nation-state and in business. In each
case, intelligence is required to develop policy and strategy and for implementation in operations and tactics. The users of intelligence range from those who
make broad policy decisions to those who make day-to-day operational decisions. Thus, the breadth of this product we call intelligence is as wide as the
enterprise it serves, with users ranging from executive decision makers to every
individual in the enterprise, including its partners, suppliers, and customers.
First, we must define the key terms of this text that refer to the application
of technology, operations, and people to the creation of knowledge:
Knowledge management refers to the organizational disciplines,

processes, and information technologies used to acquire, create, reveal,

and deliver knowledge that allows an enterprise to accomplish its mission (achieve its strategic or business objectives). The components of
knowledge management are the people, their operations (practices and
processes), and the information technology (IT) that move and transform data, information, and knowledge. All three of these components
make up the entity we call the enterprise.
Intelligence refers to a special kind of knowledge necessary to accomplish
a missionthe kind of strategic knowledge that reveals critical threats
and opportunities that may jeopardize or assure mission accomplishment. Intelligence often reveals hidden secrets or conveys a deep
1

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

understanding that is covered by complexity, deliberate denial, or outright deception. The intelligence process has been described as the
process of the discovery of secrets by secret means. In business and in
national security, secrecy is a process of protection for one party; discovery of the secret is the object of competition or security for the competitor or adversary. The need for security in the presence of competition,
crisis, and conflict drives the need for intelligence. While a range of definitions of intelligence exist, perhaps the most succinct is that offered by
the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): Reduced to its simplest
terms, intelligence is knowledge and foreknowledge of the world around
usthe prelude to decision and action by U.S. policymakers [1].
These classical components of intelligence, knowledge, and foreknowledge provide the insight and warning that leaders need for decision
making to provide security for the business or nation-state [2].
The intelligence enterprise encompasses the integrated entity of people,

processes, and technologies that collects and analyzes intelligence data

to synthesize intelligence products for decision-making consumers.
Indeed, intelligence (whether national or business) has always involved the
management (acquisition, analysis, synthesis, and delivery) of knowledge. In
this book, we emphasize the application of knowledge management operations
to refer to the organizational culture, automated processes, and enterprise architecture that enables the automated management of data, information, and
knowledge to complement human analysis and decision making. At least three
driving factors continue to make this increasing need for automation necessary.
These factors include:
Breadth of data to be considered. The effect of globalization in politics,

nation-state collaboration (in both cooperative trade and coalition warfare), economics, and communication has increased the breadth of
intelligence analysis to include a wide range of influences related to
security and stability. While intelligence has traditionally focused on
relatively narrow collection of data by trusted sources, a floodgate of
open sources of data has opened, making available information on virtually any topic. However, these new avenues come with the attendant
uncertainty in sources, methods, and reliability.
Depth of knowledge to be understood. Driven by the complexity of opera-

tions on a global scope, national policies and business strategies involve

the consideration of many interactive variables. This complexity
requires models that allow alternative policies and strategies to be evaluated. These models require accurate data about the environment (e.g.,

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

markets, nation-state economies, or military orders of battle) in general

and focused problems in particular (e.g., market niches, specific companies, or military targets).
Speed required for decision making. The pace of operations, in national

policymaking, military warfare, and business operations is ever increasing, placing demands for the immediate availability of intelligence
about the dynamic world or marketplace to make nation-state policy
and business strategy decisions.
Throughout this book, we distinguish between three levels of abstraction
of knowledge, each of which may be referred to as intelligence in forms that
range from unprocessed reporting to finished intelligence products [3]:
1. Data. Individual observations, measurements, and primitive messages
form the lowest level. Human communication, text messages, electronic queries, or scientific instruments that sense phenomena are the
major sources of data. The terms raw intelligence and evidence (data
that is determined to be relevant) are frequently used to refer to elements of data.
2. Information. Organized sets of data are referred to as information. The
organization process may include sorting, classifying, or indexing and
linking data to place data elements in relational context for subsequent
searching and analysis.
3. Knowledge. Information once analyzed, understood, and explained is
knowledge or foreknowledge (predictions or forecasts). In the context
of this book, this level of understanding is referred to as the intelligence product. Understanding of information provides a degree of
comprehension of both the static and dynamic relationships of the
objects of data and the ability to model structure and past (and
future) behavior of those objects. Knowledge includes both static content and dynamic processes.
These abstractions are often organized in a cognitive hierarchy, which
includes a level above knowledge: human wisdom. In this text, we consider wisdom to be a uniquely human cognitive capabilitythe ability to correctly apply
knowledge to achieve an objective. This book describes the use of IT to support
the creation of knowledge but considers wisdom to be a human capacity out of
the realm of automation and computation. IT can enable humans to gain experience through training, simulation, and enhanced understanding of real-life
events; this way, technology can contribute to a humans growth in wisdom [4].

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

1.1 Knowledge in a Changing World

This strategic knowledge we call intelligence has long been recognized as a precious and critical commodity for national leaders. Sixth century B.C. military
strategist Sun Tzu is often quoted for his recognition of the importance of intelligence in military strategy. On the use of spies, he acknowledged the necessity
of knowledge of the adversary:
The means by which enlightened rulers and sagacious generals moved and
conquered others, that their achievements surpassed the masses, was
advance knowledge.
Advance knowledge cannot be gained from ghosts and spirits,
inferred from phenomena, or projected from the measures of Heaven, but
must be gained from men for it [i.e., advance knowledge] is the knowledge
of the enemys true situation [5].

Sun Tzus treatise also defined five categories of spies [6], their tasks, and
the objects of their intelligence collection and covert operations. More than
seven centuries before Sun Tzu, the Hebrew leader Moses commissioned and
documented an intelligence operation to explore the foreign land of Canaan.
That classic account clearly describes the phases of the intelligence cycle, which
proceeds from definition of the requirement for knowledge through planning,
tasking, collection, and analysis to the dissemination of that knowledge. He first
detailed the intelligence requirements by describing the eight essential elements
of information to be collected, and he described the plan to covertly enter and
reconnoiter the denied area:
When Moses sent [12 intelligence officers] to explore Canaan, he said, Go
up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like
and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.
What kind of land do they live in?
Is it good or bad?
What kind of towns do they live in?
Are they unwalled or fortified?
How is the soil?
Is it fertile or poor?
Are there trees on it or not?
Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land. [It was the season
for the first ripe grapes.]
(Numbers 13:17-20, NIV) [7].

A 12-man reconnaissance team was tasked, and it carried out a 40-day collection mission studying (and no doubt mapping) the land and collecting
crop samples. The team traveled nearly 200 miles north from the desert of Zin

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

(modern Gaza) observing fortified cites and natural resources. Upon return, the
intelligence observations were delivered and the data analysis and report synthesis
phase began as the leaders considered the implications of the data (Numbers
13:26-33). As all too often is the case in intelligence, the interpretation of the
data and judgments about the implications for the Hebrew people were in
severe dispute. In the account of this analysis, the dispute over the interpretation of the data and the estimated results once disseminated to the leaders and
the nation at large led to a major national crisis (see Numbers 1415).
The analysis of intelligence data has always been as significant as the collection, because analysis of the data and synthesis of a report creates meaning
from the often-scant samples of data about the subject of interest. Before
becoming the first U.S. president, George Washington commissioned
intelligence-collection operations when he was a general officer of the revolutionary army. He recognized the crucial importance of analysis. In a letter of
appreciation to James Lovell in April 1782, Washington specifically noted the
value of all-source intelligence analysis and synthesis that integrates disparate
components of evidence:
I THANK YOU FOR THE TROUBLE you have taken in forwarding the
intelligence which was inclosed in your Letter of the 11th of March. It is by
comparing a variety of information, we are frequently enabled to investigate
facts, which were so intricate or hidden, that no single clue could have led
to the knowledge of them in this point of view, intelligence becomes interesting which but from its connection and collateral circumstances, would
not be important [8].

While each of these leaders acknowledged the value of applied intelligence,

their processes of requirements articulation, planning, collection, analysissynthesis, and dissemination were entirely manual. Since the days of Washington, intelligence has undergone transformation even as the consumers of intelligencethose who maintain national security and wage warfare, and those who
create wealthhave been in transformation. Political, military, and business
thinkers have widely analyzed the revolutionary changes in the nation-state, the
military, and business as a result of information technologies.
The most popular and widely cited general view of the transformation
attributable to IT is the thesis introduced by Alvin and Heidi Toffler that
defines three great waves of civilization based on the changing means of maintaining power, creating wealth, and waging war [9]. The thesis can be summarized in four essential points. First, history can be described in terms of three
distinct periods (phases or waves) during which mankinds activityboth production and destructionhave changed in quantum transitions. In the conduct
of both commerce and warfare, the necessary resources and core competencies

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

radically shifted at the transition between waves. Second, each distinct wave is
characterized by its means of wealth productionand a central resource at the
core of the production mechanism. Third, technology is the cause of the rapid
transitions, because as new technologies are introduced, the entire basis for
wealth (production) and power (the potential for economic strength and
destruction) change. These changes between waves also bring the potential to
rapidly change the world order. Finally, each new wave has partitioned the
nation-states of the world into categories, each characterized by their maturity
(e.g., an information-age society is characterized as third wave). The world is
now trisected into nations in each of the three wave categories.
Table 1.1 summarizes the three waves identified by the Tofflers, transitioning from the agricultural to the information age. The agricultural wave was
characterized by peasant-based crop production, dependent upon the central
resource of land ownership. The industrial age rapidly shifted the balance of
world power, as raw materials for mass production became the central resource.
Mass production, and the comparable ability to wage mass destruction, transferred power to the nation-states with industrial technology.
The last decades of the twentieth century brought the transition to a new
information age, in which the Tofflers asserted:
Information (the raw material of knowledge) is the central resource for

wealth production and military power.

Wealth production is based on the ownership of informationthe

creation of knowledge and delivery of custom products based on that

knowledge.
Conflicts are based on geo-information competitionsover ideologies

and economies.
The intelligence discipline has always faced a competition for informationcritical information about competitors and adversaries. Table 1.1 also distinguishes the significant transitions in the focus of intelligence throughout the
Tofflers waves of civilization. Throughout the agricultural age, intelligence collection remained centered on human observation and interaction, or human
intelligence (HUMINT), as cited earlier in the accounts of Moses, Sun Tzu, and
General Washington. This human collection-centric means was dependent upon
physical human access and covert means to communicate information from collectors to decision makers.
The industrial age introduced increasingly complex remote sensing instruments and stand-off collection platform technologies, ranging from early
telescopes and hot air balloons to postWorld War II radars and more recent
satellite platforms. These sensors and platforms combined to provide

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

Table 1.1
Three Waves of Civilization and the Transitions in Wealth Creation, Warfare, and Intelligence
Age

Agricultural

Industrial

Information

Approx. Period

Until1700

17002000

2000Future

Wealth Creation:
Power and
Business

Method: peasant- Method: mass

Method: customized production of
based crop
production of goods knowledge services
production
Central resource:
Central resource: knowledge
Central resource: raw materials
land

Object of
Nation-State
conflicts: land
Warfare, Conflict,
and Competition Infantry warfare:
attrition of
infantry (target
human bodies)

Objects of conflict: Objects of conflicts: global econoregional economies, mies, ideologies

access to materials Information warfare: attrition of will
Mechanized
and capability, precision targeting,
warfare: mass
speed and agility, management of
destruction of
perception (target the human mind)
weapons (target
mechanized
weapons)

Focus of
Intelligence

Human collection Technical sensing

centric
centric
(covert access)
(remote access)

Intelligence
Examples

Moses, Sun Tzu,

General George
Washington

Network centric
(network
access)

World War II: radio, PostGulf War:

radar, cryptography; emphasis on
use of air platforms network-centric
warfare, battleCold War: space
field digitization,
reconnaissance
rapid targeting
and data
dissemination

Knowledgecentric
(perceptual
access)
Future emphasis
on human
congition,
decision-making
and influence

revolutionary, powerful intelligence-collection capabilities. Intelligence consumers increased their dependence on these sources to complement and validate
their traditional HUMINT sources. Aggressors orders of battle were essentially
hidden until radar, electro-optics, and radio receivers were refined throughout
the Cold War to provide remote sensing of large weapons and production facilities, both for monitoring treaties and providing indications and warnings of
large-scale attacks. Revolutionary space capabilities introduced by electronic
sensors and spaceborne platforms in the 1960s and 1970s moved intelligence
toward a mature sensor-centric emphasis. In the Gulf War, these sensor assets
benefited the United Statesled coalition on the battlefield, providing unprecedented surveillance and targeting. In that sensor-centric world of the early

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

1990s, information superiority required sensing coverage and the key technologies were global sensors.
But the Gulf War also pointed out a weakness in the ability to reap the
benefits of global sensingthe difficulties in developing collaboration between
intelligence and operational communities and the inability to rapidly disseminate knowledge to the warfighter [10]. Since the war, as remote sensing and
global communications has proliferated and become available to all, the information competition has shifted from coverage to speed of access and dissemination. The U.S. defense community has developed a network-centric approach to
intelligence and warfare that utilizes the power of networked information to
enhance the speed of command and the efficiency of operations [11]. Sensors
are linked to shooters, commanders efficiently coordinate agile forces, and
engagements are based on prediction and preemption. The keys to achieving
information superiority in this network-centric model are network breadth (or
connectivity) and bandwidth; the key technology is information networking.
Winning future intelligence competitions, where the conflict space is
global and extends across the physical, symbolic, and cognitive realms, will
require yet a new strategy. The future emphasis will become dependent on
maintaining a knowledge-centric advantage. This is because we are moving into a
world environment where no single player will maintain the sole and significant
margin in global sources of information or in the ability to network information. Global sensing and networking capabilities will become a commodity with
most global competitors at parity. Like the open chess game where everyone sees
all the pieces, the world will be an open chessboard of readily available information accessible by all intelligence competitors. The ability to win will depend
upon the ability to select and convert raw data into accurate decision-making
knowledge. Intelligence superiority will be defined by the ability to make decisions most quickly and effectivelywith the same information available to virtually all parties. The key enabling technology in the next century will become
processing and cognitive power to rapidly and accurately convert data into comprehensive explanations of realitysufficient to make rapid and complex
decisions.
Consider several of the key premises about the significance of knowledge
in this information age that are bringing the importance of intelligence to the
forefront. First, knowledge has become the central resource for competitive
advantage, displacing raw materials, natural resources, capital, and labor. This
resource is central to both wealth creation and warfare waging. Second, the
management of this abstract resource is quite complex; it is more difficult (than
material resources) to value and audit, more difficult to create and exchange,
and much more difficult to protect. Third, the processes for producing knowledge from raw data are as diverse as the manufacturing processes for physical
materials, yet are implemented in the same virtual manufacturing plantthe

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

computer. Because of these factors, the management of knowledge to produce

strategic intelligence has become a necessary and critical function within
nations-states and business enterprisesrequiring changes in culture, processes,
and infrastructure to compete.
According to Gary Hamel in Leading the Revolution [12], the business
revolution of the twenty-first century is characterized by complex, nonlinear
behaviors (in technology, the competition, and the highly interconnected global
marketplace) that demand continuous innovation for competitive wealth creation. Similarly, those who envision a revolution in military affairs (RMA) see
identical challenges to the business of national security.
The rapid transition over the past 3 decades from industrial age linearity
has progressed in three stages (Figure 1.1):
The focus on continuous improvement in the 1970s focused on inno-

vation to improve products and services. Management focused on

improving production capital assets. In the military, this included the
refinement of weapons (precision guided munitions, data links, standoff surveillance, etc.) using closed loop command and control.
The 1980s and 1990s brought greater awareness of the value of intellec-

tual capital, and attention was turned to enhancing processes, through

business process re-engineering (BPR). These process refinements were
Industrial Age
Linear

Age of Revolution
Nonlinear

Organizational
learning

Continuous
change

Continuous
improvement

Nonlinear
innovation

Knowledge
management

Knowledge
becomes a
commodity

1970s

198090s

Innovate products
and services

Innovate business
processes
At risk:

Twenty-first century

Innovate the entire

business concept!

Incumbents
Superpowers

Figure 1.1 Transformations to the nonlinearity of revolution.

10

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

accompanied by the development of learning organizations, and the

introduction of knowledge management (KM) infrastructures and
practices.
Now, with rapidly emerging information technologies, the complexities

of globalization and diverse national interests (and threats), businesses

and militaries must both adopt radically new and innovative agendas to
enable continuous change in their entire operating concept. Innovation
and agility are the watchwords for organizations that will remain competitive in Hamels age of nonlinear revolution.
According to Hamel:
Business concept innovation will be the defining competitive advantage in
the age of revolution. Business concept innovation is the capacity to reconceive existing business models in ways that create new value for customers,
rude surprises for competitors, and new wealth for investors. Business concept innovation is the only way for newcomers to succeed in the face of
enormous resource disadvantages, and the only way for incumbents to
renew their lease on success [13].

In this view, those at greatest risk in this new nonlinear environment are
incumbents (in business) and superpowers (in national security). The U.S.
emphasis on RMA to become innovative and agile is observed in the investments to address asymmetric threats and information warfare. And the exploration of a new network-centric doctrine illustrates the move to restructure the
military to an adaptive warfighting organism that emphasizes networked collaborative knowledge rather than a command hierarchy that emphasizes control of
weaponry [14].

1.2 Categories of Intelligence

The U.S. IC defines intelligence as a temporal knowledge product that is the
result of collection, analysis, and production:
Reduced to its simplest terms, intelligence is knowledge and foreknowledge
of the world around us. The prelude to decision and action by U.S. policymakers. Intelligence organizations provide this information in a fashion that
helps consumers, either civilian leaders or military commanders, to consider
alternative options and outcomes. The intelligence process involves the painstaking and generally tedious collection of facts, their analysis, quick and
clear evaluations, production of intelligence assessments, and their timely

11

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

dissemination to consumers. Above all, the analytical process must be rigorous, timely, and relevant to policy needs and concerns [15].

A functional taxonomy (Figure 1.2) based on the type of analysis and the
temporal distinction of knowledge and foreknowledge (warning, prediction,
and forecast) distinguishes two primary categories of analysis and five subcategories of intelligence products [16]:
Descriptive analyses provide little or no evaluation or interpretation

of collected data; rather, they enumerate collected data in a fashion that

organizes and structures the data so the consumer can perform subsequent interpretation. Descriptive analytic tasks include the enumeration and organization of such topics as census data, production,
geospatial data (maps), organizational data, public records (e.g., telephone books, government officials), and weather. Descriptive analysis
tasks include compiling, organizing, structuring, indexing, and crosschecking.
Inferential analyses require the analysis of collected relevant data sets

(evidence) to infer and synthesize explanations that describe the meaning of the underlying data. We can distinguish four different focuses of
inferential analysis:
1. Analyses that explain past events (How did this happen? Who did
it?);
Intelligence products
Descriptive
analysis
Recording, statistical
No evaluation

Infer the past

Describe
structure
(attributes)
Census
Production

Explain past
events
Investigation

Inferential analysis
Evaluation and inferential
analysis to draw conclusions

Infer the present

Infer the future

Describe
structure
(attributes)

Describe
behavior
(states)

Predict
future
events

Command
structure

Tracking
Processes

Forecasts
Foreknowledge

Figure 1.2 Taxonomy of intelligence products by analytic methods.

12

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

2. Analyses that explain the structure of current structure (What is the

organization? What is the order of battle?);
3. Analyses that explain current behaviors and states (What is the competitors research and development process? What is the status of
development?);
4. Foreknowledge analyses that forecast future attributes and states
(What is the expected population and gross national product growth
over the next 5 years? When will force strength exceed that of a countrys neighbors? When will a competitor release a new product?).
In further chapters, we will expand this basic taxonomy in greater detail to
describe the many analytic techniques that may be applied to inferential analysis. Indeed, the focus of this book is on the issues of inferential analysis, though
the KM processes presented provide the foundation capabilities for both
descriptive and inferential analysis.

1.3 The Intelligence Disciplines and Applications

While the taxonomy of intelligence products by analytic methods is fundamental, the more common distinctions of intelligence are by discipline or consumer.
In this section, we compare and distinguish between those applications and consumers: national and military, business and competitive intelligence. Throughout the book, the principles of KM for all intelligence applications will be
treated in a general manner; it is important to carefully describe these four distinct uses of intelligence up front. The KM processes and information technologies used in all cases are identical (some say, bits are bits, implying that all
digital data at the bit level is identical), but the content and mission objectives of
these four intelligence disciplines are unique and distinct.
Consider first the top-level similarities (Table 1.2) between users, security
concerns, intelligence functions, and intelligence consumers in the nation-state
and in business. Nation-state security interests deal with sovereignty; ideological, political, and economic stability; and threats to those areas of national interest. Intelligence serves national leadership and military needs by providing
strategic policymaking knowledge, warnings of foreign threats to national security interests (economic, military, or political) and tactical knowledge to support
day-to-day operations and crisis responses. Nation-state intelligence also serves a
public function by collecting and consolidating open sources of foreign information for analysis and publication by the government on topics of foreign relations, trade, treaties, economies, humanitarian efforts, environmental concerns,
and other foreign and global interests to the public and businesses at large.

13

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

Table 1.2
Nation-State and Business Uses of Intelligence
Intelligence Functions

User
Nation-state

Business

Security
Concerns

Strategic

Sovereignty

Indications
and Warning Operational
(I&W)
and Tactical

Global
Threat event
warning
Political, economic political,
economic, and
stability
military
Treaties, alliances
analysis;
Threats to defined threat
national interests analysis
Competitiveness
Growth
Real and
Intellectual
property
Business alliances

Market
analysis;
competitor
analysis

Diplomatic
support; crisis
support;
military
targeting

Market
Marketing and
discontinuities sales support;
and trends
supply-chain
management;
customer
relations
management

Intelligence
Consumers
National
leaders;
military;
public

Leaders and
management;
operations;
employees

Threats to market
position

Businesses seek to maintain competitiveness in a marketplace and similarly

require intelligence to provide awareness of the threats to its economic stability
and growth, intellectual property, and position in the marketplace. Intelligence
therefore plays a critical role in strategic business planning, as well as more tactical roles in supporting marketing, sales, and customer-supplier relationship
management. Similar to the threat-warning intelligence function to the nationstate, business intelligence is chartered with the critical task of foreseeing and
alerting management of marketplace discontinuities [17]. The consumers of
business intelligence range from corporate leadership to employees who access
supply-chain data, and even to customers who access information to support
purchase decisions.
While these nation-state and business uses and functions of intelligence
are quite analogous, the distinctions between national-military and businesscompetitor intelligence are sharp. These distinctions are based on the scope of
the objects (targets or subjects) of intelligence addressed by each of the four disciplines (Figure 1.3). The objects of intelligence fall in three broad categories:
own resources and position, the neutral environment in which all participants
interact, and potential security threats to the nation-state or business. Notice

14

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Objects (Targets) of Intelligence
Own
situation
(own)

Nationstate

Own military
force dispositions
Called friendly
force information
(FFI)

Business

Business operations
Customer relations
mgmt
Sales force
automation
Supply chain mgmt
E-Commerce

Business
intelligence

The
environment
(neutral)
Global affairs, foreign
relations, treaties,
economics, politics
Transnationals,

Threats to
security
(adversary)

National
intelligence

Adversary nations
Transnational and
NGO threats

Battlespace factors,
constraints: terrain,
weather, lines of
communication, etc.

Adversary military
threats

The Market
(customers, products
and services, etc.)
Market factors
(economy, season,
sales area, etc.)
Market dynamics

Competitive
landscape
Competitor market
position
Competitor
operations,
products

Military
intelligence

Infrastructure
threats

Competitor
intelligence

Figure 1.3 The subjects of the four categories of intelligence disciplines.

that each of the four disciplines, as defined by their users, partition the target
subjects in ways that are not analogous:
1. National intelligence focuses on the understanding of the global environment (political, economic, natural environmental, science, and
technology areas) and its important participants (foreign nation-states
and their political organizations, nongovernmental organizations
[NGOs], and influential individuals).
2. Military intelligence (MI) refers to the intelligence processes that focus
on understanding foreign military threats to provide threat assessments,
I&W, weapons targeting, and damage assessments (in time of conflict).
3. Business intelligence (BI) refers to the acquisition, organization,
analysis, and reporting of internal and external factors to enable

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

15

decision makers to make faster, more accurate, and effective decisions

to meet business objectives. The general market focus of BI is often
called competitive intelligence, a term not to be confused with competitor intelligence (CI).
4. CI is a subdivision of business intelligence that concerns the current
and proposed business activities of competitors [18]. It uses legal and
ethical means to collect and analyze data to focus narrowly on the
competitive landscape and targets specific competitors (which, it
should be noted, can also become strategic partners, acquisition targets, or future owners) and their roles in the marketplace.
It is important to note that this book marks a sharp distinction between
business (private sector) and nation-state (public sector) intelligence activities,
though they are not necessarily distinct in all countries. In the United States,
public and private sector intelligence activities have been officially separated.
Debate has centered on the importance and value of maintaining a separation of
(public sector) national intelligence products from (private sector) businesses
[19]. A European Parliament study has enumerated concern over the potential
for national intelligence sources to be used for nation-state economic advantages
by providing competitive intelligence directly to national business interests [20].
The United States has acknowledged a policy of applying national intelligence
to protect U.S. business interests from fraud and illegal activities, but not for the
purposes of providing competitive advantage [21].
1.3.1

National and Military Intelligence

National intelligence refers to the strategic knowledge obtained for the leadership of nation-states to maintain national security. National intelligence is
focused on national securityproviding strategic warning of imminent threats,
knowledge on the broad spectrum of threats to national interests, and foreknowledge regarding future threats that may emerge as technologies, economies,
and the global environment changes. National intelligence also supports
national leaders in such areas as foreign policymaking, assessments of global
economies, and validation of treaty compliance by foreign countries.
The term intelligence refers to both a process and its product. The U.S.
Department of Defense (DoD) provides the following product definitions that
are rich in description of the processes involved in producing the product [22]:
1. The product resulting from the collection, processing, integration,
analysis, evaluation, and interpretation of available information concerning foreign countries or areas;

16

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

2. Information and knowledge about an adversary obtained through

observation, investigation, analysis, or understanding.
Michael Herman accurately emphasizes the essential components of the
intelligence process [23]: The Western intelligence system is two things. It is
partly the collection of information by special means; and partly the subsequent
study of particular subjects, using all available information from all sources. The
two activities form a sequential process. While we introduce the subject of collection in Chapter 2, this book is about the subsequent study process that
includes analysis (decomposition of the data to its essential parts) and synthesis
(construction of essential parts of data to infer knowledge about the subject).
From a military perspective, intelligence is the enabler to achieve military
dominance. Martin Libicki has provided a practical definition of information
dominance, and the role of intelligence coupled with command and control and
information warfare:
Information dominance may be defined as superiority in the generation,
manipulation, and use of information sufficient to afford its possessors military dominance. It has three sources:
Command and control that permits everyone to know where they (and
their cohorts) are in the battlespace, and enables them to execute operations when and as quickly as necessary.
Intelligence that ranges from knowing the enemys dispositions to knowing the location of enemy assets in real-time with sufficient precision for
a one-shot kill.
Information warfare that confounds enemy information systems at various points (sensors, communications, processing, and command), while
protecting ones own [24].

This superiority in the information domain is the enabling concept in the

U.S. DoDs initial Joint Vision 2010 and the updated JV 2020 [25]. The superiority is achieved by gaining superior intelligence and protecting information
assets while fiercely degrading the enemys information assets. The goal of such
superiority is not the attrition of physical military assets or troopsit is the attrition of the quality, speed, and utility of the adversarys decision-making ability.
The military has acknowledged the similarity, from a knowledge perspective, between the commercial business environment and military missions.
Applying a commercial business model, the U.S. Navy offered the following
description of its acquisition knowledge environment [26]: A knowledge environment is an organizations (business) environment that enhances its capability
to deliver on its mission (competitive advantage) by enabling it to build and leverage it intellectual capital.

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

1.3.2

17

Business and Competitive Intelligence

The focus of business intelligence is on understanding all aspects of a business

enterprise: internal operations and the external environment, which includes
customers and competitors (the marketplace), partners, and suppliers. The
external environmental also includes independent variables that can impact the
business, depending on the business (e.g., technology, the weather, government
policy actions, financial markets). All of these are the objects of business intelligence in the broadest definition. But the term business intelligence is also used in
a narrower sense to focus on only the internals of the business, while the term
competitor intelligence refers to those aspects of intelligence that focus on the
externals that influence competitiveness: competitors.
A taxonomy of the business intelligence terminology (Table 1.3) distinguishes business intelligence proper from competitive intelligence by the objects
of their study. Neutral external factors are often included in the definitions of
both categories of intelligence.
Each of the components of business intelligence has distinct areas of focus
and uses in maintaining the efficiency, agility, and security of the business; all
are required to provide active strategic direction to the business. In large companies with active business intelligence operations, all three components are essential parts of the strategic planning process, and all contribute to strategic
decision making.

1.4 The Intelligence Enterprise

The intelligence enterprise includes the collection of people, knowledge (both
internal tacit and explicitly codified), infrastructure, and information processes
that deliver critical knowledge (intelligence) to the consumers. This enables them
to make accurate, timely, and wise decisions to accomplish the mission of the
enterprise. This definition describes the enterprise as a processdevoted to
achieving an objective for its stakeholders and users. The enterprise process
includes the production, buying, selling, exchange, and promotion of an item,
substance, service, or system. The definition is similar to that adopted by DaimlerChryslers extended virtual enterprise, which encompasses its suppliers:
A DaimlerChrysler coordinated, goal-driven process that unifies and
extends the business relationships of suppliers and supplier tiers in order to
reduce cycle time, minimize systems cost and achieve perfect quality [27].

This all-encompassing definition brings the challenge of describing the full

enterprise, its operations, and component parts. Later in Chapter 9, we introduce the DoD three-view architecture [28] description, which defines three

18

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 1.3
Taxonomy of the Components of Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence:
Acquisition, organization, analysis, and reporting of internal and
external factors to enable decision makers to make faster, more
accurate and effective decisions to meet business objectives.
Business Intelligence

Focus of
Intelligence

Internal

Business operations
Objects (Targets)
Supply chain
of Intelligence
Customer relations
management
Buyers and suppliers

Competitive Intelligence
External:
Neutral Factors

External:
Competitive Factors

Customer structure,
preferences, behaviors

Competitors

Financial environment

Strategic partner
candidates

Regulatory climate
Marketplace environment
Segmentation
Market drivers
Buying patterns

Objective
Uses by
Intelligence
Consumers

Efficiency

Agility in the marketplace

Business process
Market dynamics
performance analysis, modeling and forecasting
refinement, and
Market positioning
reengineering
Learning customer trends
Identifying threats,
technology, regulation

Security
Identifying competitor
threats
Tracking and forecasting
competitor actions
Identifying, qualifying
strategic partner
candidates

Strategic Business Planning Process

interrelated perspectives or architectural descriptions that define the operational,

system, and technical aspects of an enterprise [29]. The operational architecture is
a people- or organization-oriented description of the operational elements, intelligence business processes, assigned tasks, and information and work flows
required to accomplish or support the intelligence function. It defines the type
of information, the frequency of exchange, and the tasks that are supported by
these information exchanges. The systems architecture is a description of the systems and interconnections providing for or supporting intelligence functions.
The system architecture defines the physical connection, location, and identification of the key nodes, circuits, networks, and users, and specifies system and
component performance parameters. The technical architecture is the minimal

19

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

set of rules (i.e., standards, protocols, interfaces, and services) governing the
arrangement, interaction, and interdependence of the elements of the system.
These three views of the enterprise (Figure 1.4) describe three layers of peopleoriented operations, system structure, and procedures (protocols) that must be
defined in order to implement an intelligence enterprise.
The operational layer is the highest (most abstract) description of the concept of operations (CONOPS), human collaboration, and disciplines of the
knowledge organization. The technical architecture layer describes the most
detailed perspective, noting specific technical components and their operations,
protocols, and technologies. In the middle is the system architecture layer,
which defines the network structure of nodes and interconnections. The performance of these layers is quantified by the typical kinds of metrics depicted in
the figure. The intelligence supply chain that describes the flow of data into
knowledge to create consumer value is measured by the value it provides to
intelligence consumers. Measures of human intellectual capital and organizational knowledge describe the intrinsic value of the organization. The distributed computing architecture is measured by a variety of performance-level
metrics that characterize the system capability in terms of information volume,
capacity, and delivery rates. The technical physical (or hardware) and abstract
Architecture view

Enterprise Components

Collection
Operational
architecture
Knowledge-based
organization and operations

Dissemination

Measures

Intelligence supply
chain value added
Consumer operational
utility, effectiveness
Analysis
Goals, measures, workflows,
Financial measures
processes
Virtual team growth
Configuration
System
architecture
Measures of system
performance:
Network infrastructure of
process nodes and links
Transfer rates
Storage capacity
Data, communication, and
No. of users
processing objects
Applications
Technical
Technical parameters;
Storage
architecture
Hardware
Communication
technology
component
Network computing
bandwidth
technologies Storage density
standards, data models, and Network
network protocols
Processing
standards, Processing,
Information and KM
object,
agent,
performance (speed
protocols
technologies
and application
and capacity)
technologies

Figure 1.4 Enterprise information architecture elements.

20

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

(or software) elements of the enterprise are described by engineering dimensional performance parameters (e.g., bandwidth, storage density, and processing
gain).
Throughout this book, we introduce the KM principles and practice that
allow intelligence officers, enterprise architects, and engineers to implement
these abstract models into a working intelligence enterprise of people and their
processes, systems, and technology.

1.5 The State of the Art and the State of the Intelligence Tradecraft
The subject of intelligence analysis remained largely classified through the
1980s, but the 1990s brought the end of the Cold War and, thus, open publication of the fundamental operations of intelligence and the analytic methods
employed by businesses and nation-states. In that same period, the rise of commercial information sources and systems produced the new disciplines of open
source intelligence (OSINT) and business/competitor intelligence. In each of
these areas, a wealth of resources is available for tracking the rapidly changing
technology state of the art as well as the state of the intelligence tradecraft.
1.5.1

National and Military Intelligence

Numerous sources of information provide management, legal, and technical

insight for national and military intelligence professionals with interests in
analysis and KM (rather than intelligence operations, collection, or covert
action). These sources include:
Studies in IntelligencePublished by the U.S. CIA Center for the Study

of Intelligence and the Sherman Kent School of Intelligence, unclassified versions are published on the schools Web site (http://odci.
gov.csi), along with periodically issued monographs on technical topics
related to intelligence analysis and tradecraft.
International Journal of Intelligence and CounterintelligenceThis quarterly journal covers the breadth of intelligence interests within law
enforcement, business, nation-state policymaking, and foreign affairs.
Intelligence and National SecurityA quarterly international journal

published by Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., London, this journal covers broad
intelligence topics ranging from policy, operations, users, analysis, and
products to historical accounts and analyses.
Defense Intelligence JournalThis is a quarterly journal published by

the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agencys Joint Military Intelligence

College.

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

21

American Intelligence JournalPublished by the National Military

Intelligence Association (NMIA), this journal covers operational,

organizational, and technical topics of interest to national and military
intelligence officers.
Military Intelligence Professional BulletinThis is a quarterly bulletin of

the U.S. Army Intelligence Center (Ft. Huachuca) that is available online and provides information to military intelligence officers on studies
of past events, operations, processes, military systems, and emerging
research and development.
Janes Intelligence ReviewThis monthly magazine provides open

source analyses of international military organizations, NGOs that

threaten or wage war, conflicts, and security issues.
In addition to these specific sources, intelligence topics are frequently covered in national policy-related publications such as Foreign Affairs and Washington Monthly, and in technical publications such as Aviation Week and Space
Technology.
1.5.2

Business and Competitive Intelligence

Several sources focus on the specific areas of business and competitive intelligence with attention to the management, ethical, and technical aspects of collection, analysis, and valuation of products.
Competitive Intelligence MagazineThis is a CI source for general

applications-related articles on CI, published bimonthly by John Wiley

& Sons with the Society for Competitive Intelligence (SCIP).
Competitive Intelligence ReviewThis quarterly journal, also published

by John Wiley with the SCIP, contains best-practice case studies as well
as technical and research articles.
Management International ReviewThis is a quarterly refereed journal

that covers the advancement and dissemination of international applied

research in the fields of management and business. It is published by
Gabler Verlag, Germany, and is available on-line.
Journal of Strategy and BusinessThis quarterly journal, published by

Booz Allen and Hamilton focuses on strategic business issues, including

regular emphasis on both CI and KM topics in business articles.

22

1.5.3

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

KM

The developments in the field of KM are covered by a wide range of business,

information science, organizational theory, and dedicated KM sources that provide information on this diverse and fast growing area. Among the major sources
of current practice in the field are the following:
CIO MagazineThis monthly trade magazine for chief information

officers and staff includes articles on KM, best practices, and related
leadership topics.
Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management ReviewThese manage-

ment journals cover organizational leadership, strategy, learning and

change, and the application of supporting ITs.
Journal of Knowledge ManagementThis is a quarterly academic jour-

nal of strategies, tools, techniques, and technologies published by

Emerald (UK). In addition, Emerald also publishes quarterly The
Learning OrganizationAn International Journal.
IEEE Transactions of Knowledge and Data EngineeringThis is an

archival journal published bimonthly to inform researchers, developers,

managers, strategic planners, users, and others interested in state-ofthe-art and state-of-the-practice activities in the knowledge and data
engineering area.
Knowledge and Process ManagementA John Wiley (UK) journal for

executives responsible for leading performance improvement and contributing thought leadership in business. Emphasis areas include KM,
organizational learning, core competencies, and process management.
American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC)THE APQC is a

nonprofit organization that provides the tools, information, expertise,

and support needed to discover and implement best practices in KM.
Its mission is to discover, research, and understand emerging and effective methods of both individual and organizational improvement, to
broadly disseminate these findings, and to connect individuals with one
another and with the knowledge, resources, and tools they need to successfully manage improvement and change. They maintain an on-line
site at www.apqc.org.
Data Mining and Knowledge DiscoveryThis Kluwer (Netherlands)

journal provides technical articles on the theory, techniques, and practice of knowledge extraction from large databases.
International Journal on Multi-Sensor, Multi-Source Information

FusionThis Elsevier Science journal provides technical articles on the

23

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

theory, techniques, and practice of creating knowledge from diverse

multiple sources of data.

1.6 The Organization of This Book

This book is structured to introduce the unique role, requirements, and stakeholders of intelligence (the applications) before introducing the KM processes,
technologies, and implementations. The chapter structure (Figure 1.5) therefore moves from applications (Section I) to organizational and functional KM
processes for the intelligence application (Section II) and then to implementations (Section III). Beyond the introduction in this chapter, we describe the
mission and functions of the intelligence application (Chapter 2) and the KM
processes that are applied to intelligence problems (Chapter 3). The socialization aspects of KM that develop a knowledge-based organization of people are
described (Chapter 4) before explaining many of the principles of the immanently human process of collaborative intelligence analysis and synthesis
(Chapters 5 and 6). Next, the methods of transferring tacit and explicit knowledge to create knowledge, and the practical application of intelligence analysis
and synthesis in networks with automated systems are described (Chapter 7).
The applications of fully automated explicit knowledge combination (reasoning) capabilities are then introduced (Chapter 8). Finally, intelligence enterprise

I. Intelligence
and its
applications

1. Introduction: Knowledge Management

1. Introduction: knowledge management and intelligence
and Intelligence
2. The intelligence enterprise
3. Knowledge management processes
Transfer

Socialization

II. Knowledge
management
processes

III. Intelligence
enterprise

4. The knowledgeThe Knowledge4.4.based

based
Intelligence
4. intelligence
Organization
4. organization
5. Intelligence
5. Intelligence
5. analysis
and
Analysis
5. synthesis and
Synthesis

6. Implementing
6. Implementing
6. analysis and
Analysis and
6. synthesis
Synthesis
7. Knowledge
7. internalization
7. Knowledge
7. and externalization
Internalization and
Externalization

Combination
Combination
8. Explicit knowledge
8. capture and
Capture and
8. combination
Combination

9. The9.intelligence
The Intelligence
enterprise
Enterprise
10. Knowledge Management
management technology
Technology

Figure 1.5 Logical organization of this book.

24

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

architectures that integrate people, processes, and IT to conduct intelligence

operations are described to illustrate how intelligence enterprises are implemented from the principles described in earlier chapters (Chapter 9). Chapter
10 provides a broad survey of key information technologiesmany which now
enable and more that are emerging to increase the effectiveness of intelligence
enterprises in the future.

Endnotes
[1]

A Consumers Guide to Intelligence, CIA (Office of Public Affairs), Washington, D.C.,

1999, p. vii. For a comprehensive discussion of the range of definitions of intelligence and
its central meaning, see: Wanted: A Definition of Intelligence, in Studies in Intelligence,
Vol. 46, No. 3, CIA, Washington D.C., 2002, Unclassified Edition, accessed on-line
October 3, 2002, at http://www.cia.gov/csi/studies/vol46no3/index.html.

[2]

The United States distinguishes intelligence proper as the service of obtaining and delivering knowledge to government users (consumers); counterintelligence and covert action are
intelligence-related operations. In this book, we do not discuss these secondary intelligencerelated activities.

[3]

These engineering distinctions are refinements of the common terminology to distinguish

three levels of information content. General dictionary definitions of information often
include data and knowledge as synonyms.

[4]

The Greeks distinguished wisdom (sophia) and understanding (sunesis) as the principles by
which we live and the ability to apply those principles in daily life, respectively.

[5]

Tzu, Sun, The Art of War, translated by R. D. Sawyer, Boulder, CO: Westview Press,
1994, p. 231.

[6]

Tzu, Sun, The Art of War, translated by R. D. Sawyer, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994,
pp. 231232. Sun Tzus five categories can be compared to current HUMINT terminology: 1) local spies (agents native to the foreign country), 2) inward spies (foreign agents who
are officials), 3) converted spies (double agentsforeign agents turned to ones use), 4)
doomed spies (ones own expendable agents sent with fabricated intelligence for purposes of
deception), and 5) surviving spies (defectors or those returning with intelligence).

[7]

Relevant Information is comprised of intelligence (information about the operational environment, adversaries, and third parties), friendly force information (information about own
forces), and essential elements of friendly information (specific information about friendly
forces we seek to deny to an adversary). See Field Manual 3-0Operations, Washington,
D.C.: HQ Dept. of U.S. Army, June 2001, Chapter 11: Information Superiority,
accessed on-line at http://www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/3-0/toc.htm. The enumeration of intelligence requirements effectively defined the instructions to perform the
process defined in U.S. Army doctrine as Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield. See
Field Manual 34-130Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield, Washington, D.C.: HQ
Dept. of U.S. Army, July 1994, accessed on-line at http://www.adtdl.army.mil/
cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/34-130/toc.htm.

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

25

[8] From Presidential Reflections on US Intelligence, CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence, accessed on-line November 2001 at http://www.odci.gov/csi/monograph/firstln/
washington.html.
[9] These concepts are described in, for example: Toffler, A., Third Wave, New York: Bantam, 1991; Toffler, A., and H. Toffler, War and Anti-War, New York: Warner, 1995, and
A. Toffler, PowershiftKnowledge, Wealth and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century,
New York: Bantam, 1991.
[10] Keaney, T. A., and E. Cohen, Gulf War Air Power Survey Summary Report, Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1993, Chapter 4: What Was the Role of
Intelligence?
[11] Cebrowski, A. K. (VADM, USN), and J. J. Garstka, Network-Centric Warfare: Its Origin
and Future, Naval Institute Proceedings, January 1998, accessed on-line November 2001 at
http://www.usni.org/Proceedings/Articles98/PROcebrowski.htm. See also Alberts, D. S., et
al., Network Centric Warfare: Developing and Leveraging Information Superiority, (2nd ed.),
Washington, D.C.: C4ISR Cooperative Research Program, August 1999.
[12] Hamel, G., Leading the Revolution, Boston: HBS Press, 2000.
[13] Hamel, G., Leading the Revolution, Boston: HBS Press, 2000, p. 18.
[14] Edwards, S. J. A., Swarming on the Battlefield: Past, Present and Future, Santa Monica, CA:
RAND, 2000.
[15] Consumers Guide to Intelligence, Washington, D.C.: CIA, September 1993, updated February 1994.
[16] This taxonomy is based on a categorization in the text: Schum, David, Inference and
Analysis for the Intelligence Analyst, Volumes 1 and 2, Washington D.C.: University Press
of America, 1987.
[17] While national and business intelligence is required to understand and estimate continuous processes in threat and market environments, intelligence analysis in both domains
must also consider discontinuitiessurprises or unexpected emergent behavior in complex
processes. Discontinuities arising from new technologies, cultural shifts, globalization, and
other factors can create radical changes in the threats to nation-states as well as to business.
[18] Definition from Glossary of Competitive Intelligence Terms, Competitive Intelligence
Review, Vol. 9, No. 2, AprilJune 1998, p. 66.
[19] See, for example the argument posed by Stanley Kober in WHY SPY?The Uses and
Misuses of Intelligence, Cato Policy Analysis No. 265, CATO Institute, December 12,
1996, accessed on-line at http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-265.html.
[20] Development of Surveillance Technology and Risk of Abuse of Economic Information:
An Appraisal of Technologies of Political Control, Working document for the Scientific
and Technological Options Assessment Panel, PE 168.184/Int.St./part 1 of 4, European
Parliament, Luxembourg, May 1999.
[21] For a discussion of the disagreements over and implications of using national intelligence
organizations in support of private-sector economic intelligence, see Greenberg, M. R.,
and R. N. Haas, Making Intelligence Smarter: The Future of U.S. Intelligence, New York:
Council on Foreign Relations, 1996see section entitled, Economic Intelligenceand

26

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Gregory, S., Economic Intelligence in the Post-Cold War Era: Issues for Reform, Policy Paper
for The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, January 1997.

[22] Joint Publication 1-02, DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms.
[23] Herman, M., Intelligence Power in Peace and War, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1996, p. 56.
[24] Libicki, Martin C., Information Dominance in Strategic Forum, Number 132, Institute
for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, Washington D.C., November 1997.
[25] Joint Vision 2020 (JV 20202), U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Department of Defense, 2000.
[26] Robertson, E., Department of the Navy Acquisition Reform FY2000, April 19, 2000,
accessed on-line at http://www.ace.navy.mil/alrweek2000/briefs/jackson/sld001.htm; this
document cites the Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) corporate knowledge
environment.
[27] DaimlerChrysler Extended Enterprise definition, accessed at http://supplier.chrysler.com/purchasing/extent/index.html.
[28] An architecture is defined in IEEE 610.12 as the structure of components, their relationships, and the principles and guidelines governing their design and evolution over time.
[29] C4ISR Architecture Framework Version 2.0, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence, Washington, D.C., November
1997.

Selected Bibliography
The following bibliography identifies major texts in the application areas of
national and military intelligence and business and competitive intelligence.
Consumers Guide to Intelligence, CIA, Washington, D.C., September 1993, updated February 1994.
National and Military Intelligence (texts on intelligence that emphasize the processing, analytic and decision-making support roles of intelligence (rather than collection or covert
action).
Berkowitz, B. D., and A. E. Goodman, Best Truth: Intelligence in the Information Age, New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000.
Berkowitz, B. D., and A. E. Goodman, Strategic Intelligence for American National Security, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989.
Bozeman, A. B., Strategic Intelligence and Statecraft: Selected Essays, Washington, D.C.:
Brasseys, 1992.
Clark, R., Intelligence Analysis, Baltimore: American Lit Press, 1996.
Codevilla, A., Informing Statecraft: Intelligence for a New Century, NY: The Free Press, 1992.

Knowledge Management and Intelligence

27

Dulles, A., The Craft of Intelligence New York: Harper & Row, 1963; London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1963; Boulder, CO: Westview, 1985.
Herman, M., Intelligence Power in Peace and War, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Heuer, R., The Psychology of Intelligence Analysis, Washington D.C.: CIA Sherwood Kent
School of Intelligence Analysis, 1999.
Johnson, L., Bombs, Bugs, Drugs, and Thugs: Intelligence and Americas Quest for Security,
New York: New York University Press, 2000.
Krizan, L., Intelligence Essentials for Everyone, Occasional Paper No. 6., Joint Military
Intelligence College, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1999.
Steele, R. D., On Intelligence: Spies and Secrecy in an Open World, Washington D.C.:
AFCEA International Press, 2000.
Treverton, G. D., Reshaping National Intelligence for an Age of Information, Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Competitor Intelligence
Gilad, B., and T. Gilad, The Business Intelligence SystemA New Tool for Competitive
Advantage, New York: American Management Association, 1988.
Fuld, L. M., The New Competitor Intelligence, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995, and
Competitor Intelligence: How to Get It; How to Use It, New York: John Wiley, 1985.
Hohhof, B., Competitive Information Systems Development, Glastonbury, CT: The Futures
Group, 1993.
Porter, M. E., Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors,
New York: The Free Press, 1980.
Stoffels, J. D., Strategic Issues Management: A Comprehensive Guide to Environmental Scanning, New York: Pergamon, 1993.
Tyson, K. W. M., Competitor Intelligence Manual and Guide: Gathering, Analyzing, and
Using Business Intelligence, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall) 1990.

Business Intelligence
Harvard Business Review on Knowledge Management, Boston: Harvard Business School
Press, 1998.
Dixon, N. M., Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know,
Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2000.
Krogh, G. V., Johan Roos, and Dirk Kleine, Knowing in Firms: Understanding, Managing
and Measuring Knowledge, London: Sage, 1998.
Liebowitz, J., Building Organizational Intelligence: A Knowledge Management Primer, Boca
Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1999.

2
The Intelligence Enterprise
Intelligence, the strategic information and knowledge about an adversary and an
operational environment obtained through observation, investigation, analysis,
or understanding [1], is the product of an enterprise operation that integrates
people and processes in a organizational and networked computing environment. The intelligence enterprise exists to produce intelligence goods and serviceknowledge and foreknowledge to decision- and policy-making customers.
This enterprise is a production organization whose prominent infrastructure is
an information supply chain. As in any business, it has a front office to manage its relations with customers, with the information supply chain in the back
office. The intellectual capital of this enterprise includes sources, methods,
workforce competencies, and the intelligence goods and services produced. As in
virtually no other business, the protection of this capital is paramount, and
therefore security is integrated into every aspect of the enterprise.
In this chapter we introduce the stakeholders, functions, and operations of
the intelligence enterprise. We also examine the future of intelligence and how
the global environment is requiring changes in the organization and operations
of intelligence.

2.1 The Stakeholders of Nation-State Intelligence

The intelligence enterprise, like any other enterprise providing goods and services, includes a diverse set of stakeholders in the enterprise operation. The business model for any intelligence enterprise, as for any business, must clearly
identify the stakeholders who own the business and those who produce and consume its goods and services. The stakeholders in the U.S. IC (Figure 2.1)
29

30

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Stakeholder roles

Stakeholder structure

Stakeholder value metrics

U.S. Public, U.S. National interests

Owners
(beneficiaries)

Congress (legislative) - executive

SECDEF

DCI
Dept
of
State
FBI
Others

NCA
Dept of
Homeland
Security

CIA

Collectors

J2
Unified commands

Civilian
govt

DIA, JICs , JACs

Analysts

Analysts
Intel
producers Processors

Intelligence utility

NSA
signals

CMO
meas/sig

NIMA
images

CIA
human

Air, space, ground

DIA
human

Commercial

Open source

Product and service providers

Intel
users
(consumers)

National security
Global awareness
Policy impact

Intelligence
contribution to
mission
effectiveness

Accuracy
Coverage breadth
Data depth
Throughput
Access, revisit
Timeliness

Figure 2.1 Structure and metrics of the stakeholders of the U.S. IC.

illustrate the relationships between key stakeholder roles and the metrics by
which these stakeholders value the enterprise:
The owners of the process include the U.S. public and its elected offi-

cials, who measure intelligence value in terms of the degree to which

national security is maintained. These owners seek awareness and warning of threats to prescribed national interests.
Intelligence consumers (customers or users) include national, military, and

civilian user agencies that measure value in terms of intelligence contribution to the mission of each organization, measured in terms of its
impact on mission effectiveness.
Intelligence producers, the most direct users of raw intelligence, include

the collectors (HUMINT and technical), processor agencies, and analysts. The principal value metrics of these users are performance based:
information accuracy, coverage breadth and depth, confidence, and
timeliness.

31

The Intelligence Enterprise

The purpose and value chains for intelligence (Figure 2.2) are defined by
the stakeholders to provide a foundation for the development of specific value
measures that assess the contribution of business components to the overall
enterprise. The corresponding chains in the U.S. IC include:
Sourcethe source or basis for defining the purpose of intelligence is

found in the U.S. Constitution, derivative laws (i.e., the National Security Act of 1947, Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949, National
Security Agency Act of 1959, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of
1978, and Intelligence Organization Act of 1992), and orders of the
executive branch [2]. Derived from this are organizational mission
documents, such as the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) Strategic
Intent [3], which documents communitywide purpose and vision,
as well as derivative guidance documents prepared by intelligence
providers.
Purpose chainthe causal chain of purposes (objectives) for which the

intelligence enterprise exists. The ultimate purpose is national security,

enabled by information (intelligence) superiority that, in turn, is
enabled by specific purposes of intelligence providers that will result in
information superiority.
Stakeholder

Source

Purpose chain

U.S.
Constitution

National
Security

Owners,
DCI
beneficiaries, Strategic
consumers Intent

Intelligence Virtual
providers
intelligence
enterprise

Info superiority
(right info, time,
and place)

Unify
community
Maximize
resources
Deliver intel
superiority
products

Value chain
Freedom
Security, unity
product superiority
cost
Schedule-cost
Performance
Interoperability
Survivability
Reliability-availability
Operability
Scalability
Maintainability-testability
Affordability
Marketability
Vulnerability
Adaptability
Feasibility-producibility
Flexibility-customizability

Figure 2.2 Chains of purposes and values for the U.S. IC.

Measures
Agility
Collaboration
Allocation
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability
Timeliness (latency)
Update rate
Accuracy
Completeness
Relevance
Responsiveness
Coverage
Anticipation of info
needs
Predictive
Push to right user

32

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Value chainthe chain of values (goals) by which achievement of the

enterprise purpose is measured.

MeasuresSpecific metrics by which values are quantified and articu-

lated by stakeholders and by which the value of the intelligence enterprise is evaluated.
Three major categories of intelligence products can be distinguished: strategic, military-operational, and military-tactical intelligence. Table 2.1 contrasts
the categories, which are complementary and often share the same sources to
deliver their intelligence products. The primary difference in the categories is
the perspective (long- to short-term projection) and the reporting cycle (annual
to near-real-time updates).
Table 2.1
Major Categories of Nation-State Intelligence
Intelligence
Category
Focus (Intel Users)
Understanding of current and
Strategic or
future status and behavior of
National
foreign nations. Estimates of
Intelligence
the state of global activities.
Indications and warnings of
threats.
(National policymakers)

Objects of Analysis

Reporting Cycle

Foreign policy

Infrequent (annual, monthly)

long-duration estimates and
projections (months, years)

Political posture
National stability
Socioeconomics
Cultural ideologies
Science and technology

Long-term analyses
(months, years)
Frequent status reports
(weekly, daily)

Foreign relationships
Military strength, intent
Understanding of military
Military
powers, orders of battle,
Operational
technology maturity, and
Intelligence
future potential.
(Military commanders)

Orders of battle
Military doctrine
Science and technology
Command structure
Force strength
Force status, intent

Real-time understanding of
Military platforms
Military
military units, force structure, Military units
Tactical
and active behavior (current
Intelligence
Force operations
and future) on the battlefield.
Courses of action (past,
(Warfighters)
current, potential future)

Continually updated status

databases (weekly)
Indications and warnings
(hours and days)
Crisis analysis (daily,
hourly)
Weapon support (real-time:
seconds to hours)
Situation awareness
applications (minutes,
hours, days)

The Intelligence Enterprise

33

In a similar fashion, business and competitive intelligence, introduced in

the first chapter, have stakeholders that include customers, shareholders, corporate officers, and employees. Each holds a stake in achieving the enterprise mission; there must exist a purpose and value chain that guides the KM operations.
These typically include:
Sourcethe business charter and mission statement of a business elabo-

rates the market served and the vision for the businesses role in that
market.
Purpose chainthe objectives of the business require knowledge about

internal operations and the market (BI objectives) as well as competitors (CI).
Value chainthe chain of values (goals) by which achievement of the

enterprise purpose is measured.

MeasuresSpecific metrics by which values are quantified. A balanced

set of measures includes vision and strategy, customer, internal, financial, and learning-growth metrics.

2.2 Intelligence Processes and Products

The process that delivers strategic and operational intelligence products is generally depicted in cyclic form (Figure 2.3), with five distinct phases [4]. This cycle,
briefly introduced in the first chapter, begins with the need for knowledge by
policy or decision makers (consumers) and concludes with the delivery of that
knowledge. The need may be a standing requirement, a special request, or an
urgent necessity in time of crisis. In every case, the need is the basis for a logical
process to deliver the knowledge to the requestor.
1. Planning and direction. The process begins as policy and decision makers define, at a high level of abstraction, the knowledge that is required
to make policy, strategic, or operational decisions. The requests are
parsed into information required, then to data that must be collected
to estimate or infer the required answers. Data requirements are used
to establish a plan of collection, which details the elements of data
needed and the targets (people, places, and things) from which the
data may be obtained.
2. Collection. Following the plan, human and technical sources of data
are tasked to collect the required raw data. The next section introduces
the major collection sources, which include both openly available and
closed sources that are accessed by both human and technical methods.

34

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Intelligence
products

Finished
intelligence
4.
Analysis-synthesis
production

5.
Dissemination

Intelligence
cycle

Intelligence
consumers
Consumer
requirements

11.
Planning and
direction
Plans

Processed
information
2
2.
Collection

33.
Processing
Raw
intelligence
data

Figure 2.3 The intelligence cycle delivers reports in response to specific requests and queries for knowledge needed to make decisions and set policies.

These sources and methods are among the most fragile [5]and most
highly protectedelements of the process. Sensitive and specially
compartmented collection capabilities that are particularly fragile exist
across all of the collection disciplines.
3. Processing. The collected data is processed (e.g., machine translation,
foreign language translation, or decryption), indexed, and organized in
an information base. Progress on meeting the requirements of the collection plan is monitored and the tasking may be refined on the basis
of received data.
4. All-source analysis-synthesis and production. The organized information
base is processed using estimation and inferential (reasoning) techniques that combine all-source data in an attempt to answer the
requestors questions. The data is analyzed (broken into components
and studied) and solutions are synthesized (constructed from the accumulating evidence). The topics or subjects (intelligence targets) of
study are modeled, and requests for additional collection and processing may be made to acquire sufficient data and achieve a sufficient

The Intelligence Enterprise

35

level of understanding (or confidence to make a judgment) to answer

the consumers questions.
5. Dissemination. Finished intelligence is disseminated to consumers in a
variety of formats, ranging from dynamic operating pictures of warfighters weapon systems to formal reports to policymakers. Three
categories of formal strategic and tactical intelligence reports are distinguished by their past, present, and future focus: current intelligence
reports are news-like reports that describe recent events or indications
and warnings, basic intelligence reports provide complete descriptions
of a specific situation (e.g., order of battle or political situation), and
intelligence estimates attempt to predict feasible future outcomes as a
result of current situation, constraints, and possible influences [6].
The intelligence product is disseminated to the user, providing answers to
queries and estimates of accuracy of the product delivered.
Though introduced here in the classic form of a cycle, in reality the process
operates as a continuum of actions with many more feedback (and feedforward)
paths that require collaboration between consumers, collectors, and analysts. In
Chapters 3 and 4, we illustrate the intensely collaborative processes of collection, processing, and analysis-synthesis in an integrated intelligence enterprise.

2.3 Intelligence Collection Sources and Methods

A taxonomy of intelligence data sources (Table 2.2) includes sources that are
openly accessible or closed (e.g., denied areas, secured communications, or clandestine activities). Due to the increasing access to electronic media (i.e., telecommunications, video, and computer networks) and the global expansion of
democratic societies, OSINT is becoming an increasingly important source of
global data. While OSINT must be screened and cross validated to filter errors,
duplications, and deliberate misinformation (as do all sources), it provides an
economical source of public information and is a contributor to other sources
for cueing, indications, and confirmation [7].
In contrast with open sources, clandestine HUMINT and both open and
clandestine technical means of collection provide data on topics and subjects
that are protected by denial of access or secrecy [8].
Imagery intelligence (IMINT) provides assessments of resolvable objects
from imagery of the Earth. IMINT reveals the location, composition, and characterization of resources, infrastructure, facilities, and lines of communication
to perform order of battle estimates, indications and warning, situation assessment, targeting, and battle damage assessment functions. Signals intelligence
(SIGINT) monitors electromagnetic signals for electronic data (e.g., radar) and

36

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 2.2
Major Intelligence Categories Are Partitioned by Access (Open or Closed)
and Collection Means (Human or Technical)

Source
Access Type

Open

Human
and
technical
means

Intelligence
Source
Category
Representative Sources
Open source
intelligence
(OSINT)

Foreign radio and television news sources

Foreign printed materials: books, magazines, periodicals, journals
Diplomatic and attach reporting
Shortwave radio, telecom, Internet conversations
Foreign network computer sources
Gray literature (printed and electronic)

Human
means

Human
intelligence
(HUMINT)

Reports from agents in foreign nations

Discussions with personnel in foreign nations
Reports from defectors from foreign nations
Messages from friendly third-party sources

Closed Technical
Sources means

Imagery
intelligence
(IMINT)

Surveillance imagery (static air and space imagery of the earth)

Signals
intelligence
(SIGINT)

Electromagnetic signals monitoring (ELINT): externals

events, activities, relationships, frequency of occurrence,
modes, sequences, patterns, signaturesor internals
contents of messages

Surveillance imagery (terrestrial static and video imagery)

Radar intelligence (RADINT), including moving target

indications (MTIs) tracking data
Communications traffic monitoring (COMINT) for externals and
internals
Foreign instrumentation signals intelligence (FISINT): telemetry
(TELINT), beacons, video links
Computer
network
exploitation
(CNE)

MeasureTechnical
ments and
Closed
signatures
Sources means
intelligence
(MASINT)

Network analysis and monitoring

Network message interception, traffic analysis
Computer intrusion, penetration, and exploitation
Technically derived intelligence from all sources (parametric
data) to support real-time operations (e.g., electronic support
measures, combat identification, and tactical intelligence
analysis)
MASINT exploits physical properties (nuclear, biological,
chemical), emitted/reflected energy (radio frequencies,
infrared (IR), shock waves, acoustics), mechanical sound,
magnetic properties, motion, and materials composition

The Intelligence Enterprise

37

communications (e.g., voice and data telecommunications) to detect traffic and

geolocate individual emitters. The emerging requirement to collect intelligence
from digital networks (rather that radiated emissions) is provided by computer
network exploitation (CNE). This involves the understanding of network infrastructures, network traffic externals, and data communication internals, as well
as access to computer nodes and exploitation of networked computers [9].
Measurements and signatures intelligence (MASINT) is technically derived
knowledge from a wide variety of sensors, individual or fused, either to perform
special measurements of objects or events of interest or to obtain signatures
for use by the other intelligence sources. MASINT is used to characterize
the observable phenomena (observables) of the environment and objects of
surveillance.
U.S. intelligence studies have pointed out specific changes in the use of
these sources as the world increases globalization of commerce and access to
social, political, economic, and technical information [1012]:
The increase in unstructured and transnational threats requires the

robust use of clandestine HUMINT sources to complement extensive

technical verification means.
Technical means of collection are required for both broad area coverage
and detailed assessment of the remaining denied areas of the world.
Competitive intelligence operations are also conducted in the commercial
business world, with growing use of electronic collection sources and open
sources available on the Internet. The same principles of strategic intelligence
planning, development of the intelligence cycle processes, source development,
and analysis apply. Leonard Fulds The New Competitor Analysis details the intelligence processes applied to commercial businesses and the sources available in
this domain [13].
2.3.1

HUMINT Collection

HUMINT refers to all information obtained directly from human sources [14].
HUMINT sources may be overt or covert (clandestine); the most common categories include:
Clandestine intelligence case officers. These officers are own-country indi-

viduals who operate under a clandestine cover to collect intelligence

and control foreign agents to coordinate collections.
Agents. These are foreign individuals with access to targets of intelli-

gence who conduct clandestine collection operations as representatives

38

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

of their controlling intelligence officers. These agents may be recruited

or walk-in volunteers who act for a variety of ideological, financial, or
personal motives.
migrs, refugees, escapees, and defectors. The open, overt (yet discrete)

programs to interview these recently arrived foreign individuals provide

background information on foreign activities as well as occasional information on high-value targets.
Third party observers. Cooperating third parties (e.g., third-party countries and travelers) can also provide a source of access to information.
The HUMINT discipline follows a rigorous process for acquiring,
employing, and terminating the use of human assets that follows a seven-step
sequence [15]. The sequence followed by case officers includes:
1. Spottinglocating, identifying, and securing low-level contact with
agent candidates;
2. Evaluationassessment of the potential (i.e., value or risk) of the spotted individual, based on a background investigation;
3. Recruitmentsecuring the commitment from the individual;
4. Testingevaluation of the loyalty of the agent;
5. Trainingsupporting the agent with technical experience and tools;
6. Handlingsupporting and reinforcing the agents commitment;
7. Terminationcompletion of the agent assignment by ending the
relationship.
HUMINT is dependent upon the reliability of the individual source, and
lacks the collection control of technical sensors. Furthermore, the level of security to protect human sources often limits the fusion of HUMINT reports with
other sources and the dissemination of wider customer bases. Directed high-risk
HUMINT collections are generally viewed as a precious resource to be used for
high-value targets to obtain information unobtainable by technical means or to
validate hypotheses created by technical collection analysis.
2.3.2

Technical Intelligence Collection

Technical collection is performed by a variety of electronic (e.g., electromechanical, electro-optical, or bioelectronic) sensors placed on platforms in space,
the atmosphere, on the ground, and at sea to measure physical phenomena
(observables) related to the subjects of interest (intelligence targets). A wide variety of sensor-platform combinations (Table 2.3) collect data that may be used

39

The Intelligence Enterprise

Table 2.3
Surveillance and Reconnaissance Sources
Platforms

Radar and IFF

IMINT

SIGINT

MASINT

Space

Spaceborne radar
(MTI or target
tracking modes)
surveillance

Weather satellites

SIGINT ferrets

IR missile warning/
tracking

Geostationary
spacecraft
Polar orbital
spacecraft

Imaging broad area

search and
precision imaging

Nuclear detection

Low Earth orbit

spacecraft
Cooperative spacecraft constellations
Air

Airborne warning Synthetic aperture

and control
radar (SAR),
Tactical aircraft
aircraft
electro-optical (EO),
Standoff manned
infrared (IR), and
Fighter aircraft
Recce aircraft
multispectral
Penetrating high,
imaging sensors
medium altitude enon manned and
durance unmanned
unmanned Recce
air vehicles (UAVs)

Airborne
SIGINT standoff
and penetrating
UAVs

Ground

Ground-based
ESM sites and
vehicles

Air defense, air

Attended fixed sites surveillance
sensors
Mobile manned
Counterbattery
vehicles
radar
Man portable
Ground
sensors
surveillance
Unattended ground
(intrusion) radar
sensors in denied
areas

Combat tactical
digital cameras

Sea, Undersea

Ship and
submarine longrange IR/EO video

Shipboard sensors
Submarine sensors
Ship/submarine
towed sensors
Heliborne dipping,
air dropped sensors
Fixed, autonomous
buoys
Underwater arrays
Recce: Reconnaissance

Shipboard and
submarine air,
surface
surveillance radar

Long range IR/EO

video

IR/EO, laser surveillance aircraft

Atmospheric
sampling
Nonacoustic antisubmarine warfare
(ASW) sensors

Unattended
electronic
IR night vision
support
IR search and track
measures
(ESM) sensors

Ship, sub, and

helo ESM
sensors

IR search and track UAV ESM

Sensors

Seismic arrays
Acoustic arrays
IR radiometers

Ship, sub towed

sonar array
Ship, sub hull sonar
array
Nonacoustic ASW
sensors
Sonobuoys
Dipping sonar

40

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

for tactical, operational, or strategic intelligence. The operational utility of these

collectors for each intelligence application depends upon several critical factors:
Timelinessthe time from collection of event data to delivery of a tacti-

cal targeting cue, operational warnings and alerts, or formal strategic

report;
Revisitthe frequency with which a target of interest can be revisited to

understand or model (track) dynamic behavior;

Accuracythe spatial, identity, or kinematic accuracy of estimates and

predictions;
Stealththe degree of secrecy with which the information is gathered

and the measure of intrusion required.

2.4 Collection and Process Planning

The technical collection process requires the development of a detailed collection plan, which begins with the decomposition of the subject target into activities, observables, and then collection requirements. From this plan, technical
collectors are tasked and data is collected and fused (a composition, or reconstruction that is the dual of the decomposition process) to derive the desired intelligence about the target.
This methodology is illustrated in Figure 2.4, which uses an illicit drug
manufacturing and distribution operation example for analysis. The example
follows the common intelligence collection plan that may be established by a
local police force (on a small scale) or by a nation-state intelligence agency to
understand a global drug cartel [16]. Beginning with the hypothesized model of
the targeted drug operation process at the top, the elements of activity that characterize each step in the production and distribution processes are identified. In
this oversimplified example, these activities are the six most observable events
that are time-sequenced in the process model:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Planting of the crops;

Harvesting and processing;
Transportation of bulk products;
Delivery to local distributors;
Local covert storage;
Bank transfers closely related to delivery.

41

The Intelligence Enterprise

Distributor cycle
Collection

Target
process
model

Payment, order

Producer cycle
Bulk
Process, pack

Transport

Street distribution
Delivery

Parcels

Facilities

Processing
Crops

Delivery events
Bank transfers

Local storage
Arrival call

Crop
signature

Account
traffic

Handler call

Observable
phenomena

Ship traffic

Facility

Trucking

Workers
HUMINT B

IMINT a

Collection
tasking

HUMINT A
Data
level:

All-source
analysis
process

Grow,
produce

Launder $,
finance

Transport traffic

Items of
activity

Harvest

IMINT b

SIGINT
OSINT

Distributor data fusion

Producer data fusion

Information level:
Process analysis
Knowledge level:

Retasking

Intelligence report
Organization, process
Capacity, volume
Vulnerabilities, projections

Figure 2.4 Target process modeling, decomposition, collection planning, and composition
(all-source analysis) for a hypothetical surveillance and analysis of a drug
operation.

The observable phenomena from each of these events are identified and
assigned to technical (and, in this case, HUMINT) collectors. The collectors
include OSINT (shipping traffic logs), ground-based video surveillance of shipping depots (IMINT a), airborne IMINTobserving crop activities and potential processing facilities (IMINT b), and SIGINT analysis of electronic transfers
of funds via court-authorized intercepts.
The example illustrates the complementary nature of HUMINT and technical sources, whereby two HUMINT sources are required to guide the

42

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

technical intelligence sources. HUMINT A provides insight into trucking

routes to be used, allowing video surveillance to be focused on most-likely traffic
points. HUMINT B, closely related to crop workers, monitors the movements
of harvesting crews, providing valuable cueing for airborne sensors to locate
crops and processing facilities. The technical sources also complement the
HUMINT sources by providing verification of uncertain cues and hypotheses
for the HUMINT sources to focus attention. The collected data is analyzed for
the existence of evidence and the synchronization of events to verify process
cycles. The analysis process delivers a report that describes the organization, the
process flow, capacity, volume and projected output, and the vulnerabilities that
may be exploited by law enforcement.

2.5 KM in the Intelligence Process

The intelligence process must deal with large volumes of source data, converting
a wide range of text, imagery, video, and other media types into organized information, then performing the analysis-synthesis process to deliver knowledge in
the form of intelligence products. IT is providing increased automation of the
information indexing, discovery, and retrieval (IIDR) functions for intelligence,
especially the exponentially increasing volumes of global open-source data [17].
The functional information flow in an automated or semiautomated facility
(depicted in Figure 2.5) requires digital archiving and analysis to ingest continuous streams of data and manage large volumes of analyzed data. The flow can be
broken into three phases:
1. Capture and compile;
2. Preanalysis;
3. Exploitation (analysis-synthesis).
Capture and compile includes the acquisition of volumes of multimedia
data and the conversion to digital form for storage and analysis. Electronic data
(network sources) are directly formatted, while audio, video, and paper documents must be converted to digital form. Foreign sources may be translated by
natural-language analysis to convert to a common language base.
The preanalysis phase indexes each data item (e.g., article, message, news
segment, image, book or chapter) by assigning a reference for storage; generating
an abstract that summarizes the content of the item and metadata with a
description of the source, time, reliability-confidence, and relationship to other
items (abstracting); and extracting critical descriptors of content that characterize the contents (e.g., keywords) or meaning (deep indexing) of the item for subsequent analysis. Spatial data (e.g., maps, static imagery, or video imagery) must

Foreign
language
translation

Threshold
alerts

Trend
and
change
analysis

Current
trends

Data base
populate

Lexicon
and
thesaurus
extraction

Identify higher level patterns and trends

Statistical
analysis

Clustering
and linking
of related
data

Data
indexing

Analyst
perception

Data
visualization

Collaborative
analysis

Interaction

Topic 3

Topic 2

Topic 1

Modeling
and
simulation

judgement
analysis

Visuals

Interactive
search and Sort,
collate,
retrieval
list and
Structured cluster

Exploitation (analysis)
Understand the meaning of information

Production base

Preanalysis (organize)
Organize and analyze incoming data

Analysis base

Figure 2.5 Intelligence processing and analysis flow includes three distinct phases to develop the production intelligence base.

Foreign
language
data

Image
text
extraction

Maps
images
pictures

Natural
language
processing

Convert
audio
video
signals

News
radio
TV
Messages

Boots
literature
papers

Capture and compile

Translate data to digital form
Convert
paper
documents
to digital

The Intelligence Enterprise

43

44

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

be indexed by spatial context (spatial location) and content (imagery content).

The indexing process applies standard subjects and relationships, maintained in
a lexicon and thesaurus that is extracted from the analysis information base. Following indexing, data items are clustered and linked before entry into the analysis base. As new items are entered, statistical analyses are performed to monitor
trends or events against predefined templates that may alert analysts or cue their
focus of attention in the next phase of processing. For example, if analysts are
interested in relationships between nations A and B, all reports may be scored
for a tension factor between those nations, and alerts may be generated on the
basis of frequency, score intensity, and sources of incoming data items.
The third phase of processing, exploitation, presents data to the
HUMINT analyst for examination using visualization tools to bring to focus
the most meaningful and relevant data items and their inter-relationships. The
categories of automated tools that are applied to the analysis information base
include the following tools [18]:
Interactive search and retrieval tools permit analysts to search by con-

tent, topic, or related topics using the lexicon and thesaurus subjects.
Structured judgment analysis tools provide visual methods to link data,

synthesize deductive logic structures, and visualize complex relationships between data sets. These tools enable the analyst to hypothesize,
explore, and discover subtle patterns and relationships in large data volumesknowledge that can be discerned only when all sources are
viewed in a common context.
Modeling and simulation tools model hypothetical activities, allowing

modeled (expected) behavior to be compared to evidence for validation

or projection of operations under scrutiny.
Collaborative analysis tools permit multiple analysts in related subject

areas, for example, to collaborate on the analysis of a common subject.

Data visualization tools present synthetic views of data and information

to the analyst to permit patterns to be examined and discovered.

2.6 Intelligence Process Assessments and Reengineering

The U.S. IC has been assessed throughout and since the close of the Cold War
to study the changes necessary to adapt to advanced collection capabilities,
changing security threats, and the impact of global information connectivity
and information availability. Published results of these studies provide insight
into the areas of intelligence effectiveness that may be enhanced by organizing
the community into a KM enterprise. We focus here on the technical aspects of

The Intelligence Enterprise

45

the changes rather than the organizational aspects recommended in numerous

studies.
2.6.1

Balancing Collection and Analysis

Intelligence assessments have evaluated the utility of intelligence products and

the balance of investment between collection and analysis. One internal CIA
study conducted in 1971 recognized that the early advances in space-based collection must be complemented by analytic methods to gain an overall improvement in the utility of intelligence:
During the past decade alone, spectacular increases in collection activities have occurred. Where satellite photography is concerned, the increases
have led to greatly improved knowledge about military capabilities of
potential enemies. But expanded collection by means other than photography has not brought about a similar reduction in our uncertainly about the
intentions, doctrines, and political processes of foreign powers. Instead, the
growth in raw intelligenceand here satellite photography must be
includedhas come to serve as a proxy for improved analysis, inference,
and estimation [19].

The U.S. Congress, monitoring the relative contribution of collection and

analysis, has commented on the balance of investments in each of these areas. In
1996 the House Intelligence Committee noted its desire to focus more attention on the downstream activities of processing, exploitation and dissemination
of intelligence data and analysis. The Committee strongly registered its conviction that collection costs must be reduced over the long-term and funding
increased for numerous processing activities. Moreover, we remain very concerned about the Communitys ability to utilize the anticipated volume of information from planned collection increases [20].
2.6.2

Focusing Analysis-Synthesis

An independent study [21] of U.S. intelligence recommended a need for intelligence to sharpen the focus of analysis-synthesis resources to deal with the
increased demands by policymakers for knowledge on a wider ranges of topics,
the growing breadth of secret and open sources, and the availability of commercial open-source analysis. The study offered several recommendations for
analysis-synthesis [22]:
Retain the focus of critical national and military intelligence analytic

resources on the most crucial national security threats and hard targets

46

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

whose understanding is only amenable to secret sources, methods, and

analyses.
Exploit the growing availability of university experts, think tanks, and

commercial (private-sector open-source) analysis, developing means of

collaborating with these resources.
Apply competitive analysis-synthesisduplicative analysis to ensure

independent perspectives and judgmentsfor only the most critical or

ambiguous targets.
2.6.3

Balancing Analysis-Synthesis Processes

One assessment conducted by the U.S. Congress reviewed the role of analysissynthesis and the changes necessary for the community to reengineer its
processes from a Cold War to a global awareness focus. Emphasizing the crucial
role of analysis, the commission noted:
The raison detre of the Intelligence Community is to provide accurate and
meaningful information and insights to consumers in a form they can use at
the time they need them. If intelligence fails to do that, it fails altogether.
The expense and effort invested in collecting and processing the information have gone for naught [23].

The commission identified the KM challenges faced by large-scale intelligence

analysis that encompasses global issues and serves a broad customer base. The
commissions major observations provide insight into the emphasis on peoplerelated (rather than technology-related) issues that must be addressed for intelligence to be valued by the policy and decision makers that consume intelligence:
1. Build relationships. A concerted effort is required to build relationships
between intelligence producers and the policymakers they serve.
Producer-consumer relationships range from assignment of intelligence liaison officers with consumers (the closest relationship and
greatest consumer satisfaction) to holding regular briefings, or simple
producer-subscriber relationships for general broadcast intelligence.
Across this range of relationships, four functions must be accomplished for intelligence to be useful:
Analysts must understand the consumers level of knowledge and
the issues they face.
Intelligence producers must focus on issues of significance and make
information available when needed, in a format appropriate to the
unique consumer.

The Intelligence Enterprise

47

Consumers must develop an understanding of what intelligence can

andequally importantcannot do.
Both consumer and producer must be actively engaged in a dialogue
with analysts to refine intelligence support to decision making.
2. Increase and expand the scope of analytic expertise. The expertise of the
individual analysts and the community of analysts must be maintained
at the highest level possible. This expertise is in two areas: domain, or
region of focus (e.g., nation, group, weapon systems, or economics),
and analytic-synthetic tradecraft. Expertise development should
include the use of outside experts, travel to countries of study, sponsorship of topical conferences, and other means (e.g., simulations and
peer reviews).
3. Enhance use of open sources. Open-source data (i.e., publicly available
data in electronic and broadcast media, journals, periodicals, and commercial databases) should be used to complement (cue, provide context, and in some cases, validate) special, or closed, sources. The
analyst must have command of all available information and the
means to access and analyze both categories of data in complementary
fashion.
4. Make analysis available to users. Intelligence producers must increasingly apply dynamic, electronic distribution means to reach consumers
for collaboration and distribution. The DoD Joint Deployable Intelligence Support System (JDISS) and IC Intelink were cited as
early examples of networked intelligence collaboration and distribution systems.
5. Enhance strategic estimates. The United States produces national intelligence estimates (NIEs) that provide authoritative statements and forecast judgments about the likely course of events in foreign countries
and their implications for the United States. These estimates must be
enhanced to provide timely, objective, and relevant data on a wider
range of issues that threaten security.
6. Broaden the analytic focus. As the national security threat envelope has
broadened (beyond the narrower focus of the Cold War), a more
open, collaborative environment is required to enable intelligence
analysts to interact with policy departments, think tanks, and academia to analyze, debate, and assess these new world issues.
In the half decade since the commission recommendations were published, the United States has implemented many of the recommendations. Several examples of intelligence reengineering include:

48

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Producer-consumer relationships. The introduction of collaborative net-

works, tools, and soft-copy products has permitted less formal interaction and more frequent exchange between consumers and producers.
This allows intelligence producers to better understand consumer needs
and decision criteria. This has enabled the production of more focused,
timely intelligence.
Analytic expertise. Enhancements in analytic training and the increased

use of computer-based analytic tools and even simulation are providing

greater experienceand therefore expertiseto human analysts.
Open source. Increased use of open-source information via commercial

providers (e.g., Lexis Nexis subscription clipping services to tailored

topics) and the Internet has provided an effective source for obtaining
background information. This enables special sources and methods to
focus on validation of critical implications.
Analysis availability. The use of networks continues to expand for both

collaboration (between analysts and consumers as well as between

analysts) and distribution. This collaboration was enabled by the introduction and expansion of the classified Internet (Intelink) that interconnects the IC [24].
Broadened focus. The community has coordinated open panels to dis-

cuss, debate, and collaboratively analyze and openly publish strategic

perspectives of future security issues. One example is the Global
Trends 2015 report that resulted from a long-term collaboration with
academia, the private sector, and topic area experts [25].

2.7 The Future of Intelligence

Since the end of the Cold War, the effects of technology and globalization have
caused numerous reassessments of the role and structure of national and military
intelligence organizations. The changing world and the technology that is available to nations and individuals has changed the threats to nation-states. Both
have empowered nonstate actors to carry out acts of massive physical and psychological destruction capable of adversely impacting political, economic, and
even global stability. The U.S. DCI enumerated the new kinds of threats of the
twenty-first century that keep [him] awake at night [26]:
International terrorism that combines organized crime and ideological

rationale for targeting others with weapons of mass destruction;

The channels for and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and

their delivery systems;

The Intelligence Enterprise

49

Rogue nation-states that pose threats to their neighbors, regions, and

the United States;

Information warfare threats to governments and supporting private

infrastructures;
Traditional concerns regarding fragile states in volatile regions, failing

nations, and nation-states in transition.

This change in the threats has caused national intelligence organizations
worldwide to consider the implications for changes in the intelligence process.
At a 2001 conference of national intelligence leaders in Priverno, Italy [27], the
shifts in perspective were discussed, and the need for evolutionary or revolutionary approaches was acknowledged by U.S., European, and Russian speakers.
Summarizing the conference, U.S. intelligence officer Carole Dumaine noted
three critical areas of change [28]:
1. Global intelligence cooperation. National intelligence organizations
must collaborate and include academic- and business-sector contributors to provide true in-depth global background intelligence.
2. Open-source intelligence. Organizations must move beyond the primary focus on secret sources and methods and develop means to
embrace and integrate open sources into analysis.
3. New analysis. Analytic communities must create new cultures of collaboration and reflection that will enable them to understand nonstate threats.
The two primary dimensions of future threats to national (and global)
security include the source (from nation-state actors to no-state actors) and the
threat-generating mechanism (continuous results of rational nation-state behaviors to discontinuities in complex world affairs). These threat changes and the
contrast in intelligence are summarized in Table 2.4 [28]. Notice that these
changes coincide with the transition from sensor-centric to network- and
knowledge-centric approaches to intelligence introduced in Chapter 1.
These changes, similar to those faced by the business community, are
imposed by a rapidly changing global environment that involves the complex
interaction of many actors. The potential for surprise is great in such complexity, and intelligence in the nation-state and in business must be agile, anticipatory, and adaptive to this rapidly changing world. Within the U.S. IC, the
alternatives between evolution and revolution in approaches to intelligence
remain a critical subject of serious debate [29]. In either approach, intelligence
must focus on knowledge creation in an enterprise environment that is prepared

50

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 2.4
The Changing Intelligence Environment
Traditional Focus
Threat Dimensions

Characteristics of
Intelligence

New Focus

A few large powerful nation-state Many diverse and empowered

threats
nonstate actor threats
Threats caused by continuity of
world affairs

Threats resulting from

discontinuities in world affairs

Centralized Intelligence

Distributed Intelligence

Focus on collection and secret

sources

Focus on analysis, collaboration

with others, open and closed
sources

Targets are known, continuous,

predictable

Targets are unknown,

discontinuous, and unpredictable

Intelligence management on
tactical, operational, measurable
objectives

Intelligence management on
strategic, anticipatory, adaptive
objectives

Hierarchical analysis organization Networked analysis organization

and control
and collaboration
Focus on intelligence as a product Focus on intelligence as a service

to rapidly reinvent itself to adapt to emergent threats. The U.S. National Strategy for Homeland Security recognizes the need for changes and has recommended
significant policy, organizational, and infrastructure changes in U.S. intelligence
to respond to terrorist threats. The Strategy asserts, The United States will take
every necessary action to avoid being surprised by another terrorist attack. We
must have an intelligence and warning system that can detect terrorist activity
before it manifests itself in an attack so that proper preemptive, preventive, and
protective action can be taken [30]. The following chapters introduce the key
KM practices, systems, and technologies that will enable the kind of intelligence
organizational, operational, and infrastructure capacity and agility necessary to
achieve such objectives.

The Intelligence Enterprise

51

Endnotes
[1] From definition (2) in Joint Pub 1-02.
[2] Executive Order 12333 provides guidelines for the conduct of intelligence activities. The
U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence provides copies of the major laws at its Web
site: http://intelligence.senate.gov/statutes.htm.
[3] The DCI Strategic Intent is a 1998 classified statement of mission and vision for the IC
to provide direction for transformation to a collaborative enterprise with effective application of people, resources, and IT.
[4] The intelligence cycle follows the description of the U.S. CIA; note that the U.S. DoD
Joint Pub 2-0 defines six steps in the cycle by including: 1) planning and direction, 2) collection, 3) processing and exploitation, 4) analysis and production, 5) dissemination and
integration, and 6) evaluation and feedback. See Joint Publication 2-0 Doctrine for Intelligence Support to Joint Operations, March 2000, in particular Chapter 2The Intelligence
Cycle, accessed on-line on October 30, 2002 at http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/
new_pubs/jp2_0.pdf.
[5] By fragile, we refer to the potential for loss of value if revealed to the subject of surveillance. Even the most sophisticated sources and methods may often be easily defeated by
denial or deception if revealed.
[6] Shulsky, A. N., Silent WarfareUnderstanding the World of Intelligence, second edition,
Washington D.C.: Braseys, pp. 6369.
[7] Interview with Dr. Joseph Markowitz in Open Source Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 815.
[8] Herman, M., Intelligence Power in Peace and War, Cambridge England, Cambridge University Press, 1996, Chapter 4: Collection Sources.
[9] Computer network operations are comprised of an offensive component (computer network attack), a defensive component (computer network defense), and the intelligence
function (computer network exploitation).
[10] U.S. Congressional Commission, Preparing for the 21st Century: An Appraisal of Intelligence, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, March 1, 1996.
[11] Making Intelligence Smarter, The Future of U.S. Intelligence, Independent Task Force of
Council on Foreign Relations, New York, 1996.
[12] Strategic Assessment: 1996, National Defense University, Washington D.C., 1996, Chapter
6: Intelligence.
[13] Fuld, L. M., The New Competitor Intelligence: The Complete Resource for Finding, Analyzing, and Using Information About Your Competitors, New York: John Wiley and Sons,
1994.
[14] Attachment 3: Sources of Intelligence, A.3.1 Human Intelligence (HUMINT), in USAF
Intelligence Targeting Guide, AF Pamphlet 14-210, February 1, 1998.
[15] Ameringer, C. D., U.S. Foreign Intelligence, Lexington MA: Lexington Books, 1990,
pp. 1314.

52

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

[16] Holden-Rhodes, J. F., Sharing the Secrets: Open Source Intelligence and the War on Drugs,
Westport, CT: Praeger, 1997.
[17] Preparing US Intelligence for the Information Age, Director Central Intelligence, STIC
95-003, June 1995.
[18] Part II Analytic Tools To Cope with the Open Source Explosion, in Preparing US Intelligence for the Information Age, Director Central Intelligence, STIC 93-007, December
1993, and Part III, Analytic Tools Recommendations for Open Source Information, in
Preparing US Intelligence for the Information Age, Director Central Intelligence, STIC
95-002, April 1995.
[19] A Review of the Intelligence Community, F-1992-02088 CIA, March 19, 1971, sanitized
and downgraded from top secret for public release to The Princeton Collection, May
1998, p. 3.
[20] Committee Findings and Recommendations, U.S. Congress House Intelligence Committee FY-1996 Markup Report, June 1995.
[21] Hedley, Jr., J. H., Checklist for the Future of Intelligence, Institute for the Study of
Diplomacy, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., 1995. See also IC21The Intelligence Community in the 21st Century, U.S. House of Representatives, Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, March 4, 1996.
[22] Hedley, Jr., J. H., Checklist for the Future of Intelligence, Institute for the Study of
Diplomacy, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., 1995. See the section entitled,
Sharpening the Focus, accessed on-line at http://sfswww.Georgetown.edu/sfs/programs/isd/files/intell.htm.
[23] Improving Intelligence Analysis, in Preparing for the 21st Century: An Appraisal of U.S.
Intelligence, U.S. Congress Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the U.S. Intelligence Community, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, March 1, 1996.
[24] Martin, F. T., Top Secret Intranet: How U.S. Intelligence Built IntelinkThe Worlds Largest, Most Secure Network, New York: Prentice Hall, 1998.
[25] Global Trends 2015: A Dialogue about the Future with Non-Government Experts, Washington D.C.: National Intelligence Council, December 2000.
[26] Tenet, G. J., The CIA and Security Challenges of the New Century, International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, Vol. 13, No. 2, Summer 2000, p. 138.
[27] Conference on Intelligence in the 21st Century, Priverno, Italy, February 1416, 2001,
accessed on-line at http://future-intel.it/programma.html.
[28] Dumaine, C., Intelligence in the New Millennium, CIA Directorate of Intelligence,
AFCEA Spring Intelligence Conference, April 18, 2001. Table 2.4 is based on this unclassified paper.
[29] For representative viewpoints, see: Medina, C. A., What to Do When Traditional Models Fail, and Ward, S. R., Evolution Beats Revolution, in Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 46,
No. 3, Washington D.C.: CIA, 2002 Unclassified Edition, accessed on-line on October 3,
2002 at http://www.cia.gov/csi/studies/vol46no3/index.html.

The Intelligence Enterprise

53

[30] The White House, The National Strategy for Homeland Security, U.S. Office of Homeland
Security, July 2002, p. viii. See also Intelligence and Warning, pp. 1519, for specific
organizational, infrastructure, and policy changes.

3
Knowledge Management Processes
KM is the term adopted by the business community in the mid 1990s to
describe a wide range of strategies, processes, and disciplines that formalize
and integrate an enterprises approach to organizing and applying its knowledge assets. Some have wondered what is truly new about the concept of managing knowledge. Indeed, many pure knowledge-based organizations
(insurance companies, consultancies, financial management firms, futures
brokers, and of course, intelligence organizations) have long managed
knowledgeand such management processes have been the core competency
of the business.
Several factors distinguish the new strategies that we develop in this
chapterand each of these has key implications for both public and private
intelligence enterprises. The scope of knowledge required by intelligence
organizations has increased in depth and breadth as commerce has networked
global markets and world threats have diversified from a monolithic Cold War
posture. The global reach of networked information, both open and closed
sources, has produced a deluge of datarequiring computing support to help
human analysts sort, locate, and combine specific data elements to provide
rapid, accurate responses to complex problems. Finally, the formality of the
KM field has grown significantly in the past decadedeveloping theories for
valuing, auditing, and managing knowledge as an intellectual asset; strategies
for creating, reusing, and leveraging the knowledge asset; processes for conducting collaborative transactions of knowledge among humans and
machines; and network information technologies for enabling and accelerating
these processes.

55

56

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

3.1 Knowledge and Its Management

In the first chapter, we introduced the growing importance of knowledge as the
central resource for competition in both the nation-state and in business.
Because of this, the importance of intelligence organizations providing strategic
knowledge to public- and private-sector decision makers is paramount. We can
summarize this importance of intelligence to the public or private enterprise in
three assertions about knowledge.
First, knowledge has become the central asset or resource for competitive
advantage. In the Tofflers third wave, knowledge displaces capital, labor, and
natural resources as the principal reserve of the enterprise. This is true in wealth
creation by businesses and in national security and the conduct of warfare for
nation-states.
Second, it is asserted that the management of the knowledge resource is
more complex than other resources. The valuation and auditing of knowledge is
unlike physical labor or natural resources; knowledge is not measured by head
counts or capital valuation of physical inventories, facilities, or raw materials
(like stockpiles of iron ore, fields of cotton, or petroleum reserves). New methods of quantifying the abstract entity of knowledgeboth in people and in
explicit representationsare required. In order to accomplish this complex
challenge, knowledge managers must develop means to capture, store, create,
and exchange knowledge, while dealing with the sensitive security issues of
knowing when to protect and when to share (the trade-off between the restrictive need to know and the collaborative need to share).
The third assertion about knowledge is that its management therefore
requires a delicate coordination of people, processes, and supporting technologies to achieve the enterprise objectives of security, stability, and growth in a
dynamic world:
People. KM must deal with cultures and organizational structures that

enable and reward the growth of knowledge through collaborative

learning, reasoning, and problem solving.
Processes. KM must also provide an environment for exchange, discov-

ery, retention, use, and reuse of knowledge across the organization.

Technologies. Finally, IT must be applied to enable the people and

processes to leverage the intellectual asset of actionable knowledge.

Definitions of KM as a formal activity are as diverse as its practitioners
(Table 3.1), but all have in common the following general characteristics:

Knowledge Management Processes

57

Table 3.1
Representative Diversity of KM Definitions
A Sampling of KM Definitions
A conscious strategy of getting the right knowledge to the right people at the right time and helping
people share and put information into action in ways that strive to improve organizational
performance. ODell and Grayson [1]
an emerging discipline that stresses a formalized, integrated approach to managing an
enterprises tangible and intangible information assets. ...KM is a coordinated attempt to tap the
unrealized potential for sharing and reuse that lies in an enterprises collective consciousness.
The Gartner Group [2]
The leveraging of intellectual capital to increase the organizations capacity for collective action
which creates business value.Motorola University [2]
The notion of putting the combined knowledge of the firm at an employees fingertips is the
essence of knowledge management. The basic goal: to take key pieces of data from various sources,
such as groupware, databases, applications and peoples minds, and make them readily available to
users in an organized, logical form that represents knowledge. Sharon Watson [3]
A systematic process for acquiring, creating, integrating, sharing, and using information, insights,
and experiences, to achieve organizational goals. U.S. DoD Rapid Improvement Team for
Acquisition KM [2]
A systematic process for acquiring, creating, integrating, sharing, and using information, insights,
and experiences, to make the right business decisions and achieve organizational goals.
Objectives to:
Facilitate natural communities of practice
Develop an architecture for systematic and integrated knowledge sharing both within and across
communities of practice
Convert knowledge into a usable tool for the acquisition professional,
Provide a disciplined and organized methodology for constant improvement and development of
knowledge domains
All with the goal of encouraging innovation and producing successful results. U.S. Marine Corps
System Commands Rapid Improvement KM Team [2]
Create a capability where the acquisition worker can locate acquisition knowledge on demand, from
any source, at any time, from any location with a high degree of confidence that information is
accurate and relevant. U.S. Navys Acquisition Reform Office Vision for Acquisition Knowledge
Management Systems [2]

KM is based on a strategy that accepts knowledge as the central resource

to achieve business goals and that knowledgein the minds of its people, embedded in processes, and in explicit representations in knowledge basesmust be regarded as an intellectual form of capital to be
leveraged. Organizational values must be coupled with the growth of
this capital.

58

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

KM involves a process that, like a supply chain, moves from raw materials

(data) toward knowledge products. The process is involved in acquiring

(data), sorting, filtering, indexing and organizing (information), reasoning (analyzing and synthesizing) to create knowledge, and finally disseminating that knowledge to users. But this supply chain is not a
stovepiped process (a narrow, vertically integrated and compartmented chain); it horizontally integrates the organization, allowing collaboration across all areas of the enterprise where knowledge sharing
provides benefits.
KM embraces a discipline and cultural values that accept the necessity for
sharing purpose, values, and knowledge across the enterprise to leverage
group diversity and perspectives to promote learning and intellectual
problem solving. Collaboration, fully engaged communication and
cognition, is required to network the full intellectual power of the
enterprise.
The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has adopted the following
people-oriented definition of KM to guide its own intelligence efforts:
Strategies and processes to create, identify, capture, organize and leverage
vital skills, information and knowledge to enable people to best accomplish
the organizational mission [4].

The U.S. DoD has recognized the sharp contrast in the industrial and
knowledge age models of national security (Table 3.2) and the change in perspective from emphasizing weapons and sensor platforms in hierarchies to an
emphasis on a knowledge-based warfighting enterprise operating in networks.
The network-centric model recognizes the enterprise comprised of human
(knowledge) resources, which requires shared knowledge creation, sharing, and
viewing [5]. The DoD has further recognized that KM is the critical enabler for
information superiority:
The ability to achieve and sustain information superiority depends, in large
measure, upon the creation and maintenance of reusable knowledge bases;
the ability to attract, train, and retain a highly skilled work force proficient
in utilizing these knowledge bases; and the development of core business
processes designed to capitalize upon these assets [6].

The processes by which abstract knowledge results in tangible effects can

be examined as a net of influences that effect knowledge creation and decision
making (Figure 3.1). Of course, all competing enterprises apply knowledge; here
we are seeking to understand how knowledge contributes the deciding marginal

Knowledge Management Processes

59

Table 3.2
DoD Contrast in National Security Business Model Perspectives
Industrial Age Model
(Platform Centric)

Knowledge Age Model

(Network Centric)

Producer valued

Customer valued

People viewed as costs

People viewed as assets

Individual focus

Enterprise focus

Function-based operations

Process-based operations

Isolated activities within functions

Integrated processes facilitate

sharing

Local view

Global view

Reducing operations to decrease

cost and increase profits

Systems-thinking approach to
increasing productivity and profits

Individual responsibility

Shared responsibility

Scarce resources

Infinite resources (human,

structural, and intellectual)

Span of control

Span of influence

benefit to an organization. The flow of influences in the figure illustrates the

essential contributions of shared knowledge.
1. Dynamic knowledge. At the central core is a comprehensive and
dynamic understanding of the complex (business or national security)
situation that confronts the enterprise. This understanding accumulates over time to provide a breadth and depth of shared experience, or
organizational memory.
2. Critical and systems thinking. Situational understanding and accumulated experience enables dynamic modeling to provide forecasts from
current situationssupporting the selection of adapting organizational goals. Comprehensive understanding (perception) and thorough evaluation of optional courses of actions (judgment) enhance
decision making. As experience accumulates and situational knowledge is refined, critical explicit thinking and tacit sensemaking
about current situations and the consequences of future actions is
enhanced.
3. Shared operating picture. Shared pictures of the current situation (common operating picture), past situations and outcomes (experience),
and forecasts of future outcomes enable the analytic workforce to collaborate and self-synchronize in problem solving.

60

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Impact on actions

Knowledge influence flow

Operations

Establishes a
framework for

Decision making

More complete
decision making
judgment

Better selection
of goals
Provides Enables
a basis for dynamic
modeling

Enables
estimates

Understand
data-to-situation
relationships
Provides
necessary and
sufficient data
Knowledge creating

Tailors

Sets
context for

Accumulates to
More complete
understanding
of situation

Forecasts of
outcomes and
consequences
Enables
predictions

Comprehensive
experience, learning

Optimum, proactive
decisions
Effects and
outcome-based
decisions
Rapid decision
response time

Guides
context of
interpretation

Shared
operating
picture
Enables
agile focus of
attention to
Focus on
most critical
issues

Self-synchronizing,
adaptive and
responsive community
Situation awareness
Exchange of
experience and
group learning
Organizational agility

Guides
search and
acquisition
Acquire most
critical data

Figure 3.1 The influence flow of knowledge to action.

4. Focused knowledge creation. Underlying these functions is a focused

data and experience acquisition process that tracks and adapts as the
business or security situation changes.
While Figure 3.1 maps the general influences of knowledge on goal setting,
judgment, and decision making in an enterprise, an understanding of how
knowledge influences a particular enterprise in a particular environment is necessary to develop a KM strategy. Such a strategy seeks to enhance organizational
knowledge of these four basic areas as well as information security to protect the
intellectual assets. Examples of business and military applications of such a fivepart strategy are summarized in Table 3.3. Note that the first four strategy areas
correspond to the four contributions of knowledge discussed in the previous
paragraph.

61

Knowledge Management Processes

Table 3.3
Knowledge-Enhancement Strategy Components

Strategy
1. Dynamic
Knowledge
remain aware of
the situation and
acquire the right
data

Knowledge
Enhancements

Business Intelligence
Enhancements

Military Intelligence
Enhancements

Improve the quantity,

quality, accuracy, rate
of update, and range of
data types to achieve
full understanding of
processes to permit
precision control

Statistical sampling

Intelligence data
warehousing

Total quality management

(TQM)Taguchi analysis
methods
Sales (demand) and
supply chain (supply) data
warehousing
Market trend analysis

Data fusion to detect

known targets, threats
Data mining to discover
relationships, changes,
abnormal patterns of
behavior

2. Support
Critical,
Systems
Thinking
provide aids to
perception and
decision

Support exploratory
thinking of alternative
hypotheses, future
courses of action
(options assessment),
and consequences

Market dynamics modeling Multiple competing

hypothesis analysis
Supply and demand

3. Shared
Operating
Picture
distribute and
apply the
knowledge
effectively

Provide timely and

widely distributed
information to all
process participants
in appropriate formats
with appropriate
content

Electronic mail

4. Focus
Knowledge
Creation
optimize the
information
supply chain

Refine the process of

converting data to
actionable knowledge:
speed, accuracy,
uncertainty
management, and
decision support

Data warehousing

5. Protection
of Intellectual
Capital
ensure the
protection of
information

Protect the source

data, information
extraction, warehousing, and distribution
from corruption,
exploitation
(eavesdropping), and
deterioration

Industrial information
security (INFOSEC)

Military INFOSEC

Database backup

Key distribution

Commercial encryption

Encryption

Internet security
(firewalls, encryption)

Intrusion detection

forecasting aids
Cost-risk analysis

Multiple course of action

(COA) assessment
Commander decision aids

Collaborative electronic
interaction tools
Multiple-access business
database

Data fusion
Data mining
Statistical process
control

E-mail security

Intelligence distribution
(intelligence links)
Collaborative decision
making aids
Real-time common
operating picture (COP)
Sensor system refinements
in coverage, detection,
precision, revisit rate, and
dwell
Multisensor coverage

Operational security

62

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

3.2 Tacit and Explicit Knowledge

In the first chapter, we offered a brief introduction to hierarchical taxonomy of
data, information, and knowledge, but here we must refine our understanding
of knowledge and its construct before we delve into the details of management
processes. In particular, the earlier definition was a very general process definition, neither distinguishing different kinds of knowledge nor making distinctions between two views of knowledgeas an object or as a process (action).
In this chapter, we distinguish between the knowledge-creation processes
within the knowledge-creating hierarchy (Figure 3.2). The hierarchy illustrates
the distinctions we make, in common terminology, between explicit (represented and defined) processes and those that are implicit (or tacit; knowledge
processes that are unconscious and not readily articulated).

Level of abstraction

Process flow

Application
Wisdom
Knowledge effectively The process of applying knowledge
to effectively implement a plan or
applied
action to achieve a desired goal or
end state
Knowledge
Information
understood and
explained
Understanding
The process of comprehending
static and dynamic relationships
between sets of information and
Information
the process of synthesizing models
Data placed in
to explain those relationships
context, indexed,
and organized

Data
Measurements and
observations

Physical
process

Organization
The process of aligning,
transforming, filtering, sorting,
indexing, and storing data elements
in relational context for subsequent
retrieval

Observation
The process of collecting, tagging,
and dispatching quantitative
measurements to appropriate
processing

Figure 3.2 The knowledge-creating hierarchy.

Explicit
processes

Implicit
processes

Leadership
Goal setting
Judgment: decision making
Reasoning; inference
Induction
Deduction
Abduction

Sensemaking
Valuation
Meaning
creation
Uncertainty management
Alignment
Correlation and
association
Extrapolation
Deconflicting
Preprocessing
Calibration
Filtering
Indexing

Sensing
Collection
Measurement
Message parsing
Data acquisition

Ideation
Metaphor
creation
Experience
matching

Orienting
Sorting

Observing
Experiencing

Knowledge Management Processes

3.2.1

63

Knowledge As Object

The most common understanding of knowledge is as an objectthe accumulation of things perceived, discovered, or learned. From this perspective, data (raw
measurements or observations), information (data organized, related, and placed
in context), and knowledge (information explained and the underlying processes
understood) are also objects. The KM field has adopted two basic distinctions in
the categories of knowledge as object [7]:
1. Explicit knowledge. This is the better known form of knowledge that
has been captured and codified in abstract human symbols (e.g.,
mathematics, logical propositions, and structured and natural language). It is tangible, external (to the human), and logical. This documented knowledge can be stored, repeated, and taught by books
because it is impersonal and universal. It is the basis for logical reasoning and, most important of all, it enables knowledge to be communicated electronically and reasoning processes to be automated. The
development of language, logic, and mathematics has enabled scientific data to be captured, human thought to be recorded, and each to
be logically analyzed external to mind. Newspapers and novels,
HTML content, scientific data, and engineering data all convey
explicit knowledge that can be stored, retrieved, and analyzed.
2. Tacit knowledge. This is the intangible, internal, experiential, and intuitive knowledge that is undocumented and maintained in the human
mind. It is a personal knowledge contained in human experience. Philosopher Michael Polanyi pioneered the description of such knowledge
in the 1950s, considering the results of Gestalt psychology and the
philosophic conflict between moral conscience and scientific skepticism. In The Tacit Dimension [8], he describes a kind of knowledge that
we cannot tell. This tacit knowledge is characterized by intangible factors such as perception, belief, values, skill, gut feel, intuition,
know-how, or instinct; this knowledge is unconsciously internalized
and cannot be explicitly described (or captured) without effort. Polanyi
described perception as the most impoverished form of tacit knowing [9], and he asserted that there exist higher creative forms of tacit
knowing. This kind of knowledge forms the bridge between perception
and the higher forms of (conscious) reasoning that we can tell about
more easily. This is the personal knowledge that is learned by experience, honed as a skill, and often applied subconsciously.
These two forms can be contrasted (Table 3.4) as two means of knowledge
representations as well as two modes of human thought. Some have described

64

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 3.4
The Bases of Explicit and Tacit Knowledge

Knowledge Constructs
and Modes of Human
Thought

Explict

Tacit

Explicit knowledge represented

as an abstraction, context free:

Tacit knowledge expressed as a

narrative, rich in context:

Mathematical models and logical Narrative interactive exchanges

(context-free) constructs
between storyteller and listener
Objective and independent of
listener context

Social constructs and experiential

context
Subjective and dependent upon
listener experience

Physical science; the behavior

and interaction of mass and
energy in the material world

Metaphysics; the behavior and

interaction of people, ideas, and
minds

Historical Basis

Descartes (Discourse on Method)

(the physical sciences)

Pascal (Penses)
(metaphysics/the mind)

Knowledge Exchange

Objective symbology conveys

explicit knowledge

Emotional narration conveys tacit

knowledge

IT presents objective knowledge

in the form of documents,
equations, and numerical and
graphical visualizations

Humans (knowledge artists or storytellers) describe concepts and

perceptions from their own
perspective to life to an idea or
concept

Protected by information security

(INFOSEC) measures

Protected by operational security

(OPSEC) measures

Knowledge Description

Knowledge Presenter

Protection

explicit knowledge as know-what and tacit as know-how, distinguishing the

ability of tacit knowledge to put explicit knowledge into practice.
The science and mathematics of the Enlightenment Age emerged from the
rich development of explicit representations of the physical world. Ren Descartes Discourse on Method is often cited as representative of the basis for this
approach to understanding the world. Descartes reductionist problem-solving
method proceeded by stating assumptions, breaking the problem into component parts, working on understanding relationships and functions by moving
from simple to more complex, and finally integrating the solution into a whole
by a logical chain of reasoning [10]. The Cartesian approach seeks to describe
the physical world free of context, objectively and in pure abstraction. But tacit
knowledge is not of the physical sciences; it is of the mind and the interaction of
minds. For this reason, tacit knowledge is context rich and subjective. In contrast to explicit knowledge of the physical sciences (physics), tacit knowledge, a
realm of the mind, is understood in the realm of metaphysics. Blas Pascal, a

Knowledge Management Processes

65

contemporary of Descartes, is likewise cited as emphasizing the tacit knowledge

of the human heart. In his Penses, Pascal wrote, The heart has its reasons,
which reason does not know [11], emphasizing the kind of knowledge that is
different than context-free logic.
Explicit knowledge is better understood and represented than knowledge
of the tacit kind. Progress in the cognitive sciences and has increased our insight
into the capture and representation of this knowledge and the processes underlying its creation, but much has yet to be learned. Logician Keith Devlin has contrasted these perspectives of knowledge, appealing for new analytic techniques to
understand the tacit kind of knowledge. He concludes:
Though the conclusion I eventually draw is that the existing techniques of
logic and mathematicsindeed of the traditional scientific method in generalare inadequate for understanding the human mind, I do not see this
as a cause for dismay. Rather, I rejoice to be living in an age when a major
intellectual challenge is forcing us to develop new analytic techniquesmathematicians and scientists have come to realize that the truly
difficult problems of the information age are not technological; rather they
concern ourselveswhat it is to think, to reason, and to engage in conversation. Meeting these challenges will almost certainly require new kinds of
scienceor, if you want to reserve the title science for the traditions
begun by Galileo, Bacon, and Descartesnew analytic techniques, new
conceptual tools with which to analyze and understand the workings of the
human mind [12].

Devlin contrasts the current and promising new analytic techniques for
explicit and tacit representations of both mind and knowledge (Table 3.5). An
understanding of the relationship between knowledge and mind is of particular
interest to the intelligence discipline, because these analytic techniques will serve
two purposes:
1. Mind as knowledge manager. Understanding of the processes of
exchanging tacit and explicit knowledge will, of course, aid the KM
process itself. This understanding will enhance the efficient exchange
of knowledge between mind and computerbetween internal and
external representations.
2. Mind as intelligence target. Understanding of the complete human
processes of reasoning (explicit logical thought) and sensemaking
(tacit, emotional insight) will enable more representative modeling of
adversarial thought processes. This is required to understand the
human mind as an intelligence targetrepresenting perceptions,
beliefs, motives, and intentions [13]. (In Section 5.5, intelligence
applications of mental models are described more fully.)

66

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 3.5
Representations and Approaches to Understanding Mind

Approaches to
Understand the
Human Mind

Basis of
Approach

Mind

Cartesian Emphasis
(Explicit Representation)

Pascals Emphasis
(Tacit Representation)

Descartes (Discourse on Method,

1637)1. accept only things clear
and without doubt by reasoning,
2. reduce problem to component
parts, 3. reason from simple to
complex, 4. check and verify

Pascal (Thoughts, Penses,

1600)The heart has its reasons that
reason does not knowhuman
understanding includes influences of
both the mind (logic, mathematics) and
the heart (intuition, judgment)

Reductionism

Holism

Investigation of the mind as something that is objective, dispassionate,

and rational, and study of content
that is independent of context
(context free)

Investigation of the mind is subjective

and includes representation of:
Meaningcontent in context, cultural
knowledge
Structure of thought or conversation

Consciousness explained as a dualism Consciousness explained as monism;

of mind distinct from body; reasoning mind and body are one, with integration
distinct from feeling
of reasoning and feeling

Knowledge

Explicit (or external to mind)

representation of knowledge

Tacit (or internal to mind) representation

of knowledge

Elements of
Approach to
Analysis

1. Cognitionstudy of mind as
rational rule execution, context-free
algebra of thought independent of
body (Descartes)

1. New cognitive sciencestudy of

mind as tacit subconscious patterns and
conscious reasoning; an integrated study
of mind

2. Hard mathstudy of thought in

syllogisms and calculi to represent
linguistic patterns of thought (rules).
Aristotle (Organon), Leibniz (De Arte
Combinatoria), Venn (symbolic logic),
Boole (Laws of Thought
propositional logic), Frege, Peirce
(predicate logic), Montague
(intentional logicto study meaning
as signifier (sign) in the mind)

2. Soft mathematicsstudy of language

and thought in which meaning is not
intrinsic to language but requires tacit
knowledge of greater context (Tarski).
Situation theory limits all meaning to a
part of the world (Barwise). Complexity
identifies high-level holistic patterns in
dense, highly interactive (nonlinear)
situations.

3. Languagestudy of language out

of context (Chomsky, de Saussure)

3. New languagestudy as joint

communication using language; using
common (mutual) knowledge or joint
knowledge of common ground.

4. Artificial intelligence (AI)purely

rational logical intellect-based expert
systems (Minsky)

4. New intelligencerepresents intellect and emotion; emergent behavior of

complex systems (Damasio, Dennett)

67

Knowledge Management Processes

Davidow and Malone have categorized knowledge, both tacit and explicit,
in the Virtual Corporation in four general classes based on the way in which the
knowledge is applied (Table 3.6) [14]. The categories move from explicit static
and dynamic descriptions (models and simulations, respectively [15]) to more
tacit representations that are actionable. These categories are helpful to distinguish the movement from explicit representations (data and information)
toward mixed tacit and explicit knowledge, which leads to action. Behavioral
knowledge, for example, can be represented in explicit simulations that immerse
the analyst in an effort to provide tacit experience with the dynamics of the
simulated environment. The basis of the simulation may be both content and
Table 3.6
Categories of Knowledge in Business and National Intelligence

Category
Explicit Content
Information

Explicit Form
Information

Tacit and Explicit

Behavioral
Knowledge

Tacit and Explicit

Actionable
Knowledge

Level of
Understanding

Business Application Intelligence

Examples
Application Examples

Historical record
describing the existence,
location, and state of
physical items
(inventory) and abstract
entities (accounts)

Inventory of materials,
products

Force inventory

Customer and billing

records

Orders, personnel
records, intelligence
reports

Static description of the

physical shape and
composition of objects
and characteristics of
events

Product description

Experience and dynamic

description of the
behavior of an object or
system of objects
behavioral models and
simulations

Skills and expertise of

subject matter experts
(SMEs)

Insight, experience, and

reasoning processes that
provide decision-making
advice and perform
control of operations

Expert judgment of
executive officers

Market research data

Real estate property

description
CAD/CAM and
geographic information
system (GIS) models

Orders of battle

Target models of
discriminants for
automatic target
recognition (ATR)
Force model descriptions
Skills and expertise of
experienced analysts

Economic models
Engineering simulations Weapon simulations
Market dynamic models Battle management
simulation tools

Industrial robotics

Expert judgment of
senior intelligence
officers

Machine vision for

inspection

Alternative outcomes
decision aids

Automated stock
trading

Automated sensor
management

68

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

form information about the environment. The result is both tacit and explicit
actionable knowledge: insight into alternatives and consequences, risks and payoffs, and areas of uncertainty. All of these form a sound basis for judgment to
take action.
Table 3.6 provides representative examples of each category for business
and intelligence applications.
Previously, we have used the terms resource and asset to describe knowledge, but it is not only an object or a commodity to be managed. Knowledge
can also be viewed as a dynamic, embedded in processes that lead to action. In
the next section, we explore this complementary perspective of knowledge.
3.2.2

Knowledge As Process

Knowledge can also be viewed as the action, or dynamic process of creation, that
proceeds from unstructured content to structured understanding. This perspective considers knowledge as actionas knowing. Because knowledge explains
the basis for information, it relates static information to a dynamic reality.
Knowing is uniquely tied to the creation of meaning.
The knowing processes, both explicit and tacit, move from components
(data) toward integrated understanding of meaningrelating the abstractions
of knowledge to the real world (Figure 3.3). The two paths, though separate columns in the table, are not independent but are interactive. (Polanyi believed
that all explicit knowledge, or its interpretation, is rooted in tacit knowledge.)
The explicit knowing process is referred to as reasoning; as described earlier, it is attributed to the Western emphasis on logic, reductionism, and dualism. This knowing process emphasizes the abstraction of truth in the intellect of
Knowledge
form and
process

Explicit
reasoning
Intellect
Hypotheses
Explanations
Beliefs
Education

Tacit
sense making
Insight, sense
Imagination
Understandings
Perceptions
Experience

Contribution
of the
abstraction
Meaning:
relative to
reality action:
basis of action
in reality

Information

Relationships,
links, indexed
data

Images
Metaphors
Ideas

Context:
relative to each
other

Data

Text
Symbolic
Numeric

Experiences
Feelings
Emotions

Content:
independent
abstractions

Knowledge

Figure 3.3 Reasoning and sensemakingknowledge in action.

Knowledge Management Processes

69

the individual. By contrast, the tacit knowing process has been called sensemaking, a more holistic form of knowing more closely related to the Eastern emphasis on holistic intuition and oneness. In contrast to dualism of mind-body, this
view emphasizes humanity-nature oneness (and therefore mind-body and selfother oneness). This knowing process focuses on the action of truth in the
character of the individual.
Karl Weick introduced the term sensemaking to describe the tacit knowing
process of retrospective rationalitythe method by which individuals and
organizations seek to rationally account for things by going back in time to
structure events and explanations holistically [16]. We do this, to make sense
of reality, as we perceive it, and create a base of experience, shared meaning, and
understanding.
To model and manage the knowing process of an organization requires
attention to both of these aspects of knowledgeone perspective emphasizing
cognition, the other emphasizing culture and context. The general knowing
process includes four basic phases that can be described in process terms that
apply to tacit and explicit knowledge, in human and computer terms, respectively (Figure 3.4):
1. Acquisition. This process acquires knowledge by accumulating data
through human observation and experience or technical sensing and
measurement. The capture of e-mail discussion threads, point-of-sales
transactions, or other business data, as well as digital imaging or signals
analysis are but examples of the wide diversity of acquisition methods.
2. Maintenance. Acquired explicit data is represented in a standard form,
organized, and stored for subsequent analysis and application in digital
databases. Tacit knowledge is stored by humans as experience, skill, or
expertise, though it can be elicited and converted to explicit form in
terms of accounts, stories (rich explanations), procedures, or
explanations.
3. Transformation. The conversion of data to knowledge and knowledge
from one form to another is the creative stage of KM. This
knowledge-creation stage involves more complex processes like internalization, intuition, and conceptualization (for internal tacit knowledge) and correlation and analytic-synthetic reasoning (for explicit
knowledge). In the next subsection, this process is described in greater
detail.
4. Transfer. The distribution of acquired and created knowledge across
the enterprise is the fourth phase. Tacit distribution includes the sharing of experiences, collaboration, stories, demonstrations, and
hands-on training. Explicit knowledge is distributed by mathematical,

70

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Knowledge
process

Acquire
knowledge

Maintain
knowledge

Tacit
Listen
Remember
knowledge
Experience Recall
functions
Capture
(human terms) Observe
Collect

Explicit
knowledge
functions
(computer
terms)

Davenport and
Prusak
model
(organization
terms)

Sense
Data entry
Measure
Capture
Collect

Store
Catalog,
index
Update,
refresh
Search
Protect

Generation
Acquire, rent experts
Dedicate resources,
team
Fusioncombine
diversity
Adaptation to crisis
Networking of people

Transform
knowledge
Socialize
Internalize, feel
Develop intuition
Envision,
conceptualize
Self-organize,
create
Storytelling,
exchange
Internalize
Externalize
Appraise, assess,
evaluate
Validate, verify
Correlate, link
Exploit, analyze or
reason (deduce,
abduce, induce)
Synthesize,
abstract
Compile
Combine
Codification
and coordination
Mapping
(structure)
Modeling
(dynamics)
Narrating
(storytelling)

Transfer
knowledge
Share
Demonstrate
Share experience
Emulate

Disseminate
Exchange
Collaborate
Control workflow
Push (subscription,
broadcast)
Pull (requisition)

Transfer
Exchange people
Mentor
Transfer and absorb
Reduce friction,
enhance trust

Figure 3.4 Practical transaction processes of KM.

graphical, and textual representations, from magazines and textbooks

to electronic media.
Figure 3.4 also shows the correlation between these four phases and the
three phases of organizational knowing (focusing on culture) described by Davenport and Prusak in their text Working Knowledge [17]:
1. Generation. Organizational networks generate knowledge by social
processes of sharing, exploring, and creating tacit knowledge (stories,
experiences, and concepts) and explicit knowledge (raw data, organized databases, and reports). But these networks must be properly

Knowledge Management Processes

71

organized for diversity of both experience and perspective and placed

under appropriate stress (challenge) to perform. Dedicated crossfunctional teams, appropriately supplemented by outside experts and
provided a suitable challenge, are the incubators for organizational
knowledge generation.
2. Codification and coordination. Codification explicitly represents generated knowledge and the structure of that knowledge by a mapping
process. The map (or ontology) of the organizations knowledge allows
individuals within the organization to locate experts (tacit knowledge
holders), databases (of explicit knowledge), and tacit-explicit networks. The coordination process models the dynamic flow of knowledge within the organization and allows the creation of narratives
(stories) to exchange tacit knowledge across the organization.
3. Transfer. Knowledge is transferred within the organization as people
interact; this occurs as they are mentored, temporarily exchanged,
transferred, or placed in cross-functional teams to experience new perspectives, challenges, or problem-solving approaches.
3.2.3

Knowledge Creation Model

A widely adopted and insightful model of the processes of creating and exchanging knowledge, or knowledge conversion, within an organization was developed, by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi in The Knowledge-Creating
Company [18]. The model is very helpful in understanding how analysts interact
with computer support (automation) to create intelligence within the intelligence organizations. Nonaka and Takeuchi describe four modes of conversion,
derived from the possible exchanges between two knowledge types (Figure 3.5):
1. Tacit to tacitsocialization. Through social interactions, individuals
within the organization exchange experiences and mental models,
transferring the know-how of skills and expertise. The primary form of
transfer is narrativestorytellingin which rich context is conveyed
and subjective understanding is compared, reexperienced, and internalized. Classroom training, simulation, observation, mentoring, and
on-the-job training (practice) build experience; moreover, these activities also build teams that develop shared experience, vision, and values.
The socialization process also allows consumers and producers to share
tacit knowledge about needs and capabilities, respectively.
2. Tacit to explicitexternalization. The articulation and explicit codification of tacit knowledge moves it from the internal to external. This
can be done by capturing narration in writing, and then moving to the

72

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Knowledge spiral view

Transfer to
Tacit

Explicit
Externalization

Socialization

Explicit

6
5

Transfer from

Tacit-to-tacit
socialization

Tacit-to-explicit
externalization

Tacit

7
Internalization
Explicit-to-tacit
internalization

Combination

Explicit-to-explicit
combination

Figure 3.5 Knowledge-conversion process model.

construction of metaphors, analogies, and ultimately models. Externalization is the creative mode where experience and concept are
expressed in explicit conceptsand the effort to express is in itself a creative act. (This mode is found in the creative phase of writing, invention, scientific discovery, and, for the intelligence analyst, hypothesis
creation.)
3. Explicit to explicitcombination. Once explicitly represented, different
objects of knowledge can be characterized, indexed, correlated, and
combined. This process can be performed by humans or computers
and can take on many forms. Intelligence analysts compare multiple
accounts, cable reports, and intelligence reports regarding a common
subject to derive a combined analysis. Military surveillance systems
combine (or fuse) observations from multiple sensors and HUMINT
reports to derive aggregate force estimates. Market analysts search
(mine) sales databases for patterns of behavior that indicate emerging
purchasing trends. Business developers combine market analyses,
research and development results, and cost analyses to create strategic
plans. These examples illustrate the diversity of the combination
processes that combine explicit knowledge.
4. Explicit to tacitinternalization. Individuals and organizations internalize knowledge by hands-on experience in applying the results of
combination. Combined knowledge is tested, evaluated, and results

Knowledge Management Processes

73

in new tacit experience. New skills and expertise are developed and
integrated into the tacit knowledge of individuals and teams.
Nonaka and Takeuchi further showed how these four modes of conversion
operate in an unending spiral sequence to create and transfer knowledge
throughout the organization (Figure 3.5). The internalization mode naturally
leads to further socialization, and process leads to further tacit sharing, creativity, and knowledge expansion. The spiral model represents the concept of an
ever-learning organization, expanding in knowledge and the application of that
knowledge to the dynamic business environment.
Based on this model, Nonaka and Takeuchi identified five enabling conditions that promote creation within the spiral (Table 3.7). These conditions promote the cohesion of organizational purpose, freedom of thought, and breadth
of perspective necessary to permit the organization to transfer knowledge
between tacit and explicit forms and to explore new perspectives without
boundaries. These conditions can best be seen in small teams (e.g., intelligenceanalysis teams, crisis-analysis teams, and decision-making teams), although they
apply across large organizations. Intention (also described as shared vision and
commitment in numerous management texts) provides organizational cohesion
of purpose and reduces the friction from competitions for different objectives.
Autonomous teams are given the freedom to explore alternative solutions
beyond current mindsets; access to information (i.e., people, databases, and
processes) is not restricted. Organizations that have redundancy of information
(in people, processes, and databases) and diversity in their makeup (also in people, processes, and databases) will enhance the ability to move along the spiral.
The modes of activity benefit from a diversity of people: socialization requires
some who are stronger in dialogue to elicit tacit knowledge from the team; externalization requires others who are skilled in representing knowledge in explicit
forms; and internalization benefits from those who experiment, test ideas, and
learn from experience, with the new concepts or hypotheses arising from combination. These redundancies and diversities also apply to processes and information sources, which provide different perspectives in each stage of the spiral.
Organizations can also benefit from creative chaoschanges that punctuate states of organizational equilibrium. These states include static presumptions, entrenched mindsets, and established processes that may have lost validity
in a changing environment. Rather than destabilizing the organization, the
injection of appropriate chaos can bring new-perspective reflection, reassessment, and renewal of purpose. Such change can restart tacit-explicit knowledge
exchange, where the equilibrium has brought it to a halt.
Underlying this model is Nonaka and Takeuchis important assertion that
the basis of this creative process is the tacit knowledge of individuals:

74

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 3.7
Conditions that Enable Knowledge Creation

Enabling
Condition
Intention

Condition Definition

Implementation in the Intelligence Enterprise

Organizations shared Intelligence vision and implementing strategy to achieve

vision and aspiration to the vision articulated to, understood by, and embraced by
meet its goals
entire organization
Organizational commitment to vision (goal) and strategy
(plan)

Autonomy

Redundancy

Requisite
Variety

Creative
Chaos

Individual liberty of
team members in
thought, exploration,
and action

Establish loose team charters

Internal overlapping of
information about
activities,
responsibility, and
purpose.

Share redundant information from multiple perspectives

Internal diversity of the

organization; diversity
is matched to the
complexity and variety
of the environment

Maintain a flat, highly networked organizational structure

Introduction of actions
to stimulate beneficial
interaction between
the organization and
its environment

Punctuation of habitual states of behavior and noncreative

equilibrium conditions

Allow teams to establish their own boundaries

Provide teams broad access to data; allow independence in
choosing areas of focus
Create and maintain alternative and competing hypotheses
Conduct internal, competing analyses
Rotate personnel to different organizational assignments to
expand perspectives (e.g., analysis, field operations, field
visits, customer liaison)
Assign diverse disciplines to problems matched to the
problem scope (e.g., cross-functional analytic teams such
as analysis, operations, academics, or field personnel)

Reconsideration of existing premises and frames of

discernment (mindsets)
Reflection on purpose

an organization cannot create knowledge by itself. Tacit knowledge of

individuals is the basis of organizational knowledge creation. The organization has to mobilize tacit knowledge created and accumulated at the individual level [19].

3.3 An Intelligence Use Case Spiral

While Nonaka and Takeuchi focused on knowledge creation in the business and
product-development areas, we can see how the knowledge-conversion spiral
describes the exchanges within a typical intelligence application. To illustrate

Knowledge Management Processes

75

how the spiral operates in an intelligence environment, we follow a future fictional, yet representative, crisis situation in which U.S. intelligence is confronted
with a crisis in a failing nation-state that threatens U.S. national interests. We
follow a distributed crisis intelligence cell, using networked collaboration tools,
through one complete spiral cycle to illustrate the spiral. This case is deliberately
chosen because it stresses the spiral (no face-to-face interaction by the necessarily
distributed team, very short time to interact, the temporary nature of the team,
and no common organizational membership), yet illustrates clearly the phases
of tacit-explicit exchange and the practical insight into actual intelligenceanalysis activities provided by the model.
3.3.1

The Situation

The crisis in small but strategic Kryptania emerged rapidly. Vital national interestssecurity of U.S. citizens, U.S. companies and facilities, and the stability of
the fledgling democratic statewere at stake. Subtle but cascading effects in the
environment, economy, and political domains triggered the small political liberation front (PLF) to initiate overt acts of terrorism against U.S. citizens, facilities, and embassies in the region while seeking to overthrow the fledgling
democratic government. The PLF waged information operationsspreading
rumors via e-mail, roaming AM radio broadcasts, and publishing black propaganda on the Internet. The PLF also corrupted Kryptanian government information systems to support false claims of political corruption. A crisis
intelligence analysis cell is rapidly formed, comprised of the following globally
distributed participants:
Five intelligence officers in Washington, D.C., including a team leader

and four analysts with experience in the country and language skills;
Six political scientists with expertise in Kryptania in four universities

(three in Europe, one in the region);

Two Kryptanian expert consultants at a regional think tank abroad;
Four field intelligence officers (surged to seven within 3 days) in

Kryptania;
Six Kryptanian government security officials in Kryptania.

The crisis team is formed and all participants are notified and issued public/
private keys (at their appropriate access levels) to crisis collaboration portals/
collaboration workspaces on computer networks. The first portal is a secure collaborative workspace (a specially secured virtual private network on the Internet)
for sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information access by the academics and

76

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

consultants. A separate multilevel security (MLS) portal is formed on classified

networks for those with access to classified intelligence data. A secure data pump
moves the SBU data onto the classified portal; an automatic classification
reviewer sanitizes and passes unclassified data down to the SBU portal. The custom portal/collaboration capability provides the distributed team a workspace
allowing:
1. Interactive discussion areas (spaces or e-rooms), organized by issue areas:
collection, threats, gaps, and analysis;
2. Teleconference capability (secure audio or video conferencing for use
between individuals one to one, for broadcast one to many, or for
broadcast to the entire group);
3. General e-mail between members, instant mail, or broadcast postings
for the entire group;
4. Group bulletin board organized by issue areas;
5. Structured group repository (database) to allow members to post
acquired data, intermediate products of analysis, and annotations on
intermediate products;
6. Shared application tools that allow shared analysis (passing control
from user to user) and annotation of data.
In addition, the portal provides MLS access to the crisis teams shared
knowledge base, including:
1. Alerts and changes in situation status and impact on team priorities
and mission;
2. Organized open source news and intelligence headlines provided at
multiple levels of security (open source to classified, respectively) and
continuously updated. Headlines are linked to full reports for drill
down; related reports are automatically cross-linked. Open-source
reports are annotated (i.e., source authority, pedigree, or confidence);
3. Basic country data for Kryptania and other regional countries (e.g.,
maps, government organizations, points of contact, and political, military, economic, business, and technical data);
4. Links to open (Internet) and closed sources (intelligence net) of
information;
5. Access to relevant open- and closed-source intelligence databases;
6. Schedules (e.g., planned team same-time socialization meetings or
report due milestones);

77

Knowledge Management Processes

7. Analytic tools that can be accessed and applied to the group or individual data.
The team composition includes a diverse mix of intelligence officers,
trusted academics, and Kryptanian government officials (requisite variety and
redundancy within the limits of security), along with a common vision to
understand and mitigate the threat. The team is provided a loose charter to
identify specific threat patterns, organizations, and actions (autonomy); the current crisis provides all the creative chaos necessary for the newly formed team.
This first spiral of knowledge creation (Figure 3.6) occurs within the first
several days of the teams formation.
3.3.2

Socialization

Within 10 hours of the team formation, all members participate in an on-line

SBU kickoff meeting (same-time, different-place teleconference collaboration)
that introduces all members, describes the groups intelligence charter and procedures, explains security policy, and details the use of the portal/collaboration

Crisis

Crisis team
define problem
apply experience
learn

Enter filters,
search and retrieval
keys for needed
data

Knowledgebase models

4
4
View, conceive,
and understand
explanations and
patterns

Figure 3.6 Intelligence-use case spiral example.

3
3
Automated
combination and
analysis of data
in databases

78

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

workspace created for the team. The team leader briefs the current situation and
the issues: areas of uncertainly, gaps in knowledge or collection, needs for information, and possible courses of events that must be better understood. The
group is allowed time to exchange views and form their own subgroups on areas
of contribution that each individual can bring to the problem. Individuals
express concepts for new sources for collection and methods of analysis. In this
phase, the dialogue of the team, even though not face to face, is invaluable in
rapidly establishing trust and a shared vision for the critical task over the ensuing
weeks of the crisis. Over the course of the next day, several total-group and subgroup teleconferences sustain the dialogue and begin to allow the members to
exchange tacit perspectives of Kryptania, approaches to understanding the
threats, and impressions of where the crisis might lead. This process of dialogue
exposes the diversity of mental models about the threat and even the different
interpretations of the groups charter (the organizational intention). As this happens, the team begins to request additional source or types of information on the
portal and starts to record requests, impressions, needed actions, and needs for
charter clarifications (questions about the boundaries of the problem and
restrictions on access) on the bulletin board.
3.3.3

Externalization

The initial discussions lead to the creation of initial explicit models of the threat
that are developed by various team members and posted on the portal for all to
see, including:
1. Structure charts of the PLF and possible linked financial supporters
and organized crime operations;
2. Lists of likely sources of the black propaganda;
3. Map of Kryptania showing cities of greatest influence by the PLF and
supporters;
4. Time history of PLF propaganda themes and terrorist activities;
5. Causal chains of past actions and hypotheses of possible future course
of FLP actions.
The team collaboratively reviews and refines these models by updating
new versions (annotated by contributors) and suggesting new submodels (or
linking these models into supermodels). This externalization process codifies the
teams knowledge (beliefs) and speculations (to be evaluated) about the threat.
Once externalized, the team can apply the analytic tools on the portal to search
for data, link evidence, and construct hypothesis structures. The process also
allows the team to draw on support from resources outside the team to conduct

Knowledge Management Processes

79

supporting collections and searches of databases for evidence to affirm, refine, or

refute the models.
3.3.4

Combination

The codified models become archetypes that represent current thinkingcurrent prototype hypotheses formed by the group about the threat (whotheir
makeup; whytheir perceptions, beliefs, intents, and timescales; whattheir
resources, constraints and limitations, capacity, feasible plans, alternative
courses of action, vulnerabilities). This prototype-building process requires the
group to structure its arguments about the hypotheses and combine evidence to
support its claims. The explicit evidence models are combined into higher level
explicit explanations of threat composition, capacity, and behavioral patterns.
Initial (tentative) intelligence products are forming in this phase, and the team
begins to articulate these prototype productsresulting in alternative hypotheses and even recommended courses of action for the United States and
Kryptania.
3.3.5

Internalization

As the evidentiary and explanatory models are developed on the portal, the team
members discuss (and argue) over the details, internally struggling with acceptance or rejection of the validity of the various hypotheses. Individual team
members search for confirming or refuting evidence in their own areas of expertise and discuss the hypotheses with others on the team or colleagues in their
domain of expertise (often expressing them in the form of stories or metaphors)
to experience support or refutation. This process allows the members to further
refine and develop internal belief and confidence in the predictive aspects of the
models. As accumulating evidence over the ensuing days strengthens (or refutes)
the hypotheses, the process continues to internalize those explanations that the
team has developed that are most accurate; they also internalize confidence in
the sources and collaborative processes that were most productive for this
ramp-up phase of the crisis situation.
3.3.6

Socialization

As the group periodically reconvenes, the subject focuses away from what we
must do to the evidentiary and explanatory models that have been produced.
The dialogue turns from issues of startup processes to model-refinement
processes. The group now socializes around a new level of the problem: Gaps in
the models, new problems revealed by the models, and changes in the evolving
crisis move the spiral toward new challenges to create knowledge about

80

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

vulnerabilities in the PLF and supporting networks, specific locations of black

propaganda creation and distribution, finances of certain funding organizations,
and identification of specific operation cells within the Kryptanian government.
All of these refined issues challenge the team and begin a new spiral of exploration and creation by the team.
3.3.7

Summary

This example illustrates the emergent processes of knowledge creation over the
several day ramp-up period of a distributed crisis intelligence team. The full spiral moved from team members socializing to exchange the tacit knowledge of
the situation toward the development of explicit representations of their tacit
knowledge. These explicit models allowed other supporting resources to be
applied (analysts external to the group and on-line analytic tools) to link further
evidence to the models and structure arguments for (or against) the models. As
the models developed, team members discussed, challenged, and internalized
their understanding of the abstractions, developing confidence and hands-on
experience as they tested them against emerging reports and discussed them with
team members and colleagues. The confidence and internalized understanding
then led to a drive for further dialogueinitializing a second cycle of the spiral.

3.4 Taxonomy of KM
Using the fundamental tacit-explicit distinctions, and the conversion processes
of socialization, externalization, internalization, and combination, we can establish a helpful taxonomy of the processes, disciplines, and technologies of the
broad KM field applied to the intelligence enterprise. A basic taxonomy that
categorizes the breadth of the KM field (Table 3.8) can be developed by distinguishing three areas of distinct (though very related) activities:
1. People. The foremost area of KM emphasis is on the development of
intellectual capital by people and the application of that knowledge by
those people. The principal knowledge-conversion process in this area
is socialization, and the focus of improvement is on human operations,
training, and human collaborative processes. The basis of collaboration is human networks, known as communities of practicesharing
purpose, values, and knowledge toward a common mission. The barriers that challenge this area of KM are cultural in nature.
2. Processes. The second KM area focuses on human-computer interaction (HCI) and the processes of externalization and internalization.
Tacit-explicit knowledge conversions have required the development

81

Knowledge Management Processes

of tacit-explicit representation aids in the form of information visualization and analysis tools, thinking aids, and decision support systems.
This area of KM focuses on the efficient networking of people and
machine processes (such autonomous support processes are referred to
as agents) to enable the shared reasoning between groups of people and
their agents through computer networks. The barrier to achieving
robustness in such KM processes is the difficulty of creating a shared
context of knowledge among humans and machines.
3. Processors. The third KM area is the technological development and
implementation of computing networks and processes to enable
explicit-explicit combination. Network infrastructures, components,
and protocols for representing explicit knowledge are the subject of
this fast-moving field. The focus of this technology area is networked
computation, and the challenges to collaboration lie in the ability to
sustain growth and interoperability of systems and protocols.

Table 3.8
Basic KM Taxonomy for the Intelligence Enterprise
Intelligence Enterprise
KM: Acquiring, Creating, Maintaining, and Applying Knowledge to
Achieve Organizational Objectives
Perspective of
Knowledge
Management

People
Operational View

Knowledge
Conversion

Socialization: tacitto-tacit transactions

Externalization and
internalization:
transactions between
tacit and explicit

Combination: explicitto-explicit transactions

Focus of the
Enterprise

Operations, business
processes, training

Tools, thinking aids,

decision support,
knowledge representation and visualization

Infrastructure,
knowledge, protocols

Basis of
Collaboration

Networks of people
(communities of
practice): shared
purpose, values,
practice, knowledge

Networks of people and

agents: shared reasoning
and representation of
tacit and explicit
knowledge

Networked
computation: shared
configuration of content in networks and
nodes (computers)

Barriers to
Collaboration and
Interoperation

Culture (trust, values,

vision)

Context

Content and its

structure

Processes
Human-Computer
Interaction View

Processors
Technical View

82

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Note that these three areas correspond to three basic descriptive views of
the enterprise that will be subsequently introduced in Chapter 9.
The taxonomy can be further extended (Table 3.9) to consider the disciplines and supporting tools and technologies in each of these three areas:
1. People. The objective of people-oriented disciplines is to create
a knowledge-based organization that learns, shares, and creates
knowledge collaboratively. The tools and technologies applied to this
Table 3.9
Taxonomy of Disciplines and Supporting Tools and Technologies
Perspective
of Knowledge
Management
Objective

Disciplines and
Areas of Research
and Development

People
Operational View

Processors
Technical View

Collaborative, learning
organization

Efficient HCI

Effective
human-computer
networks

Collaboration for:

HCI

Data capturing,
representing, and
warehousing

Knowledge
sharing

Human-agent
collaboration

Problem solving

Knowledge presentation Cognitive (reasoning)

AI and machine
learning

eLearning
Virtual teaming
Automation
Support Tools and
Technologies

Processes
Human-Computer
Interaction View

Virtual team
establishment and
support across time
and space
Automatic experience
capturing and linking
(cases) to problems
Auto training and
eLearning

Networked computing
Data, information, and
high-dimensionality
knowledge presentation
to humans, virtual, and
artificial reality
High-level abstract
interaction between
human and machine
agents
Human-machine
problem solving and
workflow
Data representation,
knowledge mapping to
index, correlating, and
linking (externalizing and
internalizing) knowledge
Search and retrieval

Data fusion and data

mining
Decision support aids
Analytic (thinking) tools
Creativity and problemsolving support tools
Multimedia Information
retrieval, summarization,
and abstraction

Knowledge Management Processes

83

discipline range from collaborative services to create virtual (distributed) teams and supporting services to eLearning tools to integrate
learning into the work process.
2. Processes. HCI and related disciplines have the objective of achieving
efficient human-machine interaction, enabling humans-agent teams to
smoothly exchange tacit and explicit knowledge. Tools that support
this process include virtual- and artificial-reality visualizations (and
multisensory presentations), human-machine conversation, and
autonomous agent services to search and explore large data volumes.
3. Processors. Effective computer networks are the objective of the diverse
computing disciplines that support KM: enterprise architecting, networked computing infrastructure, data warehousing, services for
information management, collaboration, cognitive (reasoning) support, and knowledge distribution.
Because the KM field can also be described by the many domains of expertise (or disciplines of study and practice), we can also distinguish five distinct
areas of focus (Table 3.10) that help describe the field. The first two disciplines
view KM as a competence of people and emphasize making people
knowledgeable:
1. Knowledge strategists. Enterprise leaders, such as the chief knowledge
officer (CKO), focus on the enterprise mission and values, defining
value propositions that assign contributions of knowledge to value
(i.e., financial or operational). These leaders develop business models
to grow and sustain intellectual capital and to translate that capital into
organizational values (e.g., financial growth or organizational performance). KM strategists develop, measure, and reengineer business
processes to adapt to the external (business or world) environment.
2. Knowledge culture developers. Knowledge culture development and
sustainment is promoted by those who map organizational knowledge
and then create training, learning, and sharing programs to enhance
the socialization performance of the organization. This includes the
cadre of people who make up the core competencies of the organization (e.g., intelligence analysis, intelligence operations, and collection
management). In some organizations a chief learning officer (CLO) is
designated this role to oversee enterprise human capital, just as the
chief financial officer (CFO) manages (tangible) financial capital.
The next three disciplines view KM as an enterprise capability and emphasize building the infrastructure to make knowledge manageable:

84

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

3. KM applications. Those who apply KM principles and processes to specific business applications create both processes and products (e.g.,
software application packages) to provide component or end-end services in a wide variety of areas listed in Table 3.10. Some commercial
KM applications have been sufficiently modularized to allow them
to be outsourced to application service providers (ASPs) [20] that
Table 3.10
The Disciplines of KM
Knowledge Perspective Discipline
Making People
Knowledgeable (KM as
a Competence)

1. Knowledge
strategy

The KM Disciplines: Key Areas of Focus

Chief information officer (CIO)/CKO mission, values,
value propositions
Intellectual capital, knowledge metrics
Knowledge capital management: human capital
(know-how) and structural capital (business process,
know-what)
eBusiness process engineering and reengineering
Business modeling business process rules

2. Knowledge
(learning) culture
developers

Chief learning officer (CLO)

Knowledge sharing, exchange, and collaboration
Virtual teams, communities of practice
Best practices, training, e-learning
Problem solving, storytelling

Making Knowledge
Manageable (KM as a
Capability)

3. KM
applications

Program management (PM), intellectual capital

management (ICM)
Supply chain management (SCM)
Customer relationship management (CRM)
Content/document management (CM/DM)
Business and competitive intelligence (BI/CI)

4. Enterprise
architecture

Data storage, warehousing

KM services, tools (e.g., collaboration, cognition)
KM architectures

5. Technology
and tools

Knowledge capture, search, mapping

Knowledge storage and dissemination
Content management
Collaboration, personalization
Problem solving, decision aiding, decision making
Fusion and mining, analysis

Knowledge Management Processes

85

package and provide KM services on a per-operation (transaction)

basis. This allows some enterprises to focus internal KM resources on
organizational tacit knowledge while outsourcing architecture, infrastructure, tools, and technology.
4. Enterprise architecture. Architects of the enterprise integrate people,
processes, and IT to implement the KM business model. The architecting process defines business use cases and process models to
develop requirements for data warehouses, KM services, network
infrastructures, and computation.
5. KM technology and tools. Technologists and commercial vendors
develop the hardware and software components that physically implement the enterprise. Table 3.10 provides only a brief summary of the
key categories of technologies that make up this broad area that
encompasses virtually all ITs.
Within the community of intelligence disciplines, each of these five areas
can be identified in the conventional organizational structure, but all must be
coordinated to achieve an enterprisewide focus on knowledge creation and sharing. In subsequent chapters, we detail each of these discipline areas as applied to
the intelligence enterprise.

3.5 Intelligence As Capital

We have described knowledge as a resource (or commodity) and as a process in
previous sections. Another important perspective of both the resource and the
process is that of the valuation of knowledge. The value (utility or usefulness) of
knowledge is first and foremost quantified by its impact on the user in the real
world. In business, this impact is financial and so we will examine commercial
approaches to valuing knowledge financially. But the value of intelligence goes
far beyond financial considerations in national and MI application. In these
cases, the value of knowledge must be measured in its impact on national interests: the warning time to avert a crisis, the accuracy necessary to deliver a
weapon, the completeness to back up a policy decision, or the evidential depth
to support an organized criminal conviction. Knowledge, as an abstraction, has
no intrinsic valueits value is measured by its impact in the real world.
In financial terms, the valuation of the intangible aspects of knowledge is
referred to as capitalintellectual capital. These intangible resources include the
personal knowledge, skills, processes, intellectual property, and relationships
that can be leveraged to produce assets of equal or greater importance than other
organizational resources (land, labor, and capital).

86

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Quantifying and measuring the value of knowledge intangibles can be

based on purely financial measures using methods developed by Karl-Erik
Sveiby to estimate the intellectual capital value of knowledge-based corporations
[21]. Consider the market valuation of a representative consultancy business
(Figure 3.7) to identify the components of tangible net book value and intangible intellectual capital using Svelbys method.
In this example, the difference in the market value ($100 million) of the
business and the tangible assets of the business is $50 million. With $40 million
in short- and long-term debt, the visible equity in the business is $10 million
(net book value.) But the intangible, intellectual capital is the $50 million difference between the tangible assets and the market value. What is this capital value
in our representative business? It is comprised of four intangible components:
1. Customer capital. This is the value of established relationships with customers, such as trust and reputation for quality. This identified image
represents the brand equity of the businessintangible capital that
must be managed, nurtured, and sustained to maintain and grow the
customer base. Intelligence tradecraft recognizes this form of capital in
the form of credibility with consumersthe ability to speak to an
issue with sufficient authority to be believed and relied upon by the
intended audience [22].
2. Innovation capital. Innovation in the form of unique strategies, new
concepts, processes, and products based on unique experience form
this second category of capital. In intelligence, new and novel sources
and methods for unique problems form this component of intellectual
capital.
3. Process capital. Methodologies and systems or infrastructure (also
called structural capital) that are applied by the organization make up
its process capital. The processes of collection sources and both collection and analytic methods form a large portion of the intelligence
organizations process (and innovation) capital; they are often fragile
(once discovered, they may be forever lost) and are therefore carefully
protected.
4. Human capital. The people, individually and in virtual organizations,
comprise the human capital of the organization. Their collective tacit
knowledgeexpressed as dedication, experience, skill, expertise, and
insightform this critical intangible resource.
It is the role of the CKO in knowledge-based organizations to value,
account for (audit), maintain, and grow this capital base, just as the CFO oversees the visible tangible assets. But this intangible capital base requires the

87

Knowledge Management Processes

Value of a knowledge organization

Account
receivable
Facilities
inventory

$50 M

Cash

Assets

Intangible
Intellectual
Capital

$10 M
Shortterm
debt
$40 M

Market
Value $100 M

Longterm
debt

Intellectual capital (IC)

Customer
Capital

Organizational Capital
Innovation
Capital

Process
Capital

Brand equity Patents Methodologies

reputation
Concepts Processes,
Strategies structures and
Customer
systems (e.g.,
relationship(s)
KM systems)
Trademarks
(also called
Image
structural capital)
$15 M

$10 M

$5 M

Human Capital
Competence,
skill, experience
of workforce
Corporate tacit
knowledge
Culture
Spirit
$20 M

Shareholder visible equity (net book value)

Debt

Figure 3.7 The components of intellectual capital.

definition of organizational valuesboth financial and nonfinancialin order

to audit the total value of the knowledge-based organization.
Organizations must begin by explicitly defining organizational values in a
statement called the value propositionthe business case or rationale for achieving business goals (e.g., returns, improvements, or benefits) through KM [1]. An
organization may have one or more propositions; there may be a primary focus,
with multiple secondary focibut all must explicitly couple value (qualitative
benefits of significance to the organizations mission) to quantitative measures.
ODell and Grayson have defined three fundamental categories of value
propositions in If Only We Knew What We Know [23]:
1. Operational excellence. These value propositions seek to boost revenue
by reducing the cost of operations through increased operating efficiencies and productivity. These propositions are associated with business process reengineering (BPR), and even business transformation
using electronic commerce methods to revolutionize the operational
process. These efforts contribute operational value by raising performance in the operational value chain.
2. Product-to-market excellence. The propositions value the reduction in
the time to market from product inception to product launch. Efforts

88

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

that achieve these values ensure that new ideas move to development
and then to product by accelerating the product development process.
This value emphasizes the transformation of the business, itself (as
explained in Section 1.1).
3. Customer intimacy. These values seek to increase customer loyalty,
customer retention, and customer base expansion by increasing intimacy (understanding, access, trust, and service anticipation) with customers. Actions that accumulate and analyze customer data to reduce
selling cost while increasing customer satisfaction contribute to this
proposition.
For each value proposition, specific impact measures must be defined to
quantify the degree to which the value is achieved. These measures quantify the
benefits, and utility delivered to stakeholders. Using these measures, the value
added by KM processes can be observed along the sequential processes in the
business operation. This sequence of processes forms a value chain that adds
value from raw materials to delivered product. Table 3.11 compares the impact
measures for a typical business operation to comparable measures in the intelligence enterprise.
It should be noted that these measures are applicable to the steady-state
operation of the learning and improving organization. Different kinds of measures are recommended for organizations in transition from legacy business models. During periods of change, three phases are recognized [24]. In the first
phase, users (i.e., consumers, collection managers, and analysts) must be convinced of the benefits of the new approach, and the measures include metrics as
simple as the number of consumers taking training and beginning to use services. In the crossover phase, when users begin to transition to the systems, measurers change to usage metrics. Once the system approaches steady-state use,
financial-benefit measures are applied. Numerous methods have been defined
and applied to describe and quantify economic value, including:
1. Economic value added (EVA) subtracts cost of capital invested from
net operating profit;
2. Portfolio management approaches treats IT projects as individual
investments, computing risks, yields, and benefits for each component
of the enterprise portfolio;
3. Knowledge capital is an aggregate measure of management value
added (by knowledge) divided by the price of capital [25];
4. Intangible asset monitor (IAM) [26] computes value in four categoriestangible capital, intangible human competencies, intangible
internal structure, and intangible external structure [27].

Knowledge Management Processes

89

Table 3.11
Business and Intelligence Impact Measures

Value Proposition
Customer Intimacy

Product Leadership

Business KM Impact
Measures

Intelligence KM Impact
Measures

Customer retention

Intelligence consumer satisfaction,

retention, and growth

Number of calls handled per day

Cross-selling penetration to
increase revenue from existing
customers

Number of consumer requests

received per day; response time

Revenues from commercialization of

new product

Target identification and location

accuracies

Percentage of revenues of new

product

Source breadth and analytic depth of

analytic products

Time-to-market cycle

Time-to-operation of crisis portals

Ratio of successful to failed product

launches

Number of reports (by type) posted

per year

Percentage of correct anticipation of

consumer needs

Number product launches per year

Operational
Excellence

Cost per unit

Cost per target located, serviced

Productivity and yields

False alarms, missed targets

Number defects or instances of poor Warning failures

quality
Response to query cycle time
Production cycle time
Collect/process/analysis yield ratios
Inventory carrying costs

Security record

Safety record

The balanced scorecard (BSC) is a widely applied method (similar to

IAM) that provides four views, goals, strategies, and measures of the value in the
organization [28]. The BSC goes beyond financial measures and can be readily
applied to national and competitive intelligence organizations to illustrate the
use of these measures to value the intelligence enterprise. Linked by a common
vision and strategy, the four views address complementary perspectives of
expected outcomes beginning with three cause views before concluding with the
financial effect view (Figure 3.8).
The first scorecard area focuses on the organizational staff and its ability to
share and create knowledge. The learning and growth view sets goals and measures organizational ability to continuously learn, improve, and create value.
This requires a measurement of training, the resulting learning and subsequent success in application, sharing of knowledge (collaboration), and satisfaction (morale and retention). The second view is the view of internal operations

90

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Balanced scorecard valuation structure
Vision and strategy
Describe the future state (vision) of the intelligence enterprise: the missions,
capabilities, processes, relationships, and resources
Define the means (strategy) to achieve the vision: timeline, milestones,
resources, risks and alternative trajectories
Identify specific vision goals and strategy measures
Customer
(external)
Define the
intelligence
customer base
Define value
delivered to
customers

Internal

Financial

Growth and learning

Define major
measures of
performance
(MOPs)
and effectiveness
(MOEs)

Define the
financial
contribution of
intelligence to
stakeholders
(cost, risk
reduction, etc.)

Identify how
intelligence value
is created by
change and
innovation in
changing threat
environment

Identify
specific goals
and measures

Identify specific
goals and
measures

Identify specific
Identify specific MOP and MOE
goals and
metrics and
measures
goal values

Figure 3.8 BSC valuation model.

that examines performance in terms of detailed functional measures like cycle

times, quality of operations (e.g., return rates and defect rates), production
yields, performance, and transaction and per-operations costs. These measures
are, of course, related to the optional implementation of the organization and
relate to efficiency and productivity. It is in this area that BPR attempts to
achieve speed, efficiency, and productivity gains.
By contrast, the third scorecard view measures performance from the
external perspective of customers, which is directly influenced by the scores in
the prior two views. Customers view the performance of the organization in
terms of the value of products and services. Timelines, performance, quality
(accuracy), and cost are major factors that influence customer satisfaction and
retention. This view measures these factors, recognizing that customer measures
directly influence financial performance. (Note that throughout this chapter, we
distinguish the commercial customer and intelligence consumer, although they
are analogous while comparing commercial and intelligence applications. The
United States defines the intelligence consumer as an authorized person who
uses intelligence or intelligence information directly in the decision-making
process or to produce other intelligence [29].)

Knowledge Management Processes

91

The financial view sets goals and measures quantitative financial metrics.
For a commercial company, this includes return metrics (e.g., return on equity,
return on capital employed, or return on investment) that measure financial
returns relative to a capital base. Traditional measures consider only the financial capital base, but newer measures consider return as a function of both tangible (financial, physical) and intangible (human capital) resources to provide a
measure of overall performance using all assets.
The four views of the BSC provide a means of balancing the measurement of the major causes and effects of organizational performance but also provide a framework for modeling the organization. Consider a representative BSC
cause-and-effect model (Figure 3.9) for an intelligence organization that uses the
four views to frame the major performance drivers and strategic outcomes
expected by a major KM initiative [30]. The strategic goals in each area can be
compared to corresponding performance drivers, strategic measures, and the
causal relationships that lead to financial effects. The model explicitly exposes
the presumed causal basis of the strategy and two categories of measures:
1. Performance drivers are lead indicators that precede the desired strategic effects. In Figure 3.9, training and introduction of a collaborative
network (both directly measurable) are expected to result in the strategic outcome of increased staff analytic productivity.
2. Strategic outcomes are the lag indicators that should follow if the
performance drivers are achievedand the strategy is correct. Notice
that this model presumes many hidden causal factors (e.g., analytic
staff morale and workplace efficiency), which should be explicitly
defined when establishing the scorecard.
The model provides a compact statement of strategy (on the left column),
measures (in the boxes), and goals (specific quantitative values can be annotated
in the boxes). In this representative example, the organization is implementing
collaborative analytic training, a collaborative network and integrated lessons
learned database, expecting overall analytic productivity improvements. Internal
operations will be improved by cross-functional collaboration across intelligence
sources (INTs) and single-source analysts, the availability of multi-INT data on
the collaborative net, and by the increased source breadth and analytic depth
provided by increased sharing among analysts. These factors will result in
improved accuracy in long-term analyses for policymakers and more timely
responses to crisis needs by warfighers. The results of these learning and internal
improvements may be measured in customer satisfaction performance drivers,
and then in their perception of the value added by intelligence (the accuracy and
timeliness effects on their decisions).

92

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Strategic objective

Performance drivers

Strategic outcome
measures

Financial perspective

Return on
investment

F1Improve operating performance on

budgeted investment
F2Reduce warning risk

Customer perspective
C1Increase value added
to warfighter
C2Increase value added to
long term policymaker
consumers

I&W
Rate
Target/ID and BDA
Accuracy
Satisfaction
measured
by use/decisions
Issue / request
anticipation

Internal perspective
I1Increase analytic breadth
and depth by applying nets
and tools
I2Make multi-INT data
libraries accessible with
recent data
I3Improve efficiency of
coordinated multi-INT collection
and processing

Learning perspective
L1Develop and apply analytic
lessons learned
L2Improve cross functional
collaboration on
intelligence networks
L3Provide collaborative
analysis training

Analytic breadth
and depth

Threat
awareness

Warfighter
Intel value added

Policy maker
Intel value added

Term estimate
accuracy

Multi-int data
availability
Collection/
processing
efficiency

Crisis
response time

Lessons learned
knowledge base
Collaboration net
availability use

Analytic staff
productivity

Collaborative
analysis training

Figure 3.9 Representative intelligence cause-and-effect relationships between BSC measures.

Ultimately, these effects lead to overall improved intelligence organizational financial performance, measured by the capital value of threat awareness
compared to the capital invested in the organization. (Capital invested includes

Knowledge Management Processes

93

existing tangible and intangible assets, not just annual budget.) Notice
that the threat awareness is directly related to the all-critical value of reducing
I&W risks (intelligence failures to warn that result in catastrophic lossesthese
are measured by policymakers).

3.6 Intelligence Business Strategy and Models

The commercial community has explored a wide range of business models that
apply KM (in the widest sense) to achieve key business objectives. These objectives include enhancing customer service to provide long-term customer satisfaction and retention, expanding access to customers (introducing new products
and services, expanding to new markets), increasing efficiency in operations
(reduced cost of operations), and introducing new network-based goods and
services (eCommerce or eBusiness). All of these objectives can be described by
value propositions that couple with business financial performance. (However,
as the dot com revolution has demonstrated, models and propositions must be
confirmed by real market behaviors to achieve financial success.)
The strategies that leverage KM to achieve these objectives fall into two
basic categories. The first emphasizes the use of analysis to understand the value
chain from first customer contact to delivery. Understanding the value added to
the customer by the transactions (as well as delivered goods and services) allows
the producer to increase value to the customer. Values that may be added to
intelligence consumers by KM include:
Service values. Greater value in services are provided to policymakers by

anticipating their intelligence needs, earning greater user trust in accuracy and focus of estimates and warnings, and providing more timely
delivery of intelligence. Service value is also increased as producers personalize (tailor) and adapt services to the consumers interests (needs) as
they change.
Intelligence product values. The value of intelligence products is
increased when greater value is added by improving accuracy, providing deeper and more robust rationale, focusing conclusions, and building increased consumer confidence (over time).
The second category of strategies (prompted by the eBusiness revolution)
seeks to transform the value chain by the introduction of electronic transactions
between the customer and retailer. These strategies use network-based advertising, ordering, and even delivery (for information services like banking, investment, and news) to reduce the friction of physical-world retailer-customer

94

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

transactions. These strategies introduce several benefitsall applicable to

intelligence:
Disintermediation. This is the elimination of intermediate processes and

entities between the customer and producer to reduce transaction friction. This friction adds cost and increases the difficulty for buyers to
locate sellers (cost of advertising), for buyers to evaluate products (cost
of travel and shopping), for buyers to purchase products (cost of sales)
and for sellers to maintain local inventories (cost of delivery). The
elimination of middlemen (e.g., wholesalers, distributors, and local
retailers) in eRetailers such as Amazon.com has reduced transaction and
intermediate costs and allowed direct transaction and delivery from
producer to customer with only the eRetailer in between. The effect of
disintermediation in intelligence is to give users greater and more
immediate access to intelligence products (via networks such as the U.S.
Intelink) and to analysis services via intelligence portals that span all
sources of intelligence.
Infomediation. The effect of disintermediation has introduced the role

of the information broker (infomediary) between customer and seller,

providing navigation services (e.g., shopping agents or auctioning and
negotiating agents) that act on the behalf of customers [31]. Intelligence communities are moving toward greater cross-functional collection management and analysis, reducing the stovepiped organization of
intelligence by collection disciplines (i.e., imagery, signals, and human
sources). As this happens, the traditional analysis role requires a higher
level of infomediation and greater automation because the analyst is
expected (by consumers) to become a broker across a wider range of
intelligence sources (including closed and open sources).
Customer aggregation. The networking of customers to producers allows

rapid analysis of customer actions (e.g., queries for information, browsing through catalogs of products, and purchasing decisions based on
information). This analysis enables the producers to better understand
customers, aggregate their behavior patterns, and react to (and perhaps
anticipate) customer needs. Commercial businesses use these capabilities to measure individual customer patterns and mass market trends to
more effectively personalize and target sales and new product developments. Intelligence producers likewise are enabled to analyze warfighter
and policymaker needs and uses of intelligence to adapt and tailor products and services to changing security threats.

95

Knowledge Management Processes

These value chain transformation strategies have produced a simple taxonomy to distinguish eBusiness models into four categories by the level of transaction between businesses and customers (Figure 3.10) [32]. Each model has
direct implications for intelligence product and service delivery:
1. Business to business (B2B). The large volume of trade between businesses (e.g., suppliers and manufacturers) has been enhanced by
network-based transactions (releases of specifications, requests for quotations, and bid responses) reducing the friction between suppliers and
producers. High-volume manufacturing industries such as the automakers are implementing B2B models to increase competition among
suppliers and reduce bid-quote-purchase transaction friction. This is
equivalent to process models that enable efficient electronic transactions between intelligence source providers (e.g., the IMINT,
SIGINT, or other stovepipes), which allow cross-source cueing, coordinated multiple-source collection, data fusion, and mining.
2. Business to customer (B2C). Direct networked outreach from producer
to consumer has enabled the personal computer (e.g., Dell Computer)
and book distribution (e.g., Amazon.com) industries to disintermediate local retailers and reach out on a global scale directly to customers.
Similarly, intelligence products are now being delivered (pushed) to
consumers on secure electronic networks, via subscription and express
order services, analogous to the B2B model.
To
Customers

Business

B2B
GM, Ford, D-C

B2C
Amazon.com
Dell Computers

Customers

C2B
Priceline.com

C2C
eBay

From

Business

Pull services for users to

request products and
solutions to problems

Information source brokers

(e.g., intelligence source
stovepipes) exchange and
collaboration

Push services to user

subscribers who request
products and solutions

Infomediary services
to enable users to
network and collaborate

Intelligence equivalents
to business models

Figure 3.10 Taxonomy of basic eBusiness models applied to intelligence.

96

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

3. Customer to business (C2B). Networks also allow customers to reach

out to a wider range of businesses to gain greater competitive advantage in seeking products and services. Businesses such as Priceline.com
(travel services) and Lendingtree.com (financial services) employ the
C2B model to enable customers to secure rapid quotations and secure
immediate purchases on relatively volatile products (remaining airline
seats and changing loan rates, respectively). Similarly, the introduction
of secure intelligence networks and on-line intelligence product libraries (e.g., common operating picture and map and imagery libraries)
allows consumers to pull intelligence from a broader range of sources.
(This model enables even greater competition between source providers and provides a means of measuring some aspects of intelligence
utility based on actual use of product types.)
4. Customer to customer (C2C). The C2C model automates the mediation process between consumers, enabling consumers to locate those
with similar purchasing-selling interests. eBay.com is the primary
commercial example of C2C, brokering between diverse buyers and
sellers worldwide on an limitless variety of items, based only on freeflow supply and demand. Intelligence nets that locate and connect
collectors, analysts, operators, and even consumers with common
interests introduce the C2C model, for all are consumers of intelligence at varying levels.

3.7 Intelligence Enterprise Architecture and Applications

The intelligence enterprise can be compared to the commercial business models
and applications, considering the analogies introduced in Chapter 1. Just like
commercial businesses, intelligence enterprises:
Measure and report to stakeholders the returns on investment. These

returns are measured in terms of intelligence performance (i.e., knowledge provided, accuracy and timeliness of delivery, and completeness
and sufficiency for decision making) and outcomes (i.e., effects of warnings provided, results of decisions based on knowledge delivered, and
utility to set long-term policies).
Service customers, the intelligence consumers. This is done by provid-

ing goods (intelligence products such as reports, warnings, analyses, and

target folders) and services (directed collections and analyses or tailored
portals on intelligence subjects pertinent to the consumers).

97

Knowledge Management Processes

Require intimate understanding of business operations and must adapt

those operations to the changing threat environment, just as businesses

must adapt to changing markets.
Manage a supply chain that involves the anticipation of future needs of

customers, the adjustment of the delivery of raw materials (intelligence

collections), the production of custom products to a diverse customer
base, and the delivery of products to customers just in time [33].
Consider the general business enterprise model (Figure 3.11) that can
directly represent an intelligence enterprise. The enterprise maintains a business
strategy to define, measure, and monitor the value of goods and services delivered to customers. The model includes both a front office, which services customers (intelligence consumers) and a back office, which includes the supply
chain (intelligence chain) and the supporting business intelligence operations
that monitor the supply chain and adapt to customer needs.
The enterprise strategy guides the entire enterprise by the value proposition, goals, and measures defined in the last section. The components of the
BSC, for example, can be correlated to the functions within the architecture.
Internal goals influence the BI and SCM components, while customer goals
guide the implementation of CRM functions. Learning goals guide the implementation of organizational development across all functional areas. Financial

Enterprise
strategy

Competitive
intelligence
Business operations

Customer Relationship Mgmt

Advertise
Marketing
products/services

Customer
service

Front office
applications

Customers
Order capture

Tasking

Plan-schedule
Collection

Human
resources mgt
Operations
analysis
Financial and
intellectual
capital mgt
Business Intelligence

Procurement
Manufacture
Logistics
shipping

Processing
analysis

Back office
applications

Dissemination

Supply Chain Mgmt

Figure 3.11 Enterprise architecture model related to the intelligence business model.

98

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

goals are achieved as an effect of these other activities; for this reason, attention
to the architecture is critical to establish the organizations functional base,
which minimizes transaction friction in front- and back-office functions.
3.7.1

Customer Relationship Management

CRM processes that build and maintain customer loyalty focus on managing the
relationship between provider and consumer. The short-term goal is customer
satisfaction; the long-term goal is loyalty. Intelligence CRM seeks to provide
intelligence content to consumers that anticipates their needs, focuses on the
specific information that supports their decision making, and provides drill
down to supporting rationale and data behind all conclusions. In order to
accomplish this, the consumer-producer relationship must be fully described in
models that include:
Consumer needs and uses of intelligenceapplications of intelligence

for decision making, key areas of customer uncertainty and lack of

knowledge, and specific impact of intelligence on the consumers decision making;
Consumer transactionsthe specific actions that occur between the
enterprise and intelligence consumers, including urgent requests, subscriptions (standing orders) for information, incremental and final
report deliveries, requests for clarifications, and issuances of alerts.
Automated CRM capabilities have been deployed in the electronic retailing community with growing success, employing the knowledge of electronic
transactions (from customers online browsing habits in online catalogs to their
personal purchasing history) to better understand customer interests. Similarly,
as intelligence has embraced wider dissemination on electronic networks, there
are strong analogies between commercial retail CRM and potential intelligence
CRM functions (Table 3.12). CRM offers the potential to personalize intelligence delivery to individual decision makers while tracking their changing interests as they browse subject offerings and issue requests through their own
custom portals.
3.7.2

Supply Chain Management

The SCM function monitors and controls the flow of the supply chain, providing internal control of planning, scheduling, inventory control, processing, and
delivery. Building on earlier generation enterprise resource planning (ERP)
functions, SCM functions can also extend beyond the enterprise to coordinate
the supply chain with suppliers (at the front end) and external customers (at the

Knowledge Management Processes

99

Table 3.12
Business Customer and Intelligence Consumer Relationship Analogies
Business CRM

Intelligence CRM

The customer: a purchaser of goods and services. The intelligence consumer: an authorized person
who uses intelligence or intelligence information
directly in the decision-making process or to
produce other intelligence
Business CRM Functions

Comparable Intelligence CRM Functions

1. Track customer catalog browsing to understand 1. Track consumer intelligence portal browsing to
interests and trends
understand interests and trends
2. Track and record customer transaction history: 2. Track and record consumer transactions:
inquiries, shopping (browsing offerings),
inquiries for reports, searches for online data,
purchases, returns, satisfaction survey responses requests for intelligence tasking (e.g. topics or
urgencies), uses of intelligence (e.g., decisions
made based on intelligence, benefits of
intelligence, or feedback)
3. Analyze individual customer buying patterns

3. Analyze individual consumer intelligence

request patterns

4. Personalize sales promotions to customer

interests (targeted marketing); suggest products
based on prior purchase patterns

4. Personalize news, reports, and alerts to

consumer interests; anticipate and deliver new
products based on previous interests and current
trends

5. Provide common access to customer profile to

marketing, sales reps, delivery, and customer
service to present coordinated delivery of service

5. Provide common access to consumer profile to

tasking, analysis, and production to deliver
coordinated intelligence to consumers from all
elements of the enterprise that interface with the
consumer

6. Analyze entire customer base: identify

customer groups, purchasing trends, and
behaviors to manage sales campaigns; introduce
new products and reach new markets

6. Analyze entire consumer base to identify

interest trends, concerns, and issues: identify
consumer groups with common interests; develop
products and services tailored to groups; identify
individual consumers with near identical interests
and offer collaborative analysis and products

delivery end). SCM is the core of B2B business models, seeking to integrate
front-end suppliers into an extended supply chain that optimizes the entire production process to slash inventory levels, improve on-time delivery, and reduce
the order-to-delivery (and payment) cycle time. In addition to throughput efficiency, the B2B models seek to aggregate orders to leverage the supply chain to
gain greater purchasing power, translating larger orders to reduced prices. The
key impact measures sought by SCM implementations include:

100

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Cash-to-cash cycle time (time from order placement to delivery/

payment);
Delivery performance (percentage of orders fulfilled on or before
request date);
Initial fill rate (percentage of orders shipped in suppliers first shipment);
Initial order lead time (supplier response time to fulfill order);
On-time receipt performance (percentage of supplier orders received on
time).

Like the commercial manufacturer, the intelligence enterprise operates a

supply chain that manufactures all-source intelligence products from raw
sources of intelligence data and relies on single-source suppliers (i.e., imagery,
signals, or human reports). The analogies between business and intelligence
SCM are apparent (Table 3.13) and the principles of automation, monitoring,
and adaptive control can benefit the high-volume intelligence supply chain in
terms of efficiency, product timeliness, and customer satisfaction.
Note that the supply chain in Figure 3.11 distinguishes the tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination (TCPED) stages associated
with the high-volume national intelligence supply chain. (The TCPED intelligence model is compared to other models in Section 6.2.)
3.7.3

Business Intelligence

The BI function, introduced in Chapter 1, provides all levels of the organization

with relevant information on internal operations and the external business environment (via marketing) to be exploited (analyzed and applied) to gain a competitive advantage. The BI function serves to provide strategic insight into overall
enterprise operations based on ready access to operating data. The objective of BI
is to enhance business decision making by providing accurate and timely information to decision makers. In many complex businesses, this has not been the
case; near-real-time quantitative data and models of operations have been absent
and management decisions have been base on intuition and scant measured data.
Similarly, in large intelligence organizations, it has been difficult to quantify
overall operating performance due to the lack of dedicated operations metrics
capture, storage, and analysis. Wal-Mart has become a commercial legend in BI
implementation by warehousing all point of sales, inventory, and supplier data to
analyze customer trends and adapt the entire retail supply chain to a high level of
response and efficiency. As shown in Figure 3.11, BI is integrated to both CRM
and SCM functions in measuring and providing intelligence to management to
adopt the strategic operating policies and tactical CRM and SCM operations.

Knowledge Management Processes

101

Table 3.13
Business and Intelligence SCM Analogies
Business SCM

Intelligence SCM

The Supply Chain:

The Supply Chain:

Suppliers: upstream producers of raw materials

(tier 2) and components (tier 1)

Suppliers: intelligence collectors and singlesource processing and analysis

Supply chainorder, plan, procure, produce, ship Supply chainplan, task collect, acquire data,
(delivery, order fulfillment)
analyze all-source data, produce intelligence
products, and disseminate
External customers

External intelligence consumers

Business SCM Functions

Comparable Intelligence SCM Functions

1. Supplier integrationprovide electronic

interactions with at least tier 1 suppliers, sharing
demand models and supplier capacity and
projected deliver data

1. Collection and silo integrationintegrate

collection planning, tasking to respond to current
and projected demands; coordinate multiple-INT
collections of data

2. Inventory and warehouse management

automated monitoring and management of
individual inventory items and movement through
warehouse to transport

2. Intelligence holdings managementdata

warehouse management to monitor use of
holdings, and current/projected demands to
assure key data availability

3. Process planning and schedulingmonitor

supply and demand in real-time; project demand
and schedule supply processes based on current
data and statistical models; eliminate inventory
stock outs

3. Intelligence production planning and

schedulingmeasure current requests, tasking,
processing, and analysis workflow to allocate
resources to optimize to priority, timeliness, and
depth metrics; eliminate no response to consumer
requests

4. Delivery and order fulfillmentplan order

sequencing to consolidate orders to combine
deliveries and deliver on time.

4. Digital productionprovide electronic delivery

of products with emerging results as well as final
point-in-time delivery

5. Extended customer integrationshare supply

chain data with consumers: status of current
orders in the supply chain and tracking past
history of performance

5. Extended consumer integrationshare supply

chain data with consumer, reporting time to
delivery for each request.

The emphasis of BI is on explicit data capture, storage, and analysis; through the
1990s, BI was the predominant driver for the implementation of corporate data
warehouses, and the development of online analytic processing (OLAP) tools.
(BI preceded KM concepts, and the subsequent introduction of broader KM
concepts added the complementary need for capture and analysis of tacit and
explicit knowledge throughout the enterprise [34].)
BI implementations within an intelligence organization provide intelligence about intelligenceinsight into the operation flow through the

102

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

intelligence cycle. The intelligence BI function should collect and analyze realtime workflow data to provide answers to questions such as:
What are the relative volumes of requests (for intelligence) by type?
What is the cost of each category of intelligence product?
What are the relative transaction costs of each stage in the supply chain?
What are the trends in usage (by consumers) of all forms of intelligence

over the past 12 months? Over the past 6 months? Over the past week?
Which single sources of incoming intelligence (e.g., SIGINT, IMINT,

and MASINT) have greatest utility in all-source products, by product

category?
Like their commercial counterparts, the intelligence BI function should
not only track the operational flows, they should also track the history of operational decisionsand their effects. Both operational and decision-making data
should be able to be conveniently navigated and analyzed to provide timely
operational insight to senior leadership who often ask the question, What is the
cost of a pound of intelligence?

3.8 Summary
KM provides a strategy and organizational discipline for integrating people,
processes, and IT into an effective enterprise. The development of KM as a discipline has moved through phases of emphasis, as noted by Tom Davenport, a
leading observer of the discipline:
The first generation of knowledge management within enterprises emphasized the supply side of knowledge: acquisition, storage, and dissemination of business operations and customer data. In this phase knowledge was
treated much like physical resources and implementation approaches
focused on building warehouses and channels for supply processing and
distribution. This phase paid great attention to systems, technology and
infrastructure; the focus was on acquiring, accumulating and distributing
explicit knowledge in the enterprise [35].

Second generation KM emphasis has turned attention to the demand side

of the knowledge economyseeking to identify value in the collected data to
allow the enterprise to add value from the knowledge base, enhance the knowledge spiral, and accelerate innovation. This generation has brought more focus
to people (the organization) and the value of tacit knowledge; the issues of

103

Knowledge Management Processes

sustainable knowledge creation and dissipation throughout the organization are

emphasized in this phase. The attention in this generation has moved from
understanding knowledge systems to understanding knowledge workers. The
third generation to come may be that of KM innovation, in which the knowledge process is viewed as a complete life cycle within the organization, and the
emphasis will turn to revolutionizing the organization and reducing the knowledge cycle time to adapt to an ever-changing world environment [36].
In this chapter, we introduced a taxonomy that distinguished the processes
of KM by the modes of transactions between explicit and tacit knowledge; the
subsequent five chapters are organized by this distinction in perspective and
mode of transacting knowledge (Table 3.14):
People and organizations. Chapter 4 introduces the characteristics and

virtues of the knowledge-based organization. This includes networks of

people who share vision and values to collaboratively solve problems,
learn, and adapt to the changing threat or business environment. The
emphasis is on the socialization of tacit knowledge exchange.
Processes and systems. Chapters 57 describe the internalization and

externalization transaction processes that exchange tacit and explicit

knowledge. Chapters 5 and 6 detail the principles and practice of the
core KM competency of intelligenceanalysis and synthesiswhere
Table 3.14
Structure of KM Presentation in This Text

Perspective of KM
Focus of the
Enterprise
Knowledge
Transactions

People
Operational View

Processes
HCI View

Technology
Technical View

Operations, processes,
training

Tools, thinking aids,

and visualization

Infrastructure,
knowledge protocols

Socialization tacit-totacit transactions

Internalization and
externalization
transactions between
tacit and explicit

Combination explicitto-explicit transactions

Chapter 4: The
Chapter 5: Intelligence
Subsequent Chapters
knowledge-based
analysis and synthesis
in This Book
intelligence organization Chapter 6: Implementing analysis-synthesis
Chapter 7: Knowledge
transfer and
transaction

Chapter 8: Knowledge
combination
Chapter 9: Enterprise
architecture

104

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

analysts network with other analysts and machines to create intelligence

products.
Technology. Chapters 8 and 9 then describe the information technolo-

gies (computing processes, processing nodes, and interconnecting network technologies) that constitute the implementation of the
architecture of the intelligence enterprise.

Endnotes
[1] ODell, C. and Grayson, C. J., Jr., If Only We Knew What We Know, New York: Free
Press, 1998.
[2] KM definitions are quoted from the DoD Web site: http://center.dau.mil/Topical_
Sessions_templates/Knowledge_Management/Definitions_of_Knowledge_Management.htm.
[3] Watson, S., Getting to AHA! ComputerWorld, January 26, 1998.
[4] NSA adopted the definition from the APQC. See Brooks, C. C.,Knowledge Management and the Intelligence Community, Defense Intelligence Journal, Vo. 9, No.1, Winter
2000, p.17. This issue of the journal is devoted to KM in the U.S. IC.
[5] Table 3.2 is based on Advancing Knowledge Management in DoD: A Primer for Executives
and Practitioners, Directorate of eBusiness & Knowledge Management, OASD/C3I,
September 2000, p. 2.
[6] Defense Planning Guidance FY02-07, April 2000, p. 102.
[7] Some texts refer to embedded knowledge as a third category; this knowledge integrated in
business processes can include either unconscious human process skills (tacit) or explicitly
coded computer programs (explicit).
[8] Polanyi, M., The Tacit Dimension, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966.
[9] Polanyi, M., The Tacit Dimension, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966, p. 7.
[10] Descartes published his Discourse on Method in 1637 and described his four-step
problem-solving method of analysis and synthesis in Part IIPrincipal Rules of the
Method.
[11] Pascal, B., Pensees, Part IV, The Means of Belief, 1660, para. 277.
[12] Devlin, K., Goodbye, Descartes: The End of Logic and the Search for a New Cosmology of the
Mind, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997, pp. vii and ix.
[13] This is not to imply that the human mind is a new intelligence target; leadership intentions and customer purchasing intentions are the targets of national and business intelligence, respectively. New representations will permit more accurate modeling of these
targets.
[14] Categories are adapted from: Davidow, W. H., and M. S. Malone, The Virtual Corporation, Chapter 3, New York: Harper-Collins, 1992.

Knowledge Management Processes

105

[15] The U.S. Defense Modeling and Simulation Office distinguishes model as A physical,
mathematical or otherwise logical representation of a system, entity, phenomenon or
process, and a simulation as, A method for implementing a model over time. Models
are essentially static representations, while simulations add dynamic (temporal) behavior.
[16] Weick, K., Sensemaking in Organizations, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1995.
[17] Davenport, T. H., and Prusak, L., Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What
They Know, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998.
[18] Nonaka, I., and H. Takeuchi, The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies
Create the Dynamics of Innovation, New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
[19] Nonaka, I., and H. Takeuchi, The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies
Create the Dynamics of Innovation, New York: Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 72.
[20] The ASP business model is also called managed service provider, netsourcing, or total service provider models.
[21] Sveiby, K. E., The Invisible Balance Sheet, September 8, 1997, updated October 2001,
accessed on-line January 1, 2003 at http://www.sveiby.com/InvisibleBalance.htm.
[22] Effective Use of Intelligence, Notes on Analytic Tradecraft, Note 11, CIA Directorate of
Intelligence, February 1996, p. 2.
[23] ODell, C. and Grayson, C. J., Jr. If Only We Knew What We Know, New York: Free
Press, 1998, p. 133.
[24] Pastore, R., Noodling Numbers, CIO, May 1, 2000, p. 122.
[25] Strassman, P. A., The Value of Knowledge Capital, American Programmer, March 1998.
See also Strassman, P. A., Knowledge Capital, New Canaan, CT: The Information Economics Press, 1999.
[26] Sveiby, K. E., The New Organizational Wealth: Managing and Measuring Knowledge-Based
Assets, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1997. ICM is similar to the introductory concept
illustrated in Figure 3.7.
[27] See Skyrme, D., Measuring the Value of Knowledge, London: Business Intelligence, 1998.
[28] Kaplan, R. S. and D. P. Norton, The Balanced Scorecard, Boston: Harvard Business School
Press, 1996; see also Kaplan, R. S., and D. P. Norton, Using the Balanced Scorecard as a
Strategic Management System, Harvard Business Review, JanuaryFebruary 1996.
[29] A Consumers Guide to Intelligence, Washington D.C.: CIA, n.d., p.42.
[30] This example model follows the approach introduced by Kaplan and Norton in The Balanced Scorecard, Chapter 7.
[31] Hagel, J., and M. Singer, Net Worth, Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 1999.
[32] This figure is adapted from, E-Commerce Survey, The Economist, February 26, 2000, p. 9.
[33] The concept of just in time delivery results from efficient supply chain management and
results in reduced inventories (and cost of inventory holdings.) The inventory reduction
benefits of just in time delivery of physical products can be high; for intelligence, the benefits of inventory (information) reductions are not as great, but the benefits of making

106

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

information available at the right time can provide significant benefits in reducing information overload.

[34] Nylund, A. L., Tracing the BI Family Tree, Knowledge Management, July 1999,
pp. 7071.
[35] See Davenport, T., Knowledge Management, Round 2, CIO Magazine, November 1,
1999, p. 30; for a supporting viewpoint, see also Karlenzig, W., Senge on Knowledge,
Knowledge Management, July 1999, p. 22.
[36] Firestone, J. M., Accelerated Innovation and KM Impact, White Paper 14, Executive Information Systems, Inc., December 1999.

4
The Knowledge-Based Intelligence
Organization
National intelligence organizations following World War II were characterized
by compartmentalization (insulated specialization for security purposes) that
required individual learning, critical analytic thinking, and problem solving by
small, specialized teams working in parallel (stovepipes or silos). These stovepipes
were organized under hierarchical organizations that exercised central control.
The approach was appropriate for the centralized organizations and bipolar
security problems of the relatively static Cold War, but the global breadth and
rapid dynamics of twenty-first century intelligence problems require more agile
networked organizations that apply organizationwide collaboration to replace
the compartmentalization of the past. Founded on the virtues of integrity and
trust, the disciplines of organizational collaboration, learning, and problem solving must be developed to support distributed intelligence collection, analysis,
and production.
This chapter focuses on the most critical factor in organizational knowledge creationthe people, their values, and organizational disciplines. The
chapter is structured to proceed from foundational virtues, structures, and communities of practice (Section 4.1) to the four organizational disciplines that support the knowledge creation process: learning, collaboration, problem solving,
and best practicescalled intelligence tradecraft (Sections 4.24.5, respectively). The emphasis in this chapter is in describing organizational qualities and
their application in intelligence organizations.
Notice that the people perspective of KM presented in this chapter can be
contrasted with the process and technology perspectives (Table 4.1) five ways:

107

108

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 4.1
Three KM Perspectives

Perspective of KM

People
Operational View

Processes
HCI View

Technology
Technical View

Focus of the
Enterprise

Operations, processes,
training

Tools, thinking aids

and visualization

Infrastructure,
collaboration protocols

Primary Modes
of Knowledge
Transaction

Socialization: tacit-totacit transactions

Internalization and
externalization:
transactions between
tacit and explicit

Combination: explicit-toexplicit transactions

Basis of
Collaboration

Shared purpose, values,

and tacit knowledge

Shared business
processes, tacit, and
explicit knowledge

Shared explicit content

and virtual spaces for
on-line collaboration

Collaboration
Enablers

Culture of trust and

commitment to shared
purpose

Collaboration rules of
engagement

Asynchronous and
synchronous groupware

Communities of practice

Compatible transaction Compatible standards for

processes
interoperation

Organizational learning
and problem solving
Tradecraft best practices
Barriers to
Collaboration

Culture

Context

Content

1. Enterprise focus. The focus is on the values, virtues, and mission shared
by the people in the organization.
2. Knowledge transaction. Socialization, the sharing of tacit knowledge by
methods such as story and dialogue, is the essential mode of transaction between people for collective learning, or collaboration to solve
problems.
3. Collaboration. The basis for human collaboration lies in shared purpose, values, and a common trust.
4. Enablers. A culture of trust develops communities that share their best
practices and experiences; collaborative problem solving enables the
growth of the trusting culture.
5. Barriers. The greatest barrier to collaboration is the inability of an
organizations culture to transform and embrace the sharing of values,
virtues, and disciplines.

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

109

This chapter purposely precedes the subsequent chapters on KM

processes, tools, architectures, and implementing technologies. The numerous
implementation failures of early-generation KM enterprises have most often
occurred because organizations have not embraced the new business models
introduced, nor have they used the new systems to collaborate. As a result, these
KM implementations have failed to deliver the intellectual capital promised.
These cases were generally not failures of process, technology, or infrastructure;
rather, they were failures of organizational culture change to embrace the new
organizational model. In particular, they failed to address the cultural barriers to
organizational knowledge sharing, learning, and problem solving. Numerous
texts have examined these implementation challenges [1], and all have emphasized that organizational transformation must precede KM system implementations. So, in this chapter, we focus on the development of the virtues and
disciplines that form the foundation of the knowledge-based intelligence
organization.

4.1 Virtues and Disciplines of the Knowledge-Based Organization

At the core of an agile knowledge-based intelligence organization is the ability to
sustain the creation of organizational knowledge through learning and collaboration. Underlying effective collaboration are values and virtues that are shared
by all. The U.S. IC, recognizing the need for such agility as its threat environment changes, has adopted knowledge-based organizational goals as the first two
of five objectives in its Strategic Intent [2]:
Unify the community through collaborative processes. This includes the

implementation of training and business processes to develop an interagency collaborative culture and the deployment of supporting
technologies.
Invest in people and knowledge. This area includes the assessment of customer needs and the conduct of events (training, exercises, experiments,
and conferences/seminars) to develop communities of practice and
build expertise in the staff to meet those needs. Supporting infrastructure developments include the integration of collaborative networks
and shared knowledge bases.
Speaking like a corporate officer, the chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council emphasized the importance of collaboration to achieve speed
and accuracy while reducing intelligence production costs:

110

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

two types of collaborative tools are needed: collaboration in the production processto increase speed and accuracyand expertise-based collaborationto enable teams of analysts to work on a project for several weeks or
months. These new collaborative tools will allow analysts to discuss contentious analytical issues, share information like maps, imagery, and database information, and coordinate draft assessments, all on-line, from their
own workspaces, resulting in substantial savings of time and effort [3].

Clearly identified organizational propositions of values and virtues (e.g.,

integrity and trust) shared by all enable knowledge sharingand form the basis
for organizational learning, collaboration, problem solving, and best-practices
(intelligence tradecraft) development introduced in this chapter. This is a necessary precedent before KM infrastructure and technology is introduced to the
organization. The intensely human values, virtues, and disciplines introduced in
the following sections are essential and foundational to building an intelligence
organization whose business processes are based on the value of shared
knowledge.
4.1.1

Establishing Organizational Values and Virtues

The foundation of all organizational discipline (ordered, self-controlled, and

structured behavior) is a common purpose and set of values shared by all. For an
organization to pursue a common purpose, the individual members must conform to a common standard and a common set of ideals for group conduct.
These standards and ideals of a society have been recognized as the virtues that
enable a society to operate in harmony. The knowledge-based intelligence
organization is a society that requires virtuous behavior of its members to enable
collaboration. Dorothy Leonard-Barton, in Wellsprings of Knowledge, distinguishes two categories of values: those that relate to basic human nature and
those that relate to performance of the task [4]. In the first category are big V values (also called moral virtues) that include basic human traits such as personal
integrity (consistency, honesty, and reliability), truthfulness, and trustworthiness. For the knowledge workers task, the second category (of little v values)
includes those values long sought by philosophers to arrive at knowledge or justify true belief. Some epistemologies define intellectual virtue as the foundation
of knowledge: Knowledge is a state of belief arising out of intellectual virtue [5].
Intellectual virtues include organizational conformity to a standard of right conduct in the exchange of ideas, in reasoning and in judgment.
The knowledge-sharing organization (Table 4.2) requires the commitment to both categories of values within individuals, shared within teams, and
across the entire organization.
Personal integrity is required of individual participants to objectively
and critically think, conduct self assessments, correct mindsets, and learn by

111

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

Table 4.2
Organizational Activities-to-Virtues Associations
Organization Level

Activities Performed

Moral Virtues

Intellectual Virtues

Individuals

Critical, creative, and

objective thinking

Integrity

Agility
Creativity

Personal adaptation

Imagination

Personal knowledge creation,

learning, and growth
Teams, Work
Groups

Cooperation

Truth

Diversity of minds

Collaboration

Trustworthiness

Openness

Knowledge sharing
Collaborative knowledge
creation, problem solving, and
process improvement
Entire Organization

Organizational goal setting,

strategy, planning, and
decision making

Wisdomseeking Unity of understanding

highest goal by the organizational purpose
best means

Organizational adaptation and

growth

acknowledging the experience of others. Organizational integrity is dependent

upon the individual integrity of all contributoras participants cooperate and
collaborate around a central purpose, the virtue of trust (built upon shared trustworthiness of individuals) opens the doors of sharing and exchange. Essential to
this process is the development of networks of conversations that are built on
communication transactions (e.g., assertions, declarations, queries, or offers)
that are ultimately based in personal commitments [6]. Ultimately, the virtue of
organizational wisdomseeking the highest goal by the best meansmust be
embraced by the entire organization recognizing a common purpose [7].
Trust and cooperative knowledge sharing must also be complemented by
an objective openness. Groups that place consensus over objectivity become
subject to certain dangerous decision-making errors. Janis, for example, coined
the popular term groupthink to define the subjective and noncritical tendency of
some groups to conform, leading to narrow decision-making processes that fail
to objectively consider alternatives [8]. Groupthink occurs when a group values
unanimity and cohesion over the objective consideration of alternatives.
Thomas Davenport, author of Working Knowledge: How Organizations
Manage What They Know [9], has noted that task-oriented (small v) virtues
emphasized in knowledge-based organizations necessarily differ from those in
the industrial age:

112

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Companies inherited an important set of virtues from the industrial era:

diligence, efficiency, replication, control, and operational excellence in general. Virtues that characterized those companies are important but are
becoming proportionately less so. In an age where business models decay
with surprising speed, a new set of virtues will be required creativity,
imagination, diversity, speed, openness and the capacity for continual
right-angle turns [10].

Here, Davenport emphasizes the virtues of agility (ability to change rapidly), creativity (ability to explore intellectually), and openness (ability to trust
inherently) as necessary conditions for competitive organizational performance
in a rapidly changing world. These virtues are necessities to enable the concept
of organizational revolution introduced in Chapter 1. When organizations must
continuously change even the business model itself, creativity, agility, and openness are required throughout the organization to maintain stability in the presence of such dynamics. Business models may change but virtues and purpose
provide the stability.

4.1.2

Mapping the Structures of Organizational Knowledge

Every organization has a structure and flow of knowledgea knowledge environment or ecology (emphasizing the self-organizing and balancing characteristics of organizational knowledge networks). The overall process of studying
and characterizing this environment is referred to as mappingexplicitly representing the network of nodes (competencies) and links (relationships,
knowledge flow paths) within the organization. The fundamental role of KM
organizational analysis is the mapping of knowledge within an existing organization. As a financial audit accounts for tangible assets, the knowledge mapping identifies the intangible tacit assets of the organization. The mapping
process is conducted by a variety of means: passive observation (where the analyst works within the community), active interviewing, formal questionnaires,
and analysis. As an ethnographic research activity, the mapping analyst seeks
to understand the unspoken, informal flows and sources of knowledge in the
day-to-day operations of the organization. The five stages of mapping (Figure
4.1) must be conducted in partnership with the owners, users, and KM
implementers.
The first phase is the definition of the formal organization chartthe formal flows of authority, command, reports, intranet collaboration, and information systems reporting. In this phase, the boundaries, or focus of mapping
interest is established. The second phase audits (identifies, enumerates, and
quantifies as appropriate) the following characteristics of the organization:

113

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

Performed in partnership with the ultimate owners-users-implementers

Interview
Participate
Inspect
docs

AAN
ACS
AFKM
AI
AKMS
AKO
ARDA
ASAS
ASD
AWE
B2B
B2C
BI
BPR
C2B
C2C
C2W

C4ISR
CAD
CAN
CDL
CI
CIA
CINC
CIO
CM
CMO
CND

Army After Next

Advanced Combat System
Air Force Knowledge Management
Artificial Intelligence
Acquisition KM System
Army Knowledge Online
Advanced Research Development Agency
All-Source Analysis System
Asssitant Secretary of Defense
Advanced Warfighting Experiment
Business to Business
Business to Consumer
Business Intelligence
Business Process Reengineering
Consumer to Business
Consumer to Consumer
Command and Control Warfare
Command,Control, Communication,
Computation, Intelligence,Surveaillance,
Reconnaissance
Computer Aided Design
Campus Area net
Common Data Link
Competitive Intelligence
Central Intelligence Agency
Commander in Chief
Chief Information Officer
Content Management
Central mASINT Office
Computer Network Defense

Define

Audit

Organize

Map

Identify the
high-level
organizational
structure and
areas of study:
Boundaries
Areas of focus

Study, analyze
the people and
products; find
the:
Flow paths
Repositories
Bottlenecks
Competencies
Communities

Catalog the
data to allow
analysis:
Knowledge
objects
Sources
Sinks
Categories
Values, utility
Anomalies

Identify the
knowledge
structure:
Clusters
Critical paths
Repositories
Formal and
informal
Find the gaps

Benchmark
and plan
Benchmark
with others;
plan the
transition
changes:
Cultural
Communities
Flow paths
Processes
Training

Figure 4.1 Organizational knowledge mapping process.

1. Knowledge sourcesthe people and systems that produce and articulate knowledge in the form of conversation, developed skills,
reports, implemented (but perhaps not documented) processes, and
databases.
2. Knowledge flowpathsthe flows of knowledge, tacit and explicit, formal and informal. These paths can be identified by analyzing the
transactions between people and systems; the participants in the transactions provide insight into the organizational network structure by
which knowledge is created, stored, and applied. The analysis must
distinguish between seekers and providers of knowledge and their relationships (e.g., trust, shared understanding, or cultural compatibility)
and mutual benefits in the transaction.
3. Boundaries and constraintsthe boundaries and barriers that control,
guide, or constrict the creation and flow of knowledge. These may
include cultural, political (policy), personal, or electronic system characteristics or incompatibilities.
4. Knowledge repositoriesthe means of maintaining organizational
knowledge, including tacit repositories (e.g., communities of experts
that share experience about a common practice) and explicit storage
(e.g., legacy hardcopy reports in library holdings, databases, or data
warehouses).

114

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Once audited, the audit data is organized in the third phase by clustering
the categories of knowledge, nodes (sources and sinks), and links unique to the
organization. The structure of this organization, usually a table or a spreadsheet,
provides insight into the categories of knowledge, transactions, and flow paths;
it provides a format to review with organization members to convey initial
results, make corrections, and refine the audit. This phase also provides the
foundation for quantifying the intellectual capital of the organization, and the
audit categories should follow the categories of the intellectual capital accounting method adopted (e.g., balanced scorecard as described in Chapter 3). The
process of identifying the categories of knowledge used by the organization
develops a taxonomy (structure) of the knowledge required to operate the
organization. The taxonomy, like the Dewey decimal system in a library, forms
the structure for indexing the organizations knowledge base, creating directories
of explicit knowledge and organizational tacit expertise.
The fourth phase, mapping, transforms the organized data into a structure
(often, but not necessarily, graphical) that explicitly identifies the current
knowledge network. Explicit and tacit knowledge flows and repositories are distinguished, as well as the social networks that support them. This process of
visualizing the structure may also identify clusters of expertise, gaps in the flows,
chokepoints, as well as areas of best (and worst) practices within the network.
Once the organizations current structure is understood, the structure can
be compared to similar structures in other organizations by benchmarking in the
final phase. Benchmarking is the process of identifying, learning, and adapting
outstanding practices and processes from any organization, anywhere in the
world, to help an organization improve its performance. Benchmarking gathers
the tacit knowledgethe know-how, judgments, and enablersthat explicit
knowledge often misses [11]. This process allows the exchange of quantitative
performance data and qualitative best-practice knowledge to be shared and compared with similar organizations to explore areas for potential improvement and
potential risks. This process allows the organization to plan cultural, infrastructure, and technology changes to improve the effectiveness of the knowledge network. The process also allows for comparison of plans with the prior experience
of other organizations implementing change.
The U.S. CIA has performed a mapping analysis to support KM enterprise
automation initiatives, as well as to satisfy its legal requirements to store records
of operations and analyses [12]. The agency implemented a metadata repository
that indexes abstracted metadata (e.g., author, subject per an intelligence taxonomy, date, and security level) for all holdings (both hardcopy and softcopy)
across a wide variety of databases and library holdingsall at multiple levels of
security access. The repository allows intelligence officers to search for holdings
on topics of interest, but a multiple-level security feature limits their search
reporting to those holdings to which they have access. Because the repository

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

115

provides only abstracts, access may still be controlled by the originator (i.e., originators of a document maintain security control and may choose to grant access to
a complete document on an individual need-to-know basis when requested). The
single repository indexes holdings from multiple databases; metadata is automatically generated by tools that read existing and newly created documents. Because
the repository provides a pointer to the originating authors, it also provides critical pointers to people, or a directory that identifies people within the agency with
experience and expertise by subject (e.g., country, intelligence target, or analytic
methods). In this sense, the repository indexes tacit knowledge (the people with
expertise) as well as explicit knowledge (the documents).
4.1.3

Identifying Communities of Organizational Practice

A critical result of any mapping analysis is the identification of the clusters of

individuals who constitute formal and informal groups that create, share, and
maintain tacit knowledge on subjects of common interest. A variety of clusters
can be identified by the different categories of organizational units that share
interests, purpose, and knowledge (Table 4.3).
Functional workgroups are organized by business domain (e.g., an intelligence topic domain: a region of the world or a threat category) or by intelligence
Table 4.3
Fundamental Organizational Clusters of Purpose and Knowledge
Organizational Unit

Description

Intelligence Examples

Entire organization

Formal organization or community of

organizations defined by charter,
budgets, and authority structure

Intelligence agency or community of

agencies, a corporate competitive
intelligence unit.

Functional workgroup

Functional unit within the

organization; permanent functional
responsibility

IMINT analytic team, CI product

analysis cell, a national watch unit

Cross-functional
project team

Project unit made up of individuals

with diverse expertise from within
the organization; temporary task
(project) responsibility

Crisis response team, IMINT-SIGINT

target development team, joint
intel-ops team

Community of practice

Formal or ad hoc groups of

individuals with common interests
who share for the mutual benefit of
gaining shared knowledge

Subject matter expert groups (e.g.,

Asian interest groups), professional
organization participants

Informal community

Friends, associates, and colleagues

who share knowledge of common
interest on an ad hoc basis.

Long-term colleagues who gather to

share experience across ops-intel
although organizationally dispersed

116

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

specialty (e.g., telemetry intelligence, special SIGINT, or radar imagery)

to maintain established groups of specialization. Within these groups resides a
permanent longer term repository of tacit experience and stored explicit data
holdings. The functional workgroup benefits from stability, established responsibilities, processes and storage, and high potential for sharing. Functional workgroups provide the high-volume knowledge production of the organization but
lack the agility to respond to projects and crises.
Cross-functional project teams are shorter term project groups that can be
formed rapidly (and dismissed just as rapidly) to solve special intelligence problems, maintain special surveillance watches, prepare for threats, or respond to
crises. These groups include individuals from all appropriate functional disciplineswith the diversity often characteristic of the makeup of the larger
organization, but on a small scalewith reach back to expertise in functional
departments. Such teams are candidates for virtual collaborationusing network infrastructure and groupware to allow them to form quickly without fulltime physical colocation, share their own perspective and data, and communicate while working together toward a common goal.
Communities of organizational practice are the critical organized groups
of experts and interested individuals who share knowledge on a regular basis
about a particular domain of interest (e.g., Middle Eastern culture, telemetry
analysis, foreign languages, social network analysis, ELINT, or digital production with XML). KM researchers have recognized that such organized communities provide a significant contribution to organizational learning by providing
a forum for:
Sharing current problems and issues;
Capturing tacit experience and building repositories of best practices;
Linking individuals with similar problems, knowledge, and experience;
Mentoring new entrants to the community and other interested parties.

Because participation in communities of practice is based on individual

interest, not organizational assignment, these communities may extend beyond
the duration of temporary assignments and cut across organizational boundaries. In the commercial business world, KM practitioners have implemented
message boards, collaboration spaces, and best-practice databases to foster and
support such communities. KM researchers have recognized that a key distinction between teams (or workgroups) and communities is this: knowledge is created in teams, but it resides and is diffused and shared through communities
[13]. The activities of working, learning, and innovating have traditionally been
treated as independent (and conflicting) activities performed in the office, in the
classroom, and in the lab. However, studies by John Seely Brown, chief scientist

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

117

of Xerox PARC, have indicated that once these activities are unified in communities of practice, they have the potential to significantly enhance knowledge
transfer and creation [14].
Finally, organizational knowledge mappings generally recognize the existence of informal (or underground) communities of knowledge sharing among
friends, career colleagues, and business acquaintances. These informal paths
extend outside the organization and can be transient, yet provide valuable
sources of insight (because they often provide radically different perspectives)
and threatening sources of risk (due to knowledge leakage). Security plans and
knowledge mappings must consider these informal paths.
4.1.4

Initiating KM Projects

The knowledge mapping and benchmarking process must precede implementation of KM initiatives, forming the understanding of current competencies and
processes and the baseline for measuring any benefits of change. KM implementation plans within intelligence organizations generally consider four components, framed by the kind of knowledge being addressed and the areas of
investment in KM initiatives (Figure 4.2) [15]:
1. Organizational competencies. The first area includes assessment of
workforce competencies and forms the basis of an intellectual capital
audit of human capital. This area also includes the capture of best
KM initiative

Knowledge type
Explicit
Tactic

Organization
(people, processes)

Infrastructure
(technology, processes)

Competencies
Education, training
Best practice,
business process
capture
Human capital
analysis

KM network
KM Intranets,
collaborative groupware,
analytic tools
Best practice
databases
Knowledge directories

Social collaboration
Communities of
practice enhancement
and formation
Knowledge creation
socialization events
Human capital
analysis

Virtual collaboration
Virtual teams and
communities of practice
Videoconference and
collaborative groupware

Figure 4.2 Basic categories of KM initiatives.

118

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

practices (the intelligence business processes, or tradecraft) and the

development of core competencies through training and education.
This assessment forms the basis of intellectual capital audit.
2. Social collaboration. Initiatives in this area enforce established face-toface communities of practice and develop new communities. These
activities enhance the socialization process through meetings and
media (e.g., newsletters, reports, and directories).
3. KM networks. Infrastructure initiatives implement networks (e.g., corporate intranets) and processes (e.g., databases, groupware, applications, and analytic tools) to provide for the capture and exchange of
explicit knowledge.
4. Virtual collaboration. The emphasis in this area is applying technology
to create connectivity among and between communities of practice.
Intranets and collaboration groupware (discussed in Section 4.3.2)
enable collaboration at different times and places for virtual
teamsand provide the ability to identify and introduce communities with similar interests that may be unaware of each other.
4.1.5

Communicating Tacit Knowledge by Storytelling

The KM community has recognized the strength of narrative communicationdialogue and storytellingto communicate the values, emotion (feelings,
passion), and sense of immersed experience that makeup personalized, tacit
knowledge. Such tacit communication is essential in the cultural transformation
necessary for collaborative knowledge sharing (the socialization process of the
knowledge spiral introduced in Chapter 3) and organizational process innovation. The introduction of KM initiatives can bring significant organizational
change because it may require cultural transitions in several areas:
Changes in purpose, values, and collaborative virtues;
Construction of new social networks of trust and communication;
Organizational structure changes (networks replace hierarchies);
Business process agility, resulting a new culture of continual change

(training to adopt new procedures and to create new products).

All of these changes require participation by the workforce and the communication of tacit knowledge across the organization. In the same sense, the
collaborative socialization process involves the exchange of tacit experience and
insight among collaborators, often expressed in the form of dialogue and stories.
Dialogue is the normal mode of exchange between individuals or small groups,

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

119

while storytelling refers to the more formal method of creating a story to convey
tacit knowledge to a large group. Both methods employ a narrative mode of
thought and highly interactive knowledge constructs to communicate to active
recipients, in contrast with the abstract, analytical mode used by logicians and
mathematics to communicate explicit knowledge (Table 4.4).
Storytelling provides a complement to abstract, analytical thinking and
communication, allowing humans to share experience, insight, and issues (e.g.,
unarticulated concerns about evidence expressed as negative feelings, or general
impressions about repeated events not yet explicitly defined as threat patterns).
KM consultant Stephen Denning, who teaches the methodology for creation of
story narratives, describes the complementary nature of these modes:
Storytelling doesnt replace analytical thinking. It supplements it by enabling us to imagine new perspectives and new worlds, and is ideally suited

Table 4.4
Analytical and Storytelling Modes of Thought and Communication

Mode of Thought
and Communication
Knowledge Constructs

Abstract
Analytical Mode Communicate
Explicit Knowledge

Narrative
Storytelling Mode
Communicate Tacit Knowledge

Analytic process (static); little

interaction required

Dynamic interactive exchange

between teller and listener

Mathematical models, quantitative Qualitative, social constructs and

and logical (context-free) constructs context

Communication Form

Role of the Receiver

Knowledge Presenter

Physical science context

Mind, emotional context

Interaction of physical objects

Interaction of people, ideas, minds

Y = mx + b

Once in a deep, dark forest

Conveys explicit knowledge

formal channels

Conveys tacit knowledge

informal channels

Linearity, precision, predictable

structure, context free

Nonlinearity, imprecision, surprise,

context rich

Passive spectator

Active participant

View through a window

Immerse into virtual world

No deviation from strict rules of

interpretation, no gaps in
presentation, no creativity

Imagination must collaborate with

storyteller to fill in gaps based on
personal experience

IT documents, numerical and

graphical visualizations on
electronic displays

Humans (knowledge artists,

storytellers) who can describe or
present what they see differently,
bringing life to an idea or concept

120

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

to communicating change and stimulating innovation. Abstract analysis is

easier to understand when seen through the lens of a well-chosen story and
can of course be used to make explicit the implications of a story. I propose marrying the communicative and imaginative strengths of storytelling
with the advantages of abstract and scientific analysis [16].

The organic school of KM that applies storytelling to cultural transformation emphasizes a human behavioral approach to organizational socialization,
accepting the organization as a complex ecology that may be changed in a large
way by small effects. These effects include the use of a powerful, effective story
that communicates in a way that spreads credible tacit knowledge across the
entire organization [17]. This school classifies tacit knowledge into artifacts,
skills, heuristics, experience, and natural talents (the so-called ASHEN classification of tacit knowledge) and categorizes an organizations tacit knowledge in
these classes to understand the flow within informal communities.
The organic approach to organizational culture change (Figure 4.3) first
understands the organizational tacit knowledge by capturing anecdotal stories
that describe the operation, experiences, and implicit values of the organization.
From the oral repository of tacit knowledge in these stories, the KM researcher
maps the culture, describing high-level patterns of behavior in archetypes and stories (e.g., exemplar people and roles in the organization and representative knowledge transaction processes, both good and bad). From the analysis of these
archetypal stories, the KM researcher can synthesize or select real stories that communicate desired organizational values and create cross-cultural understanding.
This organic research approach has been developed and applied by KM
consultant and researcher Dave Snowden, who has immersed himself in organizations to observe the flow of knowledge among communities of practice.
Snowdon has noted:
One of the paradoxes is that informal communities are the real dynamos of
knowledge. If you build strong boundaries between formal and informal
communities, you get increased knowledge flows. But if you try to break

Analysis
Mapping knowledge

Capturing
field anecdotes Assess culture by
archetypes and story
(narratives)
Oral history knowledge
repository

Synthesis
Story management
to guide culture
Learning via the
metaphor and the
archetype story

Figure 4.3 Organizational analysis and change-story synthesis.

Cross-culture
understanding
and integration

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

121

the boundaries down, the informal knowledge goes offsite because people
dont feel secure [18].

Snowdons studies revealed this need for a delicate balance between sharing and protection of informal and formal information flows. Attempts to put
everything on-line may bring organizational insecurity (and reluctance to
share). Nurturing informal sharing within secure communities of practice and
distinguishing such sharing from formal sharing (e.g., shared data, best practices, or eLearning) enables the rich exchange of tacit knowledge when creative
ideas are fragile and emergent.

4.2 Organizational Learning

Educators frequently cite futurist Alvin Tofflers remarks on the preeminence of
learning in his 1970 bestseller, Future Shock: The illiterate of the 21st Century
will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn,
unlearn, and relearn. Toffler foresaw that rapid technological change and
globalization would demand greater agility and flexibility in learningthe rapid
creation and application of relevant knowledge that creates value. Such agility
and flexibility requires learning to be a continuous and lifelong processa fundamental discipline of the knowledge-based organization.
Peter Senges 1990 classic, The Fifth Discipline, articulated and popularized the concept of the learning organization where people continually expand
their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive
patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and
where people are continually learning how to learn together [19]. Senge
asserted that the fundamental distinction between traditional controlling
organizations and adaptive self-learning organizations are five key disciplines
including both virtues (commitment to personal and team learning, vision sharing, and organizational trust) and skills (developing holistic thinking, team
learning, and tacit mental model sharing). Senges core disciplines, moving from
the individual to organizational disciplines, included:
Personal mastery. Individuals must be committed to lifelong learning

toward the end of personal and organization growth. The desire to learn
must be to seek a clarification of ones personal vision and role within
the organization.
Systems thinking. Senge emphasized holistic thinking, the approach for

high-level study of life situations as complex systems. An element of

learning is the ability to study interrelationships within complex

122

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

dynamic systems and explore and learn to recognize high-level patterns

of emergent behavior. (We discuss this in greater detail in Section 4.4.)
Mental models. Senge recognized the importance of tacit knowledge

(mental, rather than explicit, models) and its communication through

the process of socialization. The learning organization builds shared
mental models by sharing tacit knowledge in the storytelling process
and the planning process. Senge emphasized planning as a tacitknowledge sharing process that causes individuals to envision, articulate, and share solutionscreating a common understanding of goals,
issues, alternatives, and solutions.
Shared vision. The organization that shares a collective aspiration must

learn to link together personal visions without conflicts or competition,

creating a shared commitment to a common organizational goal set.
Team learning. Finally, a learning organization acknowledges and

understands the diversity of its makeupand adapts its behaviors, patterns of interaction, and dialogue to enable growth in personal and
organizational knowledge.
It is important, here, to distinguish the kind of transformational learning
that Senge was referring to (which brings cultural change across an entire
organization), from the smaller scale group learning that takes place when an
intelligence team or cell conducts a long-term study or must rapidly get up to
speed on a new subject or crisis. Large-scale organizationwide transformational
learning addresses the long-term culture changing efforts to move whole organizations toward collaborative, sharing cultures. Group learning and Senges personal mastery, on the other hand, includes the profound and rapid growth of
subject matter knowledge (intelligence) that can occur when a diverse intelligence team collaborates to study an intelligence target. In the next subsections,
we address the primary learning methods that contribute to both.
4.2.1

Defining and Measuring Learning

The process of group learning and personal mastery requires the development of
both reasoning and emotional skills. The level of learning achievement can be
assessed by the degree to which those skills have been acquired. Researcher Benjamin Bloom and a team of educators have defined a widely used taxonomy of
the domains of human learning: knowledge, attitude, and skills (KAS) [20].
These three areas represent the cognitive (or mental skills), affective (attitude or
emotional skills), and psychomotor (manual or physical movement) domains of
human learning.

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

123

The taxonomy of cognitive and affective skills can be related to explicit

and tacit knowledge categories, respectively, to provide a helpful scale for measuring the level of knowledge achieved by an individual or group on a particular
subject. The levels of learning can be applied to the states of knowledge developed by an intelligence team on a particular problem. Table 4.5 compares the
cognitive learning levels, ordered from simple to complex following the Bloom
model, for a typical intelligence problem to illustrate the gradation of cognitive
intelligence skills.
4.2.2

Organizational Knowledge Maturity Measurement

The goal of organizational learning is the development of maturity at the organizational levela measure of the state of an organizations knowledge about its
domain of operations and its ability to continuously apply that knowledge to
increase corporate value to achieve business goals.
Carnegie-Mellon University Software Engineering Institute has defined a
five-level People Capability Maturity Model (P-CMM ) that distinguishes
five levels of organizational maturity, which can be measured to assess and
Table 4.5
Cognitive, Explicit Learning Domain Skills Applied to Intelligence
Cognitive
Explicit Knowing
Mental Reasoning Skills

Intelligence Example:
Foreign Threat Analysis

1. Knowingretaining and recalling data,

information, and knowledge

1. Knows the foreign nation-state authorities,

government, organization, and military command
structure.

2. Comprehendinginterpreting problems,
translating and relating data to information,
assigning meaning

2. Comprehends the relationships and influences

between government organizations and actors;
comprehends the relative roles of all players

3. Applyingapplying concepts from one

situation to another, reasoning about cases
and analogies

3. Applies experiences of similar and previous

governments to reason about formation of policy
and intentions.

4. Analyzingdecomposing concepts into

components and relationships

4. Analyzes government policy statements and

raw intelligence data; links all data to
organizations and actions

5. Synthesizingconstructing concepts from 5. Synthesizes models of national leadership intention formation, planning, and decision making
components and assigning new meanings
6. Evaluatingmaking judgments about the 6. Evaluates models and hypotheses, comparing
values of concepts for decision making
and adapting models as time progresses to asses
the utility of models and competing hypotheses

124

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

quantify the maturity of the workforce and its organizational KM performance.

The P-CMM framework can be applied, for example, to an intelligence
organizations analytic unit (Table 4.6) to measure current maturity and develop
strategy to increase to higher levels of performance [21]. The levels are successive
plateaus of practice, each building on the preceding foundation. The P-CMM
provides a quantitative tool to measure and improve individual competencies,
develop effective collaborative teams, and motivate improved organizational
performance.
An organization may estimate its maturity, unit by unit, to contribute to
intellectual capital estimation and to focus its learning investments (formal and
informal). The highest level of optimized performance requires continual measurement of the effectiveness of intelligence processes. One of the benefits of
Table 4.6
Capability Maturity Levels of Intelligence Analysis
Maturity
Level

Key Practices Characterizing the

Maturity Level

Representative Practices Applied to

the Discipline of Intelligence Analysis

1. Initial

Inconsistent management of the

workforce

Ad hoc mentoring; lack of standard

approaches, processes, or training across
the analytic workforce

Ad hoc approach to problem solving

across the organization

No collaboration in learning or analytic

problem solving; different analytic standard
applied across different units

2. Managed

Focus on management of people

Workforce performance management;

evaluation of labor per unit of intelligence
product delivered

3. Defined

Focus on management of competency

of the workforce

Introduction of analytic processes, training,

and evaluation of personnel competency,
growth
Evaluation of analytic performance;
accuracy of intelligence

4. Predictable Focus on management of capabilities

Standard analytic processes in place, with

Workforce is empowered, and practices training and capability measurement
are measured
Evaluation of effectiveness: metrics used
to evaluate analysis utility to customers

5. Optimized

Focus on management of continuous

change and improvement
Practices are measured and improved
to deliver higher value

Continuous characterization of intelligence

problem environment and adaptation of
mission
Continuous measurement and closed-loop
adaptation of analytic processes against
changing mission and customer values

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

125

formal e-learning systems to be discussed in the next section is the ability to

measure, capture, and track the achieved skill levels of individuals within the
organization to contribute to the measurement of organizational maturity. Similarly, the CRM systems introduced in the last chapter provide a tool to measure
the intelligence consumer satisfaction with delivered intelligence.
4.2.3

Learning Modes

The organizational learning process can be formal (e.g., classroom education or

training) or informal (e.g., hands-on, day-to-day experience). In the following
paragraphs, we describe each of these processes and their roles in organizational
learning in the intelligence organization.
4.2.3.1 Informal Learning

We gain experience by informal modes of learning on the job alone, with mentors, team members, or while mentoring others. The methods of informal learning are as broad as the methods of exchanging knowledge introduced in the last
chapter. But the essence of the learning organization is the ability to translate
what has been learned into changed organizational behavior. David Garvin has
identified five fundamental organizational methodologies that are essential to
implementing the feedback from learning to change; all have direct application
in an intelligence organization [22].
1. Systematic problem solving. Organizations require a clearly defined
methodology for describing and solving problems, and then for implementing the solutions across the organization. Methods for acquiring
and analyzing data, synthesizing hypothesis, and testing new ideas
must be understood by all to permit collaborative problem solving.
(These methods are described in Section 4.4 of this chapter.) The
process must also allow for the communication of lessons learned and
best practices developed (the intelligence tradecraft) across the
organization.
2. Experimentation. As the external environment changes, the organization must be enabled to explore changes in the intelligence process.
This is done by conducting experiments that take excursions from the
normal processes to attack new problems and evaluate alternative tools
and methods, data sources, or technologies. A formal policy to encourage experimentation, with the acknowledgment that some experiments
will fail, allows new ideas to be tested, adapted, and adopted in the
normal course of business, not as special exceptions. Experimentation
can be performed within ongoing programs (e.g., use of new analytic
tools by an intelligence cell) or in demonstration programs dedicated

126

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

to exploring entirely new ways of conducting analysis (e.g., the creation of a dedicated Web-based pilot project independent of normal
operations and dedicated to a particular intelligence subject domain).
3. Internal experience. As collaborating teams solve a diversity of intelligence problems, experimenting with new sources and methods, the
lessons that are learned must be exchanged and applied across the
organization. This process of explicitly codifying lessons learned and
making them widely available for others to adopt seems trivial, but in
practice requires significant organizational discipline. One of the great
values of communities of common practice is their informal exchange
of lessons learned; organizations need such communities and must
support formal methods that reach beyond these communities. Learning organizations take the time to elicit the lessons from project teams
and explicitly record (index and store) them for access and application
across the organization. Such databases allow users to locate teams
with similar problems and lessons learned from experimentation, such
as approaches that succeeded and failed, expected performance levels,
and best data sources and methods.
4. External sources of comparison. While the lessons learned just described
applied to self learning, intelligence organizations must look to external sources (in the commercial world, academia, and other cooperating
intelligence organizations) to gain different perspectives and experiences not possible within their own organizations. A wide variety of
methods can be employed to secure the knowledge from external perspectives, such as making acquisitions (in the business world), establishing strategic relationships, the use of consultants, establishing
consortia. The process of sharing, then critically comparing qualitative
and quantitative data about processes and performance across organizations (or units within a large organization), enables leaders and
process owners to objectively review the relative effectiveness of alternative approaches. Benchmarking is the process of improving performance by continuously identifying, understanding, and adapting
outstanding practices and processes found inside and outside the
organization [23]. The benchmarking process is an analytic process
that requires compared processes to be modeled, quantitatively measured, deeply understood, and objectively evaluated. The insight gained
is an understanding of how best performance is achieved; the knowledge is then leveraged to predict the impact of improvements on overall organizational performance.
5. Transferring knowledge. Finally, an intelligence organization must
develop the means to transfer people (tacit transfer of skills,

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

127

experience, and passion by rotation, mentoring, and integrating

process teams) and processes (explicit transfer of data, information,
business processes on networks) within the organization. In Working
Knowledge [24], Davenport and Prusak point out that spontaneous,
unstructured knowledge exchange (e.g., discussions at the water
cooler, exchanges among informal communities of interest, and discussions at periodic knowledge fairs) is vital to an organizations success, and the organization must adopt strategies to encourage such
sharing.
Notice that each of these activities contribute to moving individuals and
teams around the learning spiral of Noinaka and Tageuchi (introduced in the
last chapter) by encouraging discussion (socialization), explicit description
(externalization), analysis and evaluation (combination), and dissemination of
results (internalization).
4.2.3.2 Formal Learning

In addition to informal learning, formal modes provide the classical introduction to subject-matter knowledge. For centuries, formal learning has focused on
a traditional classroom model that formalizes the roles of instructor and student
and formalizes the learning process in terms of courses of study defined by a syllabus and learning completion defined by testing criteria. The advent of electronic storage and communication has introduced additional formal learning
processes that allow the process to transcend space-time limitations of the traditional classroom. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, video, communication, and
networking technologies have enabled the capture, enhancement, and distribution of canned and interactive instructional material. These permit wider distribution of instructional material while enriching the instruction with student
interaction (rather than passive listening to lectures). Information technologies
have enabled four distinct learning modes that are defined by distinguishing
both the time and space of interaction between the learner and the instructor
(Figure 4.4) [25]:
1. Residential learning (RL). Traditional residential learning places the
students and instructor in the physical classroom at the same time and
place. This proximity allows direct interaction between the student
and instructor and allows the instructor to tailor the material to the
students.
2. Distance learning remote (DL-remote). Remote distance learning provides live transmission of the instruction to multiple, distributed locations. The mode effectively extends the classroom across space to reach

128

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Time of instruction-learning

Same

Different

1. Residential
learning

Different

Instructor-student place

Same

2. Distance
learning
(DL)remote
classroom

3. DLcanned

Synchronous
learning

Asynchronous
learning

4. DL
collaboration

Figure 4.4 The major formal learning modes.

a wider student audience. Two-way audio and video can permit limited interaction between extended classrooms and the instructor.
While RL and DL-remote synchronize instruction and learning
at the same time, the next two modes are asynchronous, allowing
learning to occur at a time and place separate from the instructors
presentation.
3. Distance learning canned (DL-canned). This mode simply packages (or
cans) the instruction in some media for later presentation at the students convenience (e.g., traditional hardcopy texts, recorded audio or
video, or softcopy materials on compact discs) DL-canned materials
include computer-based training courseware that has built-in features
to interact with the student to test comprehension, adaptively present
material to meet a students learning style, and link to supplementary
materials to the Internet.
4. Distance learning collaborative (DL-collaborative). The collaborative
mode of learning (often described as e-learning) integrates canned
material while allowing on-line asynchronous interaction between the
student and the instructor (e.g., via e-mail, chat, or videoconference).
Collaboration may also occur between the student and software
agents (personal coaches) that monitor progress, offer feedback, and
recommend effective paths to on-line knowledge.

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

129

Of course, the DL modes may be combined in a course package to allow

periodic synchronous instruction or live lab events interspersed between periods
of asynchronous learning. The asynchronous mode may also include interactive
simulations (e.g., analytic problem games) to develop and evaluate student skills
(and measure performance). The advantages of traditional RL include the direct
socialization between student and instructor to exchange tacit knowledge, as the
instructor adapts to the learning style of the student. The advantage of integrated DL modes, of course, is the ability to deliver cost-effective training to a
widely distributed student body that gives students the flexibility to learn at
their own time, place, and pace. DL collaborative learning systems can perform
preassessments of students, then personalize the lesson plan to a students skills
and styles, then perform postassessments to verify the skills mastered. This data
may also be automatically registered in the corporate knowledge map of
employee skills.
Intelligence organizations, as premier knowledge institutions, must apply
each of these modes to provide the analytic workforce with the tools to rapidly
gain the skills necessary to maintain competency in the changing world
environment.

4.3 Organizational Collaboration

The knowledge-creation process of socialization occurs as communities (or
teams) of people collaborate (commit to communicate, share, and diffuse
knowledge) to achieve a common purpose. Collaboration is a stronger term than
cooperation because participants are formed around and committed to a common purpose, and all participate in shared activity to achieve the end. If a problem is parsed into independent pieces (e.g., financial analysis, technology
analysis, and political analysis), cooperation may be necessarybut not collaboration. At the heart of collaboration is intimate participation by all in the creation of the wholenot in cooperating to merely contribute individual parts to
the whole. Cognitive scientists disagree over the ultimate potential of collaboration; in particular, there are divergent views on the concept of collective intelligencewhereby a group operates as a coherent, intelligence organism working
with one mind [26]. Collaboration is widely believed to have the potential to
perform a wide range of functions together:
Coordinate tasking and workflow to meet shared goals;
Share information, beliefs, and concepts;
Perform cooperative problem-solving analysis and synthesis;
Perform cooperative decision making;

130

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Author team reports of decisions and rationale.

This process of collaboration requires a team (two or more) of individuals that shares a common purpose, enjoys mutual respect and trust, and has an
established process to allow the collaboration process to take place. Four levels
(or degrees) of intelligence collaboration can be distinguished, moving toward
increasing degrees of interaction and dependence among team members
(Table 4.7) [27].
The process of collaboration can occur within a small team of colocated
individuals assigned to a crisis team or across a broad community of intelligence
planners, collection managers, analysts, and operations personnel distributed
across the globe. Collaborative teams can be short lived (e.g., project and crisis
teams) or long term (e.g., communities of common intellectual practice). The
means of achieving collaboration across this wide range of teams all require the
creation of a collaborative culture and the establishment of an appropriate environment and workflow (or collaborative business processes). Sociologists have
studied the sequence of collaborative groups as they move from inception to
decision commitment. Decision emergence theory (DET) defines four stages of
collaborative decision making within an individual group: orientation of
all members to a common perspective; conflict, during which alternatives are
compared and competed; emergence of collaborative alternatives; and finally
Table 4.7
Levels of Cooperative Behavior
Level of
Collaboration
1. Awareness

Intelligence Analysis Collaboration Examples

Publication (to the full organization) of knowledge inventory and map of staff
competencies (expertise) in all subgroups
Publication of sources, activities, products, and schedules in all subgroups

2. Coordination

Coordination of scheduled analysis activities, products

Coordination of tasking against common targets
Coordination of similar target analyses

3. Active sharing

Sharing of lessons learned

Sharing of tasking data, analysis in-process status, and intermediate products in
shared databases
Linking of intermediate and final products data across databases

4. Joint activities

Formation of joint tasking and collection teams

Formation of joint, virtual analytic teams that collaborate analytically and groupauthor intelligence products

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

131

reinforcement, when members develop consensus and commitment to the group

decisions [28].
4.3.1

Collaborative Culture

First among the means to achieve collaboration is the creation of a collaborating

culturea culture that shares the belief that collaboration (as opposed to competition or other models) is the best approach to achieve a shared goal and that
shares a commitment to collaborate to achieve organizational goals. This belief
is required to place high value (as described in Section 4.1.1.) on collaboration
as a necessary business process. Collaboration also requires mutual trust (versus
suspicion) among team memberstrust that others will handle shared data
appropriately, trust that the rewards for team (rather than individual) accomplishment with be shared, and trust that differences in individuals roles, contributions, and expertise will be respected. This trust is necessary to enable
open-minded interaction among team members, rather than resistive interactions that defend the parties mindsets [29].
The collaborative culture must also recognize that teams are heterogeneous
in nature. Team members have different tacit (experience, personality style) and
cognitive (reasoning style) preferences that influence their unique approach to
participating in the collaborative process. The Myers-Brigg personality type
indicator MBTI, for example, is one of a number of classification schemes to
distinguish different human personalities (tendencies or preferred behaviors)
[30]. The Myers-Brigg approach is helpful in characterizing individuals in collaborative groups because it distinguishes four preferences that relate to
approaches to problem structuring, problem solving, analysis, and decision
making. The four categories (Table 4.8) each include a linear scale that rates an
individuals preference between two preference extremes. The table highlights
the considerations that must be included in collaborative analytic processes (and
supporting groupware tools) to enable collaboration across the range of preferences of participants on collaborative teams. While the MBTI provides general insight to distinguish style differences, cognitive psychologists point out
that it is not a static description; it is important to recognize that an individuals
preferences may change and adapt under varying circumstances.
The role of facilitation in collaboration (by both human team leaders and
supporting groupware agents) includes:
Recognition of team member preferences and styles;
Understanding of the analytic, synthesis (product creation), and com-

munication styles of all team members;

132

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 4.8
Myers-Brigg Preference Areas and Influence on Intelligence Analysis

Myers-Brigg Preference Alternative preference

Category
Extremes
Focus of directing time
and energy

Extrovert: external world of

spoken word and interaction
with others
Introvert: inner world of thoughts
and emotions

Approach to perceiving a
situation and processing
information

Influence on Collaborative
Intelligence Analysis
Collaboration must allow
interaction between those who
think aloud and those who
think alone
Tools must provide for the capture
of introverted thinking and
extroverted speaking

Collaboration between realists and

Sensing: prefer to consider facts
and experience in the present time idealists requires the acceptance
and sharing of perspectives
in order to be realistic

Intuition: prefers to explore future

uncertain possibilities and ideas

Shared perspectives should

distinguish hard data, hypotheses,
and exploratory concepts
Collaborative analysis requires
facilitation to coordinate
perspective switching

Basis for decision making

Thinking: preference of logic and

reasoning
Feeling: prefer holistic
consideration of personal values
and feelings

Approach to life
organization and interface
to the outer world

Collaborative tools must be able to

capture and articulate logical as
well as value-based rationale for
decision making and judgment
Collaboration processes must
facilitate hypothesis-creation
discussions between value-based
and context-free perspectives of
evidence

Judging: structured, logical

planning and control

Collaborative tools must provide

structure (in time scheduling,
Perceiving: flexible and exploratory resource allocation, and knowledge organization) yet allow
approach to proceed through life
flexibility for perceivers to
contribute in unstructured ways
Collaborative process structure
must remain flexible to allow
restructuring to adapt to out-ofsequence analysis

Coordination of the collaboration process to balance the contributions

and participation of introverts and extroverts, idealists and realists,

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

133

structured planners and explorers, and between logical and holistic

decision makers.
The mix of personalities within a team must be acknowledged and rules of
collaborative engagement (and even groupware) must be adapted to allow each
member to contribute within the constraints and strengths of their individual
styles.
Collaboration facilitators may use Myers-Brigg or other categorization
schemes to analyze a particular teams structure to assess the teams strengths,
weaknesses and overall balance [31].
4.3.2

Collaborative Environments

Collaborative environments describe the physical, temporal, and functional setting within which organizations interact. Through the 1990s, traditional physical environments were augmented by (and in some cases replaced by) virtual
environments, which were enabled by computation and communication to
transcend the time and space limitations of physical meeting places. The term
collaborative virtual environment (CVE) represents this new class of spaces,
broadly defined as:
A Collaborative Virtual Environment is a computer-based, distributed, virtual space or set of places. In such places people can meet and interact with
others, with [computer] agents or with virtual objects. CVEs might vary in
their representational richness from 3D graphical spaces, 2.5D and 2D
environments, to text-based environments. Access to CVE is by no means
limited to desktop devices but might well include mobile or wearable
devices, public kiosks, etc. [32].

The two time-space dimensions of human interaction (Figure 4.5) provide

the fundamental framework used to distinguish four separate collaboration
modes within real and virtual environments. The time of interaction (same or
different times) provides the most basic distinction between modes:
Synchronous collaboration occurs when participants interact at the same

time (e.g., video and teleconferences, face-to-face meetings);

Asynchronous collaboration occurs when participants interact with time
delay, at different times (e.g., e-mail, bulletin boards).
Figure 4.5 also notes the terminology used to distinguish the traditional
physical team (interacting at the same time in the same place) and the virtual

134

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Time of collaboration
Same
Different
Physical team

Place of collaboration
Different
Same

In-person
face-to-face
Collocated;
immediate
physical
access
Physical
meetings

Electronic support
systems for
physical meetings

E-mail
Group workspaces
sharing data (files),
calendar and
applications (tools)
Bulletin boards

Virtual teams

Considerable on-line
team communication,
interaction, information
sharing
Intermittent on-line
access to team members
E-mail
Teleconference
Group workspaces On-line meetings
Videoconference
Instant messaging; sharing data (files),
on-line chat spaces calendar and
On-line application applications (tools)
Bulletin boards
sharing
Synchronous
collaboration

Asynchronous
collaboration

Figure 4.5 Collaboration modes.

team, which employs a virtual environment to transcend either time or space

constraints.
Computer-augmented meeting support tools aid colocated physical teams
by recording interactions, providing spaces to share explicit knowledge (files and
processes), and supporting group analysis and the creation of products. Studies
have shown that physical teams benefit from close physical interaction, which
allows greater communication of subtle tacit cues (e.g., interest, concern, or surprise) and the deeper development of trust and shared experience than do virtual
teams. For the colocated team, these tools may support meetings (formal gatherings) as well as capture the results of day-to-day interactions in the work area.
The virtual collaboration environment, which enables virtual teaming,
seeks to provide communication and cognitive support resources to enable the
group to effectively communicate across time-space, share knowledge, and collectively reason, decide, and produce (group-author) products. The broad set of
on-line tools developed to perform this function, both synchronously (in real
time) and asynchronously, is called groupware. Groupware includes the kinds of
functions enumerated in Table 4.9. (The use of several of these functions was
illustrated in the intelligence example in Section 3.3.) The functions and related
protocol standards for data collaboration and videoconferencing are maintained
by the International Telecommunications UnionTelecom Standardization
Sector (ITU-T). The data collaboration functions in the table are defined under
the ITU-T T.120 family of standards, while H.3xx standards apply to
videoconferencing.

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

135

Table 4.9
Basic Groupware Functions
Collaboration
Time Mode
Synchronous

Collaboration
Function
Text conference

Function Description
One-to-one or one-to-many interactive text among multiple
participants (chat room)

Audio conference One-to-one or one-to-many audio (teleconference) among

selected participants (H.3.2.3 or similar protocol)
Video conference One-to-one or one-to-many video (videoconference) among
selected participants (H.3.2.3 or similar protocol)

Synchronous
and
Asynchronous

Asynchronous

Workspaces
(virtual rooms)

General workspace to allow synchronous entry during

discussion to show files, notes, discussion items, polls,
queries, and general displays of information

Whiteboard
graphics tool

Synchronous and concurrent creation of graphics and marking

of graphics (e.g., maps or photos)

File sharing

Synchronous sharing of files (search, retrieve, edit, save,

manage configuration) and transfer using standard file transfer
protocol (FTP) application protocol

Application
sharing

Synchronous and concurrent sharing of applications (e.g.,

simulation, spreadsheet) allowing control to be passed from
user to user or with multiple user control (e.g., simulations)
using T. 120 or similar application protocol

Participation
administration

Manage the invitation, access approval and removal of

participants to individual meetings; audit and log sessions
(content and participants); maintain a database of all
collaborators

Security

Maintain single- or multiple-level security for both access and

awareness (i.e., authentication, encryption, and the ability to
restrict and protect access to and existence of participants,
knowledge, and virtual events

Scheduling

Coordinate, plan, and display timing of events (synchronous

meetings, milestones, asynchronous file deliveries)

Workflow
management

Display plan and status of activities toward team intermediate

milestones and goals

E-mail

Secure electronic storage and forwarding of mail with

attachments [typically over Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP) application protocol]

Asynchronous
workspaces
(virtual rooms)

General workspace to allow asynchronous entry and retrieval

of files, notes, discussion items, polls, queries, mail, and team
process flow, custom tailored to each user

136

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 4.9 (continued)

Asynchronous

Group authoring

Tools to permit group authoring of documents, graphics, and

integrated products. This includes application-based products
(e.g., Microsoft Word) and web products (e.g., HTML, XML).

Presence
awareness

Display current participants on-line; allow participants to

identify available collaborators to send instant messages

Instant message

Issue pop-up messages to on-line participants to initiate ad

hoc chat or conference, transitioning from asynchronous to
synchronous mode [requires an instant messaging and
presence protocol (IMPP)]

Bulletin board

Asynchronous workspace to post (broadcast) notices, requests,

and general information

Because any large network of diverse contributors may include users with different commercial collaboration products, interoperability between groupware
applications is a paramount consideration. A U.S. interoperability study of synchronous and asynchronous collaboration between commercial products evaluated
the principal combinations of two basic implementation options [27]:
Web-based interoperation, in which all users collaborate via a standard

Internet browser client. (The client may include unique Java applets,
which run on the browsers Java virtual machine, or plug-in
applications.)
Application-based interoperation, in which all users collaborate via
T.120/H.323 standardsbased applications (i.e., application-unique
software that may be required both at the browser or the server, or both).
Of course, the Web-based modes offer greater interoperability with more
limited performance (due to more restrictive and limited standards) than the
dedicated-standards-based products. The study highlighted the difficult trades
between connectivity, flexibility, and platform diversity on one hand and security, technical performance, and collaboration policy control on the other hand.
The study noted that intelligence users expect different physical settings when
moving from agency to agency for physical meetings, and it is reasonable to
expect (and tolerate) a degree of differences in virtual settings (e.g., tool look and
feel while using different collaboration applications) when joining different collaboration environments across the community of users.
Collaborative groupware implementations offer two alternative approaches
to structuring groups:
Centralized collaboration. Groupware based on a central collaboration

server, with distributed software clients, provides the basis for large-

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

137

volume, long-term, organizationwide collaboration. Shared data is

maintained on the central server, which mediates the exchange of data
and services between the server and client computers.
Distributed collaboration. Distributed, peer-to-peer (P2P) network collaboration maintains no central server; P2P collaboration allows the
direct exchange of data and services between peer computers. P2P collaboration tools synchronize the update of shared data across all peers.
Such P2P networks permit rapid creation of workspaces across different
organizations and the immediate exchange of data and services with a
minimum of setup [33].
The distinction between these modes is often referred to as center-edge, distinguishing centralized collaboration at the center of the network from P2P collaboration across enterprises at the edges of the network. Rapidly formed
virtual intelligence teams may be formed in P2P mode and later transitioned to
a centralized mode as the mission stabilizes or the team becomes permanent.
The functions in Table 4.9 allow virtual teams to form, establish collective
goals and commitments around a common intelligence problem, share individual contributions of knowledge, and collaboratively work toward a solution.
The collaboration functions include administrative, messaging and conferencing, and sharing function categories. Collaborative tools should allow both synchronous and asynchronous modes; allowing groups to work asynchronously in
virtual spaces, then conduct synchronous virtual meetings in which objects
(files, graphics, schedules, and applications such as simulations) can be opened,
displayed, and modified by the group synchronously. Because the collaboration
process occurs over the groupware, threaded discussions can be captured to
record the flow of conversations for recall, as well as to support group authoring
and production of products (e.g., alerts, updates, and analytic reports that may
be electronically published to a portal).
4.3.3

Collaborative Intelligence Workflow

The U.S. IC has identified the specific kinds of collaboration that it seeks to
achieve, especially between consumers and the collection, operations, and analysis disciplines:
We aim to narrow the gap between intelligence collectors and intelligence
consumers. How do we do this? One way is to assign more DI [Directorate
of Intelligence] experts to policy agencies and to negotiating teams. We
now have dozens of DI officers dispersed throughout the policy community, offering policymakers one stop shopping for intelligence analysis.
We have also taken steps, but have a long way to go, to link CIA with

138

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

intelligence consumers via a direct electronic connection so that the answer

to any intelligence question is just a keystroke away. On the collection side,
we are forming close partnerships with our counterparts in the clandestine
servicethe Directorate of Operationsand with many other collectors of
intelligence. Today, analysts and operations officers are increasingly working togetheroften side-by-sideto ensure CIA meets customer needs.
We have also brought together in our 24-hour Operations Center representatives from other agencies responsible for collection. We dont want our
Watch Officers to wait passively for vital information during a crisis situation; we want to enable them to get the answers they need quickly and
effectively [34].

The emphasis here includes colocation of people (face-to-face teams) and

the use of collaborative virtual environments to enable communication and
information sharing between those who are not colocated (virtual teams). The
implementation of such links and partnerships can best be illustrated by a representative example of a collaborative intelligence collection and analysis team.
Consider a collaborative process within a simple but representative virtual team
that includes an intelligence consumer, an all-source analytic cell, single-source
analysts, and collection managers to understand the complexity of collaborative
interactions in even a small intelligence operation. The flow of collaboration
in such a social network (Figure 4.6) includes both synchronous and asynchronous modes of collaboration, performing the intelligence cycle (introduced in
Chapter 2) as a concurrent, rather than sequential, supply chain.
4.3.3.1 The Situation

We consider how a study of illegal trafficking in women to the United States

might be conducted using a virtual team. (Such an intelligence analysis has been
produced by the U.S. State Department to determine the scope of these activities and their effects on U.S. interests. The resulting openly published intelligence report [35] may be compared to the following description to provide the
reader additional context for the example.)
4.3.3.2 The Team

This is a project team, assigned to solve the particular problem of understanding

the scope of and participants in global trafficking in women to the United
States posed by the State Department consumer. The representative team
includes:
Intelligence consumer. The State Department personnel requesting the

analysis define high-level requirements and are the ultimate customers

for the intelligence product. They specify what information is needed:

139

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

e-mail, pager alerts
Decision
maker,
consumer

DM
1
2
LDR

All-source
analysis
team

AA

Collection
coordination
management

6
CM

Release approval
AA

8
AA

AA

5
SSA Cross-cueing
5

Planning
tools

Analysis tools
Processing

Digital
production

Custom
intelligence
portal

SSA

Analysis tools
Processing

Data
Source 1

Data
Source 2

Digital
production
analysis
integration,
update
Analysis
base

Intelligence
database

Analysis and
production
workflow

Figure 4.6 Collaborative virtual intelligence team.

the scope or breadth of coverage, the level of depth, the accuracy

required, and the timeframe necessary for policy making.
All-source analytic cell. The all-source analysis cell, which may be a dis-

tributed virtual team across several different organizations, has the

responsibility to produce the intelligence product and certify its
accuracy.
Single-source analysts. Open-source and technical-source analysts (e.g.,

imagery, signals, or MASINT) are specialists that analyze the raw data
collected as a result of special tasking; they deliver reports to the allsource team and certify the conclusions of special analysis.
Collection managers. The collection managers translate all-source

requests for essential information (e.g., surveillance of shipping lines,

identification of organizations, or financial data) into specific collection
tasks (e.g., schedules, collection parameters, and coordination between

140

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

different sources). They provide the all-source team with a status of

their ability to satisfy the teams requests.

4.3.3.3 The Collaboration Paths

The numbered paths in Figure 4.6 represent only the major knowledge-sharing
transactions, described in the following numbered list, which illustrate the collaboration process in this example. At the right side of the figure is the supporting analysis and production system workflow, which maintains the collected
base of raw data, analyzed and annotated information, and analysis results.
1. Problem statement. The State Department decision maker (DM), the
ultimate intelligence consumer, defines the problem. Interacting with
the all-source analytic leader (LDR)and all-source analysts on the
analytic teamthe problem is articulated in terms of scope (e.g., area
of world, focus nations, and expected depth and accuracy of estimates), needs (e.g., specific questions that must be answered and policy issues) urgency (e.g., time to first results and final products), and
expected format of results (e.g., product as emergent results portal or
softcopy document).
2. Problem refinement. The analytic leader (LDR) frames the problem
with an explicit description of the consumer requirements and intelligence reporting needs. This description, once approved by the consumer, forms the terms of reference for the activity. The problem
statement-refinement loop may be iterated as the situation changes or
as intelligence reveals new issues to be studied.
3. Information requests to collection tasking. Based on the requirements,
the analytic team decomposes the problem to deduce specific elements
of information needed to model and understand the level of trafficking. (The decomposition process was described earlier in Section 2.4.)
The LDR provides these intelligence data requirements to the collection manger (CM) to prepare a collection plan. This planning requires
the translation of information needs to a coordinated set of datacollection tasks for humans and technical collection systems. The CM
prepares a collection plan that traces planned collection data and
means to the analytic teams information requirements.
4. Collection refinement. The collection plan is fed back to the LDR to
allow the analytic team to verify the completeness and sufficiency
of the planand to allow a review of any constraints (e.g., limits to
coverage, depth, or specificity) or the availability of previously collected relevant data. The information requestcollection planning and

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

5.

6.

7.

8.

141

refinement loop iterates as the situation changes and as the intelligence

analysis proceeds. The value of different sources, the benefits of coordinated collection, and other factors are learned by the analytic team as
the analysis proceeds, causing adjustments to the collection plan to satisfy information needs.
Cross cueing. The single-source analysts acquire data by searching existing archived data and open sources and by receiving data produced by
special collections tasked by the CM. Single-source analysts perform
source-unique analysis (e.g., imagery analysis; open-source foreign
news report, broadcast translation, and analysis; and human report
analysis) As the single-source analysts gain an understanding of the
timing of event data, and the relationships between data observed
across the two domains, the single-source analysts share these temporal
and functional relationships. The cross-cueing collaboration includes
one analyst cueing the other to search for corroborating evidence in
another domain; one analyst cueing the other to a possible correlated
event; or both analysts recommending tasking for the CM to coordinate a special collection to obtain time or functionally correlated data
on a specific target. It is important to note that this cross-cueing collaboration, shown here at the single-source analysis level function is
also performed within the all-source analysis unit (8), where more subtle cross-source relations may be identified.
Single-source analysis reporting. Single-source analysts report the
interim results of analysis to the all-source team, describing the emerging picture of the trafficking networks as well as gaps in information.
This path provides the all-source team with an awareness of the progress and contribution of collections, and the added value of the analysis
that is delivering an emerging trafficking picture.
Single-source analysis refinement. The all-source team can provide direction for the single-source analysts to focus (Look into that organization in greater depth), broaden (Check out the neighboring
countries for similar patterns), or change (Drop the study of those
shipping lines and focus on rail transport) the emphasis of analysis
and collection as the team gains a greater understanding of the subject.
This reporting-refinement collaboration (paths 6 and 7, respectively)
precedes publication of analyzed data (e.g., annotated images, annotated foreign reports on trafficking, maps of known and suspect trafficking routes, and lists of known and suspect trafficking
organizations) into the analysis base.
All-source analysis collaboration. The all-source team may allocate
components of the trafficking-analysis task to individuals with areas

142

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

of subject matter specialties (e.g., topical components might include

organized crime, trafficking routes, finances, and methods), but all
contribute to the construction of a single picture of illegal trafficking.
The team shares raw and analyzed data in the analysis base, as well as
the intelligence products in progress in a collaborative workspace.
The LDR approves all product components for release onto the digital production system, which places them onto the intelligence portal
for the consumer.
The intelligence customer monitors the emerging results of the study on
the custom portal. In the initial days, the portal is populated with an initial
library of related subject matter data (e.g., open source and intelligence reports
and data on illegal trafficking in general). As the analysis proceeds, analytic
results are posted to the portal, leading up to a stable picture of trafficking. If
urgent and significant events occur and reports are posted, the consumer may be
alerted (via instant message, cell phone, or pager).
This simple example illustrates only two single-source disciplines,
although many problems may require several different source specialists (e.g.,
IMINT, SIGINT, or MASINT). In addition, the analytic team may include a
diversity of subject matter experts (e.g., the trafficking analysis team may call
upon country-specific analysts, organized crime analysts, financial analysts, and
experts in passport fraud).

4.4 Organizational Problem Solving

Intelligence organizations face a wide range of problems that require planning,
searching, and explanation to provide solutions. These problems require reactive
solution strategies to respond to emergent situations as well as opportunistic
(proactive) strategies to identify potential future problems to be solved (e.g.,
threat assessments, indications, and warnings). The process of solving these
problems collaboratively requires a defined strategy for groups to articulate a
problem and then proceed to collectively develop a solution. In the context of
intelligence analysis, organizational problem solving focuses on the following
kinds of specific problems:
Planning. Decomposing intelligence needs for data requirements,

developing analysis-synthesis procedures to apply to the collected data

to draw conclusions, and scheduling the coordinated collection of data
to meet those requirements (as described in Chapter 2).
Discovery. Searching and identifying previously unknown patterns

(of objects, events, behaviors, or relationships) that reveal new

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

143

understanding about intelligence targets. (The discovery reasoning

approach is inductive in nature, creating new, previously unrevealed
hypotheses.)
Detection. Searching and matching evidence against previously known

target hypotheses (templates). (The detection reasoning approach is

deductive in nature, testing evidence against known hypotheses.)
Explanation. Estimating (providing mathematical proof in uncertainty)

and arguing (providing logical proof in uncertainty) are required to

provide an explanation of evidence. Inferential strategies require the
description of multiple hypotheses (explanations), the confidence in
each one, and the rationale for justifying a decision. Problem-solving
descriptions may include the explanation of explicit knowledge via
technical portrayals (e.g., graphical representations) and tacit knowledge via narrative (e.g., dialogue and story). (The approach to reason to
the best, or most likely, explanation is called abduction; this approach to
reasoning is explained in Chapter 5.)
To perform organizational (or collaborative) problem solving in each of
these areas, the individuals in the organization must share an awareness of the
reasoning and solution strategies embraced by the organization. In each of these
areas, organizational training, formal methodologies, and procedural templates
provide a framework to guide the thinking process across a group. These methodologies also form the basis for structuring collaboration tools to guide the way
teams organize shared knowledge, structure problems, and proceed from problem to solution.
Collaborative intelligence analysis is a difficult form of collaborative problem solving, where the solution often requires the analyst to overcome the efforts
of a subject of study (the intelligence target) to both deny the analyst information and provide deliberately deceptive information. In the following paragraphs, we introduce three fundamental yet distinctively different approaches to
framing and solving problems and making decisions: each provides a different
perspective, yet all are applicable to collaborative analysis [36].
4.4.1

Critical, Structured Thinking

Critical, or structured, thinking is rooted in the development of methods of

careful, structured thinking, following the legacy of the philosophers and theologians that diligently articulated their basis for reasoning from premises to conclusions. The Greek philosophers applied dialogue and logical expression to
describe their critical reasoning processes. Subsequent philosophers, like Rene
DeCartes, in his works Discourse on Method and Rules for the Direction of the

144

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Mind, established foundational principles for critical reasoning [37]. Critical

thinking is based on the application of a systematic method to guide the collection of evidence, reason from evidence to argument, and apply objective
decision-making judgment (Table 4.10). The systematic methodology assures
completeness (breadth of consideration), objectivity (freedom from bias in
sources, evidence, reasoning, or judgment), consistency (repeatability over a
wide range of problems), and rationality (consistency with logic). In addition,
critical thinking methodology requires the explicit articulation of the reasoning
process to allow review and critique by others. These common methodologies
form the basis for academic research, peer review, and reportingas well as for
intelligence analysis and synthesis.
These critical thinking strategies are based in Cartesian reductionism
because they presume the problem may be decomposed into a finite set of relationships and component parts, which, when solved independently, may be
recomposed into a solution of the whole.
Such structured methods that move from problem to solution provide a
helpful common framework for groups to communicate knowledge and coordinate a process from problem to solution. The TQM initiatives of the 1980s
expanded the practice of teaching entire organizations common strategies for
articulating problems and moving toward solutions. A number of general
problem-solving strategies have been developed and applied to intelligence
applications, for example (moving from general to specific):
Kepner-Tregoe. This general problem-solving methodology, intro-

duced in the classic text The Rational Manager [38] and taught to generations of managers in seminars, has been applied to management,
engineering, and intelligence-problem domains. This method carefully
distinguishes problem analysis (specifying deviations from expectations,
hypothesizing causes, and testing for probable causes) and decision
analysis (establishing and classifying decision objectives, generating
alternative decisions, and comparing consequences).
Multiattribute utility analysis (MAUA). This structured approach to

decision analysis quantifies a utility function, or value of all decision

factors, as a weighted sum of contributing factors for each alternative
decision. Relative weights of each factor sum to unity so the overall utility scale (for each decision option) ranges from 0 to 1 [39].
Alternative competing hypotheses (ACH). This methodology develops

and organizes alternative hypotheses to explain evidence, evaluates the

evidence across multiple criteria, and provides rationale for reasoning
to the best explanation [40]. (This method is described further in
Chapter 6.)

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

145

Table 4.10
Basic Elements of Critical Thinking Methodology
Problem-Solving Stages

Basic Critical Thinking Methodology

1. Framing the problem

Explicitly define assumptions, methods, and objectives of inquiry

Identify the frame of reference for thought (perspective, problem
boundaries, constraints, unknowns)
Identify all relevant bodies of knowledge; alternative views and
conclusions

2. Qualifying sources and

evidence

Identify the pedigree of all sources and evidence; qualify their

reliability
Verify the methods of collection of evidence
Assess the accuracy and uncertainty in evidence

3. Reasoning from evidence to

argument

Verify the soundness of logical processes (assure the absence of

logical fallacies)
Create alternative arguments with rationale
Define the propagation of uncertainty from evidence through
argumentation to conclusions

4. Judgment to evaluate
arguments and make decisions

Define decision rationale and criteria

Predict decision consequences
Weigh implications of alternative judgments
Decide and support with objective rationale

Lockwood analytic method for prediction (LAMP). This methodology

exhaustively structures and scores alternative futures hypotheses for

complicated intelligence problems with many factors [41]. The process
enumerates, then compares the relative likelihood of COAs for all
actors (e.g., military or national leaders) and their possible outcomes.
The method provides a structure to consider all COAs while attempting to minimize the exponential growth of hypotheses.

A basic problem-solving process flow (Figure 4.7), which encompasses the

essence of each of these three approaches, includes five fundamental component
stages:
1. Problem assessment. The problem must be clearly defined, and criteria
for decision making must be established at the beginning. The problem, as well as boundary conditions, constraints, and the format of the
desired solution, is articulated.

146

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Problem

Evaluation metrics

Problem assessment
Structure the problem
Quantify decision (solution) criteria
Alternative analysis

Problem decomposition

Conceive solution
options

Identify factors
Synthesize model

Decision analysis
Analyze model, factors, effects
Measure cost, risk, performance
Solution evaluation
Quantify uncertainty, preferences
Solution

Figure 4.7 A basic problem-solving strategy flow.

2. Problem decomposition. The problem is broken into components by

modeling the situation or context of the problem. If the problem is a
corporate need to understand and respond to the research and development initiatives of a particular foreign company, for example, a model
of that organizations financial operations, facilities, organizational
structure (and research and development staffing), and products is constructed. The decomposition (or analysis) of the problem into the need
for different kinds of information necessarily requires the composition
(or synthesis) of the model. This models the situation of the problem
and provides the basis for gathering more data to refine the problem
(refine the need for data) and better understand the context.
3. Alternative analysis. In concert with problem decomposition, alternative solutions (hypotheses) are conceived and synthesized. Conjecture
and creativity are necessary in this stage; the set of solutions are categorized to describe the range of the solution space. In the example of the
problem of understanding a foreign companys research and development, these solutions must include alternative explanations of what
the competitor might be doing and what business responses should be
taken to respond if there is a competitive threat. The competitor analyst must explore the wide range of feasible solutions and associated
constraints and variables; alternatives may range from no research and

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

147

development investment to significant but hidden investment in a

new, breakthrough product development. Each solution (or explanation, in this case) must be compared to the model, and this process
may cause the scope of the model to be expanded in scope, refined,
and further decomposed to smaller components.
4. Decision analysis. In this stage the alternative solutions are applied to
the model of the situation to determine the consequences of each solution. In the foreign firm example, consequences are related to both the
likelihood of the hypothesis being true and the consequences of
actions taken. The decision factors, defined in the first stage, are
applied to evaluate the performance, effectiveness, cost, and risk associated with each solution. This stage also reveals the sensitivity of the
decision factors to the situation model (and its uncertainties) and may
send the analyst back to gather more information about the situation
to refine the model [42].
5. Solution evaluation. The final stage, judgment, compares the outcome
of decision analysis with the decision criteria established at the onset.
Here, the uncertainties (about the problem, the model of the situation, and the effects of the alternative solutions) are considered and
other subjective (tacit) factors are weighed to arrive at a solution
decision.
This approach underlies the basis for traditional analytic intelligence
methods, because it provides structure, rationale, and formality. But most recognize that the solid tacit knowledge of an experienced analyst provides a complementary basisor an unspoken confidence that underlies final decisionsthat
is recognized but not articulated as explicitly as the quantified decision data. In
the next section, we explore this more holistic approach to problem solving.
4.4.2

Systems Thinking

In contrast with the reductionism of a purely analytic approach (Table 4.11), a

more holistic approach to understanding complex processes (noted in Section
4.2) acknowledges the inability to fully decompose many complex problems
into a finite and complete set of linear processes and relationships. This
approach, referred to as holism, seeks to understand high-level patterns of behavior in dynamic or complex adaptive systems that transcend complete decomposition (e.g., weather, social organizations, or large-scale economies and
ecologies). Rather than being analytic, systems approaches tend to syntheticthat is, these approaches construct explanations at the aggregate or large
scale and compare them to real-world systems under study [43].

148

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 4.11
Complementary Problem-Solution Perspectives

Approach

Basis of the
Approach

Analytic Thinking

Systems Thinking

Reductionismdecompose system
into component parts and
relationships; study the behaviors of
components then integrate to
explain large-scale system behavior

Holismstudy entire system and

high-level patterns of behavior
without integrating component
behaviors; study the basic patterns
of large-scale behavior

Presume completeness, certainty, and linearity; the behavioral

whole is the sum of all parts (largescale cause is sum of all smallscale causes)

Presume complexity, uncertainty

and nonlinearity; depth of
complexity of behavior exceeds
known parts and relationships

Analyze (decompose) large-scale

problem into small-scale
components; develop independent
component solutions and then
recompose to an aggregate solution
to explain the whole

Synthesize (construct) large-scale

patterns of behavior, assuming the
inability to explicitly describe
completely all causality and
relationships; compare to real-world
systems

Context-free and objective study of Context-rich and subjective use of

explicitly described individual parts tacit experience (large-scale patterns)
Application to
Intelligence Analysis

Assessment and modeling of

physical systems (weapons,
communications, manufacturing
processes)

Assessment of sociological systems

(government and military
leadership, economies, populations)

The central distinctions in these approaches are in the degree of complexity of the system being studied, defined by two characteristics:
1. Number of independent causes;
2. Number of relationships between those causes.
Complexity refers the property of real-world systems that prohibits any formalism to represent or completely describe its behavior. In contrast with simple
systems that may be fully described by some formalism (i.e., mathematical equations that fully describe a real-world process to some level of satisfaction for the
problem at hand), complex systems lack a fully descriptive formalism that captures all of their properties, especially global behavior. Dynamic systems are
described variously; the most common range of terms include:
Simple. These are dynamic systems whose local and global behavioral

properties may be fully described by formalisms and whose behavior

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

149

may be predicted because the systems may be decomposed into a finite

number of causes and interactions between causes.
Complex. This is the general description of irreducible (cannot be

decomposed) systems, which lack a fully descriptive formalism that captures all of its properties, especially global behavior. These systems may
be linear and deterministic.
Chaotic. Chaotic systems are nonlinear deterministic systems that only

appear to be random and are characterized by sensitivity to initial conditions and instability.
Random. Random systems are maximally complex.

Reductionist approaches have faired well in explicitly modeling simple systems down to the molecular level in classical physics (e.g., Newtons laws), in
predicting planetary motion, in describing fundamental processes in chemistry,
and in the engineering description and simulation of highly complicated electronic and mechanical systems. But systems of subatomic scale, human organizational systems, and large-scale economies, where very large numbers of
independent causes interact in large numbers of interactive ways, are characterized by inability to model global behaviorand a frustrating inability to predict
future behavior. These systems are best understood by a systems-thinking
approach that focuses on the study of these high-level emergent behavior patterns, rather than attempting to decompose to infinite detail. We often speak of
a subject matter experts broad experience, deep insight, or wisdom to
refer to the unspoken or unarticulated (tacit) knowledge that is appliedand
often not fully justifiedin the analysis of a complex problem. The experts
judgment is based not on an external and explicit decomposition of the problem, but on an internal matching of high-level patterns of prior experience with
the current situation. The experienced detective as well as the experienced analyst applies such high-level comparisons of current behaviors with previous tacit
(unarticulated, even unconscious) patterns gained through experience.
Of interest to the intelligence analyst is the value of holistic study of such
complexity to gain insight into the evaluation of complex situations and in the
study of strategic surprise. John Casti, in Complexification: Explaining a Paradoxical World through the Science of Surprise, has suggested that complexity science offers insight into the general causes of surprisewhen our pictures of
reality depart from reality itself [44]. The use of agent-based simulation tools to
create and study emergent behaviors in support of intelligence analysis are
described in Chapter 8. Such tools effectively enhance the experience of the analyst by simulating the interaction of many agents (independent but highly interactive causes) over a wide range of conditions to explore the complex space of

150

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

outcomes (ranging from simple to complex to chaotic behavior). These

approaches are inherently synthetic rather than analyticinstead of decomposing observed data, simulations create synthetic data (emergent patterns). These
simulations help the analyst explore, discover, and recognize the patterns of
complex system behavior at the high level, so they will be recognized holistically
in real-world data.
It is important to recognize that analytic and systems-thinking approaches,
though in contrast, are usually applied in a complementary fashion by individuals and team alike. The analytic approach provides the structure, record keeping,
and method for articulating decision rationale, while the systems approach
guides the framing of the problem, provides the synoptic perspective for exploring alternatives, and provides confidence in judgments.
4.4.3

Naturalistic Decision Making

It is important to recognize that humans often make decisions much less formally than by the methods just described. Indeed, in times of crisis, when time
does not permit the careful methodologies, humans apply more naturalistic
methods that, like the systems-thinking mode, rely entirely on the only basis
availableprior experience.
The U.S. Commander of Operation Noble Anvil in the 1999 conflict in
Kosovo commented candidly on the effects of IT applications in his stressful
command and control environment, Great technologybut needs controls
Admiral James O. Ellis (CINC USN Europe) went on to note that information
saturation adds to the the fog of war and that the demand for information will
always exceed the capability to provide it, but asked the question, how
much is enough? The admiral clearly recognized the potential for critical information, but acknowledged that that his KM systems were flooding him with
more information than his people could apply: Uncontrolled, [information]
will control you and your staffs and lengthen your decision-cycle times.
(Insightfully, the Admiral also noted, You can only manage from your Desktop
Computer you cannot lead from it [45].)
Studies of such naturalistic decision-making environments have sought to
develop aids to cognition for both rapid, comprehensive situation awareness and
decision support. Kline et al. [46] have characterized the general approaches that
humans apply to such tasks:
Decision makers experience the situation (holistically) and match the

current situation to a repertoire of prior experience patternsseeking

typicality or archetypes previously experienced. From these matches,
solutions (and past outcomes and consequences) are immediately
created.

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

151

Decision makers seek satisfying solutions, rather than optimizing ones;

the focus of energy is placed on elaborating and refining the best immediate approach (often the first imagined option) rather than on creating
a diverse set of options.
Mental simulation is applied, based on the decision makers prior expe-

rience, where the decision maker imagines or envisions the likely outcomes of actions.
The focus of attention is placed more on assessing the situation and act-

ing, rather than on analysis and decision making.

Of course, central to this approach is the decision makers tacit, prior experience, which is used to pattern-match to the current situation and to mentally
simulate possible outcomes. While long-term intelligence analysis applies the
systematic, critical analytic approaches described earlier, crisis intelligence analysis may be forced to the more naturalistic methods, where tacit experience (via
informal on-the-job learning, simulation, or formal learning) and confidence are
critical.

4.5 Tradecraft: The Best Practices of Intelligence

The capture and sharing of best practices was developed and matured throughout the 1980s when the total quality movement institutionalized the processes
of benchmarking and recording lessons learned. Two forms of best practices and
lessons capture and recording are often cited:
1. Explicit process descriptions. The most direct approach is to model and
describe the best collection, analytic, and distribution processes, their
performance properties, and applications. These may be indexed,
linked, and organized for subsequent reuse by a team posed with similar problems and instructors preparing formal curricula.
2. Tacit learning histories. The methods of storytelling, described earlier
in this chapter, are also applied to develop a jointly told story by the
team developing the best practice. Once formulated, such learning
histories provide powerful tools for oral, interactive exchanges within
the organization; the written form of the exchanges may be linked to
the best-practice description to provide context.
While explicit best-practices databases explain the how, learning histories
provide the context to explain the why of particular processes. The best practices
of the U.S. IC have been termed tradecraft. In the early 1990s, key lessons of the

152

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

analytic tradecraft were collected in technical notes used for training. A Compendium of Analytic Tradecraft Notes was published in 1996 as a text of analytic best

Table 4.12
An Analytic Tradecraft Taxonomy
Analytic Tradecraft Area

Representative Types of Best Practices Catalogued

Addressing national interests Methods to view the analytic problem from the policymakers
(consumers) perspective
Identifying analysis value-added contribution
Criteria to know policy issues and provide optionswithout making
policy recommendations
Test to be applied to draft reports: so-what and action-support tests
Access and credibility

Approaches to gain access to consumers for guidance, tasking,

feedback
Essential characteristics of reports that maintain credibility by
identifying the source of facts, stating assumptions, and stating the
basis of conclusions and outlook

Articulation of assumptions

Critical methods of articulating the basis for uncertain judgments

Approaches to identify, study, and apply drivers (key variables) and
linchpins (assumptions) upon which arguments are based
Analytic methodology to search, identify, establish, and test drivers
and linchpins

Outlook

Methodology to apply analytic judgment in developing predictive

outlooks
Approaches to construct and clearly communicate judgments

Facts and sourcing

Guidelines for identifying, distinguishing, and articulating facts, data,

and direct/indirect information
Methods to deal with complexity and deception

Analytic expertise

Measures to specify and identify analytic expertise in reports

Effective summary

Content and format guidelines unique to analytic report summaries

Implementation analysis

Cautions in addressing requested policy implementation alternatives

Methodologies to consider alternative implementations and
consequences

Conclusions and findings

Forms for reporting authoritative analytic findings

Counter intelligence

Framework for analytic awareness of deception (denial and

disinformation)
Basic analytic considerations (the targets means, opportunity, motive
for deception) and warning signs in the data (gaps, contradictions,
and suspicious confirmations)

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

153

practices [47]. These best practices summarize the characteristics of best analyses, providing supporting examples as appropriate. The Tradecraft Notes provide
a taxonomy of basic analytic practices; Table 4.12 enumerates the initial 10
declassified categories, illustrating key best-practice areas within the Directorate
of Intelligence. The CIA maintains a product evaluation staff to evaluate intelligence products, learn from the large range of products produced (estimates,
forecasts, technical assessments, threat assessments, and warnings) and maintains the database of best practices for training and distribution to the analytic
staff.

4.6 Summary
In this chapter, we have introduced the fundamental cultural qualities, in terms
of virtues and disciplines that characterize the knowledge-based intelligence
organization. The emphasis has necessarily been on organizational disciplineslearning, collaborating, problem solvingthat provide the agility to
deliver accurate and timely intelligence products in a changing environment.
The virtues and disciplines require supporttechnology to support collaboration over time and space, to support the capture and retrieval of explicit knowledge, to enable the exchange of tacit knowledge, and to support the cognitive
processes in analytic and holistic problem solving.
In subsequent chapters, we will detail these supporting technologies and
their application in the KM environment, but first we examine the core of the
learning organizations knowledge-creating process: the analysis of intelligence
data and the synthesis of intelligence products. In the next two chapters, we
describe these core knowledge-creating processes and their implications for
implementation in the KM environment. In subsequent chapters, we will introduce the tools, technology, and enterprise infrastructure necessary to support
the intensely human analysis-synthesis processes.

Endnotes
[1]

See, for example, Stewart, T. A., The Wealth of Knowledge: Intellectual Capital and the 21st
Century Organization, New York: Currency-Doubleday 2002; Dixon, N. M., Common
Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know, Boston: Harvard Business
School Press, 2000; ODell, C., et al., If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of
Internal Knowledge and Best Practice, New York: Free Press, 1998; Garvin, D. A., Learning
in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work, Boston: Harvard Business
School Press, 2000.

[2]

The DCI Strategic Intent was published in March 1999. The five major objectives of the
Intent and activities in each area were published in the unclassified Annual Report for the

154

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

United States Intelligence Community, Washington D.C.: CIA, pp. 1624, accessed on-line
on February 28, 2002 at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/fy99intellrpt/dci_annual_
report_99_1.thml.

[3] Gannon, J. C., Strategic Use of Open Source Intelligence addressed to the Washington
College of Law at American University, Washington, D.C., October 6, 2000.
[4] Leonard-Barton, D., Wellsprings of Knowledge, Boston: Harvard Business School Press,
1995, pp. 2426, 5153.
[5] See Virtue Epistemology in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, accessed on-line on February 18, 2001 at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology-virtue.
[6] Winograd, T., and F. Flores, Understanding Computers and Cognition, New York: Addison
Wesley, 1995.
[7] Wisdom refers to the ability to apply knowledge to select the best ends and to choose the
best means to accomplish those ends.
[8] Janis, I., Victims of Groupthink: Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions and Fiascoes,
(2nd ed.), Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1972.
[9] Davenport, T. and Prusak, L., Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They
Know, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998.
[10] Quoted in CIO Magazine, August 15, 2001, p. 118.
[11] Definition by the APQC, www.apqc.org.
[12] Varon, E., The Langley Files, CIO, August 1, 2000, pp. 126130.
[13] Karlenzig, W., Senge on Knowledge, Knowledge Management, July 1999, pp. 2223.
[14] Brown, J. S., and P. Duguid, The Social Life of Information, Cambridge, MA: Harvard
Business Review, 2000.
[15] This figure is adapted from Earl, M., and I. Scott, What Is a Chief Knowledge Officer?
Sloan Management Review, Winter 1999, pp. 2938.
[16] Denning, S., The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations, Boston: Butterworth Heinemann, 2001, pp. xviixviii.
[17] The organic school complements the mechanistic school, which approaches organizations
as rational models subject to quantitative analysis and scientific management.
[18] Barth, S., The Organic Approach to the Organization: A Conversation with KM Practitioner David Snowdon, Knowledge Management, October 2000, p. 24.
[19] Senge, P., The Fifth Discipline, New York: Doubleday, 1990, p. 3. See also Senges more
recent book, The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Change in Learning
Organizations, New York: Currency-Doubleday, 1999.
[20] Bloom, B. S., B. B. Mesia, and D. R. Krathwohl, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Volumes 1 and 2, New York: David McKay, 1964.
[21] Curtis, B., W. Hefley, and S. Miller, People Capability Maturity Model (P-CMM),
Version 2.0, CMU/SEI 2001-MM-01, Carnegie-Mellon Software Engineering Institute,
July 2001.

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

155

[22] Garvin, D., Building a Learning Organization, in HBR on Knowledge Management, Boston: HBR Press, 1998, pp. 4780.
[23] Definition adopted by the APQC. See Benchmarking: Leveraging Best-Practice Strategies, APQC, 1995. Accessed on-line on March 8, 2002, at http://apqc.org/free/whitepapers/dispWhitePaper.cfm?Product ID=663.
[24] Davenport, T. and Prusak, L., Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They
Know, Chapter 5, Knowledge Transfer, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998,
pp. 88106.
[25] The terminology here is adopted from Distance Learning, Army Science Board, 1997 Summer Study Final Report, December 1997, pp. 67, 16.
[26] This is a question of the degree to which groups of individuals can think collectively and
coherently. The fact and efficiency of group communication, interaction, influence, and
coordination is not in question; the existence or meaning of group cognition (groupthink)
is the issue in question. See the divergent views in Smith, J. B., Collective Intelligence in
Computer-Based Collaboration, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., 1994; and Newell, A., Unified Theories of Cognition, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990.
[27] Intelligence Community Collaboration, Baseline Study Final Report, MITRE, December
1999, Section 3.2.2, accessed on-line on April 20, 2002, at http://collaboration
.mitre.org/prail.
[28] Fisher, B. A., and D. Ellis, Small Group Communication (3rd ed.), New York: McGrawHill, 1990.
[29] By mindset, we refer to the distillation of the intelligence analysts cumulative factual and
conceptual knowledge into a framework for making estimative judgments on a complex
subject. Mindset includes a commitment to a reference viewpoint on a subject; creating a
mindset is a vital and indispensable element of human reasoning but introduces a bias
against contradictory evidence or competing mindsets. See Davis, J., Combating MindSet, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 36, No. 5, 1992.)
[30] The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a psychological instrument to characterize an individuals personality type based on a generalization of Carl Jungs (18751961) psychology
of personality types. The MBTI is a questionnaire trademarked and copyrighted by
Consulting Psychological Press (1962) that may be used to define a Myers-Briggs type of
an individual. The Keirsey temperament model (1978) is a similar classification scheme
that distinguishes more subtle features of temperament (interests, orientation, values, selfimage, and social roles).
[31] See, for example, the analysis of a collaborating group in Leonard, D., and S., Straus,
Putting Your Companys Whole Brain to Work, in HBS on Knowledge Management,
Boston: HBR Press, 1998, pp. 135136.
[32] Churchill, E., D. Snowdon, and A. Munro (Eds.), Collaborative Virtual Environments,
Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Verlag, 2002.
[33] Groove Product Backgrounder White Paper, Groove Networks, Inc., 2001, accessed online on February 15, 2002 at http://www.groove.net/pdf/backgrounder-product.pdf.

156

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

[34] Intelligence Analysis for the 21st Century, speech by John C. Gannon, (Former) Deputy Director for Intelligence, CIA, at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts
University, November 18, 1997, accessed on-line on January 31, 2002, at http://www
.odci.gov/cia/di/speeches/42826397.html.
[35] Richard, A. O., International Trafficking in Women to the United States: A Contemporary
Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime, U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Intelligence
and Research, DCI Center for the Study of Intelligence Monograph, Washington, D.C.:
CIA, November 1999.
[36] We purposely include predominantly convergent (thinking to narrow choices to arrive at a
solution), rather than divergent (exploratory or creative thinking) methodologies of
thought here. Divergent creativity is required to synthesize hypotheses, and lateral creative
thinking methods (e.g., see Edward DeBonos Serious Creativity, 1992) are certainly
required within the processes described in this chapter.
[37] Descartes, R., Discourse on Method, 1637; his four-step problem-solving method of analysis and synthesis is described in Part IIPrincipal Rules of the Method.
[38] Kepner, C. H., and B. B. Tregoe, The Rational Manager, Princeton, NJ: Kepner-Tregoe,
1965.
[39] Waltz, E., and J. Llinas, Multisensor Data Fusion, Boston: Artech House, 1990,
pp. 419-423.
[40] Sawka, K., Competing Hypothesis Analysis: Building Support for Analytic Findings,
Competitive Intelligence Magazine, Vol.3, No. 3, JulySeptember 1999.
[41] Lockwood, J., and K. Lockwood, The Lockwood Analytic Method for Prediction
(LAMP), Defense Intelligence Journal, Vol. 3, No.2, Fall 1994, pp. 4774.
[42] Decision analysis is an entire discipline of its own, encompassing a broad set of quantitative analysis approaches to arrive at decisions. For an overview of this field, see Watson, S.
R., and D., M. Buede, Decision Synthesis, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University
Press, 1987.
[43] Philosophers characterize a number of approaches to thinking about the world and attribute these classics to their most well-known teachers: Isaac Newton (16421727) introduced the concept of mechanism that explained causality in the physical world, Ren
Descartes (15961650) introduced reductionism to decompose systems into parts for independent analysis, and Francis Bacon (15611626) introduced empiricism, whereby the systems of nature are observed and explanations (hypotheses) synthesized and then tested (the
scientific method).
[44] Casti, J. L., Complexification: Explaining a Paradoxical World Through the Science of Surprise, New York: Harper Collins, 1994, p. 3.
[45] Ellis, J. O., CINC U.S. Naval Forces Europe, Commander Joint Task Force Noble Anvil,
A View From the Top, After Action Briefing, July 4, 1999, accessed on-line on May 25,
2002, at http://www.d-n-i.net/fcs/ppt/ellis_kosovo_aar.ppt.
[46] Kline, G. A., Judith Orasanu, and Roberta Calderwood (eds.), Decision Making in Action,
Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1993.

The Knowledge-Based Intelligence Organization

157

[47] CIA Opens Door on the Craft of Analysis, Center For Study of Intelligence Newsletter,
No. 7, Winter-Spring 1997. The CIA Directorate of Intelligence made available to the
public a reprinted and revised edition of A Compendium of Analytic Tradecraft Notes, Volume I (Notes 110), which have become a standard reference within CIA for practitioners
and teachers of intelligence analysis. The revised compendium contains 10 Tradecraft Notes
issued to analysts during MarchDecember 1995.

5
Principles of Intelligence Analysis and
Synthesis
A timeless Sidney Harris cartoon depicts a long-haired professor posed in front a
blackboard filled with mathematical equations by his grad student. Neatly
scrawled between the board-length equation and the solution is the simple statement, then a miracle occurs. The skeptical professor admonishes his student, I think you should be more explicit here in step two. In this chapter, we
will explain the step two of the KM process: the jump from accumulated
information to the creation of knowledge. At the core of all knowledge creation
are the seemingly mysterious reasoning processes that proceed from the known
to the assertion of entirely new knowledge about the previously unknown. For
the intelligence analyst, this is the process by which evidence [1], that data determined to be relevant to a problem, is used to infer knowledge about a subject of
investigationthe intelligence target. The process must deal with evidence that
is often inadequate, undersampled in time, ambiguous, and carries questionable
pedigree.
We refer to this knowledge-creating discipline as intelligence analysis and
the practitioner as analyst. But analysis properly includes both the processes of
analysis (breaking things down) and synthesis (building things up). In this chapter, the analytic-synthetic process of reasoning about data to produce knowledge
(intelligence) is introduced from a theoretical and functional point of view. Following this chapter on the principles of analysis-synthesis, we will move on to
discuss the practice with practical implementations and applications in the subsequent chapter.

159

160

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

5.1 The Basis of Analysis and Synthesis

The process known as intelligence analysis employs both the functions of analysis
and synthesis to produce intelligence products. Before describing the functions
of this process, we must first distinguish the fundamental problem-solving reasoning processes that underlie intelligence analysis.
The Greek geometer of the third century A.D., Pappus of Alexandria, first
distinguished the two fundamental geometric problem-solving approaches by
the direction of the reasoning processes moving between known facts and desired
solutions. In his Mathematical Collection, Pappus described these two methods
as complementary approaches to connecting known evidence (causes) to solutions (effects):
1. Analysis proceeds from a presumed effect (solution) backward, searching for the sequence of antecedent causes that would bring about that
effect. Proceeding backward through iterations of antecedent causes
and consequent effects, one continues until reaching causes that are
known. An effect-to-cause sequence that leads backward to a complete
set of known causes (axioms or assumptions) is a proven hypothesis.
2. Synthesis, on the other hand, proceeds from known antecedent causes
forward toward a solution by linking them, in a construction process,
to assemble a cause-effect chain that leads to the solution.
Pappus showed how both analysis and synthesis are used to solve problems
by working in both directions to find a solution path (a tree or sequence of
causes leading to the desired effect) that fully links a solution to known causes.
In geometry, this proceeds from geometric first principles, through theorems to
higher order proofs. In a criminal investigation, this leads from a body of evidence, through feasible explanations, to an assembled case. In intelligence, the
process leads from intelligence data, through alternative hypotheses, to an intelligence product. Along this trajectory, the problem solver moves forward and
backward iteratively seeking a path that connects the known to the solution
(that which was previously unknown). Of course, Pappus focused on the
decomposition and construction of causal relationships, but the process can be
applied to noncausal evidential relationships. Intelligence analysis-synthesis is
very interested in financial, political, economic, military, and many other evidential relationships that may not be causal, but provide understanding of the
structure and behavior of human, organizational, physical, and financial entities.
Consider how this analysis-synthesis process iterates in a practical intelligence problem addressed by the U.S. government. The U.S. State Department
requested an analysis of the illegal global trafficking in women and children to
determine the scope of these activities and the effects on U.S. interests. The

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

161

resulting State Department intelligence report [2] provides insight into how the
analysis-synthesis process might proceed within the intelligence cycle introduced in Chapter 2:
Collection planning (analysis). The analyst examines the preexisting evi-

dence in intelligence and open-source reports that caused policymakers

to request the study. From the evidence, the analyst identifies the categories of targets of the analysis: victims, trafficking organizations, cites
and nations involved, and transport vessels and routes of trade to the
United States.
Collection planning (synthesis). Primary countries, sources and purchas-

ers (of women and children), and hypothesized (likely) trafficking

routes are identified, forming an initial flow model with scant quantitative data. The synthesized model includes the following initial
components:
1. A spreadsheet of source and user countries, major trafficking cities
and organizations, and estimated quantities of victims;
2. A map of likely trade flows between major countries and cities;
3. A list of organizations (known and suspected traffickers).
Collection tasking. The analyst assesses (analyzes) the gaps in knowledge

and forms (synthesizes) specific request of intelligence collection against

the primary target countries and organization.
Processing. Received intelligence data (HUMINT and technical) are

indexed and placed in a database organized for the trafficking case

study. Then text reports are indexed by country, names, locations, and
organizations for subsequent cross-referencing.
Analysis-synthesis. As collection begins to provide reports on the primary

countries of interest, the traffic routes suggest that additional countries

should be investigated. The initial models of traffic flow provide coarse
estimates of flow rates. As the model is refined and as it is examined,
inconsistencies in the estimated levels and flow rates of trafficking also
imply that additional data must be collected to refine the accuracy of
the model.
Retasking. New tasking is required to refine and validate the model and

to explore the role of additional countries and cities suggested by the

model.
Further analysis-synthesis. The model is refined to include a financial

model of estimated profits, and the modes of trafficking are refined to

include additional methods employed: illicit adoption, domestic

162

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

servants, and maid schemes. The quantitative models are completed,

uncertainty and unknowns are noted, and a supporting qualitative
assessment is written (synthesized) to articulate the answer to the original policy-maker query.
Production. The report is produced and distributed to those who

requested the study and to other interested agencies.

Descriptions of the analysis-synthesis processes can be traced from its roots
in philosophy and problem solving to applications in intelligence assessments
(Figure 5.1).
Philosophers distinguish between propositions as analytic or synthetic
based on the direction in which they are developed. Propositions in which the
predicate (conclusion) is contained within the subject are called analytic because
the predicate can be derived directly by logical reasoning forward from the subject; the subject is said to contain the solution. Synthetic propositions on the
other hand have predicates and subjects that are independent. The synthetic
proposition affirms a connection between otherwise independent concepts.
Philosopher Imanuel Kants (17241804) rationalist epistemology distinguished three categories of truth based on the use of an analyticsynthetic distinction (Table 5.1). The most pure knowledge, according to Kant, is contained
in those analytic propositions that are based in pure logic. These propositions
are built on the most fundamental logical principles necessary to reason (e.g.,
the principle of identity: A is A; the principle of noncontradiction: x cannot
be A and not A at the same time and in the same respect; the principle of
excluded middle: x either is or is not) and their application to create propositions of truth by deductive logic. Such propositions are analytic and a priori
based on the prior fundamental principles. Geometry is also based on the priors,
but is synthetic because we create the spatial abstractions to represent things we
see in the world. Most empirical knowledge (or claims to truth) is synthetic and
a posteriori from propositions derived after observing a sample of observations
and synthesizing a proposition that extends beyond the sample.
While the Kantian distinctions were defined to establish philosophical
positions on the meaning of truth in epistemology (not discussed here), they are
practically useful to illustrate the relative strength between analytic and synthetic
propositions. The empirical scientific method applies analysis and synthesis to
develop and then to test hypotheses:
Observation. A phenomenon is observed and recorded as data.
Hypothesis creation. Based upon a thorough study of the data, a working

hypothesis is created (by the inductive analysis process or by pure inspiration) to explain the observed phenomena.

163

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

Area of study
Philosophy
The classification
analytic and
synthetic make
distinguish
between
propositions or
judgments

Analysis

Synthesis

Analytic propositions are those in which Synthetic propositions have predicates

the predicate (conclusion) is already
and subjects that are independent.
contained within the subject.
The synthetic proposition affirms a
connection between otherwise
independent concepts.
Example: Terrorists are threats to
peace and security

Example: Terrorists use random

bombings to accomplish their means.

Problem solving Analysis is the process of breaking

Synthesis is the process of assembling

component concepts (solution
components) into more complex
concepts (solutions).

down (decomposing) complex concepts

Analysis and
(problems) into constituent components
synthesis
in order to reveal and explain
distinguish
relationships between those component
between
parts.
processes for
Example: To determine the time of travel,
solving problems
you must determine the distance and
velocity: T=T(d,v)
Analysis is the process of decomposing
Intelligence
Analysis and
intelligence data (evidence) into
synthesis
constituent parts to examine
distinguish
relationships, and discover missing data.
between
The focus is on the problem.
processes for
Example: To determine a nations gross
examining
national product, decompose national
evidence to
production into the primary components
explain subjects of production, then into primary
(targets) of study industries to be studied
Break down evidence into simple
component causes from complex
effects; move from concrete events to
abstract explanations

Example: Estimate the time of travel

by dividing estimated distance by
estimated velocity: T=d/v
Synthesis is the process of assembling
feasible solutions (hypotheses) from
components of evidence.

Example: Estimate gross national

product by adding estimates of primary
production sources, validated by
comparison with import-export data.
Build up a working hypothesis by a
logical assembly of evidence; create
complex from simple, move from cause
to effect.

Propose components, links, and patterns

The
Reasoning
Processes
Data
(evidence)

Analyze: Break
evidence into parts,
sort, and identify
relationships

Synthesize
Assemble parts
into larger constructs

Search for components, links, and patterns

Solutions

Figure 5.1 Analysis-synthesis distinctions in three areas of study.

Experiment development. Based on the assumed hypothesis, the expected

results (the consequences) of a test of the hypothesis are synthesized (by

deduction).
Hypothesis testing. The experiment is performed to test the hypothesis
against the data.

164

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 5.1
AnalyticSynthetic Distinctions According to Kant

Category

Synthetic

Analytic

Basis of the
proposition

A posteriori: knowledge obtained

by experience: externally through
the senses or internally by the
emotion

A priori: knowledge obtained independent of

experience

Proposition
category
examples

Synthetic a posteriori: empirical

lawsderived by induction from a
sample of empirical observations

Synthetic a priori:
geometry,
mathematics

Analytic a priori:
fundamental logic
derived by deduction
from a priori
propositions

Verification. When the consequences of the test are confirmed, the

hypothesis is verified (as a theory or law depending upon the degree of

certainty).

Of course the intelligence analyst, like the scientist, applies both analysis
and synthesis in a complementary fashion to study the components of evidence,
assemble candidate hypotheses, test them against the evidence available, and
seek additional evidence to confirm, reinforce, or eliminate hypotheses. The
analyst iteratively applies analysis and synthesis to move forward from evidence
and backward from hypothesis to explain the available data (evidence). In the
process, the analyst identifies more data to be collected, critical missing data,
and new hypotheses to be explored. This iterative analysis-synthesis process provides the necessary traceability from evidence to conclusion that will allow the
results (and the rationale) to be explained with clarity and depth when
completed.
But the intelligence analyst is only one contributor in a larger chain of
analysis-synthesis operations, which leads to national decisions and subsequent
actions. Consider the practical sequence of analysis-synthesis processes that are
partitioned between intelligence, operations, and policy. The typical reasoning
sequence (Figure 5.2) includes three distinct functions (often performed by
three distinct organizations), each requiring an analysis-synthesis loop:
Intelligence analysis. Intelligence collects and breaks down data, guided

by the context of the problem , decomposing all elements of data and

organizing them into temporal, spatial, and functional frames of

165

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

Analysis

Resources

Context
Data

Planning

Hypotheses

Decision Making
Values
A

Decision

Decisions

H1, H2, Hn

Courses of action
COA1, COA2,
COAm

D1, Dp

Intelligence

Operations

Policy

Figure 5.2 Analysis-synthesis in the national decision-making chain.

reference. From this data, hypotheses (explanations or models) are synthesized, ranked, and reported in the intelligence report.
Planning. Operations accepts the intelligence report and analyzes the
implications of the hypothesized situation before synthesizing (planning) feasible COAs or responses. These responses depend on the
resources available.
Decision making. Policy makers consider the possible COAs in the context of values (cost, risk) to determine the utility of each alternative and
make decisions based on a rational selection of highest utility.
Figure 5.2 does not include the feedback loops, which naturally occur
between these functions, that represent the collaborative interactions between
analysts, operations personnel, and decision makers. These additional interactions between participants provide the necessary context that allows upstream
analysts to focus their efforts to satisfy downstream users. The distinctions in
each of these three areas of analysis are summarized in Table 5.2, but the basis of
analytic-synthetic reasoning within each is the same. While depicted as a
sequential chain, the three functions must collaborate to provide correct
upstream insight to focus collection and analysis toward downstream decision
making.
The careful distinctions between intelligence and operations or policymaking have long been an area of sensitive discussion in the U.S. government,
from the inception of the IC up to today [3]. Sherman Kent, pioneer of American intelligence and author of Strategic Intelligence for American World Policy

166

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 5.2
Fundamental Analytic Applications

Discipline

Intelligence Analysis

Operational Analysis

Decision Analysis

Analytic Focus

Understand and explain

the situation and
implications

Understand the range of

alternative actions
(operations) and their
anticipated
consequences

Understand the mission

purpose and the aggregate
implications of policy and
operational actions

Analysis
Process

Examine and assess

evidence

Examine and assess

situation hypotheses

Judge large-scale
implications of COAs on
mission objectives

Synthesis
Process

Create hypotheses
(models, explanations,
situations)

Create COAs

Create policies and

decisions to acive mission

Fields of Study

Intelligence analysis

Operations research

Decision and policy

analysis

(1949), has been noted for his firm position that Intelligence must be close
enough to policy, plans and operations to have the greatest amount of guidance,
and must not be so close that it loses its objectivity and integrity of judgement
[4]. The potential power of intelligence to influence policy was noted in a CIA
report discussing intelligence provided to former Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger:
Kissinger has written perceptively of the challenge a DCI faces in walking
the fine line between offering intelligence support and making policy recommendations. Probably more than any other National Security Adviser,
he was sensitive to the reality that an assessment of the probable implications of any U.S. action can come across implicitly or explicitly, intended or
not, as a policy recommendation. He wrote in White House Years, It is to
the Director [of Central Intelligence] that the assistant first turns to learn
the facts in a crisis and for analysis of events, and since decisions turn on the
perception of the consequences of actions the CIA assessment can almost
amount to a policy recommendation [5].

U.S. President George H.W. Bush summed up the general executive office
perspective of the distinction: And when it comes to the mission of CIA and
the Intelligence Community, [Director of Central Intelligence] George Tenet
has it exactly right. Give the President and the policymakers the best possible
intelligence product and stay out of the policymaking or policy implementing
except as specifically decreed in the law [6].

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

167

5.2 The Reasoning Processes

Reasoning processes that analyze evidence and synthesize explanations perform
inference (i.e., they create, manipulate, evaluate, modify, and assert belief). We
can characterize the most fundamental inference processes by their process and
products:
Process. The direction of the inference process refers to the way in which

beliefs are asserted. The process may move from specific (or particular)
beliefs toward more general beliefs, or from general beliefs to assert
more specific beliefs.
Products. The certainty associated with an inference distinguishes two
categories of results of inference. The asserted beliefs that result from
inference may be infallible (e.g., an analytic conclusion is derived from
infallible beliefs and infallible logic is certain) or fallible judgments (e.g.,
a synthesized judgment is asserted with a measure of uncertainty;
probably true, true with 0.95 probability, or more likely true than
false).
The most basic taxonomy of inferential reasoning processes distinguishes
three basic categories of reasoninginduction, abduction, and deduction.
Table 5.3, similar to Table 5.1 with Kants distinctions, provides the structure
of this taxonomy and distinguishes the characteristics of each. The form of each
method is represented as a common logical syllogism to allow each form to be
seen in light of common everyday reasoning from premises to conclusion.
It is worth noting that while induction and deduction are the classical formal reasoning forms found in most philosophy and logic texts, abduction is the
more recent pragmatic form of reasoning introduced by mathematician and
logician C. S. Peirce (18391914). Abduction is the less formal but more common approach of inference to achieve the best explanation with uncertain
evidence.
5.2.1

Deductive Reasoning

Deduction is the method of inference by which a conclusion is inferred by

applying the rules of a logical system to manipulate statements of belief to form
new logically consistent statements of belief. This form of inference is infallible,
in that the conclusion (belief) must be as certain as the premise (belief). It is
belief preserving in that conclusions reveal no more than that expressed in the
original premises. Deduction can be expressed in a variety of syllogisms, including the more common forms of propositional logic (Table 5.4).

168

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 5.3
The Structure of the Fundamental Inference Processes

Inference:
Reasoning Processes That Create and Modify Belief
Inferential
Process

Induction
Inductive
generalization:
reasoning to apply
belief about an
observed sample
to an entire
population

All observed As
Syllogistic
are Bs
Representation
Therefore all
As are Bs

Product:
Fallibility of
Asserted
Beliefs

Process:
Motion of
Reasoning

Inductive projection:
reasoning to apply a
belief about an
observed population
to a future sample

Abduction:
reasoning to
create the best
explanation of
evidence

Deduction:
reasoning about
premises to
derive
conclusions

All observed As are

Bs

D is a collection A or B or C or...
of data
but not B or C or...
H1, H2, ... Hn ex- Therefore, A
Therefore the
next observed A will plains D best
be a B
Therefore,
accepts H k

Discovery: conclusions can be stronger than premises;

produces fallible knowledge

Moving from specific beliefs to more

general beliefs

Detection:
conclusions are no
stronger than the
premises;
preserves
infallible
knowledge

Moving from general beliefs to more

specific beliefs

From: [7]. With kind permission of Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Texts on formal logic present the variety of logical systems that may be
defined to provide foundations for deductive inference [8]. The classical propositional logic system (or calculus) described in Table 5.4 is the basic deductive
tool of formal logic; predicate calculus is the system of mathematics that extends
deductive principles to the quantitative realm.
5.2.2

Inductive Reasoning

Induction is the method of inference by which a more general or more abstract

belief is developed by observing a limited set of observations or instances.

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

169

Table 5.4
Several Basic Deductive Propositional Argument Forms
Argument

Form

Simple Example

Modus ponens

Infer by direct deduction:

PQ premise
P premise

If an aircraft has a type 55 radar, it is a fighter

Aircraft A has a type 55 radar

Q conclusion
Modus tollens

Infer by denying the consequent:

PQ premise
-Q premise
P conclusion

Hypothetical
syllogism (chain
argument)

Infer by string of IF-THEN

statements:
PQ premise
QR premise
RS premise

Aircraft A is a fighter
If an aircraft has a type 55 radar, it is a fighter
Aircraft A is not a fighter
Aircraft A does not have a type 55 radar
If an aircraft has a type 55 radar, it is a fighter
If an aircraft is a fighter it has weapons
If an aircraft has weapons it is a threat
If an aircraft has a type 55 radar, it is a
threat

PS conclusion
Disjunctive
syllogism

Infer by denying terms of a

disjunctive statement:
P Q premise
Q premise

Either aircraft A or B is a fighter

Aircraft A is not a fighter
Aircraft B is a fighter

P conclusion
Symbols used:
PQ means if P (antecedent) is true, then Q (consequent) is true.
P Q means either P or Q are true.
P means negation of the premise that P is not true.
designates therefore, and is followed by the conclusion.

Induction moves from specific beliefs about instances to general beliefs about
larger and future populations of instances. It is a fallible means of inference.
The form of induction most commonly applied to extend belief from a
sample of instances to a larger population, is inductive generalization:
All Observed As are Bs
all As are Bs.
By this method, analysts extend the observations about a limited number
of targets (e.g., observations of the money laundering tactics of several narcotics
rings within a drug cartel) to a larger target population (e.g., the entire drug
cartel).

170

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Inductive prediction extends belief from a population to a specific future

sample:
All Observed As are Bs
the next observed A will be a B.
By this method, an analyst may use several observations of behavior (e.g.,
the repeated surveillance behavior of a foreign intelligence unit) to create a general detection template to be used to detect future surveillance activities by that
or other such units. The induction presumes future behavior will follow past
patterns.
In addition to these forms, induction can provide a means of analogical
reasoning (induction on the basis of analogy or similarity) and inference to relate
cause and effect. The basic scientific method applies the principles of induction
to develop hypotheses and theories that can subsequently be tested by experimentation over a larger population or over future periods of time. The subject of
induction is central to the challenge of developing automated systems that generalize and learn by inducing patterns and processes (rules) [9].
The essence of induction is the recognition of a more abstract or general
pattern of relationships or behaviors that explains a set of data or observations.
In his study of human creativity, Arthur Koestler points out how the essence of
human inductive discovery can be observed in three common forms [10]:
1. Aha! This is the exclamation at the point of scientific study in which
the scientist rapidly discerns a new insight or principlea discovery.
The Aha! experience is also called Eureka! after the Greek engineer
Archimedess famous exclamation as he realized, while taking a bath,
that he could measure the volume of the kings crown and assay its true
makeup by immersing it in waterrather than melting it down. It is
also the well-known exclamation, My dear Watson! as the veteran Sherlock Holmes discovers the clue that reveals the solution to a
crime.
2. Ha ha! This is the response of laughter to the sudden recognition of
irony as the punch line of a joke is told; the hearer realizes the alternative and parallel (but hidden) explanation for the story leading up to
the line.
3. Ahhh This expression is the appreciation of the higher, aesthetic
beauty of a work of art by realizing the more abstract pattern of
meaning not found merely in the details of the artwork, but in the
holistic meaning conveyed by the external visual image.

171

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

In each of these three cases, Koestler points out that the underlying inductive act is the sudden discovery of a new or novel pattern, previously hidden in
the details, to the discoverer. Koesler graphically illustrated the process in a geometric analogy. To understand his analogy, consider the ha ha discovery process
by representing the story line of a humorous story (Figure 5.3). The sequence of
evidence is the series of facts (D1, D2,) sequentially presented in the story.
These facts are projected onto an immediate or common explanationa frame
of discernment to interpret the factsrepresented as the plane, A. But, as the
punch line (the last piece of evidence, D5) is introduced, it suddenly reveals an
entirely different plane in which all of the evidence perfectly fitsrevealing a
hidden but parallel and ironic explanation for the story. In the geometric analogy, a sinusoid is revealed to fit the data. The cognitive-emotive reaction to the
sudden realization is to exclaim ha ha!
Koestler uses the term bisociation to describe the process of viewing multiple explanations (or multiple associations) of the same data simultaneously. In
the example in the figure, the data can be projected onto a common plane of discernment in which the data represents a simple curved line; projected onto an
Common explanation

Creative discovery
Novel frame of
discernment, B

D2
D1

D3

D4

D1

D2

D4
D3
D5

D5

Common frame of
discernment, A

Last
Evidence

Disciplined thinkingassociation of data

projected onto a single frame of
discernment (or associative context)
Characteristics:
Association on one frame of discernment
at a time
Critical, conscious activities
Repetitionapplying well-understood
frames of discernment
Conservative processstraightforward
analysis and synthesis

Creative thinkingbisociation of data

projected onto more than one frame of
discernment (or bisociative contexts) at
the same time.
Characteristics:
Bisociation on multiple frames of
discernment simultaneously
Creative, subconscious activities
Noveltyexploring and testing new
frames of discernment
Constructive and destructivedeep and
repetitive analysis and synthesis cycles

Figure 5.3 Koestlers graphical representation of discovery.

172

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

orthogonal plane, the data can explain a sinusoid. Though undersampled, as

much intelligence data is, the sinusoid represents a new and novel explanation
that may remain hidden if the analyst does not explore more than the common,
immediate, or simple interpretation.
In a similar sense, the inductive discovery by an intelligence analyst (aha!)
may take on many different forms, following the simple geometric metaphor.
For example:
A subtle and unique correlation between the timing of communications

(by traffic analysis) and money transfers of a trading firm may lead to
the discovery of an organized crime operation.
A single anomalous measurement may reveal a pattern of denial and
deception to cover the true activities at a manufacturing facility in
which many points of evidence, are, in fact deceptive data fed by the
deceiver. Only a single piece of anomalous evidence (D5 in the figure)
is the clue that reveals the existence of the true operations (a new plane
in the figure). The discovery of this new plane will cause the analyst to
search for additional supporting evidence to support the deception
hypothesis.
Each frame of discernment (or plane in Koestlers metaphor) is a framework for creating a single or a family of multiple hypotheses to explain the evidence. The creative analyst is able to entertain multiple frames of discernment,
alternatively analyzing possible fits and constructing new explanations, exploring the many alternative explanations. This is Koestlers constructive-destructive
process of discovery.
Koestlers work, and Thomas Kuhns classic, The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions [11], both attempt to understand the point of creative inspiration
that enables inductive discovery. Kuhn argued that scientific discovery resulted
from the crisis when anomalies (e.g., experimental results that failed to fit the
accepted paradigm) challenged the belief in the current paradigm. These crises
caused searches for new explanations of the anomalous phenomena and resulted
in the discovery of new all-encompassing paradigms. Kuhn referred to philosopher Michael Polanyis (then) pioneering works [12] in tacit knowledge to
explain how these crises led scientists to develop shared beliefs and internal personal knowledge (i.e., tacit knowledge), which led them to discovery. The
essence of both scientific discovery and intelligence analysis depends on the creative conception of hypotheses and the subsequent testing of those hypotheses by
either or both of two means [13]:
1. Confirmation of hypotheses;

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

173

2. Disconfirmation (or falsification) [14] of hypotheses.

Collaborative intelligence analysis (like collaborative scientific discovery)
may produce a healthy environment for creative induction or an unhealthy
competitive environment that stifles induction and objectivity. The goal of collaborative analysis is to allow alternative hypotheses to be conceived and objectively evaluated against the available evidence and to guide the tasking for
evidence to confirm or disconfirm the alternatives.
5.2.3

Abductive Reasoning

Abduction is the informal or pragmatic mode of reasoning to describe how we

reason to the best explanation in everyday life. Abduction is the practical
description of the interactive use of analysis and synthesis to arrive at a solution
or explanation creating and evaluating multiple hypotheses. Abduction incorporates both inductive (hypothesis-creating) and deductive (hypothesis-testing)
operations. The reasoning process is expressed as a pragmatic syllogism in the
following form [15]:
D is a collection of data.
Hypotheses H1, H2,Hn all can explain D.
Hk explains D best.
Therefore Accept Hypothesis Hk as the best explanation.
Unlike infallible deduction, abduction is fallible because it is subject to
errors (there may be other hypotheses not considered or another hypothesis,
however unlikely, may be correct). But unlike deduction, it has the ability to
extend belief beyond the original premises. Peirce contended that this is the logic
of discovery and is a formal model of the process that scientists apply all the
time.
Consider a simple intelligence example that implements the basic abductive syllogism. Data has been collected on a foreign trading company, TraderCo,
which indicates its reported financial performance is not consistent with (less
than) its level of operations. In addition, a number of its executives have subtle
ties with organized crime figures.
The operations of the company can be explained by at least three
hypotheses:
Hypothesis (H1)TraderCo is a legitimate but poorly run business; its
board is unaware of a few executives with unhealthy business contacts.

174

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Hypothesis (H2)TraderCo is a legitimate business with a nave board

that is unaware that several executives who gamble are using the business
to pay off gambling debts to organized crime.
Hypothesis (H3)TraderCo is an organized crime front operation that is
trading in stolen goods and laundering money through the business,
which reports a loss.
Hypothesis H3 best explains the evidence.
Therefore, Accept Hypothesis H3 as the best explanation.
Of course, the critical stage of abduction unexplained in this set of
hypotheses is the judgment that H3 is the best explanation. The process requires
a criteria for ranking hypotheses, a method for judging which is best, and a
method to assure that the set of candidate hypotheses cover all possible (or feasible) explanations.
The stages of Peirces abductive method of scientific investigation of a
process (as in the empirical scientific method introduced earlier) include abduction, induction, and deduction in the following sequence:
1. Observe the process that is not explained; collect data.
2. Apply abduction to create feasible hypotheses that are able to explain
the process.
3. Apply induction to test the hypotheses in experiments.
4. Apply deduction to confirm that the selected hypothesis is able to
properly predict the process and new observed data.
5.2.3.1 Creating and Testing Hypotheses

Abduction introduces the competition among multiple hypotheses, each being

an attempt to explain the evidence available. These alternative hypotheses can be
compared, or competed on the basis of how well they explain (or fit) the evidence. Furthermore, the created alternative hypotheses provide a means of identifying three categories of evidence important to explanation:
Positive evidence. This is evidence revealing the presence of an object or

occurrence of an event in a hypothesis.

Missing evidence. Some hypotheses may fit the available evidence, but

the hypothesis predicts that additional evidence that should exist if

the hypothesis were true is missing. Subsequent searches and testing
for this evidence may confirm or disconfirm the hypothesis.

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

175

Negative evidence. Hypotheses that contain evidence of a nonoccurrence

of an event (or nonexistence of an object) may confirm a hypothesis.

This is the kind of dog that didnt bark evidence applied by Sherlock
Holmes in the short story, Silver Blaze [16].
This process inherently demands a search for alternative hypotheses that
extend beyond the hard evidence available. The U.S. Commission on Theater
Ballistic Missile Threats has noted the importance of intelligence analysis
exploring hypotheses that go beyond available evidence:
Yet, in a large number of cases examined, Commissioners found analysts
unwilling to make estimates that extended beyond the hard evidence they
had in hand, which effectively precluded developing and testing alternative
hypothesis about the actual foreign programs taking place [17].
5.2.3.2 Hypothesis Selection

Abduction also poses the issue of defining which hypothesis provides the best
explanation of the evidence. The criteria for comparing hypotheses, at the most
fundamental level, can be based on two principle approaches established by philosophers for evaluating truth propositions about objective reality [18]. The correspondence theory of the truth of a proposition p is true is to maintain that p
corresponds to the facts. For the intelligence analyst this would equate to
hypothesis h corresponds to the evidenceit explains all of the pieces of evidence, with no expected evidence missing, all without having to leave out any
contradictory evidence. The coherence theory of truth says that a propositions
truth consists of its fitting into a coherent system of propositions that create the
hypothesis. Both concepts contribute to practical criteria for evaluating competing hypotheses (Table 5.5).
In the next chapter, we will introduce the practical implementation of
abduction in the methodology of alternative competing hypotheses (ACH). We
now turn to integrating these formal and informal methods of reasoning for
practical analysis-synthesis in the intelligence problem-solving environment.

5.3 The Integrated Reasoning Process

The analysis-synthesis process combines each of the fundamental modes of reasoning to accumulate, explore, decompose to fundamental elements, and then
fit together evidence. The process also creates hypothesized explanations of the
evidence and uses these hypotheses to search for more confirming or refuting
elements of evidence to affirm or prune the hypotheses, respectively. The previous section introduced the formal descriptions of the reasoning modes; here, we

176

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 5.5
Hypothesis Evaluation Criteria

Basis of Truth
Correspondence

Hypothesis Testing
Criteria

Application to Intelligence Analysis-Synthesis

Criteria

The hypothesis
corresponds to all
of the data

1. Completenessall expected data is present (e.g.,

there is no missing evidence)
2. Exclusivityall available data matches the
hypothesis; no data contradicts the hypothesis
3. Nonconflictingthere are no mutually exclusive
hypotheses that also correspond to the data

Coherence

The hypothesis coheres

to (is consistent with) all
propositions that make
up the hypothesis

1. Consistency of logicthe hypothesis-creating

system that leads from evidence, relationships (e.g.,
casual, organizational, or behavioral), and processes
(e.g., laws of physics or rules of behavior) to
predicted outcomes is logical and consistent
2. Consistency of hypothesesall hypotheses follow
the same consistent hypothesis-creating system

describe how the fundamental inference methods are notionally integrated into
the intelligence analysis-synthesis process.
We can see the paths of reasoning in a simple flow process (Figure 5.4),
which proceeds from a pool of evidence and a question (a query to explain the
evidence) posed about the evidence. This process of proceeding from an evidentiary pool to detections, explanations, or discovery has been called evidence marshaling because the process seeks to marshal (assemble and organize) into a
representation (a model) that:
Detects the presence of evidence that match previously known premises

(or patterns of data);

Explains underlying processes that gave rise to the evidence;
Discovers new patterns in the evidencepatterns of circumstances or

behaviors not known before (learning).

The figure illustrates four basic paths that can proceed from the pool of
evidence, our three fundamental inference modes and a fourth feedback path:
1. Deduction. The path of deduction tests the evidence in the pool against
previously known patterns (or templates) that represent hypotheses of
activities that we seek to detect. When the evidence fits the hypothesis
template, we declare a match. When the evidence fits multiple

177

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

Deduction

Assess
multiple hypothesis
likelihoods

Hypothesis
testing fit to
known templates

Search for
evidence to affirm
new hypothesis
Pool
of
evidence

Conjecture new
hypothesis beyond the
current frame of
discernment

Detection

Assessment criteria:
Correspondence
Coherence
Pragmatic

Retroduction
Conjecture
best explanation
of evidence

Assemble
evidence to best
frame of
discernment

Abduction
Conjecture to
form a generalized
hypothesis
Induction

Assemble
evidence to the
generalized frame
of discernment

Assess
multiple
hypothesis
likelihoods

Explanation

Validate
new hypothesis
likelihood

Discovery

Figure 5.4 Integrating the basic reasoning flows.

hypotheses simultaneously, the likelihood of each hypothesis (determined by the strength of evidence for each) is assessed and reported.
(This likelihood may be computed probabilistically using Bayesian
methods, where evidence uncertainty is quantified as a probability and
prior probabilities of the hypotheses are known.)
2. Retroduction. This feedback path, recognized and named by C.S.
Peirce as yet another process of reasoning, occurs when the analyst
conjectures (synthesizes) a new conceptual hypothesis (beyond the current frame of discernment) that causes a return to the evidence to seek
evidence to match (or test) this new hypothesis. The insight Peirce
provided is that in the testing of hypotheses, we are often inspired to
realize new, different hypotheses that might also be tested. In the early
implementation of reasoning systems, the forward path of deduction
was often referred to as forward chaining by attempting to automatically fit data to previously stored hypothesis templates; the path of

178

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

retroduction was referred to as backward chaining, where the system

searched for data to match hypotheses queried by an inspired human
operator.
3. Abduction. The abduction process, like induction, creates explanatory
hypotheses inspired by the pool evidence and then, like deduction,
attempts to fit items of evidence to each hypothesis to seek the best
explanation. In this process, the candidate hypotheses are refined and
new hypotheses are conjectured. The process leads to comparison and
ranking of the hypotheses, and ultimately the best is chosen as the
explanation. As a part of the abductive process, the analyst returns to
the pool of evidence to seek support for these candidate explanations;
this return path is called retroduction.
4. Induction. The path of induction considers the entire pool of evidence
to seek general statements (hypotheses) about the evidence. Not seeking point matches to the small sets of evidence, the inductive path
conjectures new and generalized explanation of clusters of similar evidence; these generalizations may be tested across the evidence to
determine the breadth of applicability before being declared as a new
discovery.
Now we can examine how this process might flow in a typical intelligence
process. Consider the case where a terrorist group (ACQM) has attacked a
facility of country A, and the analyst is posed with the I&W question: Is there
evidence that that the group has capabilities, plans, or operations to conduct
other imminent attacks? The flow of analytic activities (numbered 18) is
sequentially illustrated in Figure 5.5:
1. Deduction. The analyst immediately checks all intelligence sources and
pools the evidence about ACQM to determine if the evidence fits any
known patterns of attack of other facilities. This hypothesis-testing
process seeks to deduce attack capabilities, plans, or operations initiated; if deduction fails, it may be due to lack of evidence, lack of
breadth of hypothesis templates (not robust enough), or insufficient
templates to cover new categories of attack.
2. The analyst hypothesis tests the evidence against known patterns of
attack. No matches to existing templates deduce that attacks (of
known types or for known targets) are not borne out by the evidence.
3. Retroduction. The analyst conjectures that ACQM may be planning
attacks on other targets (people, transportation, media) using the same

179

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

No fits, but what about
same MO, different
kind of target?

Deduction

Do I find any
evidence of patterns
that fit previous,
known attacks?

Do I find any
evidence that
1
fits new attack
pattern for other
kind of targets?

Pool
of
evidence

Evidence
approximately
fits several
other kinds
of target
attacks.

Conjecture a
general pattern
of attacks
across all
target
categories

Assess
multiple hypothesis
likelihoods

Hypothesis
testingfit to
known templates

Search for
evidence to affirm
new hypothesis

Conjecture new
hypothesis beyond the
current frame of
discernment

Retroduction
5

Conjecture
best explanation
of evidence

Assemble
evidence to best
frame of
discernment

Induction

Assemble
evidence to the
generalized frame
of discernment

Most likely explanations

of evidence offer reason
for warnings

Assess
multiple
hypothesis
likelihood's

Abduction
Conjecture to
form a generalized
hypothesis

Detection

Explanation
Validate an overall
attack strategy, plan,
and MO process

Validate
new hypothesis
likelihood

Discovery

Figure 5.5 Representative intelligence problem search sequence.

modus operandi (MO). This new frame of discernment goes beyond

the hypotheses that were considered within the deductive process.
4. This conjecture creates the basis for a search back through (retro) the
evidence pool to explore other new patterns of attack that might target
people, transportation, and media.
5. Abduction. Indeed, several hypotheses for new kinds of attacks on
maritime transportation targets are quite feasible.
6. The evidence arrayed against these hypotheses is compared, additional
collections of data are requested, and the results show that two target
hypotheses (transportation around ports and rivers) are feasible and
even likely. This provides a basis (the indication) for warning these
categories of targets and an explanation for the warning.

180

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

7. Induction. Finally, as more evidence is accumulated over time, and the

ACQM plans and conducts more attacks (some successes, some failures), the evidence shows a more general pattern of behavior of the
groupcharacterized by special forms of financing, a hatred for certain cultural symbols, and special communications behaviors.
8. This generalized pattern is tested against all previous attacks and can
be validated to provide a high-level template for future hypothesis
testing in the deductive process.
This example illustrates one thread of many possible flows through the reasoning processes that analysts apply to iteratively analyze the growing pool of
evidence and synthesize feasible hypotheses to be explored. The process also
illustrates the validation of templates, created by induction, and their use in the
deduction process. Once discovered by induction, these templates may be used
for future attack detection by deduction.

5.4 Analysis and Synthesis As a Modeling Process

The fundamental reasoning processes are applied to a variety of practical analytic activities performed by the analyst.
Explanation and description. Find and link related data to explain enti-

ties and events in the real world.

Detection. Detect and identify the presence of entities and events based

on known signatures. Detect potentially important deviations, including anomaly detection of changes relative to normal or expected state
or change detection of changes or trends over time.
Discovery. Detect the presence of previously unknown patterns in data

(signatures) that relate to entities and events.

Estimation. Estimate the current qualitative or quantitative state of an

entity or event.
Prediction. Anticipate future events based on detection of known indi-

cators; extrapolate current state forward, project the effects of linear factors forward, or simulate the effects of complex factors to synthesize
possible future scenarios to reveal anticipated and unanticipated (emergent) futures.
In each of these cases, we can view the analysis-synthesis process as an
evidence-decomposing and model-building process. The objective of this

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

181

process is to sort through and organize data (analyze) and then to assemble (synthesize), or marshal related evidence to create a hypothesisan instantiated
model that represents one feasible representation of the intelligence subject (target). The model is used to marshal evidence, evaluate logical argumentation,
and provide a tool for explanation of how the available evidence best fits the
analysts conclusion. The model also serves to help the analyst understand what
evidence is missing, what strong evidence supports the model, and where negative evidence might be expected. The terminology we use here can be clarified
by the following distinctions:
A real intelligence target is abstracted and represented by models.
A model has descriptive and stated attributes or properties.
A particular instance of a model, populated with evidence-derived and

conjectured properties, is a hypothesis.

A target may be described by multiple models, each with multiple
instances (hypotheses). For example, if our target is the financial condition of a
designated company, we might represent the financial condition with a single
financial model in the form of a spreadsheet that enumerates many financial
attributes. As data is collected, the model is populated with data elements, some
reported publicly and others estimated. We might maintain three instances of
the model (legitimate company, faltering legitimate company, and illicit front
organization), each being a competing explanation (or hypothesis) of the incomplete evidence. These hypotheses help guide the analyst to identify the data
required to refine, affirm, or discard existing hypotheses or to create new
hypotheses.
Inherent in this process is the explicit modeling of intelligence targets
themselves, as well as multiple hypotheses regarding their description or state
behavior. A collaborative intelligence analysis-synthesis process requires such
explicit modeling. Tacit mental models in the minds of individual domain
experts must be made explicit to be shared for collaborative analysis. Tacit mental models, exposed only as rationale for final intelligence judgments, are closed
to independent scrutiny, while remaining vulnerable to errors of omission and
cognitive biases of the owner. Explicit model representations provide a tool for
collaborative construction, marshaling of evidence, decomposition, and critical
examination. Mental and explicit modeling are complementary tools of the analyst; judgment must be applied to balance the use of both.
Former U.S. National Intelligence Officer for Warning (19941996)
Mary McCarthy has emphasized the importance of the explicit modeling to
analysis:

182

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Rigorous analysis helps overcome mindset, keeps analysts who are

immersed in a mountain of new information from raising the bar on what
they would consider an alarming threat situation, and allows their minds to
expand other possibilities. Keeping chronologies, maintaining databases
and arraying data are not fun or glamorous. These techniques are the heavy
lifting of analysis, but this is what analysts are supposed to do [19].

Though not glamorous, modeling provides the rigor that enables deeper
(structured) and broader (collaborative) analysis: The model is an abstract representation that serves two functions:
1. Model as hypothesis. Based on partial data or conjecture alone, a model
may be instantiated as a feasible proposition to be assessed, a hypothesis. In a homicide investigation, each conjecture for who did it is a
hypothesis, and the associated model instance is a feasible explanation
for how they did it. The model provides a framework around which
data is assembled, a mechanism for examining feasibility, and a basis
for exploring data to confirm or refute the hypothesis. The model is
often viewed as an abstract representation of an intelligence target: an
organizational structure, a financial flow network, a military unit, a
corporation, a trajectory of a submarine, or a computer-aided design
(CAD) model of an adversarys weapon or a competitors product.
2. Model as explanation. As evidence (relevant data that fits into the
model) is assembled on the general model framework to form a
hypothesis, different views of the model provide more robust explanations of that hypothesis. Narrative (story), timeline, organization relationships, resources, and other views may be derived from a common
model. In a criminal investigation, the explanation seeks to prove the
case, without a doubta case that is both coherent (all elements of
the hypothesis are consistent with the evidence and are noncontradictory) and correspondent (all hypothesis expectations are consistent
with and not contradicted by evidence from the real world).
The process of implementing data decomposition (analysis) and model
construction-examination (synthesis) can be depicted in three process phases or
spaces of operation (Figure 5.6):
1. Data space. In this space, data (relevant and irrelevant, certain and
ambiguous) are indexed and accumulated. Indexing by time (of collection and arrival), source, content topic, and other factors is performed
to allow subsequent search and access across many dimensions.

183

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

Data

Argumentation

(Abduction)

Problem
Decomposition
Data
Analysis

Data
Searches

Test, refine
hypotheses

Explanation
Timeline

Organize, structure
evidence
Synthesis

Composition

Relationship
Map
Imagery
Narrative

Figure 5.6 The model construction process.

2. Argumentation space. The data is reviewed; selected elements of potentially relevant data (evidence) are correlated, grouped, and assembled
into feasible categories of explanations, forming a set (structure) of
high-level hypotheses to explain the observed data. This process
applies exhaustive searches of the data space, accepting some as relevant and discarding others. In this phase, patterns in the data are discovered, although all the data in the patterns may not be present; these
patterns lead to the creation of hypotheses even though all the data may
not exist. Examination of the data may lead to creation of hypotheses
by conjecture, even though no data supports the hypothesis at this
point. The hypotheses are examined to determine what data would be
required to reinforce or reject each; hypotheses are ranked in terms of
likelihood and needed data (to reinforce or refute). The models are
tested and various excursions are examined. This space is the court in
which the case is made for each hypothesis, and they are judged for
completeness, sufficiency, and feasibility. This examination can lead to
requests for additional data, refinements of the current hypotheses,
and creation of new hypotheses.
3. Explanation space. Different views of the hypothesis model provide
explanations that articulate the hypothesis and relate the supporting
evidence. The intelligence report can include a single model and
explanation that best fits the data (when data is adequate to assert the

184

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

single answer) or alternative competing models, as well as the supporting evidence for each and an assessment of the implications of
each. Figure 5.6 illustrates several of the views often used: timelines of
events, organization-relationship diagrams, annotated maps and
imagery, and narrative story lines.
The form of the hypothesis-model is a function of the problem being
addressed, and the model can have many views or perspectives of explanation. By
a hypothesis or explanation, we can refer to a set of views or models that represent
the single hypothesis. As in a criminal investigation, the model of a crime can be
viewed from many perspectives as the evidence is fitted to a comprehensive explanation (e.g., the timeline of events, the path of the suspect on a map, or the
spreadsheet of stolen assets matching evidence found in the suspects home).
Figure 5.7 illustrates several of the common forms of models, where each
may provide a different perspective on a subject of investigation: an entity, an
event, a process, or a target object. Robert Clark has enumerated and explained
practical analytic methods to quantify and synthesize descriptive and normative
models for a wide range of intelligence applications in Intelligence Analysis: Estimation and Prediction [20]. Consider the range of analytic modeling activities
that are required to answer the diverse questions posed by national and military
intelligence consumers:
What is the gross domestic product of a closed foreign regime? Economic

questions regarding the gross domestic product of a closed foreign

nation requires the development of a quantitative economic model,
with inputs from measurement of crops, industrialized production,
import-export activities, and other factors. The model provides a gross
domestic product estimate and quantifies contributing factors and
uncertainties.
What is the status of a foreign nations weapon development? Questions

regarding the status of science and technology programs require a program schedule (timeline) model to be hypothesized, and milestones on
the schedule must be evaluated against observations (e.g., weapons testing or facilities construction) [21].
What is the air order of battle of a foreign nation? Order of battle ques-

tions require development of a model (the model is often a spreadsheet)

that describes the force structure (organization) and enumerates the size
of individual units (personnel and weapons).
How can a military facility target be functionally destroyed? This targeting

question requires the development of a functional model of the facility

(e.g., the components that make up a radar installation, its electrical

185

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

Field or domain Modeled intelligence
of analysis
target (subject)

Relationships and
Organizational structure within
human organizations

Invest
ments

Cash Flow at PBO

12
10

9
9
8
8.5
7.5
6.5
7.5
7.5
9.5
9
9
7.5

Cash Flow
Invest ments

6
4
2

9/9
/01

9/2
/01

9/0
1

8/5
/01

Day
Cash Flow
29 -Jul
10
30 -Jul
10
31 -Jul
10
1 -Aug
10
2 -Aug
9
3 -Aug
9
4 -Aug
9
5 -Aug
9
6 -Aug
8
7 -Aug
8
8 -Aug
8
9 -Aug
8
10 -Aug
7
11 -Aug
7
12 -Aug
7
13 -Aug
7
14 -Aug
7

7/2

Spreadsheets
Graphs
Financial flows

Day No.
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

8/1
2/0
1
8/1
9/0
1
8/2
6/0
1

Financial

Estimate a resource
or budget
Break down financial
transactions and
components

Representative model forms

(and typical visualization)

Organization charts
Social networks
Org directories

Entity and
event
relationship

Entity-to-entity and
entity-to-event
linkages; noncausal
relationships

Data linkage
and network diagrams

Event linkage,
temporal
sequence,
operational
process flows

Cause and effect

dynamics, timing,
sequence, and
durations of events

Gantt charts
Phase diagrams
Flow charts
Transaction sequences

Physical
objects

Physical structures,
facilities, sites, and lines
of communication

Annotated imagery
3D CAD models

Geophysical
areas, sites

Location of entities
and events in geospatial
context; cultural and
contextual features

Annotated imagery, maps

Geographic info system
models

Object
tracking

Kinematic behavior
of physical objects
(e.g., aircraft, ships, and
ground vehicles)

Kinematic model (e.g.,

alpha-beta or statistical
filter) produces dynamic
track

1
3
2

Figure 5.7 Typical forms of intelligence models.

power source, and data links) and its operations (e.g., the personnel and
heat and air conditioning). The targeting analysis evaluates which contributing functions or operations may be attacked to cease military
functionality.
What are the intentions of a foreign leader? The challenge of estimating
the intentions, beliefs, and perceptions of human leaders (decision
makers) is among the most difficult, yet most important, tasks posed to
analysts. As noted by the U.S. Director of Central Intelligence, George
Tenet:
From the mid-1960s on to the Soviet collapse, we knew roughly how
many combat aircraft or warheads the Soviets had, and where. But why did

186

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

they need that many or that kind? What did they plan to do with them? To
this day, Intelligence is always much better at counting heads than divining
what is going on inside them. That is, we are very good at gauging the size
and location of militaries and weaponry. But for obvious reasons, we can
never be as good at figuring out what leaders will do with them. Leadership
analysis remains perhaps the most difficult of analytic specialties. Mikhail
Gorbachevs rise to power in the Soviet Unionassessing his evolving
thinking and policies, their implications and the chances for their successposed huge analytical dilemmas. It is tough to divine leadership
intentions in a secretive, centrally controlled societyparticularly if that
leadership, as was true under Gorbachev, ceases to be static. Assessing
thinking beyond the leadershipidentifying other societal forces at work
and weighing their impacts, is even tougher [22].

For a single target under investigation, we may create and consider (or
entertain) several candidate hypotheses, each with a complete set of model views.
If, for example, we are trying to determine the true operations of the foreign
company introduced earlier, TradeCo, we may hold several hypotheses:
1. H1The company is a legal clothing distributor, as advertised.
2. H2 The company is a legal clothing distributor, but company executives are diverting business funds for personal interests.
3. H3The company is a front operation to cover organized crime,
where hypothesis 3 has two subhypotheses:
H31The company is a front for drug trafficking.
H32The company is a front for terrorism money laundering.
In this case, H1, H2, H31, and H32 are the four root hypotheses, and the
analyst identifies the need to create an organizational model, an operations
flow-process model, and a financial model for each of the four hypothesescreating 4 3 = 12 models. The models help the analyst define the data needed to
distinguish the hypotheses; the organization structure, financial flow, and operations behaviors combined give insight into the character of the true business. In
practical application, three versions of the three basic model types are maintained, and evidence is fitted to the models to determine which hypothesis best
fits the data.

5.5 Intelligence Targets in Three Domains

We have noted that intelligence targets may be objects, events, or dynamic
processesor combinations of these. The development of information

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

187

operations has brought a greater emphasis on intelligence targets that exist not
only in the physical domain, but in the realms of information (e.g., networked
computers and information processes) and human decision making [23]. Information operations (IO) are those actions taken to affect an adversarys information and information systems, while defending ones own information and
information systems [24]. The U.S. Joint Vision 2020 describes the Joint Chiefs
of Staff view of the ultimate purpose of IO as to facilitate and protect U.S.
decision-making processes, and in a conflict, degrade those of an adversary
[25]. The JV2020 builds on the earlier JV2010 [26] and retains the fundamental operational concepts, two with significant refinements that emphasize IO.
The first is the expansion of the vision to encompass the full range of operations
(nontraditional, asymmetric, unconventional ops), while retaining warfighting
as the primary focus. The second refinement moves information superiority
concepts beyond technology solutions that deliver information to the concept of
superiority in decision making. This means that IO will deliver increased information at all levels and increased choices for commanders. Conversely, it will
also reduce information to adversary commanders and diminish their decision
options. Core to these concepts and challenges is the notion that IO uniquely
requires the coordination of intelligence, targeting, and security in three fundamental realms, or domains of human activities [27]. These are likewise the three
fundamental domains of intelligence targets, and each must be modeled:
1. The physical domain encompasses the material world of mass and
energy. Military facilities, vehicles, aircraft, and personnel make up the
principal target objects of this domain. The orders of battle that measure military strength, for example, are determined by enumerating
objects of the physical world.
2. The abstract symbolic domain is the realm of information. Words,
numbers, and graphics all encode and represent the physical world,
storing and transmitting it in electronic formats, such as radio and TV
signals, the Internet, and newsprint. This is the domain that is expanding at unprecedented rates, as global ideas, communications, and
descriptions of the world are being represented in this domain. The
domain includes the cyberspace that has become the principal means by
which humans shape their perception of the world. It interfaces the
physical to the cognitive domains.
3. The cognitive domain is the realm of human thought. This is the ultimate locus of all information flows. The individual and collective
thoughts of government leaders and populations at large form this
realm. Perceptions, conceptions, mental models, and decisions are
formed in this cognitive realm. This is the ultimate target of our

188

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

adversaries: the realm where uncertainties, fears, panic, and terror can
coerce and influence our behavior.
These are not three arbitrary domains; even early philosophers have recognized them as the basic components of our knowledge. Aristotle, an empiricist
philosopher, identified these three domains in his Metaphysics, written in 350
B.C. He distinguished physical objects and the abstractions (ideas) that the
mind creates once the senses perceive the object. He further distinguished the
words that the mind creates to symbolize or represent the abstractions of the
mind. He described three processes of the intellect that manipulate these
domains:
1. Apprehension is the process by which the mind perceives and understands the sensed physical object and creates a mental abstraction.
(Physical-to-cognitive object mappings are formed.)
2. Predication is the process of making declarations or propositions about
the objectcharacterizing the object and its behavior. (Cognitive-tosymbolic mappings are created.)
3. Reasoning is the process, then, of applying logical principles to the
propositions to create new conclusions, or syllogisms. Here, Aristotle
recognized the methods of deduction and induction. (Symbolic logic
draws new conclusions about cognitive and physical objects.)
More recently, C.S. Peirce developed a mathematical theory of signs, or
semiotics, that also embraces the three fundamental domains [28]. More explicitly than Aristotle, Peirces logic distinguished a triad of relationships between
the physical object, the symbolic sign that represents it, and the cognitive
thought in the mind:
Indeed, representation necessarily involves a genuine triad. For it involves a
sign, or representamen, of some kind, inward or outward, mediating
between an object and an interpreting thought [29].

The primary emphasis of military intelligence analysis to date has focused

on the physical domainphysical military targets (aircraft, ships, ground vehicles, and personnel) and physical situations (the positions and courses of action
of the physical targets.) Intelligence support to IO has emphasized the need to
recognize that there also exist targets, target states, observable phenomena, and
feasible detection and tracking methods in the symbolic and cognitive realms as
well (Figure 5.8). It is these kinds of targets that are the focus of interest in the
IO disciplines of computer network attack/defense (CNA/CND) and the

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

Domain
Target
Objects

Physical
Vehicles
Facilities

Symbolic
Packets
Sessions

189

Cognitive
Mental states
Ideas

Logon to covert account

Swap control via Trojan
horse
administrationNO
utility
Perform Attack Operations
NOT DONE
Replace control
,
DONE
eliminate evidence
of entry

Phenomena
Domain

Laws of Physics

Sensors

EO.IR, SAR,
spectral sensors

States,
Features,
Complexities

Detection
Methods

Logoff

Physical
components
Sensor
perspective
Target
articulations
Environmental
signature variance
Signature pattern
matching; model
matching

Human cognition
Network routing,
stack, and protocols
No direct sensors
SIGINT, NETINT,
intrusion sensors
Data components
ISO layer of target
and form
Target
transformation
Net environment
signature variance
Data pattern
matching; model
based matching

Mental
components
Mental states
Cultural, cognitive
biases
Behavioral
phenomena
Behavior pattern
matching; cognitive
model matching

Figure 5.8 Representative targets, states, and observable phenomena in three domains.

perception management disciplines of psychological operations (PSYOPS)/

deception, respectively.
Current IO concepts have appropriately emphasized the targeting of the
second domainespecially electronic information systems and their information content. The expansion of networked information systems and the reliance
on those systems has focused attention on network-centric forms of warfare.
Ultimately, though, IO must move toward a focus on the full integration of the
cognitive realm with the physical and symbolic realms to target the human mind
[30]. Recent studies within the DoD are moving toward this focus [31]. U.S.
Joint Doctrine for Information Operations cites Liddell Harts 1944 insightful
assertion that: The real target in war is the mind of the enemy commander, not
the bodies of his troops [32]. Yesterdays emphasis on physical military operations is giving way to todays emphasis on operations in the information realm.
Future operations will target all three realms in an integrated fashion. PSYOPS
and military deception operations have always targeted the minds of foreign
populations and military units, respectively, but the disciplines have not yet
achieved full integration with military operations, let alone preeminence. These
disciplines, once fully integrated, will allow precision cognitive operations. IO
operational concepts that target the human mind and its supporting information systems uniquely refocus the need for intelligence to model the other two

190

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

domains beyond the physical: electronic information systems and the

minds of decision makers [33]. Intelligence must understand and model the
complete system or complex of the targets of IO: the interrelated systems of
physical behavior, information perceived and exchanged, and the perception
and mental states of decision makers.
Of importance to the intelligence analyst is the clear recognition that most
intelligence targets exist in all three domains, and models must consider all three
aspects. A terrorist organization, for example, includes:
1. Leaders and actors who perceive, believe, intend, plan, and decide in
the cognitive domain;
2. Terrorist cells that communicate messages and finances in the symbolic domain of information;
3. Facilities, people, means of transport, weapons, and materials that
exist and move within the physical domain.
The intelligence model of such an organization must include linked models of all three domainsto provide an understanding of how the organization
perceives, decides, and communicates through a networked organization, as well
as where the people and other physical objects are moving in the physical world.
The concepts of detection, identification, and dynamic tracking of intelligence
targets apply to objects, events, and processes in all three domains.

5.6 Summary
Intelligence analysis and synthesis is inherently an evidence decomposition and
hypothesis assembly (or model-construction) process, where the model provides
the framework around which evidence is marshaled. This framework forms the
basis for structuring alternative hypotheses and supporting arguments to provide
answers to the questions of intelligence consumers. In this chapter, we have
developed the basic concepts of reasoning and approaches to explicitly model
intelligence topics and targets, as well as the hypotheses regarding their description or behavior. A collaborative intelligence analysis-synthesis process requires
such explicit modeling (versus unshared mental modelstacit target representations locked in the minds of an individual domain expert analysts). We have
shown that the analysis-synthesis process proceeds from intelligence analysis to
operations analysis and then to policy analysis. The knowledge-based intelligence enterprise requires the capture and explicit representation of such models
to permit collaboration among these three disciplines to achieve the greatest
effectiveness and sharing of intellectual capital.

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

191

In the next chapters, we consider the practical implementation of these

principles in the knowledge-based intelligence organization.

Endnotes
[1] In this text, we use the terms data (a scientific term generally used to refer to quantitative
items) and evidence (a legal term generally used to refer to qualitative facts used to substantiate a case) to refer to all forms of known facts, raw measurements, observations, or
reports that provide the basis for analysis-synthesis. Evidence refers to data that is relevant
to a problem at hand.
[2] Richard, A. O., International Trafficking in Women to the United States: A Contemporary
Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime, U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Intelligence
and Research, DCI Center for the Study of Intelligence Monograph, Washington, D.C.:
CIA, November 1999.
[3] See, for example, Dulles, A., The Craft of Intelligence, New York: Harper and Row, 1963;
Dulles, Alan, The Role of Intelligence in Policy Making, Harvard Law School Forum
(audio), December 13, 1963; Davis, J., The Challenge of Managing Uncertainty: Paul
Wolfowitz on Intelligence-Policy Relations, CIA Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 39, No. 5,
1996; and Ford, Harold P., CIA and the Vietnam Policymakers: Three Episodes 1962-1968,
CIA Center for Studies in Intelligence, 1997.
[4] Cited in Davis, J., The Kent-Kendall Debate of 1949, CIA Studies in Intelligence, Vol.
36, No. 5, 1992, p. 93.
[5] Helgerson, J. L., CIA Briefings of Presidential Candidates, Center for the Study of Intelligence, May 22, 1996. Quoted in Chapter 7, Concluding Observations, section entitled
Keeping out of Politics.
[6] Bush, G. H. W., Remarks at the Dedication Ceremony for the George Bush, Center for
Intelligence, April 26, 1999.
[7] Figure adapted from Waltz, E., Fundamentals of Reasoning and Multisensing, Figure 5,
page 41, in Hyder, Shabazian, and E. Waltz (eds.), Multisensor Data Fusion, Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer, 2002.
[8] Barwise, J., and J. Etchemendy, Language, Proof, and Logic, New York: Seven Bridges
Press, 2000.
[9] Holland, J. H., et al., Induction: Processes of Inference, Learning and Discovery, Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press, 1986.
[10] Koestler, A., The Act of Creation, New York: Macmillan, 1964, pp. 105109. Also see his
more recent work: Koestler, A., Janus, Chapters 6 and 7, New York: Random House,
1978.
[11] Kuhn, T. S., The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, (3rd ed.), Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
[12] Polanyi, M., The Tacit Dimension, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966.

192

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

[13] In practical intelligence analysis, efforts to both confirm and disconfirm are important
methods of comparing, evaluating, and selecting hypotheses. It is important to note, however, that the philosophy of science has hotly debated these methods, with some viewing
either one or the other as valid means of obtaining objective knowledge, but not both.
[14] Philosopher Karl Popper (19021994) applied the term falsification to the process of gaining certain knowledge by disconfirming conjectures. Popper rejected the traditional logic
of induction and confirmation as the basis for scientific discovery, asserting that certain
knowledge is gained only through falsification.
[15] Josephson, J. R., and S. G. Josephson (eds.), Abductive Inference, Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press, 1996.
[16] In the Silver Blaze episode, Sherlock Holmes realizes that the criminal was, in fact, the
owner of the farm because no one heard the dog bark during the commitment of the
crime. The nonoccurrence of the barking revealed the owner to be the only person that
could be present at night without causing the dog to bark.
[17] Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, Side Letter to
the Rumsfeld Report, March 18, 1999. This unclassified letter was prepared subsequent to
the 1998 formal report to specifically articulate the commissions concerns about intelligence analysis processes.
[18] The coherence and correspondence theories of truth in epistemology are competing
approaches to objective truth; both hold valuable insights into basic principles for evaluating intelligence data. Here we apply the basic principles for illustration in practical analysis
but do not intend to apply the deeper philosophical implications of each theory.
[19] McCarthy, M., The Mission to Warn: Disaster Looms, Defense Intelligence Journal, Vol.
7, No. 2, 1998, p. 21.
[20] Clark, R. M., Intelligence Analysis: Estimation and Prediction, Baltimore: American Literary
Press, 1996.
[21] See, for example, the Executive Report of the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat
to the United States, July 1998, accessed on-line on May 25, 2002, at
http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/bm-threat.htm; see also Foreign Missile Developments and the
Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States Through 2015, U.S. National Intelligence
Council, September 1999.
[22] Remarks of DCI George J. Tenet, Opening Remarks, The Conference on CIAs Analysis of the Soviet Union, 19471991, Princeton University, March 8, 2001, accessed online on October 30, 2001, at http://www.odci.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/
dci_speech_03082001.html. Also see Alberts, D. S. (et al.), Understanding Information Age
Warfare, Washington, D.C.: CCRP, September 2001, accessed on-line on October 30,
2002, at http://www.dodccrp.org/Publications/pdf/UIAW.pdf.
[23] This section is adapted from the authors paper: Waltz, E., Data Fusion in Offensive and
Defensive Information Operations, Proc. of National Symposium of Sensor and Data
Fusion, San Antonio, TX, June 2000, Vol. 1, pp. 219232. Veridian, used by
permission.
[24] IO definition from DoD Joint Publication JP 3-13.

Principles of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

193

[25] U.S. DoD Joint Chiefs of Staff J-5, Joint Vision 2020, Washington, D.C.: Government
Printing Office, May 24, 2000, p. 28.
[26] U.S. DoD Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Vision 2010, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1977.
[27] This concept of describing intelligence targets in three domains of reality was first introduced in Waltz, E., Information Warfare Principles and Operations, Norwood MA: Artech
House, 1998, see Sections 1.2 and 5.2. For a more thorough discussion of this concept,
see Waltz et al., The Critical Role of Cognitive Models in Next Generation Intelligence
Architectures, in Proc. of 8th Annual AIPA Symp., Washington D.C., March 2324,
1998. Also see Alberts, D. S. (et al.), Understanding Information Age Warfare, Washington,
D.C.: CCRP, September 2001, accessed on-line on October 30, 2002 at http://www
.dodccrp.org/Publications/pdf/UIAW.pdf.
[28] The development of concepts of semiotics applied more generally to linguistics, and
human interpretation is attributed to Peirces contemporary, Swiss linguist Ferdinand de
Saussiere (18571913). These works are applicable to the problems of perception management by the use of signs (symbolic objects) to influence thought (cognitive objects).
[29] Peirce, C. S., C.P. 1-480The Logic of Mathematics, 1896. In a manuscript a year later,
Peirce further developed this triad, calling the cognitive object the interpretant: A sign, or
representamen, is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or
capacity. It addresses somebody, that is, creates in the mind of that person an equivalent
sign or perhaps a more developed sign. That sign which it creates I call the interpretant of
the first sign. Peirce, C. S., C.P. 2-228Division of Signs, v. 1897.
[30] The term target is used throughout this chapter to refer to the object of attention, rather
than a specific target of offensive attack (though this is one function of IO). The mind of
an individual or a group is targeted as an object to be understood, modeled, and explained
by intelligence so actions can be taken. Actions to induce or coerce the mind of an individual or audience (group) also target the mind. For an early examination of this issue, see
Szfranski, R., Neocortical Warfare? The Acme of Skill, Military Review, November
1994, pp. 4155. The article is also available in Arquilla, J., and D. Ronfeldt (eds.), In
Athenas Camp: Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age, Santa Monica, CA: RAND,
1997.
[31] Since Operation Allied Force, the U.S. DoD has considered refining the broad definition
of IO to focus more narrowly on this cognitive aspect of IO, including perception management. See Verton, Dan, DoD Redefining Information Operations, Federal Computer
Week, May 29, 2000.
[32] Quotation by Captain Sir B. H. Liddell Hart in Thoughts on War (1944), cited in Joint
Doctrine for Information Operations, Joint Pub 3-13, October, 9, 1998, p. II-4. It is interesting to note that Liddell Hart observed that Sun Tzu had noted the same concept.
[33] It should be noted that both domains could be considered to be metaphysical, though classical philosophers would likely object. Both the cognitive domain and the symbolic
(entirely a product of human cognition, though represented in physical phenomena) are
abstract in nature, transcend physical science, and concern the mind.

6
The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and
Synthesis
Intelligence operations ranging in scale from small private-sector, competitive
intelligence cells to large national intelligence organizations must implement
similar process flows and address similar implementation considerations to integrate analysts with intelligence processes and tools. While the last chapter introduced the theoretical aspects of analysis and synthesis, this chapter addresses the
practical implementation considerations unique to intelligence organizations.
The chapter moves from high-level functional flow models toward the processes
implemented by analysts. In Chapter 7, we will describe the detailed functional
interactions between analysts and their automated KM systems.
While the last chapter dealt with intelligence analysis-synthesis from the
perspective of rational and logical reasoning processes, here we describe the
process from the perspective of the intelligence consumer and the implementers
of enterprises of people, processes, and technologies to conduct analysissynthesis. A practical description of the process by one author summarizes the
perspective of the intelligence user:
A typical intelligence production consists of all or part of three main elements: descriptions of the situation or event with an eye to identifying its
essential characteristics; explanation of the causes of a development as well
as its significance and implications; and the prediction of future developments. Each element contains one or both of these components: data, provided by knowledge and incoming information and assessment, or
judgment, which attempts to fill the gaps in the data [1].

195

196

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Consumers expect description, explanation, and prediction; as we saw in

the last chapter, the process that delivers such intelligence is based on evidence
(data), assessment (analysis-synthesis), and judgment (decision). We now
describe the specific expectations of consumers and the practical implementation of solutions by analysts.

6.1 Intelligence Consumer Expectations

Several U.S. government reports have articulated the specific expectations of
policymakers from analysis. In this section we cite two recent reports that
describe the specific standards of methodology that decision makers expect from
the analysis-synthesis process, in their own words.
The U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) noted the need for
greater clarity in the intelligence delivered in U.S. national intelligence estimates
(NIEs) in a 1996 report, enumerating five specific standards for analysis, from
the perspective of policymakers.
Based on a synthesis of the published views of current and former senior
intelligence officials, the reports of three independent commissions, and a CIA
publication that addressed the issue of national intelligence estimating, an objective NIE should meet the following standards [2]:
[G1]: quantify the certainty level of its key judgments by using percent-

ages or bettors odds, where feasible, and avoid overstating the certainty
of judgments (note: bettors odds state the chance as, for example, one
out of three);
[G2]: identify explicitly its assumptions and judgments;
[G3]: develop and explore alternative futures: less likely (but not impos-

sible) scenarios that would dramatically change the estimate if they

occurred;
[G4]: allow dissenting views on predictions or interpretations;
[G5]: note explicitly what the IC does not know when the information

gaps could have significant consequences for the issues under

consideration.
Two years later the Rumsfeld Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile
Threat to the United States specifically described the need for intelligence analysis of alternative hypotheses (introduced as abduction in the last chapter) and
greater exploration of the unknowns in the analysis:

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

197

The Commission would urge that the [IC] adopt as a standard of its methodology that in addition to considering what they know, analysts consider
as well what they know they dont know about a program and set about filling gaps in their knowledge by:
[R1] taking into account not only the output measures of a program, but the
input measures of technology, expertise and personnel from both internal
sources and as a result of foreign assistance. The type and rate of foreign assistance can be a key indicator of both the pace and objective of a program into
which the IC otherwise has little insight.
[R2] comparing what takes place in one country with what is taking place in
others, particularly among the emerging ballistic missile powers. While each
may be pursuing a somewhat different development program, all of them are
pursuing programs fundamentally different from those pursued by the US,
Russia and even China. A more systematic use of comparative methodologies
might help to fill the information gaps.
[R3] employing the technique of alternative hypotheses. This technique can
help make sense of known events and serve as a way to identify and organize
indicators relative to a programs motivation, purpose, pace and direction. By
hypothesizing alternative scenarios a more adequate set of indicators and collection priorities can be established. As the indicators begin to align with the
known facts, the importance of the information gaps is reduced and the likely
outcomes projected with greater confidence. The result is the possibility for
earlier warning than if analysts wait for proof of a capability in the form of hard
evidence of a test or a deployment. Hypothesis testing can provide a guide to
what characteristics to pursue, and a cue to collection sensors as well.
[R4] explicitly tasking collection assets to gather information that would disprove a hypothesis or fill a particular gap in a list of indicators. This can prove a
wasteful use of scarce assets if not done in a rigorous fashion. But moving from
the highly ambiguous absence of evidence to the collection of specific evidence
of absence can be as important as finding the actual evidence [3].

The two reports cover the spectrum of intelligence issues, providing excellent guidelines for analysis. The GAO report addressed NIEs that produce
broad conceptual estimates (e.g., nation-state capabilities and global threat
assessments and projections) while the Rumsfield report addressed more focused
hard-target problems where data is scarce and the subjects employ denial and
deception measures. The essence of these nine recommendations can be summarized (Table 6.1) to reveal what kind of rigor is expected by policymakers.
Notice that intelligence consumers want more than estimates or judgments; they expect concise explanations of the evidence and reasoning processes
behind judgments with substantiation that multiple perspectives, hypotheses,
and consequences have been objectively considered. They expect a depth of

198

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 6.1
Intelligence Methodology Standards

Process

Standard

Reference

Tasking

Create collection tasking based on alternative hypotheses;

seek evidence to prove or disprove alternative hypotheses

[R3, R4]

Analysis-synthesis

Identify explicit assumptions for decomposing evidence and

synthesizing models

[G1]

Explicitly model processes, evaluating evidence of inputs and

outputs to determine internal processes

[R1]

Synthesize and compare alterative hypotheses (models of

current processes or projected futures) to explain evidence

[R3], [G3]

Encourage dissenting views in the process

[G4]

Employ comparative models to enable comparison from target

to target

[R2]

Identify and task collection to seek negative evidence disprove [R4]

hypotheses
Reporting
(dissemination)

Explicitly distinguish key assumptions (linchpins), assumptions, [G2]

and judgments
Explicitly report information gaps; explain consequences on
alternate hypotheses

[G5]

Explicitly report uncertain judgments in quantified terms

[G1]

analysis-synthesis that explicitly distinguishes assumptions, evidence, alternatives, and consequenceswith a means of quantifying each contribution to the
outcomes (judgments). To meet these expectations, the analysis-synthesis
process must be structured, explicit, and thorough. The intelligence tradecraft
best practices described in Chapter 4 were produced to provide just such structure for analysis [4], and to provide the rigor required by national intelligence
officers [5].
In the following sections, we address the practical procedures to implement this kind of structure.

6.2 Analysis-Synthesis in the Intelligence Workflow

Analysis-synthesis is one process within the intelligence cycle, the highest level
abstract business model of intelligence, introduced in Chapter 2. It represents a
process that is practically implemented as a continuum rather than a cycle, with
all phases being implemented concurrently and addressing a multitude of different intelligence problems or targets. Further, the process integrates multiple
INTs to deliver integrated products to consumers derived from all sources.

199

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

Several abstract models have been developed to describe the details of the
process, each with a different perspective and focus (Figure 6.1) [6]. The figure
is organized with increasing levels of model granularity moving down the chart.
The first two models focus on command and control decision making for military action, while the second two models are focused on the delivery of intelligence. The models are all cyclic, including the feedback from results to actions
that include sensor tasking to better observe a situation, or military response to
change a situation.
The stimulus-hypothesis-option-response (SHOR) model, described by Joseph
Wohl in 1986, emphasizes the consideration of multiple perception hypotheses
to explain sensed data and assess options for response. The model detailed the
considerations for commander decision making by making choices among alternative course of action [7]. The observe-orient-decide-act (OODA) loop, developed by Col. John Warden, is a high-level abstraction of the military command
and control loop that considers the human decision-making role and its dependence on observation and orientationthe process of placing the observations in
perceptual framework for decision making [8]. While the OODA model applies
to the entire command and control process (in which intelligence provides the
observe function), the entire loop may be applied to the intelligence control loop
in which the act function governs tasking and collection. Both of these models
focus on the military situation as the object of control; the next two models view

Intelligence

Command and control

Models

Plan

Task

Collect

Response

SHOR

Process

Stimulus

Hypothesis
option

Observe

Orient
perspective
framework

Situation
OODA

Decide

Act

Situation
TPED

Decision
makers

Task

Analysis

Collect

Process

Exploit

Disseminate

Disseminate

Situation
JDL
Data
Fusion

Level 4
+ Resource
Info Refinement
needs

Collect

Situation

L0 Signal
Refine
L1 Object
Refine

L2

Figure 6.1 Comparison of models that describe the intelligence process.

L3

Common
operating
picture

200

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

the situation as an object of surveillance, where the control loop serves to better
observe and understand the situation.
The tasking, processing, exploitation, dissemination (TPED) model used by
U.S. technical collectors and processors [e.g., the U.S. National Reconnaissance
Office (NRO), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), and the
National Security Agency (NSA)] distinguishes between the processing elements
of the national technical-means intelligence channels (SIGINT, IMINT, and
MASINT) and the all-source analytic exploitation roles of the CIA and DIA.
The TPED process has been applied to independent stovepipe intelligence
channels, and concepts have been developed to implement wide-scale multiINT TPED processes [9]. The model is a high-level organizational model that
does not include planning per se because it includes policy-level activities organizationally above the processing chain.
The DoD Joint Directors of Laboratories (JDL) data fusion model is a
more detailed technical model that considers the use of multiple sources to produce a common operating picture of individual objects, situations (the aggregate
of objects and their behaviors), and the consequences or impact of those situations. The model includes a hierarchy of data correlation and combination
processes at three levels (level 0: signal refinement; level 1: object refinement;
level 2: situation refinement; level 3: impact refinement) and a corresponding
feedback control process (level 4: process refinement) [10]. The JDL model is a
functional representation that accommodates automated processes and human
processes and provides detail within both the processing and analysis steps. The
model is well suited to organize the structure of automated processing stages for
technical sensors (e.g., imagery, signals, and radar).
The practical implementation of the processing and analysis stages in a
typical intelligence workflow can be described using the JDL model to distinguish the characteristics of each stage (Figure 6.2). The processing stage is characterized by high-volume single-INT processing channels (stovepipes) to
perform the JDL data fusion model level 0 and 1 functions:
Level 0: signal refinement automated processing correlates and combines

raw signals (e.g., imagery pixels or radar signals intercepted from multiple locations) to detect objects and derive their location, dynamics, or
identity.
Level 1: object refinement processing detects individual objects and correlates and combines these objects across multiple sources to further
refine location, dynamics, or identity information.
These processing stages may also include cross-INT cueing to enable the
detection of objects in one channel to cue the processing for confirming data or

201

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

IMINT
Levels 0,1
Levels 0,1
Typical
processing
workflow

SIGINT
Levels 0,1
Levels 0,1
HUMINT

Level
2

Level
2

Process
perspective
Information
effects

Level
3
Impact
analysis

Filter, index

Processing

Functions

Level
2
All-source
situation
analysis

Analysis

High-volume query (search

engines, SQL) and complex
High-volume near-real-time
correlation search (data mining)
processing: alignment, indexing,
correlation, location, identification Evidence organizing tools
Complex modeling and
of objects
simulation (fusion of evidence)
to create target models
Combining datamove from
existing data toward target
object hypotheses
Compression of data (filter,
declutter, combine)

On-line
High-volume, fully automated
Service
services operating on intelligence
and
architecture streams and large databases;
stove piped parallel processes

Marshalling evidencemove
rom target object hypotheses
back into data
Expansion (creation)
of knowledge
Off-line
Manually initiated; highly
interactive; many tool services
on collaborative networks

Figure 6.2 Processing-analysis workflow.

data to resolve object identity in other channels. The stage may also correlate
and combine this data across channels to perform limited level 2 situation assessments (e.g., correlation and identification of a cluster of tanks as an armored
unit on the move toward a likely target). This stage may be implemented as an
integration of high-volume processing and analysts (e.g., an IMINT chain of
image processors and imagery analysts who enter images and linked textual
analysis reports into an IMINT database for subsequent analysis). In this case,
the processing chain includes processing and single-INT analysis by specialists.

202

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

The output of this stage is a set of heterogeneous databases (e.g., imagery, video,
text, or audio) or a data warehouse for subsequent all-source analysis.
The analysis stage in the figure performs the analysis-synthesis functions
described in Chapter 5 for higher level understanding of situations and their
consequences:
Level 2: situation refinement analysis correlates and combines the

detected objects across all sources within the background context to

produce estimates of the situationexplaining the aggregate of static
objects and their behaviors in context to derive an explanation of activities with estimated status, plans, and intents.
Level 3: impact refinement analysis estimates the consequences of alternative courses of action.

Figure 6.2 illustrates the general contrast in the processing and analysis
stages; the processing stage is on-line, processing near-real-time, high-volume
single-INT data channels while the all-source analysis stage is off-line, focused
on selecting only the required data to solve consumer problems. The processing
stage is data driven, processing data as it is collected to produce intermediate
products for large databases, while the analysis stage is goal driven, responding
to queries for intelligence answers from consumers (e.g., targeting, I&W, or
order of battle or national capability estimates). The analysis stage employs
semiautomated detection and discovery tools to access the data in large databases produced by the processing stage. In general, the processing stage can be
viewed as a factory of processors, while the analysis stage is a lower volume shop
staffed by craftsmenthe analytic team.
The level 4 process refinement flows are not shown in the figure, though
all forward processing levels can provide inputs to refine the process to: focus
collection or processing on high-value targets, refine processing parameters to filter unwanted content, adjust database indexing of intermediate data, or improve
overall efficiency of the production process. The level 4 process effectively performs the KM business intelligence functions introduced in Section 3.7.
The practical implementation of this workflow, whether in a large national
or military intelligence organization or in a small corporate competitive intelligence cell, requires a structural model of the workflow processes, policies, and
procedures that move from raw data to finished intelligence products. Later, in
Chapter 9, we illustrate the process to translate such a workflow into an enterprise functional design. The following sections focus on the critical role of the
human analyst and integration with the automation components of the
enterprise.

203

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

6.3 Applying Automation

Automated processing has been widely applied to level 1 object detection (e.g.,
statistical pattern recognition) and to a lesser degree to level 2 situation recognition problems (e.g., symbolic artificial intelligence systems) for intelligence applications. The problem space for which automated technologies may be applied to
analysis-synthesis has been structured by artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin
Minsky and adapted in Figure 6.3 [11]. The space is defined by two dimensions
that describe the complexity of the intelligence subject. Minskys two dimensions
correspond to the two factors of complex situations introduced in Chapter 4,
Section 4.4.2. Viewing these dimensions as the number of nodes (causes) and
number of interactions (influencing the scale of effects) in a dynamic system, the
problem space depicts the complexity of the situation being analyzed:
Causal diversity. The first dimension relates to the number of causal fac-

tors, or actors, that influence the situation behavior.

Scale of effects. The second dimension relates to the degree of interaction
between actors, or the degree to which causal factors influence the
behavior of the situation.
As both dimensions increase, the potential for nonlinear behavior
increases, making it more difficult to model the situation being analyzed. This
Large
Symbolic
logic
Scale of
effects
(interactions)

Case-based
reasoning

Small

Classical
artificial
intelligence

Qualitative
reasoning
Templates,
search,
logic

Intractable for automation:

use of analytic simulation

Quantitative
reasoning

Small

Analogical
reasoning
Connectionist
approaches

Number of actors (causes)

1

Many
2

Figure 6.3 Three categories of intelligence problems and automated reasoning technology
solutions [12].

204

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

problem space includes nine general areas of automation technologies, with the
general intelligence problem categories overlaid (See Table 6.2 for example
intelligence problems that correspond to the three categories in Figure 6.3). The
problem categories move in increasing situation complexity from lower left
(category 1) to upper right (category 3) and can be generally related to the levels
of the JDL data fusion model. The simplest level 0 and 1 problems (lower left
corner) with few causal factors and small linear effects can be solved with simple
template matching (matched filter detection), applying search processes to
exhaustively search for matching patterns and logic to match the current situation with prior patterns. These problems include the detection of straightforward objects in images, content patterns in text, and emitted signal matching.
More difficult problems still in this category include dynamic situations with
moderately higher numbers of actors and scales of effects that require qualitative
(propositional logic) or quantitative (statistical modeling) reasoning processes.
These include those problems where small dimension deterministic or stochastic
models can accurately represent the situations for comparison with collected
data, such as the kinematic tracking of physical targets with statistical Kalman
filter models.
The middle band of more complicated (category 2) problems addresses
higher dimensional and highly dynamic situations; automated processes resort
to higher order reasoning. Approaches to deal with large numbers of actors with
small and moderate scales of effects apply connectionist solutions (e.g., Bayesian
and neural networks) and reasoning by analogy. Where smaller numbers of
Table 6.2
Representative Intelligence Problem Categories
Problem Category

Example Intelligence Problems

1. Pattern detection and tracking

Simple content pattern recognition in text

Military vehicle target tracking; unit tracking
Automatic target recognition; change detection

2. Complex patterns and dynamic Relationship and novelty discovery in large databases
behavioral recognition
Military order of battle and operations analysis
Contextual pattern recognition in multimedia
Financial transactional analysis
3. Complex situation recognition
and prediction

Leadership analysis
Foreign political, social, and economic analysis
Foreign covert missile program analysis
Regional nation-state analysis
Global futures alternatives analysis

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

205

actors are involved but the scale of effects are greater, case-based reasoning is
applied to compare the present situation with stored cases. Classical heuristic
expert systems solve situations in the middle regions, but they are limited as the
situations exhibit nonlinearity and emergent behaviors that exceed the representations of knowledge in limited heuristic models and create intractable search
demands on the system.
The most difficult category 3 problems, intractable to fully automated
analysis, are those complex situations characterized by high numbers of actors
with large-scale interactions that give rise to emergent behaviors. Supportive
simulation tools, described in the next chapter, can provide support to analysts
for tackling these kinds of problems.
The implementation of these automated processes to support knowledge
externalization-internalization and combination are described in Chapters 7
and 8, respectively.

6.4 The Role of the Human Analyst

The analyst applies tacit knowledge to search through explicit information to
create tacit knowledge in the form of mental models and explicit intelligence
reports for consumers. This creative process includes two complementary activities that move from data to knowledge (Figure 6.4):
1. Reasoning, the more explicit and reductionist form of analysis-synthesis,
creates explicit models of situations. In Chapter 3, we introduced reasoning as the process resulting from the Western emphasis on logic and
Reasoning processes
Explicit knowledge

Knowledge

Information

Data

Sensemaking processes
Tacit knowledge

Focus: objective intellect

Result: explicit models integrated
from linked data; multiple
hypotheses

Focus: subjective character

Result: mental models or mindsets
integrated from clustered feelings;
multiple hunches

Model components: perceptions,

beliefs, explanations

Model components: imagination,

intuition, insight, values

Organized and related data

(explicit multimedia databases)

Clusters of experience and feelings

(metaphors, ideas, images)

Text, imagery, audio, video,

scientific measurements

Experiences, narrative stories,

feelings

Figure 6.4 Reasoning-sensemaking distinctions.

206

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

dualism (Ren Descartes) to decompose problems and create explicit

abstractions of truth that can be articulated and shared; knowledge
emphasis is on the intellect.
2. Sensemaking, the more tacit and holistic form of analysis-synthesis,
which creates mental models or mindsets, has been studied in the
cognitive sciences. In contrast with reasoning, this mode has been
emphasized in the East, where holistic intuition and oneness
(humanity-nature oneness, mind-body oneness, and self-other oneness) has been embraced. Knowledge emphasis is placed on the action
of truth (character). The term sensemaking refers to our deep understanding or feel of a situation and includes the components of a
prior tacit knowledge of a situation, a rich contextual awareness, and
a tacit perception of alternatives, futures, and consequences [13].
The analysis process requires the analyst to integrate the cognitive reasoning and more emotional sensemaking processes with large bodies of explicit
information to produce explicit intelligence products for consumers. To effectively train and equip analysts to perform this process, we must recognize and
account for these cognitive and emotion components of comprehension. The
complete process includes the automated workflow, which processes explicit
information, and the analysts internal mental workflow, which integrates the
cognitive and emotional modes (Figure 6.5). Research in the cognitive sciences
is exploring the relationship between these two modes of creating knowledge,
which produce an analysts integrated understanding of a subject. Antonio
Damasio, in Descartes Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, has offered
one explanation of this interaction that is illustrated in the figure [14]. Stimulus
to the analystnew explicit information from the intelligence pipelineis
matched to the current mental model or mindset. This is the analysts distillation of the intelligence analysts cumulative factual and conceptual knowledge
into a framework for making estimative judgments on a complex subject [15].
The products of reasoning and sensemaking, the analysts mental models, influence the perception of new informationfiltering, focusing, and even distorting the incoming stimuli. The shortcomings of these distortions are addressed in
the next section.
The coordinated mind-body (cognition-emotion) interactions according to
Damasio include the placement of the stimuli in an emotional framework to
assess the feelings about the new information, applying subconscious tacit knowledge to reduce the alternative space for the reasoning process. Complementary
logical and emotional frameworks are based on the current mental model of
beliefs and feelings and the new information is compared to these frameworks;
differences have the potential for affirming the model (agreement), learning and
refining the model (acceptance and model adjustment), or rejecting the new

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

207

New stimulus
Mental model
Knowledge
(intelligence
analysissynthesis)

Model

Simulation

Search, mine, fuse

Information
(preanalysis)

Data
(collect and
compile)

Reasonplace in
logical framework
comprehend and
assess situation

Place in emotional
framework, assess
feelings, reduce
alternative space

Judgmentabout
consequences of
alternative actions,
construct meaing

Apply feelings and

values (intuition)
based on
correlated
prior experience

Decision making
and acceptance
of outcome
Cognitive processes Emotional processes
Mind
Thoughts

Body
Somatic markers

Figure 6.5 Mental model formation within the intelligence workflow.

information. Judgment integrates feelings about consequences and values (based

on experience) with reasoned alternative consequences and courses of action that
construct the meaning of the incoming stimulus. Decision making makes an
intellectual-emotional commitment to the impact of the new information on the
mental model (acceptance, affirmation, refinement, or rejection).

6.5 Addressing Cognitive Shortcomings

The intelligence analyst is not only confronted with ambiguous information
about complex subjects, but is often placed under time pressures and expectations to deliver accurate, complete, and predictive intelligence. Consumer
expectations often approach infallibility and omniscience. In this situation, the
analyst must be keenly aware of the vulnerabilities of human cognitive shortcomings and take measures to mitigate the consequences of these deficiencies.
The natural limitations in cognition (perception, attention span, short- and
long-term memory recall, and reasoning capacity) constrain the objectivity of
our reasoning processes, producing errors in our analysis. Veteran analyst and
author Richards Heuer, Jr., has carefully enumerated these shortcomings
and the implications for intelligence officers. In The Psychology of Intelligence

208

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Analysis, Heuer has identified the major biases we exhibit when evaluating evidence, attributing causality in explaining relationships, and in estimating relative probabilities (Table 6.3) [16]. To these biases in analytic reasoning,
researcher Thomas Gilovich has added the bane of the common subjective
biases of motivation: believing self-serving beliefs (e.g., those the intelligence
chief believes), imagined agreement (exaggerating the agreement of other analysts and colleagues), and inaccurate narratives (distortion of tacit knowledge
in narrative stories) [17]. In each case, the analyst is inclined to create mental
models that distort perception of the significance of evidence or derived inferences, then attribute undeserved support for those models. In Combatting
Table 6.3
Cognitive Shortcomings to be Addressed by the Analyst
Area of Bias

Categories of Cognitive Shortcomings

Evaluating Evidence

Vividness biasvivid, concrete, personal information is biased (preferred)

over pallid, abstract information
Missing evidence biasabsent evidence is often ignored or not factored
into analytic judgments; present evidence is biased over missing gaps
Consistency biasa small body of consistent evidence is biased over a
larger body of less consistent evidence
Persistent impression biasprior uncertain impressions persist (are
preferred) even after the evidence on which they are based is discredited

Attributing Causality

Causality biasevidence that falls into an orderly causal pattern is

preferred
Centralized direction biasevidence that fits centralized coherent
nation-state control explanations are biased over more random, accidental
explanations
Internal factor biasbias that increases influence of internal (beliefs
attitudes) over external (constraints) factors in decision making
Own importance biasdue to analysts greater knowledge of own-nation
actions, those influences are biased over influences less well understood

Estimating
Probabilities

Availability biasprobability estimates are biased toward evidence that is

more available and against missing evidence
Anchor biasprobability estimates are anchored by a natural starting
point that becomes preferred, then are adjusted (erroneously) in response
to new information

Succumbing to
Social Factors

Motivation biaspropensity to accept self-serving beliefs

Imagined agreement biasthe exaggerated belief in the agreement of
others
Secondhand story biasthe distortion of tacit knowledge in secondhand
narrative stories

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

209

Mind-Set, respected analyst Jack Davis has noted that analysts must recognize
the subtle influence of mindset, the cumulative mental model that distills analysts beliefs about a complex subject and find[s] strategies that simultaneously
harness its impressive energy and limit[s] the potential damage [18].
Davis recommends two complementary strategies:
1. Enhancing mindset. Creating explicit representation of the mindsetexternalizing the mental modelallows broader collaboration,
evaluation from multiple perspectives, and discovery of subtle biases.
2. Ensuring mind-set. Maintaining multiple explicit explanations and
projections and opportunity analyses provides insurance against
single-point judgments and prepares the analyst to switch to alternatives when discontinuities occur.
While these shortcomings address the problem of understanding the subject of an analysis, Davis has also cautioned analysts to beware the paradox of
expertise phenomenon that can distract attention from the purpose of an analysis.
This error occurs when discordant evidence is present and subject experts tend
to be distracted and focus on situation analysis (solving the discordance to
understand the subject situation) rather than addressing the impact on the
analysis of the consequences of the discrepancy. In such cases, the analyst must
focus on providing value added by addressing what action alternatives exist for
alternatives and their consequences in cost-benefit terms [19].
Heuer emphasized the importance of supporting tools and techniques to
overcome natural analytic limitations [20]: Weaknesses and biases inherent in
human thinking processes can be demonstrated through carefully designed
experiments. They can be alleviated by conscious application of tools and techniques that should be in the analytical tradecraft toolkit of all intelligence analysts. These tools and techniques support the kind of critical thinking
introduced in earlier chapters; the practical methods for marshaling evidence,
structuring argumentation, and evaluating hypotheses are introduced in the
next section.

6.6 Marshaling Evidence and Structuring Argumentation

In the Thinkers Toolkit, former analyst Morgan Jones distinguishes between our
common-sense instinctive analysis and structured analysis [21]. Instinctive
analysis focuses on a single or limited range of alternatives, moves on a path to
satisfy minimum needs (satisficing, or finding an acceptable explanation), and is
performed implicitly using tacit mental models. Structured analysis follows the
principles of critical thinking introduced in Chapter 4, organizing the problem

210

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

to consider all reasonable alternatives, systematically and explicitly representing

the alternative solutions to comprehensively analyze all factors. Though we recognize the objective benefits of structured reasoning, intelligence is all too often
plagued by analyses that are more instinctive than structured.
Intelligence organizations have recognized the importance of instilling the
value of structured thinking in the analytic community, and structured
processes are emphasized in analyst training [22]. The desired discipline is to
ensure that analysts will synthesize alternative hypotheses, marshal evidence to
affirm the hypotheses, and then objectively evaluate the alternatives. The ability
to explain the hypothesis is referred to as argumentation, where the hypothesis
provides a means of structuring the argument for presentations to decision makers. In this section, we introduce the concepts of synthesizing structured
hypotheses and then marshaling evidence around competing alternatives. In the
next section, we describe how competing hypotheses are compared.
6.6.1

Structuring Hypotheses

To illustrate the structure of hypotheses in practical intelligence problems, consider the intelligence conclusion in a critical 1964 U.S. CIA intelligence report
estimating the likelihood of the location and timing of Chinas first nuclear test.
The report, written in August 1964, concluded:
On the basis of new overhead photography, we are now convinced that the
previously suspect facility at Lop Nor in Western China is a nuclear test site
that could be ready for use in about two months. On the other hand the
weight of available evidence indicates the Chinese will not have sufficient fissionable material for a test of a nuclear device in the next few months. Thus,
the evidence does not permit a very confident estimate of the chances of a
Chinese Communist nuclear detonation in the next few months. Clearly the
possibility of such a detonation before the end of this year cannot be ruled
outthe test may occur during this period. On balance, however, we believe
that it will not occur until sometime after the end of 1964 [23].

The simple hierarchical structure of the hypothesis for this report is

depicted in Figure 6.6. The basic binary hypothesis set, H = {H0, H1}, includes
the hypothesis that the Lop Nor is a test site, H1 or the complement H0 that it is
not. Furthermore, if the site is a nuclear test site, the subset of hypotheses, H2 =
{H21, H22} deal with the imminence of a test. The analysts conclusion and argumentation is:
Hypothesis H1Lop Nor is indeed a nuclear test site, based on the site

characteristics recognized in overhead photography, and could be ready

for a test within 2 months.

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

211

Chinese nuclear test at Lop Nor H ={ H0, H1}

Existence

H1
Lop Nor IS a nuclear
test site

H0
Lop Nor NOT a
nuclear test site

Status

H11
Ready for a test
within 2 months

H12
Not ready for test
within 2 months

Figure 6.6 Hypothesis structure.

Hypothesis H11there is insufficient evidence of available fissional

material to conclude that a test can occur within 2 months, but a test
within the next 4 months cannot be ruled out.
Hypothesis H12the likelihood of a test increases beyond 2 months

and more likely beyond 4 months (in 1965).

Notice that in the text, the analyst clearly qualifies the confidence in the
conclusion by stating, the evidence does not permit a very confident estimate of
the chances of a Chinese Communist nuclear detonation in the next few
months. That statement carefully identifies equivocation (the presence of
uncertainty) in the judgments being made. The actual Chinese nuclear test was
conducted at Lop Nor on October 16, just 2 months after this report.
6.6.2

Marshaling Evidence and Structuring Arguments

There exist a number of classical approaches to representing hypotheses, marshaling evidence to them, and arguing for their validity. Argumentation structures propositions to move from premises to conclusions. Three perspectives or
disciplines of thought have developed the most fundamental approaches to this
process (Table 6.4):
1. Rhetoric has historically contributed to the disciplined structuring of
informal oral or written arguments to provide accuracy of thought,
clarity of communication, and strength of persuasion. Aristotle
emphasized three modes of persuasive appeal (proof): logos appeals to

212

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 6.4
Evidence Marshaling and Hypothesis Argumentation Structures
Implementation of Knowledge
Representation and Inference
Process

Approach
Structured inferential
argumentation (informal
logic)

Formal logic

Rational, practical, structured organization

of argumentation and inference in nearnatural language, which distinguishes
data, evidence, inferential reasoning
principles, and rules that lead from data to
conclusions, or assertions of hypotheses

Intelligence
Application
All-source analysis
(across multiple
unstructured sources)
Natural language explanation of analytic results

Propositional Logic that combines assertions of truth

logic
(propositions) to deduce combined
propositions
Predicate
logic

Logic that allows the assignment of

attributes (quantifiers) to entities and
therefore permits the combination of
assertions about the properties of entities

Fuzzy logic

Logical representation of attributes and

hypotheses about entities as fuzzy
functions; fuzzy inference is performed by
an algebra that combines uncertain data
to derive uncertain deductions

Inferential networks to
implement automated
data fusion

Mathematical representation of evidence

and possible states (hypotheses) in
probabilities; Bayesian inference permits
mathematical computation of posterior
hypothesis probabilities from prior
probabilities and current evidence

Database evidence
cross-correlation and
linking

Mathematical Bayesian
statistics
inference

DempsterShafer
evidential
reasoning

More general that Bayesian; represents

evidence in terms of belief functions and
performs mathematical inference by
computing accumulated mass of belief for
any given hypothesis

reason (explicit knowledge), pathos to emotion (tacit knowledge), and

ethos to the character (truth). The appeal to reason has emphasized the
careful structure of natural language to accurately and clearly explain
the basis for arguing from evidence and premises to conclusion.
2. Philosophy has developed formal logic to structure and combine simple propositions (assertions) such that judgments of truth can be made
about the validity of more complex propositions inferred from the
combination of simple propositions.

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

213

3. Mathematics has contributed probabilistic methods to describe uncertainty and quantitatively perform the inference process. These methods impose greater structure on both evidence and hypothesis and
provide a quantified method of reasoning that can be automated, presuming evidence and belief can be quantified. (Applications of these
automated methods are described in Chapter 8.)
Each discipline has contributed methods to represent knowledge and to
provide a structure for reasoning to infer from data to relevant evidence,
through intermediate hypotheses to conclusion. The term knowledge representation refers to the structure used to represent data and show its relevance as evidence, the representation of rules of inference, and the asserted conclusions. In
the following paragraphs we survey these approaches and their contributions to
the analysis-synthesis process.

6.6.3

Structured Inferential Argumentation

Philosophers, rhetoricians, and lawyers have long sought accurate means of

structuring and then communicating, in natural language, the lines of reasoning, that lead from complicated sets of evidence to conclusions. Lawyers and
intelligence analysts alike seek to provide a clear and compelling case for their
conclusions, reasoned from a mass of evidence about a complex subject.
Although less formal that the logic briefly introduced in our discussion of
deduction in Chapter 5, we will introduce here three approaches to structuring
natural-language arguments.
We first consider the classical forms of argumentation described as informal logic, whereby the argument connects premises to conclusions. The common forms include:
1. Linked. Multiple premises, when taken together, lead to but one conclusion. For example: The radar at location A emits at a high pulse
repetition frequency (PRF); when it emits at high PRF, it emits on frequency (F) the radar at A is a fire control radar.
2. Convergent. Multiple premises independently lead to the same conclusion. For example: The radar at A is a fire control radar. Also Location
A stores canisters for missiles. A surface to air missile (SAM) battery
must be at location A.
3. Serial. A single premise leads to but one conclusion, for example: A
SAM battery is located at A the battery at A must be linked to a
command and control (C2) center.

214

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

4. Divergent. A single premise can support more than one conclusion.

For example: The SAM battery could be controlled by the C2 center
at golf, or The SAM battery could be controlled by the C2 center at
hotel.
These four basic forms may be combined to create complex sets of argumentation, as in the simple sequential combination and simplification of these
examples:
The radar at A emits at a high PRF; when it emits at high PRF, it emits

on frequency F, so it must be a fire control radar. Also, location A stores

canisters for missiles, so there must be a SAM battery there. The battery
at A must be linked to a C2 center. It could be controlled by the C2
centers at golf or at hotel.
The structure of this argument can be depicted as a chain of reasoning or
argumentation (Figure 6.7) using the four premise structures in sequence.
Next, consider Toulmins practical approach to structuring argumentation, which attempted to refine the classical approach with a predefined reasoning sequence (argument form) and a careful distinction between evidence and
the logic or principles of inference. Toulmin distinguished six elements of all
arguments [24]:
1. Data (D), at the beginning point of the argument, are the explicit elements of data (relevant data, or evidence) that are observed in the
external world.
2. Claim (C), is the assertion of the argument.
3. Qualifier (Q), imposes any qualifications on the claim.
High
PRF
While

Fire
control
Golf
C2

Freq F
Is linked
to a C2
center

SAM
battery
Missile
canisters

Linked

Convergent

Figure 6.7 A simple informal logic chain.

Serial

Hotel
C2

Divergent

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

215

4. Rebuttals (R) are any conditions that may refute the claim.
5. Warrants (W) are the implicit propositions (rules, principles) that permit inference from data to claim.
6. Backing (B) are assurances that provide authority and currency to the
warrants.
Applying Toulmins argumentation scheme requires the analyst to distinguish each of the six elements of argument and to fit them into a standard structure of reasoningsee Figure 6.8(a)which leads from datum (D) to claim
(C). The scheme separates the domain-independent structure from the warrants
and backing, which are dependent upon the field in which we are working (e.g.,
legal cases, logical arguments, or morals).
The general structure, described in natural language then proceeds from
datum (D) to claim (I) as follows:
The datum (D), supported by the warrant (W), which is founded upon

the backing (B), leads directly to the claim (C), qualified to the degree
(Q), with the caveat that rebuttal (R) is present.
In Figure 6.8(b), we insert the elements of the Chinese nuclear test argument (used earlier in this section) into the Toulmin schema to illustrate how the
schema forces structure to the analysts argument. Such a structure requires the
analyst to identify all of the key components of the argumentand explicitly
report if any components are missing (e.g., if rebuttals or contradicting evidence
is not existent).
The benefits of this scheme are the potential for the use of automation to
aid analysts in the acquisition, examination, and evaluation of natural-language
arguments. As an organizing tool, the Toulmin scheme distinguishes data (evidence) from the warrants (the universal premises of logic) and their backing (the
basis for those premises). Notice that in the previous informal logic example,
data (the radar at location A emits at a high PRF) and warrants (so there must be
a SAM battery located there) were not distinguished; warrants and data are
equally treated as premises. It must be noted that formal logicians have criticized
Toulmins scheme due to its lack of logical rigor and ability to address probabilistic arguments. Yet, it has contributed greater insight and formality to developing structured natural-language argumentation.
6.6.4

Inferential Networks

Moving beyond Toulmins structure, we must consider the approaches to create

network structures to represent complex chains of inferential reasoning. While

216

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Domainindependent
argument
structure

Data (D)

So, Qualifier(Q), Claim (C)

Since,
Warrant (W)
Fields
of the
arguments

(a)

Unless,
Rebuttal (R)

On account of
Backing
(B)

Overhead imagery
indicates:
Evidence of large test
area and certain facilities
at Lop Nor
Evidence of special test
activities underway
Since
Nuclear testing requires
large test area, certain
facilities, and special
preparatory test
activities

So,
presumably,

Unless
Chinese have
sufficient fissionable
material available
that we cannot
observe

Chinese will
not conduct a
nuclear test
within this year

(b)

On account of the facts that:

1.Nuclear testing requires large (defined)
instrumented area
2. Nuclear testing requires (defined) facilities
3. Nuclear testing requires (defined) special
test prep activities to be conducted

Figure 6.8 (a) Toulmins argument structure, and (b) populated argument structure example.

the Toulmin structure allowed us to represent arguments with a handful of data

(evidence), warrant, and backing elements, the single-thread structure becomes
cumbersome (and unable to fully represent all factors) when many elements
exist and there are interactions between those elements. The development of
graphical approaches proceeds from the legal graphs of evidence introduced by
Whigmore in The Science of Judicial Proof (1937) to the directed graph representations of inferential networks currently used to logically and mathematically

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

217

structure complex arguments. We illustrate these networks in the following discussion using the directed acyclic graph forms introduced by Schum in his foundational work, Evidence and Inference for the Intelligence Analyst [25], and
his subsequent exhaustive text, The Evidential Foundations for Probabilistic
Reasoning [26].
The use of graph theory to describe complex arguments allows the analyst
to represent two crucial aspects of an argument:
Argument structure. The directed graph represents evidence (E), events,

or intermediate hypotheses inferred by the evidence (i), and the ultimate, or final, hypotheses (H) as graph nodes. The graph is directed
because the lines connecting nodes include a single arrow indicating the
single direction of inference. The lines move from a source element of
evidence (E) through a series of inferences (i1, i2, i3, in) toward a terminal hypothesis (H). The graph is acyclic because the directions of all
arrows move from evidence, through intermediate inferences to
hypothesis, but not back again: there are no closed-loop cycles.
Force of evidence and propagation. In common terms we refer the force,
strength, or weight of evidence to describe the relative degree of contribution of evidence to support an intermediate inference (in), or the ultimate hypothesis (H). The graph structure provides a means of
describing supporting and refuting evidence, and, if evidence is quantified (e.g., probabilities, fuzzy variables, or other belief functions), a
means of propagating the accumulated weight of evidence in an
argument.
Like a vector, evidence includes a direction (toward certain hypotheses)
and a magnitude (the inferential force). The basic categories of argument can be
structured to describe four basic categories of evidence combination (illustrated
in Figure 6.9):
1. Direct. The most basic serial chain of inference moves from evidence
(E) that the event E occurred, to the inference (i1) that E did in fact
occur. This inference expresses belief in the evidence (i.e., belief in the
veracity and objectivity of human testimony). The chain may go on
serially to further inferences because of the belief in E.
2. Consonance. Multiple items of evidence may be synergistic resulting in
one item enhancing the force of another; their joint contribution provides more inferential force than their individual contributions. Two
items of evidence may provide collaborative consonance; the figure
illustrates the case where ancillary evidence (E2) is favorable to the

218

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Evidence form

Inferential structure

Inferential effect
Evidence E of an event directly
infers the intermediate
hypothesis that the event
occurred (i1)
hypotheses (i1).

in
i1

Direct

Auxiliary evidence E2 supports

the credibility of evidence E1; it
therefore enhances the
inferential force of E1.

i1
Corroborative

E2
E1

Consonant

i3
Convergent

i1

Enhance
E1

i2
E2

i1

Corroborative
E1

E2

Redundant

i3
Cumulative

i1

Diminish
E1

i2
E2

i1

Contradictive
E1

Dissonant

E2
i3

Conflicting

i1

i2
E1

E2

E1 and E2 provide evidence of

the occurrence of different
events (i1and i2), when
occurring together, favor a
common subsequent inference.
The effect is a possible
enhancement of evidential force.
Two or more sources supply
identical evidence (E1and E2) of
a common event inference (i1);
one may diminish the force of
the other to avoid doublecounting
the force of the redundant evidence.
Redundant E1 and E2, although
inferring intermediate hypotheses
(i1,i2),lead to a common hypothesis
(i3); This redundant contribution to
(i3) diminishes the contribution of
inferential force from E2
E1 and E2 report, mutually exclusively,
that the event E did occur and did not
occur, respectively. The force of each
must be considered.
E1 and E2 report two separate events
i1 and i2 (both of which may have
occurred, but not jointly), but these
events favor mutually exclusive
hypotheses at i3.

Figure 6.9 Basic directed graph evidence and inference forms.

credibility of the source of evidence (E1), thereby increasing the force

of E1. Evidence may also be convergent when E1 and E2 provide evidence of the occurrence of different events, but those events, together,

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

219

favor a common subsequent inference. The enhancing contribution

(i1) to (i2) is indicated by the dashed arrow.
3. Redundant. Multiple items of evidence (E1, E2) that redundantly lead
to a common inference (i1) can also diminish the force of each other in
two basic ways. Corroborative redundancy occurs when two or more
sources supply identical evidence of a common event inference (i1). If
one source is perfectly credible, the redundant source does not contribute inferential force; if both have imperfect credibility, one may diminish the force of the other to avoid double counting the force of the
redundant evidence. Cumulative redundancy occurs when multiple
items of evidence (E1, E2), though inferring different intermediate
hypotheses (i1,i2), respectively, lead to a common hypothesis (i3) farther up the reasoning chain. This redundant contribution to (i3), indicated by the dashed arrow, necessarily reduces the contribution of
inferential force from E2.
4. Dissonance. Dissonant evidence may be contradictory when items of
evidence E1 and E2 report, mutually exclusively, that the event E did
occur and did not occur, respectively. Conflicting evidence, on the
other hand, occurs when E1and E2 report two separate events i1 and
i2 (both of which may have occurred, but not jointly), but these
events favor mutually exclusive hypotheses at i3.
Note that these four forms elaborate on the four classical forms (introduced earlier) as serial, linked, convergent, and divergent, respectively. These
basic components can be assembled into complex argument structures to carefully represent the many transitional inferences and supporting relationships
that lead from evidence to a final hypothesis.
A military deception example illustrates the complexity of even a simple
argument. It also illustrates the many hidden or unspoken inferential components generally overlooked when the argument is simply structured in natural
language.
Consider the binary hypothesis, H = {H0, H1} , where:
H0 = The soap factory is a concealed military vehicle depot.
H1 = The soap factory is not a concealed military vehicle depot.
Six elements of direct evidence are received regarding the factory:
E1 = Imagery sources report that the factory ceased soap production
6 months ago.
E2 = A human source S1 said soap production was ongoing 3 months ago.

220

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

E3 = The company advertises in open reports that soap production is

ongoing.
E4 = A human source S2 says military officers reside in the factory office
buildings.
E5 = UAV 1 sensors reported signal K emissions from the factory.
E6 = UAV 2 sensors also reported signal K emissions from the factory at
the same time UAV 1 issued its report.
In addition, three items of auxiliary evidence are applied:
E7 = Evidence that backs the credibility of the imagery analysis process.
E8 = Evidence that supports the accuracy of the methods of observation
employed by certain clandestine human observers.
E9 = Evidence that certain signals are unique to military C2 vehicles.
We now consider the directed graph (Figure 6.10) that represents the
structure of this example from evidence to inference, using the basic forms. The
tree structure moves from six elements of direct evidence at the bottom to the
single binary hypothesis at the top. On the left side are elements of auxiliary evidence that determine the strength of inferential links; in Toulmins terms, these
are the backing to inferential warrants. The graph moves from bottom to top in
the following sequence:
1. Direct evidence at the bottom;
2. Evidence credibility inferences are the first row above evidence, inferring the veracity, objectivity, and sensitivity of the source of evidence;
3. Relevance inferences move from credibility-conditioned evidence
through a chain of inferences toward final hypothesis;
4. The final hypothesis is at the top.
The three principle chains of reasoning supporting H1, the hypothesis that
the factory is a concealed military vehicle facility, can readily be described:
Chain one: Factory is a cover for non-soap-making operation.

1. The directly observed imagery evidence from imagery analysis, E1,

leads to the inference i1 that the factory is no longer producing phenomena associated with soap production and has not been for
6 months. Auxiliary evidence E7 that backs the credibility of the
imagery analysis process used to assess soap production supports i2
that soap production has stopped within the period.

221

Final hypothesis

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

Factory Site hypothesis H = {H0, H1}

H0 : is a soap factory
H1: is a military garrison

i21

Relevance inferences

i8

Enhance

i14

i20

Consonant
i7
i19

i13

Evidence

Credibility inferences

i6

i2
E7

i12

i5

Conflict
Conflict

i11

i18
E8

i4
i1

E1

Diminish
i9

i3

E2

i10

E9

i17

i16

i15
Redundant

E3

E4

E5

E6

Figure 6.10 A simple inference network for the example military deception hypothesis.

2. Evidence E2 from a human source, stating that production was

observed only 3 months ago, leads to i3 that the source believes soap
production was ongoing as recent as 3 months ago (sources veracity).
This leads to the subsequent i4 that the source actually detected production (sources observational sensitivity and accuracy), and subsequently i5, that production occurred 3 months ago.

222

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

3. Conflicting dissonant i2 and i5 merge at the intermediate hypothesis

(i6) that the factory is no longer producing soap.
4. Evidence E3 that the state-operated company publicly states that the
factory is in production leads to the inference that the statement is a
credible assertion of the company (i9).
5. Inference i6 infers (from i6 and i9) that the company is inconsistent in
its performance and its public statement.
6. Inference i8 infers intent; the company is deliberately deceptive about
its factory operations and denies information on the real activities at
the site.
Chain two: Factory conducts military operations.

1. A reliable human source reported evidence E4 that military personnel

have been seen almost daily in the factory office buildings in recent
months; i10 infers the source believes the report to be true (veracity)
and that the observation was accurate (i12). Auxiliary evidence E8 supports the accuracy of the sources observation means, and i11 infers
that the source is a very accurate observer, supporting i12.
2. This evidence leads to a serial chain of inferences: i12 leads to the
inference that the military personnel are conducting business at the
factory (i13), leading to i14, that the offices are being used to conduct
military operations.
Chain three: Factory houses military vehicles

1. Redundant evidence (repeated measurements from two UAVs at the

same time periods over the past four months) E5 and E6 detect military C2 vehicle signal emissions from the factory. Inferences i15 and
i16 (that the signal was emitted from a source at the factory) contain
redundancy and therefore one diminishes the full force of the other.
2. Both i15 and i16 lead to the common inference that military vehicles
were located at the factory (i18). These inferences are supported by
auxiliary evidence E9 that the signals are unique to military C2 vehicles, and i17 that the signal is uniquely associated with military C2
vehicles.
3. This leads to the i19, that military vehicles are often at the factory,
and subsequently i20, that the factory is a location that is intended to
house military C2 vehicles.

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

223

Final hypothesis

The final hypothesis H = {H0, H1} weights the inferential force from the three
chains. Consonant inferences i14 and i20 from chains 2 and 3 (i14 enhances i20)
lead to i21, that the factory is a military vehicle garrison (military personnel are
conducting operations where military vehicles are stored). This inference and i8
(the company is conducting denial and deception) provide the combined inferential force for H. If the accumulated evidential force is sufficient, the analyst
makes the judgment H1 that the former factory provides cover, concealment,
and deception (CCD) for a military garrison.
Some may wonder why such rigor is employed for such a simple argument. This relatively simple example illustrates the level of inferential detail
required to formally model even the simplest of arguments. It also illustrates the
real problem faced by the analyst in dealing with the nuances of redundant and
conflicting evidence. Most significantly, the example illustrates the degree of
care required to accurately represent arguments to permit machine-automated
reasoning about all-source analytic problems.
We can see how this simple model demands the explicit representation of
often-hidden assumptions, every item of evidence, the entire sequence of inferences, and the structure of relationships that leads to our conclusion that H1 is
true.
Inferential networks provide a logical structure upon which quantified calculations may be performed to compute values of inferential force of evidence
and the combined contribution of all evidence toward the final hypothesis. In
these cases, evidence, intermediate inferences, and hypotheses (E, i, H) are
expressed as random variables using probabilities or other expressions to represent the inferential force. The most common approaches to apply quantitative
measures of uncertainty to evidence and to compute the inferential combination
of uncertain evidence are summarized in Table 6.5. In addition to Schum [26],
standard texts on multisensor data fusion and reasoning in uncertainty develop
the mathematics of these approaches [27].

6.7 Evaluating Competing Hypotheses

Heuers research indicated that the single most important technique to overcome cognitive shortcomings is to apply a systematic analytic process that allows
objective comparison of alternative hypotheses:
The ideal is to generate a full set of hypotheses, systematically evaluate each
hypothesis, and then identify the hypothesis that provides the best fit to the
data The simultaneous evaluation of multiple, competing hypotheses
permits a more systematic and objective analysis than is possible when an

224

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 6.5
Quantitative Approaches to Inference Computation
Evidential
Representation
Probabilities

Inferential Methodology
Evidence is represented in terms of prior and
conditional probabilities

Inference
Computation
Bayes Rule

Bayesian networks implement directed acyclic

graphs to compute inferential force in terms
of forward conditional probabilities
Inferential force is represented as posterior
probabilities
Fuzzy variables

Membership functions represent imprecise

evidence in terms of fuzzy set theory

Fuzzy algebra

Fuzzy logic combines evidential membership

functions using fuzzy logical functions
Inferential force is a fuzzy variable
Belief functions

Belief functions represent the total evidential

force for any hypothesis

Dempsters
Rule of Combination

Total belief for any hypothesis is computed as

the mass of all belief that supports the
hypothesis
Inferential force is a mass function

analyst focuses on a single, most-likely explanation or estimate. The simultaneous evaluation of multiple, competing hypotheses entails far greater
cognitive strain than examining a single, most-likely hypothesis [28].

The logical process of reasoning to the best explanation (abduction) was

introduced in the last chapter, and a number of approaches to explicitly structure evidence to support such reasoning have been offered to aid the analyst or
investigator. The acyclic graphs introduced in the last section link evidence
through inference structures to hypotheses to permit mathematical computation
of hypothesis likelihoods using methods such as Bayesian networks. Wigmore
diagrams, named after the nineteenth century legal scholar, provide a relatively
complex symbolic methodology to array evidence and annotate inferences of
causality and relationship to hypothesized legal case explanations [29].
In this section, we introduce the method of analysis of competing
hypotheses (ACH), a straightforward process that structures a matrix to compare alternative hypotheses that was introduced by Heuer to visualize the basis
for an analysts judgments.

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

225

The approaches are complementary, not competitive. Inferential networks

are useful at the detail level, where evidence is rich and the ACH approach is useful at the higher levels of abstraction and where evidence is sparse. Networks are
valuable for automated computation; ACH is valuable for collaborative analytic
reasoning, presentation, and explanation. The ACH approach provides a methodology for the concurrent competition of multiple explanations, rather than the
focus on the currently most plausible. The methodology focuses on explicit representation and objective evaluation to overcome many of the biases introduced
in the previous section. The ACH structure approach described by Heuer uses a
matrix to organize and describe the relationship between evidence and alternative hypotheses [30]. The sequence of the analysis-synthesis process (Figure 6.11)
includes:
1. Hypothesis synthesis. A multidisciplinary team of analysts creates a set of
feasible hypotheses, derived from imaginative consideration of all possibilities before constructing a complete set that merits detailed consideration.
2. Evidence analysis. Available data is reviewed to locate relevant evidence
and inferences that can be assigned to support or refute the hypotheses. Explicitly identify the assumptions regarding evidence and the
arguments of inference. Following the processes described in the last
chapter, list the evidence-argument pairs (or chains of inference) and
identify, for each, the intrinsic value of its contribution and the potential for being subject to denial or deception (D&D).
3. Matrix synthesis. Construct an ACH matrix that relates evidenceinference to the hypotheses defined in step 1.
4. Matrix analysis. Assess the diagnosticity (the significance or diagnostic
value of the contribution of each component of evidence and related
inferences) of each evidence-inference component to each hypothesis.
This process proceeds for each item of evidence-inference across the
rows, considering how each item may contribute to each hypothesis.
An entry may be supporting (consistent with), refuting (inconsistent
with), or irrelevant (not applicable) to a hypothesis; a contribution
notation (e.g., +, , or N/A, respectively) is marked within the cell.
Where possible, annotate the likelihood (or probability) that this evidence would be observed if the hypothesis is true. Note that the diagnostic significance of an item of evidence is reduced as it is consistent
with multiple hypotheses; it has no diagnostic contribution when it
supports, to any degree, all hypotheses.
5. Matrix synthesis (refinement). Evidence assignments are refined, eliminating evidence and inferences that have no diagnostic value.

226

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

1.
Synthesize
hypotheses
2.
Evidence
analysis

3. Matrix synthesis

Hypotheses
Intrinsic D&D
value potential Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis
A1
A2
B
C
Evidence
SIGINT 022
3
3
+(0.80)
+(0.80)
Timeline A
8
3
+ (0.75) ++ (0.75)
-- (0.50)
IMINT 034
7
1
+ (0.75)
+ (0.95)
9
0
- (0.50)
Data MASINT K078
HUMINT case 2312
6
4
+ (0.60)
3
8
+ (0.50)
HUMINT case 0005
Press report 5-23-03
3
9
+ (0.75)
8
1
+ (0.85)
IMINT 037-22
Legend (+) = Evidence supports the hypothesis.
Legend ( - ) = Evidence refutes the hypothesis.
Legend (0.75) = Probability evidence would be seen if hypothesis is true.
4. Matrix analysis

Retask and expand search

5. Matrix
refine

6. Hypothesis analysis
7. Decision synthesis

Figure 6.11 ACH process flow.

6. Hypotheses analysis. The analyst now proceeds to evaluate the likelihood

of each hypothesis, by evaluating entries down the columns. The likelihood of each hypothesis is estimated by the characteristics of supporting
and refuting evidence (as described in the last chapter). Inconsistencies
and gaps in expected evidence provide a basis for retasking; a small but
high-confidence item that refutes the preponderance of expected evidence may be a significant indicator of deception. The analyst also
assesses the sensitivity of the likely hypothesis to contributing assumptions, evidence, and the inferences; this sensitivity must be reported with
conclusions and the consequences if any of these items are in error. This
process may lead to retasking of collectors to acquire more data to support or refute hypotheses and to reduce the sensitivity of a conclusion.
7. Decision synthesis (judgment). Reporting the analytic judgment
requires the description of all of the alternatives (not just the most

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

227

likely), the assumptions, evidence, and inferential chains. The report

must also describe the gaps, inconsistencies, and their consequences
on judgments. The analyst must also specify what should be done to
provide an update on the situation and what indictors might point to
significant changes in current judgments.
Notice that the ACH approach deliberately focuses the analysts attention
on the contribution, significance, and relationships of evidence to hypotheses,
rather than on building a case for any one hypothesis. The analytic emphasis is,
first, on evidence and inference across the rows, before evaluating hypotheses,
down the columns.
We can now illustrate an example structured analytic flow that leads to the
ACH process. The example process integrates a variety of services to explore and
determine the characteristics, behavior, and locations of a criminal organization
from a massive volume of disparate and unstructured data. In this case, an
unstructured database may include entities and events (Table 6.6) provided by
collectors of financial, communication transactions, and known organizational
relationships.
The stages of the structured analysis-synthesis methodology (Figure 6.12)
are summarized in the following list:
Organize. A data mining tool (described in Chapter 8, Section 8.2.2)

automatically clusters related data sets by identifying linkages (relationships) across the different data types. These linked clusters are visualized
using link-clustering tools used to visualize clusters and linkages to
allow the analyst to consider the meaningfulness of data links and discover potentially relevant relationships in the real world.
Conceptualize. The linked data is translated from the abstract relationship space to diagrams in the temporal and spatial domains to assess
Table 6.6
Typical Criminal Database Categories
Data Category

Entities

Events

Organizational

People, positions (roles),

organizations

Decisions, commands (orders),

statements

Financial

Accounts, banks, owners

Open/close accounts, transactions

Communications

Senders, recipients, messages, Message transactions

media (channels)

Travel

Travelers, agencies, flight

numbers, airlines, payments

Time and date of transit and clearance

through customs

228

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

1.

Alias P.A.N.M
P. H. Pitharny
Louis Handsome
Jp. Donarthy
.

Organize
Social
Network

Create links between

various data representing

entities (i.e., people, financial
accounts, telephone
numbers) and events (i.e.,
transactions, contacts, etc.) in
an abstract relationship space
Organize abstract data by
relationship links
Discover meaningful
relationships between the
data elements

2.

Muhamar Hanjadar
B.B. Blubingier
Khar Jharti
Leonard P. Wilson

Hanjai Jonaby

Alias Jones
People

Gardai Hunini

33-34897654

Bank
Accounts

02-4567-998
VISA 3452761555

00-456143260

MC 3425667398
Communications

Phone
Records

45-67983211
VISA 34232245678

MC 3425667398

01-555-786-0987

01-555-343-6789

06-555-765-9844

01-555-233-6543

01-888-765-9876
01-555-564-9876
01-555-567-9876
01-342-768-4678
01-987-222-0900

Time

Conceptualize

MC 674223421

01-555-665-9876
01-888-567-9876

01-456-567-9876
01-555-673-9876

Finances

6667983211

Space
1

Structure meaningful

relationships of entities
and events in time and
space.

Structure inference and

evidence to create
complete arguments
Compare the relative
evidence and inferential
strength across
alternative hypotheses

Final
hypothesis

Factory Site hypothesis H = {H0, H1}

H0 : is a soap factory
H1 : is a military garrison
i21

i8

Relevance inferences

Hypothesize

Credibility
Evidence inferences

3.

Enhance

i14

Hypotheses
Evidence A B C D E F

i20

Consonant
i7
i19

i13
i6
E7

i2
Conflict
i1

E1

i12

i5
i9

i3
E2

i18

i11 E8

i4

i10 i15

i17 E9

Diminish

i16

Redundant
E3

E4

Hypothesis tree

E5

E6

Alternative hypotheses

Figure 6.12 An example of an organizational link analysis process flow.

real-world implications of the relationships. These temporal and spatial

models allow the analyst to conceptualize alternative explanations that
will become working hypotheses. Analysis in the time domain considers
the implications of sequence, frequency, and causality, while the spatial
domain considers the relative location of entities and events.
Hypothesize. The analyst synthesizes hypotheses, structuring evidence

and inferences into alternative arguments that can be evaluated using

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

229

the method of alternative competing hypotheses. In the course of this

process, the analyst may return to explore the database and linkage diagrams further to support or refute the working hypotheses.
Notice that this process moves from an abstract domain (links of various
data types) to the time and space domain, where the analyst considers feasibility
of explanations, and then back to the abstract domain of hypothetical evidence
and inference relationships.

6.8 Countering Denial and Deception

Because the targets of intelligence are usually high-value subjects (e.g., intentions, plans, personnel, weapons or products, facilities, or processes), they are
generally protected by some level of secrecy to prevent observation. The means
of providing this secrecy generally includes two components:
1. Denial. Information about the existence, characteristics, or state of a
target is denied to the observer by methods of concealment. Camouflage of military vehicles, emission control (EMCON), operational
security (OPSEC), and encryption of e-mail messages are common
examples of denial, also referred to as dissimulation (hiding the real).
2. Deception. Deception is the insertion of false information, or simulation (showing the false), with the intent to distort the perception
of the observer. The deception can include misdirection (m-type)
deception to reduce ambiguity and direct the observer to a simulationaway from the truthor ambiguity (a-type) deception, which
simulates effects to increase the observers ambiguity or understanding about the truth [31].
D&D methods are used independently or in concert to distract or disrupt
the intelligence analyst, introducing distortions in the collection channels,
ambiguity in the analytic process, errors in the resulting intelligence product,
and misjudgment in decisions based on the product. Ultimately, this will lead to
distrust of the intelligence product by the decision maker or consumer. Strategic
D&D poses an increasing threat to the analyst, as an increasing number of channels for D&D are available to deceivers [32]. Six distinct categories of strategic
D&D operations (Table 6.7) have different target audiences, means of implementation, and objectives.
Propaganda or psychological operations (PSYOP) target a general population using several approaches. White propaganda openly acknowledges the

230

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 6.7
Categories of Strategic Deception Operations
Strategic Denial and Deception Operations

Objective

Target
Audience

Propaganda (PSYOP)

Denial and Deception

White

Leadership
Deception

Gray

Black

Intelligence Denial
Deception (OPSEC)

Influence a general belief to an audience Induce a specific belief to an

with an interest
audience with focused
interest on a given topic (or
target)

Population at large

Use
Deception
declared
Methods
sources and
and
organizaObjectives
tions to
influence
target
audiences
to accept
general
beliefs

Use
undeclared
sources and
organizations to
influence
target
audiences
to accept
general
beliefs

Use false
sources
and organizations to
influence
target
audiences to
accept
general
beliefs

Deny
access to
information
about intent
and
capabilities

National or
military
leadership

Intelligence collectors or
analysts

Use
diplomatic
channels and
sympathetic
influences to
induce beliefs

Deceive and
defeat
human and
technical
collectors

Minimize
the
signature of
entities and
activities

Use open
news sources
and channels
to induce
beliefs

source of the information, gray propaganda uses undeclared sources. Black propaganda purports to originate from a source other its actual sponsor, protecting the
true source (e.g., clandestine radio and Internet broadcast, independent organizations, or agents of influence [33]). Coordinated white, gray, and black propaganda efforts were strategically conducted by the Soviet Union throughout the
Cold War as active measures of disinformation:
for the Soviet Union, active measures constitute a dynamic and integrated array of overt and covert techniques for influencing events and
behavior in, and the actions of, foreign countries. These measures are
employed to influence the policies of other governments, undermine confidence in the leaders and institutions of these states, disrupt the relations
between various nations, and discredit and weaken major opponents. This

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

231

frequently involves attempts to deceive the target, and to distort the targets
perception of reality [34].

PSYOP activities are doctrinally distinct from the following deception

operations. Leadership deception targets leadership or intelligence consumers,
attempting to bypass the intelligence process by appealing directly to the intelligence consumer via other channels. Commercial news channels, untrustworthy
diplomatic channels, suborned media, and personal relationships can be
exploited to deliver deception messages to leadership (before intelligence can
offer D&D cautions) in an effort to establish mindsets in decision makers. The
literature examining the examples and principles of D&D employed by military
leadership through history and particularly during the Second World War is
extensive [35]. The effects of leadership deception in international politics have
been described by Jervis [36].
Intelligence deception specifically targets intelligence collectors (technical sensors, communications interceptors, and humans) and subsequently analysts by
combining denial of the target data and by introducing false data to disrupt, distract, or deceive the collection or analysis processes (or both processes). The objective is to direct the attention of the sensor or the analyst away from a correct
knowledge of a specific target. Military deception is directed at an adversarys surveillance and reconnaissance sensors, seeking to misdirect sensors away from
knowledge of true force movements, capabilities, and intentions. The successful
covert preparation and conduct of a nuclear test by India in 1998 was studied
extensively by the U.S. to determine the effectiveness of Indias intelligence deception activities to counter U.S. national intelligence. The study concluded that
countering D&D required greater rigor and more collaborative cross-INT analysis:
More rigor needs to go into analysts thinking when major events take
place. Two mechanisms would help: A) bring in outside substantive experts
in a more systematic fashion, so that we work against this everybody thinks
like us mindset. And, B) bring in experts in the process of analysis when
the IC faces a transition on a major intelligence issue, like the [Indian political party] BJP election, and like other things that you can think of. Look at
establishing effective mechanisms to guarantee stronger integration of the
analysis and greater collaboration and coordination of intelligence agencies
and disciplines. So that instead of looking up at each of these stovepipes, we
look at the product and the interaction between the stovepipes [37].

Denial operations by means of OPSEC seek to deny access to true intentions and capabilities by minimizing the signatures of entities and activities.
The cognitive shortcomings noted in the prior section can contribute to
self deception on the part of the analyst. Earnest Mays summarized the three
basic vulnerabilities of the intelligence analysts:

232

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

[Analysts] are vulnerable in the first place because they follow an almost
unavoidable rule of trying to fit the evidence they have into some coherent,
rational whole. They are vulnerable in the second place because, partly
perhaps from awareness of the power of prejudice and preconception, they
have a preference for data that is quantifiable and therefore appear comparatively objective. And thirdly they are vulnerable to deception
because, after having to judge hard issues, they are prone to look for confirming rather than disconfirming evidence [38].

Two primary categories of countermeasures for intelligence deception must

be orchestrated to counter either the simple deception of a parlor magician or the
complex intelligence deception program of a rogue nation-state. Both collection
and analysis measures (Table 6.8) are required to provide the careful observation
and critical thinking necessary to avoid deception. Improvements in collection
can provide broader and more accurate coverage, even limited penetration of
some covers. Because of this, there is often a tendency to focus on collection
improvements over analysis, but Richards Heuer has noted that Any systematic
counterdeception program must focus primarily on problems of analysis, only

Table 6.8
Countermeasures to D&D

Deceivers Objective

Collection

Analysis

Dissimulationdeny the
observation and detection of true
target phenomena

Reinforcementreinforce analysts
mental sets and expectations;
condition the analyst to reduce
sensitivity to changes and target
phenomena

Simulationinsert false signals to

simulate a false situation that is
expected; draw attention of
collection assets away from true
target

Counterdeception
Measures

Increase sensor spatial resolution,

phenomenological domains
(multi-INT)

Integrationbring together a combination of signals to create false

interpretation; reduce probability of
correct interpretation or beliefs
assigned to correct hypotheses
Create awareness of a targets
potential D&D capabilities and
activities

Increase sensor sampling rates:

Collect and index potential D&D
revisit rate and dwell time on target indicators (e.g., incongruities)
Evaluate voracity of human
collection sources

Consider and evaluate D&D

hypotheses in analysis
Estimate the opponents D&D plan
as an intelligence target itself

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

233

secondarily on collection [39]. Deception is an effect of the analysts mind;

countermeasures to deception must likewise aid the analysts reasoning process to
consider the alternative D&D hypothesis and the available, missing, and negative
evidence. Deceived analysts are susceptible to surprise about the occurrence of
events of significant consequence for one of several reasons: they are unaware of
the possibility of an eventa failure to envision a possibility or predict; they lack
sufficient evidence and inferences to predict an eventa failure to detect; or
both. The problem of mitigating intelligence surprise, therefore, must be
addressed by considering both large numbers of models or hypotheses (analysis) and
large sets of data (collection, storage, and analysis) [40].
In his classic treatise, Strategem, Barton Whaley exhaustively studied over
100 historical D&D efforts and concluded, Indeed, this is the general finding
of my studythat is, the deceiver is almost always successful regardless of the
sophistication of his victim in the same art. On the face of it, this seems an intolerable conclusion, one offending common sense. Yet it is the irrefutable conclusion of historical evidence [41]. In spite of this dire conclusion, Whaley offered
hope for the intelligence analyst to counter the threat of a well-orchestrated
intelligence D&D operation. First, he notes that exhortations to awareness (i.e.,
D&D awareness training for the analyst) and the study of examples of D&D are
necessary but insufficient to protect against deception. Second, he states that the
analyst should be supported by a decision model designed to analyze the signals
of stratagem, rather than the one designed to synthesize their false signals [42].
By this, Whaley indicated that the opponents deception plan, itself, must be an
active target of intelligence analysis; attempting to filter out deceptive signals
alone is insufficient. Michael Handel agreed:
Analytic awareness provided by training and simulation is not only insufficient, but some caution that it is paradoxically dangerous because increasing
the level of alertness raises our skepticism of all evidence and causes us
to consider even the noisepotentially increasing our susceptibility to
deception [43].

The components of a rigorous counter D&D methodology, then, include

the estimate of the adversarys D&D plan as an intelligence subject (target) and
the analysis of specific D&D hypotheses as alternatives (Figure 6.13). Incorporating this process within the ACH process described earlier amounts to assuring
that reasonable and feasible D&D hypotheses (for which there may be no evidence to induce a hypothesis) are explicitly considered as alternatives. The
process maintains a knowledge base of the adversarys past patterns of D&D (and
their estimated current capabilities) and of the vulnerabilities of ones own current intelligence capabilities (e.g., current vulnerable channels). This process has

234

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Alternative hypotheses
Hypothesis
Hypothesis

A A

B B
C
(D&D)

C (D&D)
D
(D&D)
D (D&D)

Intelligence
collection
Analysis
andand
synthesis
Synthesis
of of
alternative
Alternative
competing
Competing
hypotheses
Hypotheses

Focused D&D
hypothesis tasking

Incongruity
Testing
testing

Re Reconstructive
constructive Sprignals
inference
Inference
Past
PastPatterns
patterns
of D&D
of D&D
and
And
Capabilities
capabilities

Estimate
Estimate
Of
of adversarial
Adversarial
D&D
plans

Counter
Counter
D&D
D&D
Tasking
tasking

Intelligence
Intelligence
Vulnerability
vulnerability
Assessment
assessment

Figure 6.13 Components of counter D&D analysis process.

been described by Harris in a study on countering D&D and includes two active
searches for evidence to support, refute, or refine the D&D hypotheses [44]:
1. Reconstructive inference. This deductive process seeks to detect the presence of spurious signals (Harris call these sprignals) that are indicators
of D&Dthe faint evidence predicted by conjectured D&D plans.
Such sprignals can be strong evidence confirming hypothesis A (the
simulation), weak contradictory evidence of hypothesis C (leakage
from the adversarys dissimulation effort), or missing evidence that
should be present if hypothesis A were true.
2. Incongruity testing. This process searches for inconsistencies in the
data and inductively generates alternative explanations that attribute
the incongruities to D&D (i.e., D&D explains the incongruity of evidence for more than one reality in simultaneous existence).
These processes should be a part of any rigorous alternative hypothesis
process, developing evidence for potential D&D hypotheses while refining the
estimate of the adversaries D&D intents, plans, and capabilities. The processes
also focus attention on special collection tasking to support, refute, or refine current D&D hypotheses being entertained.

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

235

6.9 Summary
Central to the intelligence cycle, analysis-synthesis requires the integration of
human skills and automation to provide description, explanation, and prediction with explicit and quantified judgments that include alternatives, missing
evidence, and dissenting views carefully explained. The challenge of discovering
the hidden, forecasting the future, and warning of the unexpected cannot be
performed with infallibility, yet expectations remain high for the analytic community. The U.S. director of central intelligence (DCI) has described these
expectations:
What, then, if not infallibility, should our national leaders, and ultimately
the American public, expect of our analysts?
First and foremost, they should expect our analysts to deliver intelligence
that is objective, pulls no punches, and is free from political taint.
Next, they should expect that our analysts think creatively, constantly
challenging the conventional wisdom and tapping expertise wherever it
liesinside the IC or in the private sector and academia.
They should expect that our analysts always act with the highest standards of professionalism.
They should expect that they take risksanalytic risksand make the
tough calls when it would be easier to waffle.
They should expect that they respond to the Presidents and other decision makers needs on demandjuggling analytic priorities and capabilities to meet the most urgent missions.
And, finally, they should expect that our analysis not only tell policymakers about what is uppermost on their minds, but also alert them to things
that have not yet reached their in boxes [45].

The practical implementation of collaborative analysis-synthesis requires

a range of tools to coordinate the process within the larger intelligence cycle,
augment the analytic team with reasoning and sensemaking support, overcome
human cognitive shortcomings, and counter adversarial D&D. In the next
two chapters, we introduce the integration of the analysts tradecraft with KM
technologies for internalization-externalization (Chapter 7) and combination
(Chapter 8).

Endnotes
[1]

Kam, E., Surprise Attack, Boston: Harvard University Press, 1988, p. 120.

236

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

[2] Foreign Missile Threats: Analytic Soundness of Certain National Intelligence Estimates,
U.S. Government Accounting Office, B-274120, August 30, 1996, accessed on-line
in December 2001 at http://www.house.gov/hasc/openingstatementsandpressreleases/
104thcongress/gaonie.pdf.
[3] Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, Side Letter to
the Rumsfeld Commission Report, March 18, 1999. This unclassified letter was prepared
subsequent to the 1998 formal report to specifically articulate the commissions concerns
about intelligence analysis processes.
[4] A Compendium of Analytic Tradecraft Notes, Volume I (Notes 110), Washington, D.C.:
CIA, 1995. Note 3 addresses the means of articulating assumptions, note 4 addresses the
methods to articulate alternative outcomes (hypotheses), and note 5 addresses the methods
to depict facts and sourcing in intelligence judgments.
[5] McCarthy, M., The Mission to Warn: Disaster Looms, Defense Intelligence Journal,
Vol.7, No.2, 1998, p. 21.
[6] Note that the figure includes six steps at the top while the intelligence cycle introduced in
Chapter 2 has five steps. The planning and direction step has been divided into planning
and tasking in the table to facilitate discussion of the models.
[7] Wohl, J. G., Force Management Decision Requirements for Air Force Tactical Command and Control, IEEE Trans. Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Vol. SMC-11, No. 9,
September 1981, pp. 618639. For a description of the application of the SHOR model
in automated intelligence data fusion, see, Waltz, E. L., and D. M. Buede, Data Fusion
and Decision Support for Command and Control, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man,
and Cybernetics, Vol. SMC-16, No. 6 NovemberDecember 1986), pp. 865879.
[8] Boyd, J. R., The Essence of Winning and Losing, unpublished briefing, January 1996.
For an overview of command models, see Appendix: Alternative Models of Command
and Control, Command Concepts: A Theory Derived from the Practice of Command and
Control, MR-775-OSD, RAND, 1999. For commentaries on the contributions of John
Boyd, see: Hammond, G. T., The Mind of War: John Boyd and American Security, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institute Press, 2001; and Coram, R., Boyd: The Fighter Pilot
Who Changed the Art of War, Boston: Little, Brown, 2002.
[9] This model has also been called TCPED to include collection. For a discussion of the
Multi-INT TPED process, see Section 14 in The Information Edge: Imagery Intelligence
and Geospatial Information In an Evolving National Security Environment, Report of the
Independent Commission on the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, Washington,
D.C., January 9, 2001.
[10] The JDL model is described in further detail in Chapter 8.
[11] The concept and figure is adapted from Minsky, M., Common-Sense Based Interfaces,
Communications of the ACM, Vol. 43, No. 8, p. 71. Minsky first published a version of
this chart in July 1992 in Toshiba Review, Vol. 47, No. 7, accessed on-line on August 14,
1998, at http://minsky,www.media.mit.edu/people/minsky/papers/CausalDiversity/html.
[12] Figure adapted from Minsky, M. Common-Sense Based Interfaces, Communications of
the ACM, Vol. 43, No. 8. Used by permission from ACM.
[13] Weick, K., Sensemaking in Organizations, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995.

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

237

[14] Damasio, A. R., Descartes Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, New York: Putnam, 1994.
[15] Davis, J., Combating Mind-Set, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 36, No. 5, 1992, p. 33.
[16] Heuer Jr., R. J., Psychology of Intelligence Analysis, Washington D.C.: CIA Center for the
Study of Intelligence, 1999. This table summarizes the biases described in Chapters 10,
11, and 12.
[17] Gilovich, T., How We Know What Isnt So, New York: Free Press, 1991.
[18] Davis, J., Combating Mind Set, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 36, No. 5, 1992, pp. 3338.
[19] See Symposium on the Psychology of Intelligence, in Bulletin of the Center for the Study
of Intelligence, Issue 11, Summer 2000, p. 1.
[20] Heuer Jr., R. J., Psychology of Intelligence Analysis, Chapter 1, Washington D.C.: CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence, 1999.
[21] Jones, M., Thinkers Toolkit, New York: Three Rivers Press, 1995, pp. 1246.
[22] The U.S. Joint Military Intelligence College, for example, emphasizes the importance of
applying structured methodologies. See, Brei, W., Getting Intelligence Right: The Power of
Logical Procedure, Occasional Paper 2, Joint Military Intelligence College, Washington
D.C., January 1996, and Folker, R. D., Intelligence Analysis in Theater Joint Intelligence
Centers: An Experiment in Applying Structured Methods, Occasional Paper 7, Joint Military
Intelligence College, Washington D.C., January 2000.
[23] The Chances of an Imminent Communist Chinese Nuclear Explosion, Special National
Intelligence Estimate, SNIE-13-4-64, August 26, 1964, in Rufner, K. C. (ed.), Corona:
Americas First Satellite Program, Washington D.C.: CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence, 1995, p. 239.
[24] Toulmin, S. E., The Uses of Argument, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press,
1958.
[25] Schum, D. A., Evidence and Inference for the Intelligence Analyst, Vols. I and II, Lanham,
MD: University Press of America, 1987; this text was authored while Schum was a scholar
in residence at the CIA.
[26] Schum, D. A., The Evidential Foundations for Probabilistic Reasoning, Evanston IL: Northwestern University Press, 2001. The brief introduction to inferential networks in this section is based on Schums exhaustive treatment, but does not approach the many critical
nuances of the theory developed by Schum. The reader is encouraged to turn to Schums
works for the details necessary to implement inferential nets.
[27] See, for example: Waltz, E., and J. Llinas, Multisensor Data Fusion, Norwood MA: Artech,
1990; Hall, D. L., Mathematical Techniques in Multisensor Data Fusion, Artech House:
Boston, 1992; Antony, R., Principles of Data Fusion Automation, Boston: Artech House,
1995; Pearl, J., CAUSALITY: Models, Reasoning, and Inference, Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press, 2000; Hall, D. L. and J. Llinas (eds.), Handbook of Multisensor Data Fusion, Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2001.
[28] Heuer, R. J., Jr., Psychology of Intelligence Analysis, Chapter 4, Strategies for Analytic
Judgment, Washington D.C.: CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence, 1999.

238

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

[29] See Anderson, T., and William T., Analysis of Evidence: How to Do Things with Facts Based
on Wigmores Science of Judicial Proof, Evanson, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1998.
Wigmores original presentation was in: Wigmore, J.H., The Science of Judicial Proof, Boston: Little Brown, 1937.
[30] This process is adapted from the eight-step process in Heuer, R. J., Jr., Psychology of Intelligence Analysis, Chapter 8: Analysis of Competing Hypotheses. See also Sawka, K.,
Competing Hypothesis Analysis, Competitive Intelligence, Vol. 2, No. 3, JulySept.
1999, pp. 3738.
[31] Daniel, D. C., and K. L. Herbig, Propositions on Military Deception, in Strategic Military Deception, Daniel, Donald, C., and Herbig, K. L., (eds.), New York: Pergamon, 1982,
p. 5.
[32] For a discussion of new D&D challenges, see Wirtz, J. J., and R. Godson, Strategic Denial
and Deception: The 21st Century Challenge, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers,
2002.
[33] Agent-of-influence operations carry out the subornation (knowing or unwitting) of a person who will use their position, influence, power, or credibility to promote the objectives
of a foreign power.
[34] Schultz, R. H., and R. Goodson, Dezinformatsia: Active Measures in Soviet Strategy, Washington D.C.: Pergamon-Brasseys, 1984, p.16; see also Bittman, Ladislav, The KGB and
Soviet Disinformation, Washington D.C.: Pergamon-Brasseys, 1985.
[35] See Herbig, D., D., and K. Herbig, Strategic Military Deception, New York: Pergamon
Press, 1982; Wohlstetter, R., Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision, Palo Alto, CA: Stanford
University Press, 1962; and Hesketh, R. (with foreword by Nigel West), Fortitude: The
D-Day Deception Campaign, London: St Ermins Press, 1999.
[36] Jervis, R., Perception and Misperception in International Politics, Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1976.
[37] Quotation by Adm. Jeremiah in news conference on recommendations from the Study of
U.S. Intelligence Community Performance in Detecting Indian Nuclear Testing, June 2,
1998, released CIA Public Affairs Staff on June 4, 1998.
[38] May, E. R., Capabilities and Proclivities, in Knowing Ones Enemies: Intelligence Assessment before the Two World Wars, May, Ernest R. (ed.), Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press) 1984, pp. 537538.
[39] Heuer, R., Cognitive Factors on Deception and Counterdeception, in Strategic Military
Deception, Daniel, Donald C., and Katherine L. Herbig (eds.), New York: Pergamon,
1982, p. 61. A prevision version of the chapter was published as Strategic Deception and
Counterdeception, International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 2, June 1981,
pp. 294327.
[40] Waltz, E., Employing Data Fusion Tools within Intelligence Community Analysis, in
Proc. of National Symp. on Sensor and Data Fusion, August 2002.
[41] Whaley, B., Strategem: Deception and Surprise in War, unpublished monograph, MIT,
1969.

The Practice of Intelligence Analysis and Synthesis

239

[42] Whaley, B., Strategem: Deception and Surprise in War, unpublished monograph, MIT,
1969, p. 147.
[43] Handel, M., I., Intelligence and Deception, in Gooch, J., and A. Perlmutter, Military
Deception and Strategic Surprise, London: Frank Cass, 1982, p. 144.
[44] Harris, W. R., On Countering Strategic Deception, R-1230-ARPA, November 1973,
pp. 3350.
[45] Remarks of DCI George J. Tenet, Opening Remarks, The Conference on CIAs Analysis of the Soviet Union, 19471991, Princeton University, March 8, 2001, accessed
on-line on August 21, 2001, at http://www.odci.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/
dci_speech_03082001.html.

7
Knowledge Internalization and
Externalization
The process of conducting knowledge transactions between humans and computing machines occurs at the intersection between tacit and explicit knowledge,
between human reasoning and sensemaking, and the explicit computation of
automation. The processes of externalization (tacit-to-explicit transactions) and
internalization (explicit-to-tacit transactions) of knowledge, however, are not
just interfaces between humans and machines; more properly, the intersection is
between human thought, symbolic representations of thought, and the observed
world. When an analyst writes, sketches, types on a keyboard, or explains some
experience or conceptual mental model in the symbols of language, externalization is taking place. When collected sensor data, message traffic, a foreign television interview, or a computer visualization of multidimensional data is viewed
and mentally absorbed by an analyst, internalization is taking place. Both
processes conduct a transaction of information between the human mind (and
emotion) and another explicit symbolic abstraction that represents the real
world. In this chapter, we examine externalization and internalization in the
intelligence workflow and the tools that support the processes.

7.1 Externalization and Internalization in the Intelligence Workflow

The knowledge-creating spiral described in Chapter 3 introduced the four phases
of knowledge creation. In Chapter 4, we described the role of collaborative services to enable the socialization phase, where analysts socialize to exchange tacit
knowledge. The externalization, combination, and internalization activities of
241

242

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

the spiral deal with analyst interaction with explicit information; each activity has
interactions between the analyst and supporting cognitive services (or tools)
unique to each phase. The workflow in these three phases of the spiral includes
distinguishable tacit activities in the analysts mind and complementary tools or
services to support those activities (Figure 7.1).
Externalization

Following social interactions with collaborating analysts, an analyst begins to

explicitly frame the problem. The process includes the decomposition of the
intelligence problem into component parts (as described in Section 2.2) and
explicit articulation of essential elements of information required to solve the
problem. The tacit-to-explicit transfer includes the explicit listing of these essential elements of information needed, candidate sources of data, the creation of
searches for relevant SMEs, and the initiation of queries for relevant knowledge
within current holdings and collected all-source data. The primary tools to
interact with all-source holdings are query and retrieval tools that search and
retrieve information for assessment of relevance by the analyst. The analyst
also uses organizing tools to link relevant data (evidence) to the corresponding
information requirements that they address. This process externalizes the
Spiral model flow
knowledge creation
From
Externalize
socialization Frame the problem; identify
knowledge sources
Define explicit query,
EE
question and search terms
Collect explicit knowledge
Organize and Index

CC

Analysts thinking activities

(Tacit knowledge)
Needs, Issues

To socialization

Query

Explicitly describe
problem; collect
explicit data

Combine
Refine
Correlate and combine data
Set automated reasoning Organize, correlate,
parameters
combine, detect,
View correlated data
discover explicit
Induce new patterns;
data
deduce known patterns
Internalize
Refine
Create possible meanings
Create and decide
Synthesize hypotheses
between
immerse in explicit models
explanations
of the
and simulations
data
Explore implications
Commit to analytic judgments

Automated tool support

(Explicit knowledge)
Raw data

Retrieve

All-source
data

Set up
View
Focus
Create
Explore
Decide

Analytic
judgments

Figure 7.1 Analyst-computing services workflow interactions.

Interactive
analytic
tools

Auto data
fusion
and
mining

Hypothesis
model-sim
Decision
models

Publish results

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

243

decomposed problem, collection requirements, and organized evidence, but the

analysts emerging (tacit) mental models of explanations are not yet externalized.
Combination

This explicit-explicit transfer process correlates and combines the collected data
in two ways:
1. Interactive analytic tools. The analyst uses a wide variety of analytic
tools (discussed further in this chapter) to compare and combine data
elements to identify relationships and marshal evidence against
hypotheses.
2. Automated data fusion and mining services. Automated data combination services (discussed further in Chapter 8) also process highvolume data to bring detections of known patterns and discoveries of
interesting patterns to the attention of the analyst.
While the analyst is using these interactive tools and automated services to
combine explicit data, the analyst also observes the results and continues to create and modify emerging tacit mental models that explain and represent meaning contained in the data.
Internalization

The analyst integrates the results of combination in two domains: external

hypotheses (explicit models and simulations) and decision models (like the alternative competing hypothesis decision model introduced in the last chapter) are
formed to explicitly structure the rationale between hypotheses, and internally,
the analyst develops tacit experience with the structured evidence, hypotheses,
and decision alternatives. Internalization refines the mental models and their
explicit counterparts that can be shared with other analysts (for further collaborative socialization) and with consumers. In this explicit-to-tacit transfer phase,
the analyst begins to develop confidence and form judgments about the meaning of the evidence; the internalization phase involves subjective sensemaking as
well as the more objective cognitive reasoning about the hypotheses.
Studies of the intelligence workflow have identified the discrete tasks and
associated cognitive processes to enhance analyst training and use of supporting
tools [1]. This workflow describes the operational architecture of an intelligence
enterprise; the structure of logical and physical components to implement the
workflow is the system architecture. A typical intelligence enterprise system
architecture, organized in three distinct tiers, is illustrated in Figure 7.2. Services
in the data tier capture incoming data from processing pipelines (e.g., imagery

244

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Intelligence services tier

Data tier

All
sources

Capture,
filter
services

Operational
processing
services

Operational
data stores

Tailored point,
narrow-and
broadcast
distribution
Portal

Index, query,
and retrieval

Data
warehouse
Extract,
transform
and load

Digital
production and
distribution

User tier

Cognitive
(analytic)
services

and
Data
mart of
specialized
databases

Collaboration
services

Workflow management services

Figure 7.2 N-tier system architecture.

and signals producers), reporting sources (news services, intelligence reporting

sources), and open Internet sources being monitored. Content appropriate for
immediate processing and production, such as news alerts, indications, and
warning events, and critical change data are routed to the operational storage for
immediate processing. All data are indexed, transformed, and loaded into the
long-term data warehouse or into specialized data stores (e.g., imagery, video, or
technical databases). The intelligence services tier includes six basic service
categories:
1. Operational processing. Information filtered for near-real-time criticality are processed to extract and tag content, correlate and combine
with related content, and provide updates to operational watch officers. This path applies the automated processes of data fusion and data
mining to provide near-real-time indicators, tracks, metrics, and situation summaries.
2. Indexing, query, and retrieval. Analysts use these services to access the
cumulating holdings by both automated subscriptions for topics of
interest to be pushed to the user upon receipt and interactive query
and retrieval of holdings.

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

245

3. Cognitive (analytic) services. The analysis-synthesis and decisionmaking processes described in Chapters 5 and 6 are supported by cognitive services (thinking-support tools).
4. Collaboration services. These services, described in Chapter 4, allow
synchronous and asynchronous collaboration between analytic team
members.
5. Digital production services. Analyst-generated and automatically created
dynamic products are produced and distributed to consumers based
on their specified preferences.
6. Workflow management. The workflow is managed across all tiers to
monitor the flow from data to product, to monitor resource utilization, to assess satisfaction of current priority intelligence requirements, and to manage collaborating workgroups.
Subsequent sections in this chapter describe the search and retrieval tools
that are key to the externalization process (Section 7.2), as well as the analytic
services that support interactive combination, hypothesis modeling, and decision making used in the internalization process (Section 7.3). Digital production processes are described in Section 7.4. The means of tacit-explicit
interaction between the human and analyst and these services is described in
Section 7.5.

7.2 Storage, Query, and Retrieval Services

At the center of the enterprise is the knowledge base, which stores explicit
knowledge and provides the means to access that knowledge to create new
knowledge. Before describing the means of query and retrieval, it is important to
briefly distinguish the alternative database structures that make up the knowledge base.
7.2.1

Data Storage

Intelligence organizations receive a continuous stream of data from their own

tasked technical sensors and human sources, as well as from tasked collections of
data from open sources. One example might be Web spiders that are tasked to
monitor Internet sites for new content (e.g., foreign news services), then to collect, analyze, and index the data for storage. The storage issues posed by the continual collection of high-volume data are numerous:
Diversity. All-source intelligence systems require large numbers of inde-

pendent data stores for imagery, text, video, geospatial, and special

246

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

technical data types. These data types are served by an equally high
number of specialized applications (e.g., image and geospatial analysis
and signal analysis).
Legacy. Storage system designers are confronted with the integration of
existing (legacy) and new storage systems; this requires the integration
of diverse logical and physical data types.
Federated retrieval and analysis. The analyst needs retrieval, application,
and analysis capabilities that span across the entire storage system.
These storage and application integration challenges are faced by most
business enterprises and require storage structure and application integration
trade-offs that influence performance, scalability, and system cost.
Storage structure alternatives. Heterogeneous, or data-oriented, data-

bases maintain independent, physically and logically separate databases

for each unique data type; these generally collect raw intelligence data
for initial processing. Data marts are information-oriented stores of
processed information; they are application-specific, tailored to specific
intelligence analysis domain needs (e.g., target development). Data
marts are not easily scaled in breadth or expanded to other applications,
and they may be a subset of a larger data warehouse. Large-scale data
warehouses serve the strategic intelligence enterprisewide applications;
they are centralized, shared (application independent), and scalable.
Large intelligence enterprises employ all three categories of storage
structures: Heterogeneous databases maintain all raw data sources for a
short period for initial processing and analysis, selected data sets are
transformed and loaded to data marts in a common format for midterm
all-source analysis, and data warehouses retain long-term archives of
high-value, high-quality data and finished intelligence products.
Application integration alternatives. Three alternatives are considered to
integrate the many analytic applications across heterogeneous data
stores (Figure 7.3). Integration at the data level, or data federation,
maintains independent data stores (e.g., IMINT and SIGINT) and specialized processing applications for each, but adds a data-level federation application to allow searches and analysis across the data sets (e.g.,
association of objects in imagery databases and emitter locations within
signal databases). When the number of heterogeneous data stores grows
large, an intermediate store (data mart or large data warehouse) can be
created to maintain only the data necessary for federated processing.
Data from the heterogeneous stores are extracted, transformed to a
common format, and loaded onto the data mart or warehouse for

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

Data
federation

Structure

Data fed

Approach

Data
marts and
warehouses

Characteristics
Maintains local
control, providing
global viewing
Integrates many
independent
systems
Extracttransform-load
to warehouse
Historical archival
analysis

Middleware
applications

Enterprise
application
integration

247

Synchronized
updates
Unified view from
multiple system
reads
Not very scalable

Figure 7.3 Alternative enterprise integration system architectures.

long-term archived analysis across all sources. Integration at the application level, or enterprise application integration (EAI), adds a layer of
custom middleware that translates, synchronizes, and updates data
from all heterogeneous stores across a layer of common applications.
7.2.2

Information Retrieval

Information retrieval (IR) is formally defined as ... [the] actions, methods

and procedures for recovering stored data to provide information on a given
subject [2]. Two approaches to query and retrieve stored data or text are
required in most intelligence applications:
1. Data query and retrieval is performed on structured data stored in relational database applications. Imagery, signals, and MASINT data are
generally structured and stored in structured formats that employ
structured query language (SQL) and SQL extensions for a wide variety of databases (e.g., Access, IBM DB2 and Informix, Microsoft SQL
Server, Oracle, and Sybase). SQL allows the user to retrieve data by
context (e.g., by location in data tables, such as date of occurrence) or
by content (e.g., retrieve all record with a defined set of values).

248

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

2. Text query and retrieval is performed on both structured and unstructured text in multiple languages by a variety of natural language
search engines to locate text containing specific words, phrases, or
general concepts within a specified context.
Data query methods are employed within the technical data processing
pipelines (IMINT, SIGINT, and MASINT). The results of these analyses are
then described by analysts in structured or unstructured text in an analytic database for subsequent retrieval by text query methods. In this section, we briefly
introduce the IR query and retrieval (or question and answer) approaches that
deal with structured and unstructured text. Moldovan and Harabagiu have
defined a five-level taxonomy of Q&A systems (Table 7.1) that range from the
common keyword search engine that searches for relevant content (class 1) to
reasoning systems that solve complex natural language problems (class 5) [3].
Each level requires increasing scope of knowledge, depth of linguistic understanding, and sophistication of reasoning to translate relevant knowledge to an
answer or solution.
The first two levels of current search capabilities locate and return relevant
content based on keywords (content) or the relationships between clusters of
words in the text (concept). The performance of such retrieval is measured in
terms of precision (the ratio of relevant content retrieved to the total content
retrieved) and recall (the ratio of relevant content retrieved to the total relevant
content available). These IR search engines offer the use of Boolean expressions,
proximity searches to reduce the specificity around a word or concept, and
weighted searching to specify different weights on individual search terms. The
retrieved corpus may be analyzed to present the user with a taxonomy of the
retrieved content to aid the user to select the most relevant content. While class
1 capabilities only match and return content that matches the query, class 2
capabilities integrate the relevant data into a simple response to the question.
Class 3 capabilities require the retrieval of relevant knowledge and reasoning about that knowledge to deduce answers to queries, even when the specific
answer is not explicitly stated in the knowledge base. This capability requires the
ability to both reason from general knowledge to specific answers and provide
rationale for those answers to the user.
Class 4 and 5 capabilities represent advanced capabilities, which require
robust knowledge bases that contain sophisticated knowledge representation
(assertions and axioms) and reasoning (mathematical calculation, logical inference, and temporal reasoning). The DARPA High-Performance Knowledge Base
and Rapid Knowledge Formation research programs and the Cycorp CYC
knowledge base and inference engine target these classes of Q&A performance.
These problem-solving classes perform knowledge retrieval, rather than IR.

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

249

Table 7.1
A Taxonomy of Query and Retrieval Capabilities
Q&A Class

Level of Processing

1. Dictionary search and

find

Simple, heuristic pattern matching Q: What forces are in Kirabiu?

from query to relevant content
A: and the Kirabu Peninsula has
Simple semantic expansion to
mechanized brigades stationed
locate related keywords (nouns)

2. Ontology-based
conceptual search

Use of ontology to reason about

semantic relationships, actions
(verbs) that makeup context
Reasoning across multiple
matching sets of content to
integrate response

3. Advanced natural
language reasoning

Advanced natural language

understanding
Reasoning across multiple sets
of facts to create new knowledge
using deductive logic with
uncertainty management

4. Domain-specific
high performance

Very large domain-specific

(narrow) knowledge base with
axiomatic knowledge

Example Query and Answer

Q: How did the Kirabu brigade

establish air defenses?
A: Kirabu brigades used SA-6 units in
1995; Kirabu brigades trained with
Condo radars in Brigauton in 1996;
Kirabu terrain has three likely
surveillance radar locations
Q: Do SA-6 batteries defend Kirabu?
A: No batteries are observed; condo
radars emit from Kirabu; only SA-6
batteries employ condo; it is likely
that Kirabu has camouflaged SA-6
batteries
Q: What is the likely course of action
for the Kirabu forces?

A: Three COAs are ; current

Deductive and inductive reasoning weather conditions dictate that the
likely COA is because
5. General problem solver Very large, yet broad knowledge
base with axiomatic knowledge
across multiple domains

Q: What should the Kandugan regime

do to remain stable and economically
viable if its neighbors annex the
Kirabu Peninsula before winter?

Integrated deductive-inductive
reasoning and the ability to model A: The solution is to
or simulate situations

7.3 Cognitive (Analytic Tool) Services

Cognitive services support the analyst in the process of interactively analyzing
data, synthesizing hypotheses, and making decisions (choosing among alternatives). These interactive services support the analysis-synthesis activities
described in Chapters 5 and 6. Alternatively called thinking tools, analytics,
knowledge discovery, or analytic tools, these services enable the human to transform and view data, create and model hypotheses, and compare alternative
hypotheses and consequences of decisions. The U.S. IC Strategic Investment
Plan for Analysis has noted the importance of such services:

250

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

The development of analytic and data integration tools will be one of the
most important and expensive areas for the analytic production community. Without such tools, the shrinking analytic workforce will have no
hope of managing the flood of new intelligence information or shifting
smoothly from one crisis or issue area to another. To achieve progress, we
must develop: 1) An automated analytic workflow process relying on
advanced analytic tools, such as visualization, search, processing, KM and
dynamic updating, 2) New tools that reveal connections, facilitate analytic
insights and deductions and streamline search by prioritizing information,
automatically populating databases, and integrating data [4].

With similar emphasis, businesses have invested in OLAP tools to analyze

numerical data, text retrieval tools for market and competitive analysis, and
decision-support tools for management policymaking. Fuld and Company has
published a survey of the growing line of commercial software tools suitable for
competitive intelligence analysis [5].
A basic taxonomy of these interactive analytic tools (Table 7.2) organizes
the tools into four basic categories by their use in the workflow.
Exploration tools allow the analyst to interact with raw or processed multimedia (text, numerical data, imagery, video, or audio) to locate and organize
content relevant to an intelligence problem. These tools provide the ability to
search and navigate large volumes of source data; they also provide automated
taxonomies of clustered data and summaries of individual documents. The
information retrieval functions described in the last subsection are within this
category. The product of exploration is generally a relevant set of data/text
organized and metadata tagged for subsequent analysis. The analyst may drill
down to detail from the lists and summaries to view the full content of all items
identified as relevant.
Reasoning tools support the analyst in the process of correlating, comparing, and combining data across all of the relevant sources. These tools support a
wide variety of specific intelligence target analyses:
Temporal analysis. This is the creation of timelines of events, dynamic

relationships, event sequences, and temporal transactions (e.g., electronic, financial, or communication).
Link analysis. This involves automated exploration of relationships

among large numbers of different types of objects (entities and events).

Spatial analysis. This is the registration and layering of 3D data sets and

creation of 3D static and dynamic models from all-source evidence.

These capabilities are often met by commercial geospatial information
system and computer-aided design (CAD) software.

251

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

Table 7.2
A Basic Cognitive Service Taxonomy

1. Exploration

2. Reasoning

3. Sensemaking

4. Decision,
Judgment

Search, navigate,
organize, query, and
explore (browse) data

Query for knowledge,

create and structure
hypothesis arguments;
test hypotheses against
data

Explore, evaluate, and

compare alternative
hypotheses; assign
meaning

Evaluate COAs and consequences of decisions;

weigh decision
alternatives

Objects: data/text;
massive volume > 1010

Objects: information; in- Objects: hypotheses; ~

formation volume > 10 5 10 hypotheses

Objects: decisions; ~ 4
decision alternatives

Tools:

Tools:

Tools:

Decision support tools:

IR
Ontology creation

Data/text mining
(pattern discovery)

Extraction (content,
concepts, and
relationships)

Data/text fusion
(pattern detection and
content tracking)

Modeling and
simulation for
immersion and
exploration

Modeling and
simulation for COA and
consequence
comparison
Risk analysis

Conversion (content
translation)

Change detection

Trend and forecast

analysis

Data/text clustering

Problem-solving
knowledge retrieval

Structured
argumentation

Alternative decision
comparison

Summarize, abstract,
and categorize

Link analysis

Temporal-spatial
Filter, monitor database mapping and analysis
or Web site changes
Visualize and interact
with highdimensionality data

Visualize and interact

with organized
information

Utility analysis

Alternative hypothesis
comparison
Creativity support
Visualize and interact
with arguments

Visualize and interact

with decisions

Functional analysis. This is the analysis of processes and expected

observables (e.g., manufacturing, business, and military operations,

social networks and organizational analysis, and traffic analysis).
While dealing with large data volumes, the tools in this category are interactive (in contrast with the fully automated processes described in the next chapter), allowing the analyst to manipulate data, processed results, and views of
detected and discovered relationships in the data. These tools aid the analyst in
five key analytic tasks:
1. Correlation: detection and structuring of relationships or linkages
between different entities or events in time, space, function, or

252

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

2.

3.
4.

5.

interaction; association of different reports or content related to a

common entity or event;
Combination: logical, functional, or mathematical joining of related
evidence to synthesize a structured argument, process, or quantitative
estimate;
Anomaly detection: detection of differences between expected (or modeled) characteristics of a target;
Change detection: detection of changes in a target over timethe
changes may include spectral, spatial, or other phenomenological
changes;
Construction: synthesis of a model or simulation of entities or events
and their interactions based upon evidence and conjecture.

Sensemaking tools support the exploration, evaluation, and refinement of

alternative hypotheses and explanations of the data. Argumentation structuring,
modeling, and simulation tools in this category allow analysts to be immersed in
their hypotheses and share explicit representations with other collaborators.
This immersion process allows the analytic team to create shared meaning as
they experience the alternative explanations. These tools and those that enhance
creative thought, explore trends, and compare alternative hypotheses all support
inductive thinking to discover subtle patterns and generalizations. They also
support conjecture that leads to retroductive analysis (returning to the data to
affirm or falsify conjectures).
Decision support (judgment) tools assist analytic decision making by explicitly estimating and comparing the consequences and relative merits of alternative decisions. These tools include models and simulations that permit the
analyst to create and evaluate alternative COAs and weigh the decision alternatives against objective decision criteria. Decision support systems (DSSs) apply
the principles of probability to express uncertainty and decision theory to create
and assess attributes of decision alternatives and quantify the relative utility of
alternatives. Normative, or decision-analytic DSSs, aid the analyst in structuring
the decision problem and in computing the many factors that lead from alternatives to quantifiable attributes and resulting utilities [6]. These tools often relate
attributes to utility by influence diagrams and compute utilities (and associated
uncertainties) using Bayes networks [7].
The tools progressively move from data as the object of analysis (for exploration) to clusters of related information, to hypotheses, and finally on to decisions, or analytic judgments. Notice also that these tool categories move from
high-volume, high-breadth tasks (exploration tools deal with massive volumes
of raw data) to lower volume task dealing with great analytic depth (decision
support tools). In addition to these analytic tools, intelligence workflow

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

253

management software can provide a means to organize the process by providing

the following functions:
Requirements and progress tracking: maintains list of current intelligence

requirements, monitors tasking to meet the requirements, links evidence and hypotheses to those requirements, tracks progress toward
meeting requirements, and audits results;
Relevant data linking: maintains ontology of subjects relevant to the

intelligence requirements and their relationships and maintains a database of all relevant data (evidence);
Collaboration directory: automatically locates and updates a directory of

relevant subject matter experts as the problem topic develops.

We can illustrate one practical intelligence process spiral in a representative counter-drug analysis (though many spirals are generally involved) and the
use of tools organized around a common knowledge base that accumulates the
evidence and hypotheses about the problem at hand (Figure 7.4; compare this to
Figure 7.1). The knowledge base also provides the current knowledge that may
be digitally published to update consumers on progress in the analysis. In this
example, an intelligence consumer has requested specific intelligence on a drug
cartel named Zehga to support counter-drug activities in a foreign country.
The sequence of one analysts use of tools in the example include:
1. The process begins with synchronous collaboration with other analysts
to discuss the intelligence target (Zehga) and the intelligence requirements to understand the cartel organization structure, operations, and
finances. The analyst creates a peer-to-peer collaborative workspace
that contains requirements, essential elements of information (EEIs)
needed, current intelligence, and a directory of team members before
inviting additional counter-drug subject matter experts to the shared
space.
2. The analyst opens a workflow management tool to record requirements, key concepts and keywords, and team members; the analyst
will link results to the tool to track progress in delivering finished intelligence. The tool is also used to request special tasking from technical
collectors (e.g., wiretaps) and field offices.
3. Once the problem has been externalized in terms of requirements and
EEIs needed, the sources and databases to be searched are selected
(e.g., country cables, COMINT, and foreign news feeds and archives).
Key concepts and keywords are entered into IR tools; these tools

254

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

(2)
Workflow
management
(1)
Collaboration
workspace
Socialize
(11)
Digital
production

Heterogeneous
data stores and
sources
EEIs

(3)
Information Search
(4)
retrieval
criteria Taxonomy
summarize
translate
Externalize
(5)
View
drill-down

Kbase
(10)
Decision
support
(9)
ACH
matrix

Internalize

(8)
Financial
model

Combine

(6)
Text
mining

(7)
Link
analysis

Figure 7.4 Example use of tools in a single spiral.

search current holdings and external sources, retrieving relevant multimedia content. The analyst also sets up monitor parameters to continually check certain sources (e.g., field office cables and foreign news
sites) for changes or detections of relevant topics; when detected, the
analyst will be alerted to the availability of new information.
4. The IR tools also create a taxonomy of the collected data sets, structuring the catch into five major categories: Zehga organization (personnel), events, finances, locations, and activities. The taxonomy breaks
each category into subcategories of clusters of related content. Documents located in open-source foreign news reports are translated into
English, and all documents are summarized into 55-word abstracts.
5. The analyst views the taxonomy and drills down to summaries, then
views the full content of the most critical items to the investigation.

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

255

Selected items (or hyperlinks) are saved to the shared knowledge base
for a local repository relevant to the investigation.
6. The retrieved catch is analyzed with text mining tools that discover
and list the multidimensional associations (linkages or relationships)
between entities (people, phone numbers, bank account numbers, and
addresses) and events (meetings, deliveries, and crimes).
7. The linked lists are displayed on a link-analysis tool to allow the analyst to manipulate and view the complex web of relationships between
people, communications, finances, and the time sequence of activities.
From these network visuals, the analyst begins discovering the Zehga
organizational structure, relationships to other drug cartels and financial institutions, and the timeline of explosive growth of the cartels
influence.
8. The analyst internalizes these discoveries by synthesizing a Zehga
organization structure and associated financial model, filling in the
gaps with conjectures that result in three competing hypotheses: a centralized model, a federated model, and a loose network model. These
models are created using a standard financial spreadsheet and a network relationship visualization tool. The process of creating these
hypotheses causes the analyst to frequently return to the knowledge
base to review retrieved data, to issue refined queries to fill in the gaps,
and to further review the results of link analyses. The model synthesis
process causes the analyst to internalize impressions of confidence,
uncertainty, and ambiguity in the evidence, and the implications of
potential missing or negative evidence. Here, the analyst ponders the
potential for denial and deception tactics and the expected subtle
sprignals that might appear in the data.
9. An ACH matrix is created to compare the accrued evidence and argumentation structures supporting each of the competing models. At any
time, this matrix and the associated organizational-financial models
summarize the status of the intelligence process; these may be posted
on the collaboration space and used to identify progress on the workflow management tool.
10. The analyst further internalizes the situation by applying a decision support tool to consider the consequences or implications of each model on
counter-drug policy courses of action relative to the Zehga cartel.
11. Once the analyst has reached a level of confidence to make objective
analytic judgments about hypotheses, results can be digitally published to the requesting consumers and to the collaborative workgroup

256

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

to begin socializationand another cycle to further refine the results.

(The next section describes the digital publication process.)
A wide variety of commercial off the shelf (COTS) and governmentdeveloped (GOTS) tools are being applied to intelligence analysis; the tools are
often viewed as components of a tool suite, although interoperability among
tools remains an integration challenge for enterprise designers. Tool suites such
as the National Ground Intelligence Centers Pathfinder and AFRL WebTas
integrate a variety of tools around a common database and exchange protocol
[8]. The Defense Intelligence Agencys Joint Intelligence Virtual Architecture is
integrating a wide variety of multimedia, multilingual, and multiparty (collaborative) tools for its analytic workforce [9]. Commercial tool suites such as Wincites eWincite, Wisdom Builders Wisdombuilder, and Ciphers Knowledge.
Works similarly integrate text-based tools to support the competitive intelligence analysis. Table 7.3 summarizes the wide range of representative tool capabilities in the four categories and provides examples of existing GOTS and
COTS tools. The list does not include IMINT imagery analysis tools, nor does
it include special SIGINT and MASINT tools dedicated to technical analysis.
It is important to recognize that all of these analytic services must be capable of shared applications if they are to be effectively used for collaborative
analysis. The collaborative-analysis process requires that all team members have
access to retrieved data, emerging hypotheses, and decision analysis. The simple
structure of two collaborating analysts (Figure 7.5) illustrates the function of
collaborative tools to synchronize the socialization of two knowledge creation
spirals and the collaborative contribution of access to common tools and a
shared knowledge base. Tacit capture and collaborative filtering monitors the
activities of all users on the network and uses statistical clustering methods to
identify the emergent clusters of interest that indicate communities of common
practice. Such filtering could identify and alert these two analysts to other analysts that are converging on a common suspect from other directions (e.g.,
money laundering and drug trafficking).

7.4 Intelligence Production, Dissemination, and Portals

The externalization-to-internalization workflow results in the production of
digital intelligence content suitable for socialization (collaboration) across users
and consumers. This production and dissemination of intelligence from KM
enterprises has transitioned from static, hardcopy reports to dynamically linked
digital softcopy products presented on portals. Publication has moved from
point-in-time delivery (the day the report is printed on paper) to continuous
delivery on a dynamic portal that is continually updated with recent intelligence

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

257

Table 7.3
Analytic Tools Summary

Category

Tool Descriptions

Exploration

Information retrieval
retrieve relevant text
(Section 7.2.2)

Representative COTS
Tools

Pathfinder Query

Brio Intelligence
Verity Inc. Verity

Ontology creation
automated taxonomy
generation for corpus of
documents; automated
metatagging

Veridian ThemeLink

Query and reportmanual

OLAP query

Business Objects
WebIntelligence

Extraction/conversion
parses text, extracts and
tags entities and events

Reasoning
support

Representative GOTS
Tools

Semio
Sequoia

MITRE Multimedia Extract LockheedMartin NLToolset

Memex Textract
MITRE Alembic
Pathfinder X-Tractor

Summarizationsummarize MITRE IntelGazette

content and context of
document

Megaputer TextAnalyst

Search, filter, and

Pathfinder DB Monitor
monitorsearch for data;
monitor sources for changes

C-4-U Scout

Data miningperform
automated
multidimensional clustering
to discover patterns and
correlated data

SPSS Clementine

Text miningperform
Pathfinder Matrix
automated linking of
conceptually and
semantically related textual
content

RetrievalWare

Data fusioncorrelate and

combine data to locate,
identify, and track

U.S. Army ASAS tools

Autometric InSight

DoD GCCS tools

SAIC KnowledgeBoard

Text fusioncorrelate and

combine text corpus to
detect and track topics

NIST topic detection

tracking tools

Commercial summarization
and tracking tools

Change detectiondetect
anomalies or temporal
changes in content

Custom tools

NextLabs TrackEngine

Cartia ThemeScape

Caesius WebQL

SAS Enterprise Miner

IBM intelligent Miner

Autonomy

258

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 7.3 (continued)

Representative GOTS
Tools

Representative COTS
Tools

Category

Tool Descriptions

Reasoning
support

Link analysisperform
Pathfinder MATRIX
automated discovery of relationships between multimedia data and text objects

i2 Analysts Notebook

Temporal mappingmap
events and entities to
chronological timelines

AFRL WebTas

i2 Analysts Notebook

Spatial mappingmap
physical objects to spatial
database; register and
overlay spatial information

MITRE GeoNODE

ESRI ArcView, ArcInfo

Pathfinder MapViewer

Lockheed Martin ATAS

Knowledge retrieval
performs automated Q&A
deduction on large-scale
knowledge base

SMU LASSO

Orion OrionMagic
WisdomBuilder

DoD Joint Mapping Toolkit Autometric EDGE

CyCorp CYC

DARPA/GMU Disciple

Sensemaking Creativity support

support
promotes inductive
discovery; enables problem
exploration

Decision
support

Visual Analytics
VisuaLinks

DiscoveryMachine
Axion Idea Processor

Static domain structure

modelingmodels
functional hypotheses

Pathfinder CAMEO

Dynamic simulation, trend

analysismodels
time-dynamic process
hypotheses; forecasts
behaviors

MITRE Social indicator

Analysis Model (SIAM)

Wincite eWincite

Custom Bayes Net Tools

Docere Market Analyzer

Structured argumentation
Veridian CIM
construct and test logical SRI SEAS
arguments

Knowledge Industries
DXpress

Modeling and
simulationapply
simulation to evaluate
alternative COAs

Miya Viz CoMotion

Military simulations:
JWARS, NETWARS

Alternative decision
Tools to display ACHs
comparisonperforms
quantitative sensitivity and
comparative analysis of risk
and utility

HPS iThink and Stella

Expert Choice
Lumina Analytica

259

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

Analyst 1

Analyst 2

Externalize Socialize
2

Combine Internalize

(2 )
Information
retrieval tools

(1)
Collaboration
tools

Tacit
capture

Socialize Externalize
1

Internalize Combine

(2 )
Information
retrieval tools

Retrieved
data

(3)
Analytic
tools

(3)
Analytic
tools

Hypotheses

(4)
Hypothesis,
decision tools

Intelligence results

(4)
Hypothesis,
decision tools

Multimedia, multilingual sources

Figure 7.5 Collaborative knowledge creation workflow.

data and judgments. This trend follows the third-wave transition (described in
Chapter 1) that moves from mass production of a standard report to all consumers, to mass customization of products; intelligence consumer portals may be
customized to tailor intelligence delivery to each individual consumers interests.
Digital production processes employ content technologies that index, structure, and integrate fragmented components of content into deliverable products. In the intelligence context, content includes:
1. Structured numerical data (imagery, relational database queries) and
text [e.g., extensible markup language (XML)-formatted documents]
as well as unstructured information (e.g., audio, video, text, and
HTML content from external sources);
2. Internally or externally created information;
3. Formally created information (e.g., cables, reports, and imagery or signals analyses) as well as informal or ad hoc information (e.g., e-mail,
and collaboration exchanges);

260

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

4. Static or active (e.g., dynamic video or even interactive applets)

content.
Production content management services (Table 7.4) organize, dynamically assemble, and distribute diverse content elements into personalized intelligence products tailored to unique consumer requirements.
The key to dynamic assembly is the creation and translation of all content
to a form that is understood by the KM system. While most intelligence data is
transactional and structured (e.g., imagery, signals, MASINT), intelligence and
open-source documents are unstructured. While the volume of open-source
content available on Internet and closed-source intelligence content grows exponentially, the content remains largely unstructured. Content technology provides the capability to transform all-sources to a common structure for dynamic
integration and personalized publication. The XML offers a method of embedding content descriptions by tagging each component with descriptive information that allows automated assembly and distribution of multimedia content
[10]. XML allows metadata (data about the data including security, creation
data, version, or type), text, imagery and graphics (format), and other content

Table 7.4
Production Content Management Service Categories
Services
Content Creation

Functions Performed
Creation and update of content taxonomies (knowledge ontologies)
Structured authoring of content per standard content descriptions
Analyst-appending metadata tags to describe external content
Automated search and retrieval of relevant external content

Content Translation

Paper and electronic document capture, extraction, and conversion

(decomposition) to content components
Multilingual translation to common-language format
Translation of technical data to tagged, structured forms

Content Integration
Personalized Portal
Services

Manual to automated integration of content components into custom,

timely products per user and group profiles
Integrated access to content tailored to user and desktop profiles
Subscription (push) servicesorganization and delivery of custom
news content per customer subscription profile
Access (pull ) serviceslibrary query and retrieval across all content;
topical indices tailored to user profile
Collaboration servicesaccess to interact with communities of
practice relevant to user and group profiles and current activity

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

261

categories to be uniquely tagged. The U.S. IC established a metadata and metadata markup working group to establish a communitywide mandated XML
model to support interoperability of intelligence content across intelligence producers and consumers [11]. Intelligence standards being developed include an
intelligence information markup language (ICML) specification for intelligence
reporting and metadata standards for security, specifying digital signatures
(XML-DSig), security/encryption (XML-Sec), key management (XML-KMS),
and information security marking (XML-ISM) [12]. Such tagging makes the
content interoperable; it can be reused and automatically integrated in numerous ways:
Numerical data may be correlated and combined.
Text may be assembled into a complete report (e.g., target abstract, tar-

getpart1, targetpart2, , related targets, most recent photo, threat

summary, assessment).
Various formats may be constructed from a single collection of contents

to suit unique consumer needs (e.g., portal target summary format, personal digital assistant format, or pilots cockpit target folder format).
In a typical intelligence application, SQL queries may be used to collect
SIGINT results from a relational database, and then a standard document type
description (DTD) is used to define the structure of an XML document.
Figure 7.6 illustrates a simple XML SIGINT content example, with tagged
data and metadata that can be read, processed, and integrated with other XML
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<!DOCTYPE siginttype096report SYSTEM "st096.dtd">
<siginttype096report>
<collect>
<collect-source>Vandal033</collect-source>
<collect-time-zulu year="2001" month="10" day="15"
hour="7" minute="44" second="12.35" />
<platform>Hawk055</platform>
<mission>Condor Talon</mission>
<metadata-text>Excellent 10.3 second capture of emitter
1045-P during data transfer</metadata-text>
<signal data parameterz1="1032.67" parameterz2="12.345"
parameterz3="10.15" parameterz4="0.00" />
<singallibrarylocation url="vandal.033.sig0234.23.2" />
<userlist>Simplex, Honcho5, Pico299, Gala</userlist>
<targetname>Quintexiplex</targetname>
<processors preproc="K25" Postproc="Vector33" />
</collect>
...
</siginttype096report>

Figure 7.6 Example structured XML SIGINT content.

262

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

content [13]. Finally, a document object model (DOM) tree can be created
from the integrated result to transform the result into a variety of formats (e.g.,
HTML or PDF) for digital publication.
The analysis and single-source publishing architecture adopted by the U.S.
Navy Command 21 K-Web (Figure 7.7) illustrates a highly automated digital
production process for intelligence and command applications [14]. The production workflow in the figure includes the processing, analysis, and dissemination steps of the intelligence cycle:
1. Content collection and creation (processing and analysis). Both quantitative technical data and unstructured text are received, and content is
extracted and tagged for subsequent processing. This process is applied
to legacy data (e.g., IMINT and SIGINT reports), structured intelligence message traffic, and unstructured sources (e.g., news reports and

(3) Product creation

(2) Content applications

Correlation agents
Consolidation agents
Summarization agents
Existing data items
Neutral content
XML
XML, ICML
tagged
DTD

Templates

New
data

(1) Content creation

Document
type
descriptions

Product
packager

XML
tagged

Tech, text data

conditioning,
metadata
creation

Data
mart

Composite
XML-tagged
products

Presentation
agents

Style library
(4) Publication-distribution
HTML, other formats

Data
sources
Existing infrastructure

Web server

Figure 7.7 A single-source intelligence publishing workflow.

Browser

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

263

intelligence e-mail). Domain experts may support the process by creating metadata in a predefined XML metadata format to append to
audio, video, or other nontext sources. Metadata includes source, pedigree, time of collection, and format information. New content created
by analysts is entered in standard XML DTD templates.
2. Content applications. XML-tagged content is entered in the data mart,
where data applications recognize, correlate, consolidate, and summarize content across the incoming components. A correlation agent
may, for example, correlate all content relative to a new event or entity
and pass the content on to a consolidation agent to index the components for subsequent integration into an event or target report. The
data (and text) fusion and mining functions described in the next
chapter are performed here.
3. Content management-product creation (production). Product templates
dictate the aggregation of content into standard intelligence products:
warnings, current intelligence, situation updates, and target status.
These composite XML-tagged products are returned to the data mart.
4. Content publication and distribution. Intelligence products are personalized in terms of both style (presentation formats) and distribution
(to users with an interest in the product). Users may explicitly define
their areas of interests, or the automated system may monitor user
activities (through queries, collaborative discussion topics, or folder
names maintained) to implicitly estimate areas of interest to create a
users personal profile. Presentation agents choose from the style
library and user profiles to create distribution lists for content to be
delivered via e-mail, pushed to users custom portals, or stored in the
data mart for subsequent retrieval. The process of content syndication
applies an information and content exchange (ICE) standard to allow
a single product to be delivered in multiple styles and to provide
automatic content update across all users.
The users single entry point is a personalized portal (or Web portal) that
provides an organized entry into the information available on the intelligence
enterprise.
The portal provides an organized single-point access to a broad array of
services (Table 7.5) that are tailored to the users personal profile [15].
The U.S. IC chief information officer (CIO) introduced a pilot project in
2000 to provide automated digital production of an Intel Gazette product that
may be personalized to individual consumers to deliver daily intelligence articles
that are categorized, clustered (by topic similarity), and summarized [16].

264

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 7.5
Intelligence Portal Service Categories

Service Category

Accessible Services

Collaboration, productivity,
production

Synchronous and asynchronous collaboration tools

Workspaces in which the user is a participant
E-mail, chat, and forums (communities of practice)
Scheduling and tasking (teams and personal agents)
Digital production tools (XML authoring tools), office tools (e.g., word
processor and spreadsheet)

Enterprise transactions

Customer (intelligence consumer) relationship management

Enterprise resource management services
Supply chain management services

Analysis-synthesis process

Information retrieval services

Cognitive services (see Table 7.3)
Decision support services

Personalized news

Current intelligence news, tailored to individual needs (by subscription),

filtered, clustered and summarized, and pushed
Advertisements (offerings) of available enterprise services

Personal knowledge base

Personal collection of raw data, linked information

Working storage; in-process intelligence products

7.5 Human-Machine Information Transactions and Interfaces

In all of the services and tools described in the previous sections, the intelligence
analyst interacts with explicitly collected data, applying his or her own tacit
knowledge about the domain of interest to create estimates, descriptions, explanations, and predictions based on collected data. This interaction between the
analyst and KM systems requires efficient interfaces to conduct the transaction
between the analyst and machine. The following subsections consider two major
forms of human-machine interaction employed in analysisvisual display of
information in the spatial domain and intellectual interaction in the symbolic
domain between analysts and their intelligent agents.
7.5.1

Information Visualization

Edward Tufte introduced his widely read text Envisioning Information with the
prescient observation that, Even though we navigate daily through a perceptual
world of three dimensions and reason occasionally about higher dimensional
arena with mathematical ease, the world portrayed on our information displays

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

265

is caught up in the two-dimensionality of the flatlands of paper and video

screen [17]. Indeed, intelligence organizations are continually seeking technologies that will allow analysts to escape from this flatland. The U.S. IC conducted a broad study of information visualization technologies that offer an
enhanced method of analysis that enables discovery, understanding and presentation of situation assessment through the effective use of computer graphics
and the interactive interface between analysts and their information sources
[18]. The study noted emerging research that has recognized visual perception
as a thinking process that is not independent from, but integrated with, cognition. The essence of visualization is to provide multidimensional information to
the analyst in a form that allows immediate understanding by this visual form of
thinking [19].
A wide range of visualization methods are employed in analysis (Table 7.6)
to allow the user to:
Perceive patterns and rapidly grasp the essence of large complex (multi-

dimensional) information spaces, then navigate or rapidly browse

through the space to explore its structure and contents;
Manipulate the information and visual dimensions to identify clusters

of associated data, patterns of linkages and relationships, trends (temporal behavior), and outlying data;
Combine the information by registering, mathematically or logically

jointing (fusing), or overlaying.

The information in these visual spaces may include representations of the
content text documents, technical data, imagery, video, or other forms. Often,
the visualization process transforms high-dimensional information into a synthetic three-dimensional representation that allows the analyst to view an abstraction as if it were a physical artifact. The SPIRE and Themescape tools, for
example, map the topical contents of a large corpus of text into a virtual 3D contour map; the map identifies the major topics within the corpus and their relationships. Major topics are displayed as mountains whose heights are determined
by the amount of content; the relative distance between peaks is determined by
the association between information sources contributing to the peaks [20].
7.5.2

Analyst-Agent Interaction

Intelligent software agents tailored to support knowledge workers are being

developed to provide autonomous automated support in the information
retrieval and exploration tasks introduced throughout this chapter. These collaborative information agents, operating in multiagent networks, provide the

266

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 7.6
Information Visualization Applications

Visualization
Methods
Text visualization

Statistical data
visualization
Imagery and video
visualization

Functions

Example Intelligence
Applications

View large corpus of documents to

identify and track topics, authors,
and sources

Review and track topics in and

across multiple news feeds

Graphical display of statistical

metrics derived from
high-dimensional data

Visualize multidimensional SIGINT

and MASINT data sets

Roam, zoom, and enhance image

data; register and overlay imagery
to maps

Imagery analysis for functional

assessment, targeting, battle
damage assessment

Locate topic, author, and

relationships within scientific
literature

Computer network analysis

Geospatial information Create registered and layered

Mapping of intelligence area of
visualization
geospatial (map) data sets of terrain, interest; overlay locations of sites,
features, and annotation
lines of communication, locations of
events, and hypothesized routes
Synthetic modeling
and simulation

Virtual reality

Create synthetic models of

intelligence targets: organizations,
information flows, doctrinal
processes, and facilities

Link analysis diagrams of network

communications; social network
diagrams of organizations

Immerse the analyst in a 3D virtual

world of physical places and abstract
information spaces that include
motion and animation

High volume multidimensional data

immersion

Manufacturing or military process

simulations

Virtual target world simulation for

analysis or training

potential to amplify the analysts exploration of large bodies of data, as they

search, organize, structure, and reason about findings before reporting results
[21]. Information agents are being developed to perform a wide variety of functions, as an autonomous collaborating community under the direction of a
human analyst, including:
Personal information agents (PIMs) coordinate an analysts searches and

organize bookmarks to relevant information; like a team of librarians,

the PIMs collect, filter, and recommend relevant materials for the
analyst [22].
Brokering agents mediate the flow of information between users and

sources (databases, external sources, collection processors); they can also

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

267

act as sentinels to monitor sources and alert users to changes or the

availability of new information.
Planning agents accept requirements and create plans to coordinate

agents and task resources to meet user goals.

In addition to these functions performed in the background, agents also
offer the promise of a means of interaction with the analyst that emulates faceto-face conversation, and will ultimately allow information agents to collaborate
as (near) peers with individuals and teams of human analysts. These interactive
agents (or avatars) will track the analyst (or analytic team) activities and needs to
conduct dialogue with the analystsin terms of the semantic concepts familiar
to the topic of interestto contribute the following kinds of functions:
Agent conversationalists that carry on dialogue to provide high-

bandwidth interactions that include multimodal input from the analyst

(e.g., spoken natural language, keyboard entries, and gestures and gaze)
and multimodal replies (e.g., text, speech, and graphics). Such conversationalists will increase discussions about concepts, relevant data,
and possible hypotheses [23].
Agent observers that monitor analyst activity, attention, intention, and

task progress to converse about suggested alternatives, potentials for

denial and deception, or warnings that the analysts actions imply cognitive shortcomings (discussed in Chapter 6) may be influencing the
analysis process.
Agent contributors that will enter into collaborative discussions to inter-

ject alternatives, suggestions, or relevant data.

The integration of collaborating information agents and information visualization technologies holds the promise of more efficient means of helping analysts find and focus on relevant information, but these technologies require
greater maturity to manage uncertainty, dynamically adapt to the changing analytic context, and understand the analysts intentions.

7.6 Summary
The analytic workflow requires a constant interaction between the cognitive and
visual-perceptive processes in the analysts mind and the explicit representations
of knowledge in the intelligence enterprise. This chapter has reviewed the interactive tools that can aid the analyst in all phases of the knowledge-creation spiral

268

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

and can also help the analyst manage the workflow process itself. Tools without
a methodology become a nuisance; this chapter has emphasized the necessary
understanding of how the wide variety of collaborative and analytic tools fit into
an overall methodology to translate raw intelligence feeds into finished, digitally
published intelligence. In the next chapter, we examine the automated services
that capture and combine explicit knowledge to further aid the analyst in coping
with massive volumes of arriving data.

Endnotes
[1] Thompson, J. R., R. Hopf-weichel, and R. E. Geiselman, The Cognitive Bases of Intelligence Analysis, Research Report 1362, U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral
Sciences, January 1984.
[2] Information retrieval definition by the International Standards Organization, ISO/IEC
2382-1: 1993, Information Technology Vocabulary.
[3] The table is based on the general classes presented by Moldovan, D., et al., LASSO: A
Tool for Surfing the Answer Net, Proc. Of the Eighth Text Retrieval Conference
(TREC-8), NIST Special Pub. 500-246-2000, Table 5, p. 183.
[4] Strategic Investment Plan for Intelligence Community Analysis, Washington D.C.: CIA,
ADCI/AP200-01, p. 42.
[5] Intelligence Software Report 2002, Fuld & Co., Cambridge, MA, 2002. This report, first
issued in 2000 and updated in 2002, identified over 40 applicable packages, then reviewed
and scored the applicability of over 10 dedicated CI packages in detail.
[6] Druzdzel, M. J., and R. R. Flynn, Decision Support Systems, in Encyclopedia of Library
and Information Science, Kent, Allen (ed.), New York: Marcel Decker, 2000.
[7] For an introduction to normative decision support tools, see Clemen, R. T., Making Hard
Decisions: An Introduction to Decision Analysis, Belmont CA: Duxbury, 1996.
[8] See Pathfinder: Pathfinder for the Web v4.6 and Pathfinder Portal Product Summary,
Office of Naval Intelligence Pathfinder Support Office, Washington D.C., 2002; Mucks,
J., Web based Timeline Analysis System, WEBTAS, Air Force Research Laboratory,
March 26, 2002.
[9] Maybury, Mark T., Analytic Tools for the New Millenium, in Proc. of Annual JIVA
Conference, Albuquerque, NM, August 17, 2000.
[10] XML is a subset of the standard generalized markup language standard for creating
markup languages; it is recommended by the W3C Web Consortium for creating markup
languages for Web delivery.
[11] West, T. N., Metadata and Metadata Markup and Homeland Security, IC CIO, 21 August
2002.
[12] See http://www.xml.saic.com/icml/main/ic_core.html, accessed on-line on September 22,
2002.

Knowledge Internalization and Externalization

269

[13] A DTD is a specification of the permissible data elements for a class of documents, the
parent-child relationships of the elements, and the order in which the elements may
appear.
[14] CINC-21Knowledge Management Objective Functional Architecture, U.S. Navy
SPAWAR System Center, San Diego, SD-256, August 2000. See also Command21
Knowledge Web, U.S. Navy SPAWAR System Center, San Diego, SD-400, July 2001.
[15] Portals are often categorized as: 1) corporate portals, which access the organizations intranet by employees (e.g., analysts and operations officers within an intelligence organization), 2) customer portals, which provide tailored services to the intelligence consumer
outside the organization intranet, and 3) vertical portals (vortals), which cross organization
boundaries (e.g., collection, processing, analysis, and operations organizations).
[16] The Intel Gazette, Brochure, Office of the Intelligence Community CIO, Washington
D.C., 2000.
[17] Tufte, E. R., Envisioning Information, Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 1990, p.12. This
book and Tuftes companions, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information and Visual
Explanations provide excellent examples of methods to increase the number of dimensions
that can be represented and density of data presented to the human perception on a flat
plane (escaping flatland).
[18] P1000 Science and Technology Strategy for Information Visualization, Washington D.C.:
CIA DS&T, Version 2, December 16, 1996, p. 18.
[19] Arnheim, R., Visual Thinking, Berkeley, CA: University California Press, 1969.
[20] Themescape: Award-Wining text Visualization, AAT Delivers, CIA Office of Advanced
Analytic Tools (AAT), Issue 1, Feb. 2000.
[21] This section presumes knowledge of agent technology. For an overview related to these
applications, see Parunak, H. Van Dyke, Go to the Ant: Engineering Principles from
Natural Multi-Agent Systems, Annals of Operations Research, 1975, pp. 69101; and
Parunak, H. Van Dyke, Agents in Overalls: Experiences and Issues in the Development
and Employment of Industrial Agent-Based Systems, International Journal of Cooperative
Information Systems, Vol. 9, No. 3, 2000 209227. The proceedings of the annual Workshops on Collaborative Information Agents (CIA) are published by Springer-Verlag (Berlin) beginning with the first workshop (CIA-97) in 1997. The proceedings summarize
research and development in critical areas necessary to make CIA technology viable: agent
languages and specifications, uncertainty management, mobility and security, and
human-agent conversation and dialogue.
[22] See Chen, J. R., Mathe, N., and S. Wolfe, Collaborative Information Agents on the
World Wide Web, Report of the Computation Sciences Division, NASA Ames Research
Center, May 6, 1998; see also Maes, Pattie, Agents that Reduce Work and Information
Overload, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 37, No. 7, July 1994.
[23] Maybury, M. T., Human Computer Interaction: State of the Art and Further Development in the International ContextNorth America, Proc. of Human Computer Interaction International Status Conference, Saarbruecken, Germany, October 2627, 2001.

8
Explicit Knowledge Capture and
Combination
In the last chapter, we introduced analytic tools that allow the intelligence analyst to interactively correlate, compare, and combine numerical data and text to
discover clusters and relationships among events and entities within large databases. These interactive combination tools are considered to be goal-driven
processes: the analyst is driven by a goal to seek solutions within the database,
and the reasoning process is interactive with the analyst and machine in a common reasoning loop. This chapter focuses on the largely automated combination processes that tend to be data driven: as data continuously arrives from
intelligence sources, the incoming data drives a largely automated process that
continually detects, identifies, and tracks emerging events of interest to the
user. These parallel goal-driven and data-driven processes were depicted as
complementary combination processes in the last chapter (Figure 7.1). The
automated processes described in this chapter are currently found in the processing phase of the intelligence cycle, especially the IMINT and SIGINT
piplelines, where high-volume, disparate sources are correlated and combined.
The data fusion and mining operations in these pipelines are performed on
numerical data; the subsequent multi-INT fusion and mining operations in the
analysis phase are more often performed on text reports generated from the
IMINT, SIGINT, and other source analyses. In all cases, the combination
processes help sources to cross-cue each other, locate and identify target events
and entities, detect anomalies and changes, and track dynamic targets (refer to
Figure 6.2).

271

272

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

8.1 Explicit Capture, Representation, and Automated Reasoning

The term combination introduced by Nonaka and Takeuchi in the knowledgecreation spiral is an abstraction to describe the many functions that are performed to create knowledge, such as correlation, association, reasoning, inference, and decision (judgment). This process requires the explicit representation
of knowledge; in the intelligence application this includes knowledge about the
world (e.g., incoming source information), knowledge of the intelligence
domain (e.g., characteristics of specific weapons of mass destruction and their
production and deployment processes), and the more general procedural knowledge about reasoning.
The process of capturing and representing knowledge has been a core challenge to the field of artificial intelligence. Progress has been made in moving
from narrow domain-specific intelligence (e.g., expert systems of the early
1990s) to more robust reasoning systems that offer the potential for practical
application in all-source intelligence applications. The DARPA Rapid Knowledge Formation (RKF) project and its predecessor, the High-Performance
Knowledge Base project, represent ambitious research aimed at providing a
robust explicit knowledge capture, representation, and combination (reasoning)
capability targeted toward the intelligence analysis application [1]. The projects
focused on developing the tools to create and manage shared, reusable knowledge bases on specific intelligence domains (e.g., biological weapons subjects);
the goal is to enable creation of over one million axioms of knowledge per year
by collaborating teams of domain experts. Such a knowledge base requires a
computational ontologyan explicit specification that defines a shared conceptualization of reality that can be used across all processes. The abstract conceptualization relates phenomena in the real world to a machine-readable language,
allowing reuse of the domain knowledge as well as automated analysis because
the real-world context and meaning is provide by the structure (e.g., classes and
hierarchies) of the ontology.
The challenge is to encode knowledge through the instantiation and
assembly of generic knowledge components that can be readily entered and
understood by domain experts (appropriate semantics) and provide sufficient
coverage to encompass an expert-level of understanding of the domain. The
knowledge base must have fundamental knowledge of entities (things that
are), events (things that happen), states (descriptions of stable event characteristics), and roles (entities in the context of events). It must also describe knowledge of the relationships between (e.g. cause, object of, part of, purpose of, or
result of) and properties (e.g., color, shape, capability, and speed) of each of
these.
The knowledge base is organized in layers of abstractions (Table 8.1) representing knowledge in a variety of forms, shown in the table, including:

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

273

Table 8.1
Knowledge Representation Layers
Knowledge
Abstraction
Layer

Typical Knowledge Representations

Examples

Upper ontology

Man Entity Physical _Thing

Fundamental reusable general

knowledge of space, time,
causality

Attack Event Temporal_Thing

x Man(x) Mortal(x)
Core theories

( a, b ) a Event b Event
causes(a, b ) precedes (a, b )

Domain-specific
theories
Database of facts

Air_radar_23 Air_Missile_J5 Mig_27

Missile_Range = F(alt,manueuver, K,p1, p2)

Common-sense knowledge
Fundamental and formal calculii
of inference and mathematics,
problem solving, planning
Domain-specific relationships,
behaviors, models

( Aircraft) [Fighter Commercial)

Domain expertise

Air_Attack Act_of_War

Domain-specific instances of
entities and events

Mig-27 Fighter_Aircraft
Kporanta NATION_STATE
used-by (MIG-27, Kporanta)
Date 10-24-02 Attack Air_Attack
Used-in (Date 10-24-02 Attack, MIG-27)

Relationships between instances

of entities and events
Extracted instances of current
intelligence

Set representations describe the relationships between concepts, such as

the fact that an air attack is a subset of the concept act of war
(Air_Attack Act_of_War ), and that Kporanta is an instance of a
nation state (Kporanta Nation_State).
Logical operators define the relationship between propositions (refer to
Chapter 5 for an introduction to their use in basic reasoning) to enable
prepositional logic to perform deduction. The examples in the table
include the logical statement that there exists () no aircraft() that
function as both fighter and commercial: ( Aircraft) [Fighter
Commercial), and all men are mortal :x Man(x) Mortal(x).
Predicate operators make statements about entities and events; they
attribute properties, such as the fact that Kporanta employs Mig-27 aircraft: used-by (MIG-27, Kporanta) and allow manipulation by a predicate calculus.
Functional operators allow normal mathematical operations to be performed on quantitative arguments; for example Missile_Range =
F(alt,manueuver, K,p1, p2).

274

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

The structure of a high-performance knowledge base and associated inference engines to support the intelligence process is illustrated in Figure 8.1,
which is adapted from the basic RKF architecture [2]. The figure shows the two
stages of implementing and using such a knowledge base:
1. Knowledge-base creation is the initial (an ever ongoing) process of accumulating knowledge in the four layers of abstraction of knowledge in
the knowledge base. Knowledge-base experts encode fundamental
knowledge into the upper ontology and core theories layers. Domainspecific knowledge acquisition is performed by translating domain
experts natural language to formal expressions (described next), testing the inputs for consistency with prior knowledge, then diagramming the knowledge to allow reviewed, refined verification by the
author or the collaborating team.
2. Automated combination is then performed as the populated knowledge
base is coupled with inference engines to perform inductive, deductive, or abductive reasoning processes to combine current facts (e.g.,
current all-source intelligence feeds) with domain knowledge to infer
combined intelligence. Entities and events are extracted from current
all-source feeds and placed in the factual database layer, where they
are used to derive new intelligence for delivery to the analyst. The figure illustrates two data-driven automatic inference processes that are

1. Knowledge base maintenance

Knowledge base
KB expert
General
knowledge
Upper
engineering
Domain
ontology
experts

Domain
knowledge
acquisition

Pattern
learning

2. Automated combination

Core theories
New (discovered) patterns

Domain-specific
theories and models

Known
patterns
Current
data

Database of facts

Incoming
all-source
intelligence
feeds

Extract
evidence

Figure 8.1 Explicit knowledge capture and combination.

Data
fusion
(deduction)
Data
mining
(induction)

Detection

Discovery
Intelligence
analyst

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

275

described in subsequent sections in this chapter. A deductive datainformation fusion process deduces (detects) and reports to the analyst
the presence of entities, events, and situations of interest based on
known domain-specific patterns within the knowledge base. An
inductive data-information mining process induces (discovers) new,
general patterns (relationships) in the incoming data and proposes
these generalizations to the analyst for validation.
The data fusion and mining process are implemented in an inference
engine, which applies the fundamental inferential axioms that are encoded in
the core theory layer, guided by the problem-solving process in the core theory
layer with a knowledge of the general world provided in the upper ontology. Of
course, the system just described is a robust and ambitious, though not yet
operational, approach to general-purpose reasoning applied to the intelligence
domain. Even as this technology matures to provide powerful combination
capabilities for the analyst, current data fusion and mining technologies are providing automated combination within narrow domains; these capabilities are
described in the following section.

8.2 Automated Combination

Two primary categories of the combination processes can be distinguished,
based on their approach to inference; each is essential to intelligence processing
and analysis.
The inductive process of data mining discovers previously unrecognized
patterns in data (new knowledge about characteristics of an unknown pattern
class) by searching for patterns (relationships in data) that are in some sense
interesting. The discovered candidates are usually presented to human users
for analysis and validation before being adopted as general cases [3].
The deductive process, data fusion, detects the presence of previously
known patterns in many sources of data (new knowledge about the existence of a
known pattern in the data). This is performed by searching for specific pattern
templates in sensor data streams or databases to detect entities, events, and complex situations comprised of interconnected entities and events.
The characteristics of these two processes are contrasted in Table 8.2. The
data sets used by these processes for knowledge creation are incomplete,
dynamic, and contain data contaminated by noise. These factors make the following process characteristics apply:
Pattern descriptions. Data mining seeks to induce general pattern

descriptions (reference patterns, templates, or matched filters) to

276

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 8.2
Comparison of Knowledge Detection and Discovery Methods
Technology: Data Fusion

Knowledge Created

Reasoning Process

Knowledge Patterns
Used to Detect/
Discover Knowledge

Detection/Discovery
Process

Object of Detection/
Discovery Process
and Knowledge
Gained

Applications

Technology: Data Mining

Detection of the presence of known Discovery of the existence of

entity or event types in time or
previously unknown entities or
space
events in time or space

Deduction: detection of previously

known patterns in data to infer the
presence and identity of the entity
or event represented by that pattern

Induction: Discovery of sufficient,

correlated relationships in data to
infer a general description (or rule
set) that may be always or generally
(to some quantified degree) true

Known: (specific) models are used

as templates to detect similar
patterns in data

Unknown: (general) model of

interesting data properties is used
as template to detect qualifying
candidates for new knowledge in
data

Correlation of data with multiple

specific models

Correlation of data with a simple

general model (of interesting
properties), followed by validation
analysis

Detection of individual and related

sets of entities and events

Discovery of interesting general

relationships and patterns of
Detection of the presence, type, and behavior, which may be validated as
location of known types of entities general models of relationships or
behavior
or events in large volumes of data
Discovery of new types of entities
or events, by previously unidentified
and unknown patterns, in large
volumes of data
Testing known models of entities or Learning new models of
events (templates) to detect those relationships or behavior to describe
items:
entities or events:
Target recognition

Subtle behavior detection

Event detection

Machine learning (to provide

specific models for data fusion)

Military network identification

System status recognition

New statistical patterns in data

sets

characterize data understood, while data fusion applies those descriptions to detect the presence of patterns in new data.
Uncertainty in inferred knowledge. The data and reference patterns are

uncertain, leading to uncertain beliefs or knowledge.

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

277

Dynamic state of inferred knowledge. The process is sequential and

inferred knowledge is dynamic, being refined as new data arrives.

Use of domain knowledge. Knowledge about the domain (e.g., constraints,

context) may be used in addition to collected raw intelligence data.

As noted in earlier chapters, these processes may be performed on numerical data or on text streams, or both, to detect or discover patterns in all-source
content. Though beyond the current state of the art, the intelligence goal for
such systems is to automatically correlate and combine, for example, the knowledge about a specific terrorist event contained in all foreign news reports (text
and images), overhead imagery, relevant pre-event surveillance HUMINT
reports, associated communication intercepts, and relevant MASINT measurements of terror cell movements. This list included a mixture of technical (quantitative) data and textual reports, both structured and unstructured.
The following sections provide a brief introduction to data fusion and
mining approaches to automated deduction and induction, respectively. The
introductory sections conclude with references to more in-depth texts that provide complete descriptions of the processes that implement each.
8.2.1

Data Fusion

Data fusion is an adaptive knowledge creation process in which diverse elements

of similar or dissimilar observations (data) are aligned, correlated, and combined
into organized and indexed sets (information), which are further assessed to
model, understand, and explain (knowledge) the makeup and behavior of a
domain under observation [4].
The process is performed cognitively by humans in daily life (e.g., combining sight, sound, and smells to detect a threat) and has been long applied for
manual investigations in the military, intelligence, and law enforcement. In
recent decades, the automation of this process has been the subject of intense
research and development within the military, particularly to support intelligence and C2 [5]. As sensors and database sources of data become increasingly
available, automated data fusion technologies are required to support humans to
cope with the increasing data load.
The process is deductive in nature because it compares sensed data with
previously learned (induced) templates or patterns to detect, identify, and model
(or dynamically track behavior of) objects and groups of objects within the
observed domain. Deduction is performed at the data, information, and knowledge levels.
The data-fusion process seeks to explain an adversary (or uncooperative)
intelligence target by abstracting the target and its observable phenomena into a

278

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

causal or relationship model, then applying all-source observation to detect entities and events to estimate the properties of the model. Consider the levels of
representation in the simple target-observer processes in Figure 8.2 [6]. The
adversary leadership holds to goals and values that create motives; these motives,
combined with beliefs (created by perception of the current situation), lead to
intentions. These intentions lead to plans and responses to the current situation;
from alternative plans, decisions are made that lead to commands for action. In
a hierarchical military, or a networked terrorist organization, these commands
flow to activities (communication, logistics, surveillance, and movements).
Using the three domains of reality terminology introduced in Chapter 5, the
motive-to-decision events occur in the adversarys cognitive domain with no
observable phenomena. The actions of explicitly recording and communicating
these plans to operating units occur in the symbolic domain (communicated via
human or machine language over communication systems) and the actions of
those units appear in the physical domain. The data-fusion process uses observable evidence from both the symbolic and physical domains to infer the operations, communications, and even the intentions of the adversary.
The adversarys causal flow down is shown in the figure on the left, and
the upward-flowing inference chain of data fusion is shown on the right. The
deductive process is partitioned into levels to match the abstractions of the

Beliefs

The Target

The Observer

Goals, values

Own goals, values

Motives

Own COAs

Intentions

Consequences

Plans, responses

Adversary plans,
decision

Decisions
Activities

Level 2
structure
behavior

Actions, reactions

Observable
Phenomena
Level
0

Figure 8.2 The target-observer model for data fusion.

Level
1

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

279

adversary (target) behavior. Activities in the physical world are estimated at levels 0 and 1 by directly observing, detecting, identifying, and tracking entities
over time. Level 2 estimates the composite situation of all entities and their relationships (e.g., aggregating entities into military units or terrorist cells and their
command structures), and the temporal behavior of their activities. From this,
the adversarys plans and intentions are estimated and compared with the
observers goals and alternative COAs to forecast consequences.
The emerging concept of effects-based military operations (EBO) requires
intelligence products that provide planners with the ability to model the various
effects influencing a target that make up a complex system. Planners and operators require intelligence products that integrate models of the adversary physical
infrastructure, information networks, and leadership and decision making [7].
The U.S. DoD JDL has established a formal process model of data fusion
that decomposes the process into five basic levels of information-refining
processes (based upon the concept of levels of information abstraction) [8]:
Level 0: Data (or subobject) refinement. This is the correlation across sig-

nals or data (e.g., pixels and pulses) to recognize components of an

object and the correlation of those components to recognize an object.
Level 1: Object refinement. This is the correlation of all data to refine

individual objects within the domain of observation. (The JDL model

uses the term object to refer to real-world entities, however, the subject
of interest may be a transient event in time as well.)
Level 2: Situation refinement. This is the correlation of all objects (infor-

mation) within the domain to assess the current situation.

Level 3: Impact refinement. This is the correlation of the current situa-

tion with environmental and other constraints to project the meaning

of the situation (knowledge). The meaning of the situation refers to its
implications to the user: threat, opportunity, change, or consequence.
Level 4: Process refinement. This is the continual adaptation of the fusion

process to optimize the delivery of knowledge against a defined mission

objective.
A sequential flow of the data-fusion process, following our three-level
information model, illustrates the five JDL levels (Figure 8.3). The process is
characterized by the expected upward fusion flow from sources to data, then
information, then knowledge, and also a downward feedback flow that controls
the process and the sensors or sources acquiring data. The following paragraphs
describe each functional level.

280

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Level of abstraction

Representative information flow

Knowledge visualization

Knowledge (intelligence)
information understood
and explained

User
Level 3
threat refinement

Situation base
Level 2
situation refinement

Information
Level 4
Data placed in context, resource
indexed and organized management

Data
Measurements
and observations

Object base
L1 Fusion
process
control

Level 1
object refinement

Preprocessing
Level 0
control
data
refinement
Sensor and
source requests

S1 S2 S3

Measurements,
observations
from multiple
sources, Sn
S4 Sn

Sensors and sources

Figure 8.3 Data fusion is a process of deductive reasoning to correlate and combine multiple sources of data in order to understand a complex physical process.

8.2.1.1 Level 0: Data Refinement

Raw data from sensors may be calibrated, corrected for bias and gain errors, limited (thresholded), and filtered to remove systematic noise sources. Object
detection may occur at this pointin individual sensors or across multiple sensors (so-called predetection fusion). The object-detection process forms observation reports that contain data elements such as observation identifier, time of
measurement, measurement or decision data, decision, and uncertainty data.
8.2.1.2 Level 1: Object Refinement

Sensor and source reports are first aligned to a common spatial reference (e.g., a
geographic coordinate system) and temporal reference (e.g., samples are propagated forward or backward to a common time.) These alignment transformations place the observations in a common time-space coordinate system to allow

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

281

an association process to determine which observations from different sensors

have their source in a common object. The association process uses a quantitative correlation metric to measure the relative similarity between observations.
The typical correlation metric, C, takes on the following form:
n

c=

w x
i

i 1 =1

Where;
wi = weighting coefficient for attribute xi.
xi = ith correlation attribute metric.
Values of xi may include spatial distances (how close were the physical
locations of the observations?), statistical distances (how similar were the measurements?), or spectral compatibility (how feasible was the measurement to
occur from a common source?). The weighting coefficients, wI, , may be used to
weight each contribution by relative importance or by absolute strength of contribution (e.g., inverse weighting by covariance statistics). The correlation metric may be used to make a hard decision (an association), choosing the most
likely parings of observations, or a deferred decision, assigning more that one
hypothetical paring and deferring a hard decision until more observations arrive.
Once observations have been associated, two functions are performed on each
associated set of measurements for common object:
1. Tracking. For dynamic targets (vehicles or aircraft), the current state of
the object is correlated with previously known targets to determine if
the observation can update a model of an existing model (track). If the
newly associated observations are determined to be updates to an existing track, the state estimation model for the track (e.g., a Kalman filter) is updated; otherwise, a new track is initiated.
2. Identification. All associated observations are used to determine if the
object identity can be classified to any one of several levels (e.g.,
friend/foe, vehicle class, vehicle type or model, or vehicle status or
intent).
8.2.1.3 Level 2: Situation Refinement

All objects placed in space-time context in an information base are analyzed to

detect relationships based on spatial or temporal characteristics. Aggregate sets
of objects are detected by their coordinated behavior, dependencies, proximity,
common point of origin, or other characteristics using correlation metrics with
high-level attributes (e.g., spatial geometries or coordinated behavior). The

282

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

synoptic understanding of all objects, in their space-time context, provides situation knowledge, or awareness.
8.2.1.4 Level 3: Impact (or Threat) Refinement

Situation knowledge is used to model and analyze feasible future behaviors of

objects, groups, and environmental constraints to determine future possible outcomes. These outcomes, when compared with user objectives, provide an assessment of the implications of the current situation. Consider, for example, a
simple counter-terrorism intelligence situation that is analyzed in the sequence
in Figure 8.4.
8.2.1.5 Level 4: Process Refinement

This process provides feedback control of the collection and processing activities
to achieve the intelligence requirements. At the top level, current knowledge
(about the situation) is compared to the intelligence requirements required to
achieve operational objectives to determine knowledge shortfalls. These shortfalls
are parsed, downward, into information, then data needs, which direct the future
acquisition of data (sensor management) and the control of internal processes.
Processes may be refined, for example, to focus on certain areas of interest, object
types, or groups. This forms the feedback loop of the data-fusion process.
Current Intelligence
Threat cell activities
Communication traffic levels
Estimated intent, capacity

Constraints
World situation
Alert and security levels
Logistics required
Observability of cells

Simulate feasible situations and futures, courses of action

COA 1Building capabilities; no immediate attack
COA 2Surveying targets for imminent attack
COA 3 Emergent surprise; unconventional bombing

Assess implications to own objective

COA 1No impact; sustain current plans
COA 2 Delayed threat; medium consequences
COA 3 Immediate threat; consequences high

Plan alternative responses and score

Response ASustain current surveillance, plans
Response BRevise surveillance, direct action
Response CRaise alert; focus collection cell G

Figure 8.4 Typical situation analysis, prediction, and planning sequence.

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

283

General distinctions in the four correlation and combining levels (0, 1, 2,

and 3) of the process are characterized in Table 8.3 to distinguish the difference
in the resources, functions, and temporal focus at each level.
The theoretical foundations, systems architectures, and mathematical
alternatives to implement data fusion are summarized in numerous texts that
describe military and commercial applications (see [912]).
8.2.2

Data Mining

Data mining is the process by which large sets of data (or text in the specific
case of text mining) are cleansed and transformed into organized and indexed
sets (information), which are then analyzed to discover hidden and implicit,
but previously undefined, patterns. These patterns are reviewed by domain
experts to determine if they reveal new understandings of the general structure
and relationships (knowledge) in the data of a domain under observation. The
Table 8.3
Distinctions Between the Data Fusion Processing Levels
Level 0: Data
Refinement

Level 1: Object
Refinement

Level 2: Situation Level 3: Impact

Refinement
Refinement

Level of
Data (measureInformation ments and
Abstractions observations)

Objects (events
and entities)

Situation (resulting Meaning (the

from interacting
implications of the
objects)
situation)

Functions
Performed

Signal estimation

Object estimation

Group estimation

Composite
sensor
detection

Detection
Association
Combination
Tracking
Classification

Impact prediction

Group
detection
(aggregation)

Model
associations and
behavior

Group
association

Predict future
behavior
(courses of
action)

Group
combination
Group tracking
Group classify

Temporal
Focus

A single
observation

A period: a small
sequence of
observations

General
Output
Products

Object reports of
entities or events

Object reports and Group models and

behavior models
dynamic
simulations

Assess impact
and implications
to objective(s)

Dynamic situation: Implications to a

a large number of future time
observations
Predictions,
alternatives, and
implications
(consequences)

284

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

data-mining process can also be applied to text, where the discovered patterns
may include clusters of related articles, linked authors, or topics.
The object of discovery is a pattern, which is defined as a statement in
some language, L, that describes relationships in subset Fs of a set of data, F,
such that:
1. The statement holds with some certainty, c;
2. The statement is simpler (in some sense) than the enumeration of all
facts in Fs [13].
This is the inductive generalization process described in Chapter 5. Mined
knowledge, then, is formally defined as a pattern that is interesting, according to
some user-defined criterion, and certain to a user-defined measure of degree. As
an example, consider the following case:
Terrorist organization patterns:

1. Interesting criteria are frequent telecommunication between, or physical

proximity or correlated statements by, different terrorist cells.
2. Measures of degree for these criteria are more than three messages
within a week, travel to same city at the same time, or a statement
opposed to common interests posted within one week [14].
In application, the mining process is extended from explanations of limited data sets to more general applications (induction). In this example, a relationship pattern between three terrorist cells may be discovered that includes
intercommunication, periodic travel to common cities, and correlated statements posted on the Internet. This pattern may be more fully analyzed over
many known terrorist cells and extended (by induction) to be a general pattern
of behavior for detecting cells.
Data mining (also called knowledge discovery) is distinguished from data
fusion by two key characteristics:
1. Inference method. Data fusion employs known patterns and deductive
reasoning, while data mining searches for hidden patterns using inductive reasoning.
2. Temporal perspective. The focus of data fusion is retrospective (determining current state based on past data), while data mining is both
retrospective and prospectivefocused on locating hidden patterns
that may reveal predictive knowledge.

285

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

The data mining literature has predominantly addressed business applications that seek to locate economic or buying patterns of warehouses of data,
including point-of-sales data [15]. The increased availability of warehoused data
and the potential economic benefits of improved knowledge of purchasing patterns have spurred significant research and development in the mining process.
The term is used to refer to a range of processes, from manual analysis of data
using visualization tools alone, to automated techniques that navigate and
explore data searching for interesting patterns.
The Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) is
emerging as a standard reference model, as the JDL model is for data fusion
[16]. The general functions of data mining can be structured (Figure 8.5) to
Level of abstraction

Representative information flow

Knowledge

Human analyst validation

Information
understood and
explained

Refine
queries

Visualization
Discovery
modeling

Information
Data placed in
context, indexed,
and organized

Query,
selection,
transform,
and
warehousing
refinement
feedback

Data
mining
operation

Select and
transform control
Cleansing filters

Data
Measurements
and observations

Dimensional
presentations

Refined
requests for
additional data

Transformed
information base
Data selection
and transform

Data cleansing
Data
warehouse

Sensors, networks and sources

Figure 8.5 Data mining is an inductive process of evaluating data to locate patterns in the
data that explain previously unknown general relationships in the underlying
physical processes.

286

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

illustrate a similarity to the data-fusion process. (See [1719] for introductions

to the mining process.) Beginning with sensors and sources, the data warehouse
is populated with data, and successive functions move the data toward learned
knowledge at the top. The sources, queries, and mining processes may be
refined, similar to data fusion. The functional stages in the figure are described
next.
Data warehouse. Data from many sources are collected and indexed in

the warehouse, initially in the native format of the source. One of the
chief issues facing many mining operations is the reconciliation of
diverse database formats that have different formats (e.g., field and
record sizes and parameter scales), incompatible data definitions, and
other differences. The warehouse collection process (flow in) may mediate between these input sources to transform the data before storing in
common form [20].
Data cleansing. The warehoused data must be inspected and cleansed to

identify and correct or remove conflicts, incomplete sets, and incompatibilities common to combined databases. Cleansing may include
several categories of checks:
1. Uniformity checks verify the ranges of data, determine if sets exceed
limits, and verify that formats versions are compatible.
2. Completeness checks evaluate the internal consistency of data sets to
ensure, for example, that aggregate values are consistent with individual data components (e.g., verify that total sales is equal to sum of all
sales regions, and that data for all sales regions is present).
3. Conformity checks exhaustively verify that each index and reference
exists.
4. Genealogy checks generate and check audit trails to primitive data to
permit analysts to drill down from high-level information.
Data selection and transformation. The types of data that will be used for

mining are selected on the basis of relevance. For large operations, initial mining may be performed on a small set, then extended to larger
sets to check for the validity of abducted patterns. The selected data
may then be transformed to organize all data into common dimensions
and to add derived dimensions as necessary for analysis.
Data mining operations. Mining operations may be performed in a

supervised manner in which the analyst presents the operator with a

selected set of training data, in which the analyst has manually determined the existence of pattern classes. Alternatively, the operation may
proceed without supervision, performing an automated search for

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

287

patterns. A number of techniques are available (Table 8.4), depending

upon the type of data and search objectives (interesting pattern types).
Discovery modeling. Prediction or classification models are synthesized

to fit the data patterns detected. This is the proscriptive aspect of mining: modeling the historical data in the database (the past) to provide a
model to predict the future. The model attempts to abduct a generalized description that explains discovered patterns of interest and, using
statistical inference from larger volumes of data, seeks to induct generally applicable models. Simple extrapolation, time-series trends, complex linked relationships, and causal mathematical models are examples
of models created.
Visualization. The analyst uses visualization tools that allow discovery

of interesting patterns in the data. The automated mining operations

cue the operator to discovered patterns of interest (candidates), and the
analyst then visualizes the pattern and verifies if, indeed, it contains new
and useful knowledge. OLAP refers to the manual visualization process
Table 8.4
Common Data Mining Operator Techniques
Mining Operator Methods

Description

Clustering

Segment the data into clusters (subsets of data) that share

common properties; analyze the clusters for patterns that meet
the interesting properties sought

Association or sequence discovery

Analyze the causal (sequence) or structural (association)

relationships between sets of data to locate cause-effect
relationships that meet interesting pattern properties

Statistical analysis

Determine the statistical (occurrence probabilities)

characteristics of subsets of data and quantify the statistically
significant (e.g., high occurrence) sets

Rule abduction

Analyze data to abduct IF-THEN-ELSE rules that describe the

structure; test rules for validity in general and statistically
characterize each

Link or tree abduction

Analyze the structural relationships between sets of data to

locate links between data and tree structures that meet
interesting connecting pattern properties

Deviation analysis

Locate deviations from statistically normal behavior and analyze

for interest

Neural abduction

Train artificial neural networks to match data, then extract

network coefficients (node weights) and network structure as
abducted rules

288

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

in which a data manipulation engine allows the analyst to create data

views from the human perspective and to perform the following categories of functions:
1. Multidimensional analysis of the data across dimensions, through
relationships (e.g., command hierarchies and transaction networks)
and in perspectives natural to the analyst (rather that inherent in the
data);
2. Transformation of the viewing dimensions or slicing of the multidimensional array to view a subset of interest;
3. Drill down into the data from high levels of aggregation, downward
into successively deeper levels of information;
4. Reach through from information levels to the underlying raw data,
including reaching beyond the information base, back to raw data by
the audit trail generated in genealogy checking;
5. Modeling of hypothetical explanations of the data, in terms of trend
analysis, extrapolations.
Refinement feedback. The analyst may refine the process, by adjusting
the parameters that control the lower level processes, as well as requesting more or different data on which to focus the mining operations.

8.2.3

Integrated Data Fusion and Mining

In a practical intelligence application, the full reasoning process integrates the

discovery processes of data mining with the detection processes of data fusion.
This integration helps the analyst to coordinate learning about new signatures
and patterns and apply that new knowledge, in the form of templates, to detect
other cases of the situation. A general application of these integrated tools can
support the search for nonliteral target signatures, the use of those learned and
validated signatures to detect new targets [21]. (Nonliteral target signatures refer
to those signatures that extend across many diverse observation domains and are
not intuitive or apparent to analysts, but may be discovered only by deeper
analysis of multidimensional data.) The integrated architecture (Figure 8.6)
illustrates the complementary nature of the two processes. The mining component searches the accumulated database of sensor data, with discovery processes
focused on relationships that may have relevance to the nonliteral target sets.
Discovered models (templates) of target objects or processes are then tested,
refined, and verified using the data-fusion process. Finally, the data-fusion
process applies the models deductively for knowledge detection in incoming
sensor data streams.

289

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

Data mining

Information
Data organized
and placed in
context
Data
Observations
and
measurements

Visualization, management

Visualization, validation

Impacts

Model
Discovery modeling
Data mining
search
operations

Object base

Data transform
Data cleansing

Data warehouse operational

process data storage

Level 4 resource refinement

Knowledge
Information
understood
and explained

Data fusion

Level 3
impact

Situation

Situations
Level 2
situation refinement
Object base

Level 1
object refinement
Objects
Level 0
signal data refinement
Sensor Sensor Sensor
3
1
2

Figure 8.6 An integrated data mining and fusion architecture. (Source: [21]. 1998 IEEE;
used by permission.)

8.3 Intelligence Modeling and Simulation

In Chapter 5 (Section 5.4), we introduced analysis-synthesis as a model construction process, where the analyst synthesizes a representation of the subject of
analysis (intelligence target) as a framework against which evidence is marshaled.
Modeling activities take place in externalization (as explicit models are formed
to describe mental models), combination (as evidence is combined and compared with the model), and in internalization (as the analyst ponders the
matches, mismatches, and incongruities between evidence and model).
Respected intelligence analyst Jack Davis has noted that the human mind is the
the most creative analytic tool in existence but that it reaches limits in three
areas: the volume of information it can store, the number of variables that can be
brought to bear on a problem coherently, and the ability to track the consequences of the whole set of variables in one of the factors under considerations
[22]. Modeling tools support the analyst in addressing these limitations for
complex problems.
While we have used the general term model to describe any abstract representation, we now distinguish here between two implementations made by the
modeling and simulation (M&S) community. Models refer to physical, mathematical, or otherwise logical representations of systems, entities, phenomena, or
processes, while simulations refer to those methods to implement models over
time (i.e., a simulation is a time-dynamic model) [23].

290

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Models and simulations are inherently collaborative; their explicit representations (versus mental models) allow analytic teams to collectively assemble,
and explore the accumulating knowledge that they represent. They support the
analysis-synthesis process in multiple ways:
Evidence marshaling. As described in Chapter 5, models and simulations

provide the framework for which inference and evidence is assembled;

they provide an audit trail of reasoning.
Exploration. Models and simulations also provide a means for analysts
to be immersed in the modeled situation, its structure, and dynamics. It
is a tool for experimentation and exploration that provides deeper
understanding to determine necessary confirming or falsifying evidence, to evaluate potential sensing measures, and to examine potential
denial and deception effects.
Dynamic process tracking. Simulations model the time-dynamic behavior of targets to forecast future behavior, compare with observations,
and refine the behavior model over time. Dynamic models provide the
potential for estimation, anticipation, forecasting, and even prediction
(these words imply increasing accuracy and precision in their estimates
of future behavior).
Explanation. Finally, the models and simulations provide a tool for presenting alternative hypotheses, final judgments, and rationale.
The intelligence application of M&S is similar to the military operations
analysis interest in tools (e.g., the U.S. Joint Simulation System) to gain insight
into complex situations, but it does not focus on training, rehearsal, or weapons
analysis aspects (though these may be of interest to intelligence operations officers) [24]. The focus of intelligence M&S is marshalling, exploring, tracking,
and explaining. In the business text, Serious Play: How the Worlds Best Companies Simulate to Innovate, author Michael Schrage notes the value of simulation
immersion by the business analyst. He observes, the real value of a model or
simulation may stem less from its ability to test a hypothesis than from its power
to generate useful surprise. Louis Pasteur once remarked that chance favors the
prepared mind. It holds equally true that chance favors the prepared prototype:
models and simulations can and should be media to create and capture surprise
and serendipity [25].
Earlier in Chapter 5 (Section 5.5) we introduced the concept of intelligence targets existing in three domains of reality; models and simulations likewise must represent these objects of analysis in three domains. Table 8.5
illustrates the representative intelligence models and simulations in each of the
three fundamental categories of reality [26].

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

291

Table 8.5
Typical Intelligence Modeling and Simulation Applications
Domain

Models

Simulations

Cognitive

Leadership social networks

Agent-based simulations of decision making

Military C2 doctrine models

Agent-based and -influenced net simulations

of group social behaviors

Models of adversary perceptions and

beliefs
Symbolic

Financial network flow models

Communication and network
infrastructure models
Telephone call time chronologies and
call nets

Physical

CAD models of weapon platforms and

systems
CAD models of sites and facilities

Computer network simulations of network

communication and computation
Financial transaction and capital flow
simulations
Simulations of manufacturing, logistics,
transportation, or military operations
processes

Geospatial layered models of area terrain, Simulations of physical phenomena and

sensors
features, and lines of communication

The table illustrates independent models and simulations in all three

domains, however these domains can be coupled to create a robust model to
explore how an adversary thinks (cognitive domain), transacts (e.g., finances,
command, and intelligence flows), and acts (physical domain) [27]. Commercial models and simulations are currently used in each of these to conduct design
and operations analyses. Geographic information systems, CAD packages, and
simulations like the popular SimCity are being used to evaluate urban design
and development. Symbolic-domain financial models are used for business case
analysis, and computer network simulations are used to evaluate network performance and plan operations. At the cognitive level, social network models and
decision-making simulations are used to allow managers to explore complex
business problems. The Modeling, Virtual Environments, and Simulation
(MOVES) Institute of the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, is
conducting research and development to apply M&S in all three domains suitable for intelligence analysis by simulating physical military targets and operations, network operations, and even adversarial decision making [28]. A recent
study of the advanced methods required to support counter-terrorism analysis
recommended the creation of scenarios using top-down synthesis (manual creation by domain experts and large-scale simulation) to create synthetic evidence
for comparison with real evidence discovered by bottom-up data mining [29].
The following sections illustrate two intelligence applications of simulation tools.

292

8.3.1

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

M&S for I&W

The challenge of I&W demands predictive analysis, where the analyst is looking at something entirely new, a discontinuous phenomenon, an outcome that
he or she has never seen before. Furthermore, the analyst only sees this new pattern emerge in bits and pieces [30]. The text, Preventative Measures, reports on
a variety of M&S tools developed to provide warning of incipient crises (e.g.,
violent societal behavior, interstate conflict, or state failure) for the public policymakers, the IC, and DoD [31]. The tools monitor world events to track the
state and time-sequence of state transitions for comparison with indicators of
stress. These analytic tools apply three methods to provide indicators to analysts:
1. Structural indicator matching. Previously identified crisis patterns (statistical models) are matched to current conditions to seek indications
in background conditions and long-term trends.
2. Sequential tracking models. Simulations track the dynamics of events to
compare temporal behavior with statistical conflict accelerators in current situations that indicate imminent crises.
3. Complex behavior analysis. Simulations are used to support inductive
exploration of the current situation, so the analyst can examine possible future scenarios to locate potential triggering events that may cause
instability (though not in prior indicator models).
A general I&W system architecture (Figure 8.7), organized following the
JDL data-fusion structure, accepts incoming news feed text reports of current
situations and encodes the events into a common format (by human or automated coding). The event data is encoded into time-tagged actions (assault, kidnap, flee, assassinate), proclamations (threaten, appeal, comment) and other
pertinent events from relevant actors (governments, NGOs, terror groups). The
level 1 fusion process correlates and combines similar reports to produce a single
set of current events organized in time series for structural analysis of background conditions and sequential analysis of behavioral trends by groups and
interactions between groups. This statistical analysis is an automatic targetrecognition process, comparing current state and trends with known clusters of
unstable behaviors. The level 2 process correlates and aggregates individual
events into larger patterns of behavior (situations). A dynamic simulation tracks
the current situation (and is refined by the tracking loop shown) to enable the
analyst to explore future excursions from the present condition. By analysis of
the dynamics of the situation, the analyst can explore a wide range of feasible
futures, including those that may reveal surprising behavior that is not intuitiveincreasing the analysts awareness of unstable regions of behavior or the
potential of subtle but potent triggering events.

293

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

Event encoding
News
feeds
Manual or
automated
event encoding

Event types

Political
Economic
Military
Societal

Event database

Preanalysis
Current
time
window

Time-tagged event
data
Source, time
Country, location
Event type
Actors
Impacts

Level 1 event
refinement
Correlate event
reports
Combine events

Level 2 situation
refinement
Correlate,
aggregate events
to situations

Structural and
sequential
analysis

Complex
behavior
simulation
Analyze
future
scenarios

Indicator
conditions
trends
Crisis warning

Figure 8.7 Data flow within a crisis warning system.

8.3.2

Modeling Complex Situations and Human Behavior

The complex behavior noted in the prior example may result from random
events, human free will, or the nonlinearity introduced by the interactions of
many actors. The most advanced applications of M&S are those that seek to
model environments (introduced in Section 4.4.2) that exhibit complex behaviorsemergent behaviors (surprises) that are not predictable from the individual contributing actors within the system. Complexity is the property of a
system that prohibits the description of its overall behavior even when all of the
components are described completely. Complex environments include social
behaviors of significant interest to intelligence organizations: populations of
nation states, terrorist organizations, military commands, and foreign leaders
[32]. Perhaps the grand challenge of intelligence analysis is to understand an
adversarys cognitive behavior to provide both warning and insight into the
effects of alternative preemptive actions that may avert threats. The U.S. DCI
has articulated this challenge:
To this day, Intelligence is always much better at counting heads than divining what is going on inside them. That is, we are very good at gauging the
size and location of militaries and weaponry. But for obvious reasons, we can
never be as good at figuring out what leaders will do with them. Leadership
analysis remains perhaps the most difficult of analytic specialties [33].

294

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Nonlinear mathematical solutions are intractable for most practical problems, and the research community has applied dynamic systems modeling and
agent-based simulation (ABS) to represent systems that exhibit complex behavior [34]. ABS research is being applied to the simulation of a wide range of
organizations to assess intent, decision making and planning (cognitive), command and finances (symbolic), and actions (physical). The applications of these
simulations include national policies [35], military C2 [36], and terrorist
organizations [37]. As these technologies mature, such tools will increasingly aid
analysts in the study of the cognitive domain.

8.4 Summary
This chapter has introduced the potential contribution of automated reasoning
systems that can capture and apply explicit knowledge to locate critical information, focus attention to key issues, detect the presence of known patterns, or discover new patterns in massive volumes of incoming data. These tools will also
support the creation of complex models and simulations of physical, symbolic,
and cognitive systems of interest to the analyst, enabling the analyst to explore
and experience these targets to gain deeper understanding of their structure and
behavior. A recent Harvard Business Review article chronicled the promise of
Predicting the Unpredictable by agent-based simulation; this technology may
indeed enable just a degree of this capability for the analyst, too [38]. But these
intelligence models and simulations must always be subject to an evaluation of
appropriateness, validity, and usefulness; they can never be used blindly or
trusted implicitly. These combination tools must never be viewed as black boxes
that provide answers without explanation; rather, they must viewed as transparent boxes that allow the analyst to enter into a problem deeply to gain insight not
available by a more cursory examination [39].

Endnotes
[1]

Cohen, P. et al., The DARPA High-Performance Knowledge Bases Project, AI Magazine, Winter 1998, pp. 2549; and Burke, M., Rapid Knowledge Formation, briefing,
DARPA Information Technology Office, 2000.

[2]

This figure is adapted from Burke, M., Rapid Knowledge Formation, briefing, DARPA
Information Technology Office, 2000.

[3]

Section 8.2 and subsections are adapted from material in the authors text, Information
Warfare Principles and Operations, Norwood, MA: Artech House, 1998.

[4]

Definition from the article written by Buede, D., and E. Waltz, Data Fusion, in
McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, New York: McGraw Hill, 1998. An

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

295

expanded definition provided by the U.S. DoD JDL is: A process dealing with the association, correlation, and combination of data and information from single and multiple
sources to achieve refined position and identity estimates, and complete and timely assessments of situations and threats, and their significance. The process is characterized by continuous refinements of its estimates, and by evaluation of the need for additional sources,
or modification of the process itself to achieve improved results.
[5] Waltz, E. L., and D. M. Buede, Data Fusion and Decision Support for Command and
Control, IEEE Trans. on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, Vol. SMC-16, No. 6, November
December 1986.
[6] It is important to note that this basic model is used for illustrative purposes; real-world
adversarial systems are complex and not so easily represented by rigid doctrinal and hierarchical models. The reader is referred to Section 8.3, where simulation approaches are
applied to complex situations.
[7] For an introduction to EBO and intelligence implications, see Davis, P. K., Effects Based
Operations: A Grand Challenge for the Analytical Community, Santa Monica, CA: RAND,
2001, accessed on-line on October 30, 2002 at http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/
MR1477. See also Christian, M. C., and J. E. Dillard, Why We Need a National Joint
Targeting Center, Air and Space Power Chronicles, Jan 2000, accessed on-line on October
30, 2002 at http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/cc/Dillard.html. In the
wake of Operation ALLIED FORCE, the United Kingdom has also analyzed the need for
integrated targeting and has established a Directorate of Targeting and Information
Operations. See Defence Second Report on the Lessons of Kosovo (HC 347-I), U.K. House of
Commons, Select Committee on Defence, January 24, 2001, ANNEX.
[8] The evolution of the JDL model is articulated in a series of documents: White Jr., F. E.,
Data Fusion Lexicon, Joint Directors of Laboratories, Technical Panel for C3, Data Fusion
SubPanel, Naval Ocean System Center, San Diego, CA, 1987; White Jr., F. E., A Model
for Data Fusion, Proc. First National Symp. on Sensor Fusion, Vol. 2, 1988; and Steinberg,
A. N., C. L. Bowman, and White Jr., F. E., Revisions to the JDL Data Fusion Model,
Proc. of Third NATO/IRIS Conf., Quebec City, Canada, 1998.
[9] Waltz, E. L., and J. Llinas, Multisensor Data Fusion, Norwood, MA: Artech House, 1990.
[10] Hall, D., Mathematical Techniques in Data Fusion, Norwood, MA: Artech House, 1992.
[11] Antony, R., Principles of Data Fusion Automation, Norwood MA: Artech House, 1995.
[12] Hall, D. L., and J. Llinas, Handbook of Multisensor Data Fusion, Boca Raton: CRC Press,
2001.
[13] Piatetsky-Shapiro, G., and W. J. Frawley (eds.), Knowledge Discovery in Databases, Menlo
Park, CA: AAAI Press/MIT Press, 1991, p. 3.
[14] This example is very specific for purposes of illustration, however, mining criteria can be
much more general in nature (yielding more possible relationships.)
[15] An Overview of Data Mining at Dun & Bradstreet, DIG white paper 95/01, Pilot Software,
Cambridge, MA, September 1995.
[16] Chapman, P., et al., CRISP-DM 1.0: Step-by-Step Data Mining Guide, CRISP-DM
Consortium, 2000, accessed on-line on October 30, 2002 at http://www.spss.com/
CRISPDM.

296

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

[17] Mattison, R., and R. M. Mattison, Data Warehousing and Data Mining for Telecommunications, Norwood, MA: Artech House, 1997.
[18] Gardner, C., IBM Data Mining Technology, IBM Corporation, April 11, 1996.
[19] Fayyad, U. M., et al. (eds.), Advances in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996.
[20] Wiederhold, G., Mediators in the Architecture of Future Information Systems, IEEE
Computer, March 1992, pp. 3849.
[21] Waltz, E. L., Information Understanding: Integrating Data Fusion and Data Mining
Processes, Proc. of IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Monterey CA,
May 31June 4, 1997.
[22] Davis, J., Combatting Mind Set, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 36, No. 5, 1992, p. 35.
[23] Definitions from the Defense Modeling and Simulation Office Modeling & Simulation
Glossary.
[24] The Military Operations Research Society has studied the specific role of modeling and
simulation for military operations analysis. See Clements, D., and S. Iwanski, Evolving
Principles of Operations Analysis in DoD Workshop, February 29March 2, 2000, Naval
Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA.
[25] Schrage, M., Serious Play: How the Worlds Best Companies Simulate to Innovate, Boston:
HBR Press, 2001, p. 117.
[26] In Chapter 5 (Section 5.5), we introduced these three domains as the fundamental three
representations of reality, based on historical philosophical thought. Some have proposed
intelligence models with more than four domains (e.g., physical, information, political,
cultural, financial, and legal), though all can be organized under the fundamental three
categories. See Smith, R., Counter Terrorism Simulation: A New Breed of Federation,
Proc. Spring 2002 Simulation Interoperability Workshop, March 2002.
[27] See a description of a coupled three-domain architecture in the authors paper: Waltz, E.,
Data Fusion in Offensive and Defensive Information Operations, Proc. of National Symposium of Sensor and Data Fusion, San Antonio TX, June 2000, pp. 219232.
[28] The MOVES Institute Brochure, Naval Postgraduate School, 2002, accessed on-line on
September 27, 2002, at http://www.movesinstitute.org/MOVESbrochure8-02.pdf.
[29] Protecting Americas Freedom in the Information Age: A Report of the Markle Foundation Task Force, report of the Working Group on Analytic Methods, The Markle Foundation, New York, October 2002,p. 144.
[30] McCarthy, M., The National Warning System: Striving for an Elusive Goal, Defense
Intelligence Journal, Vol. 3, 1994, p. 9.
[31] Davies, J., and T. Gurr (eds.), Preventative Measures: Building Risk Assessment and Crisis
early Warning Systems, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littelfield, 1998.
[32] See Bremer, S., Simulated Worlds: A Computer Model of National Decision Making, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977; Czerwinski, T. (ed.), Coping With the Bounds:
Speculations on Nonlinearity in Military Affairs, Washington D.C.: NDU Press, 1997;

Explicit Knowledge Capture and Combination

297

Alberts, D. S., and T. Czerwinski (eds.), Complexity, Global Politics and National Security,
Washington D.C.: NDU Press, 1998.
[33] Remarks of DCI George J. Tenet, Opening Remarks, The Conference on CIAs Analysis of the Soviet Union, 19471991, Princeton University, March 8, 2001.
[34] For an introduction to these topics, see Robinson, C., Dynamical Systems, Boca Raton:
CRC Press, 1995; and Axelrod, R., The Complexity of Cooperation, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997.
[35] Axelrod, R., and M. Cohen, A Complex Adaptive Systems Approach to Information Policy,
Report Sponsored by OASD for C3I, June 8, 1997.
[36] Hunt, C. L. T. C., and I. Sais, Complexity-Based Modeling and Simulation: Modeling
Innovation at the Edge of Chaos, Proc. of 1998 Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium, CCRP, Monterey CA, June 29July 1, 1998.
[37] The MOVES Institute Brochure, p. 11.
[38] Bonabeau, E., Predicting the Unpredictable, Harvard Business Review, March 2002,
pp. 109116.
[39] For an excellent cautionary article on the use of models and simulations, see the classic
article by Sterman, J. D., A Skeptics Guide to Computer Models, MIT Sloan School of
Management, accessed on-line on September 27, 2002 at http://web.mit.edu/jsterman/
www/Skeptics_Guide.html.

9
The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture
The processing, analysis, and production components of intelligence operations are implemented by enterprisescomplex networks of people and their
business processes, integrated information and communication systems and
technology components organized around the intelligence mission. As we have
emphasized throughout this text, an effective intelligence enterprise requires
more than just these components; the people require a collaborative culture,
integrated electronic networks require content and contextual compatibility,
and the implementing components must constantly adapt to technology trends to remain competitive. The effective implementation of KM
in such enterprises requires a comprehensive requirements analysis and
enterprise design (synthesis) approach to translate high-level mission statements into detailed business processes, networked systems, and technology
implementations.
The central conceptual property of an enterprise is called its architecture.
The means of representing the architecture is by architectural descriptions
the explicit representations of the enterprises organizational structure of
components and their relationships [1]. Because the enterprise includes
people, systems, and technology components, its architecture descriptions
must analyze and describe the many complicated facets and interaction of these human, nformation, and physically implemented technology
components.
In this chapter, we introduce the structured methodologies to perform the
translation from mission objectives to the enterprise architecture descriptions
that enable the implementation of KM in real enterprises.

299

300

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

9.1 Intelligence Enterprise Operations

As noted in earlier chapters, the U.S. IC is transitioning to unify the agencies
within the community into a single enterprise to enhance collaborative analysis
and problem solving. In the early 1990s the community implemented Intelink,
a communitywide network to allow the exchange of intelligence between agencies that maintained internal compartmented networks [2]. The DCI vision for
a unified IC optimized to provide a decisive information advantage in the
mid-1990s led to the IC CIO to establish an IC Operational Network (ICON)
office to perform enterprise architecture analysis and engineering to define the
system and communication architectures in order to integrate the many agency
networks within the IC [3]. This architecture is required to provide the ability
to collaborate securely and synchronously from the users desktops across the IC
and with customers (e.g., federal government intelligence consumers), partners
(component agencies of the IC), and suppliers (intelligence data providers
within and external to the IC). The undertaking illustrates the challenge of
implementing a mammoth intelligence enterprise that is comprised of four
components:
1. Policies. These are the strategic vision and derivative policies that
explicitly define objectives and the approaches to achieve the vision.
2. Operational processes. These are collaborative and operationally secure
processes to enable people to share knowledge and assets securely and
freely across large, diverse, and in some cases necessarily compartmented organizations. This requires processes for dynamic modification of security controls, public key infrastructure, standardized
intelligence product markup, the availability of common services, and
enterprisewide search, collaboration, and application sharing.
3. System (network). This is an IC system for information sharing
(ICSIS) that includes an agreed set of databases and applications
hosted within shared virtual spaces within agencies and across the IC.
The system architecture (Figure 9.1) defines three virtual collaboration
spaces, one internal to each organization and a second that is accessible
across the community (an intranet and extranet, respectively). The
internal space provides collaboration at the Special Compartmented
Intelligence (SCI) level within the organization; owners tightly control
their data holdings (that are organizationally sensitive). The community space enables IC-wide collaboration at the SCI level; resource protection and control is provided by a central security policy. A separate
collateral community space provides a space for data shared with DoD
and other federal agencies.

301

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

Organization

Organization Communitywide
Community
applications
shared
shared data
applications

Certificate authority
Private
data

Firewall
Intelligence
cell SCI
enclave Firewall

Community
SCI-level
collaboration
space

Controlled
interface

Collateral
secret
collaboration
space

Org
Local
directory
directory Org
Community
Collaboration storage
shared
Compartmented
wide full
data
Private key infrastructure
SCI spaces
service
certificate authority
directory

Local
applications

Figure 9.1 ICSIS system architecture.

4. Technologies. The enterprise requires the integration of large

installed bases of legacy components and systems with new technologies. The integration requires definition of standards (e.g., metadata,
markup languages, protocols, and data schemas) and the plans for
incremental technology transitions.
The scope of such an undertakingtypical of many KM enterprise projectsillustrates the need for an integrated analysis of the entire enterprise from
people and processes to hardware and software. The undertaking also requires a
methodology to describe the architecture for simulation, evaluation, and implementation. The ICON effort preceded the call for a more collaborative and
data-sharing culture and smoother collaboration capabilities following terrorist
attacks on the United States in 2001 [4]. The scope and scale of the ICON
effort will take years to fully implement in a series of phases; while this effort is a
great challenge, even modest intelligence architectures pose challenges to the
architect to define and describe its many facets. In addition to this communitywide effort, agencies within the community have ongoing efforts to enhance collaboration within their own networks, such as the Joint Intelligence Virtual
Architecture at the Defense Intelligence Agency [5].
In the following sections, we introduce the methodology to describe and
develop intelligence enterprise architectures, and we provide an example to illustrate the process.

302

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

9.2 Describing the Enterprise Architecture

Two major approaches to architecture design that are immediately applicable to
the intelligence enterprise have been applied by the U.S. DoD and IC for intelligence and related applications. Both approaches provide an organizing methodology to assure that all aspects of the enterprise are explicitly defined, analyzed,
and described to assure compatibility, completeness, and traceability back to the
mission objectives. The approaches provide guidance to develop a comprehensive abstract model to describe the enterprise; the model may be understood
from different views in which the model is observed from a particular perspective (i.e., the perspectives of the user or developer) and described by specific
products that makeup the viewpoint.
The first methodology is the Zachman Architecture Framework, developed by John Zachman in the late1980s while at IBM. Zachman pioneered a
concept of multiple perspectives (views) and descriptions (viewpoints) to completely define the information architecture [6]. This framework is organized as a
matrix of 30 perspective products, defined by the cross product of two
dimensions:
1. Rows of the matrix represent the viewpoints of architecture stakeholders: the owner, planner, designer, builder (e.g., prime contractor), and
subcontractor. The rows progress from higher level (greater degree of
abstraction) descriptions by the owner toward lower level (details of
implementation) by the subcontractor.
2. Columns represent the descriptive aspects of the system across the
dimensions of data handled, functions performed, network, people
involved, time sequence of operations, and motivation of each
stakeholder.
Each cell in the framework matrix represents a descriptive product required
to describe an aspect of the architecture. The intelligence planners view of functions in an intelligence enterprise, for example, includes the CIOs list of the
business processes to be performed; the owners view of functions includes the
intelligence units detailed business model describing activities, flows, and specific responsibilities. This framework identifies a single descriptive product per
view, but permits a wide range of specific descriptive approaches to implement
the products in each cell of the framework:
Mission needs statements, value propositions, balanced scorecard, and

organizational model methods are suitable to structure and define the

owners high-level view.

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

303

Business process modeling, the object-oriented Unified Modeling

Language (UML), or functional decomposition using Integrated Definition Models (IDEF) explicitly describe entities and attributes, data,
functions, and relationships. These methods also support enterprise
functional simulation at the owner and designer level to permit evaluation of expected enterprise performance.
Detailed functional standards (e.g., IEEE and DoD standards specifica-

tion guidelines) provide guidance to structure detailed builder- and

subcontractor-level descriptions that define component designs.

The second descriptive methodology is the U.S. DoD Architecture Framework (formally the C4ISR Architecture Framework), which defines three interrelated perspectives or architectural views, each with a number of defined
products [7]. The three interrelated views (Figure 9.2) are as follows:
1. Operational architecture is a description (often graphical) of the operational elements, intelligence business processes, assigned tasks, workflows, and information flows required to accomplish or support the
intelligence function. It defines the type of information, the frequency
of exchange, and what tasks are supported by these information
exchanges.
2. Systems architecture is a description, including graphics, of the systems
and interconnections providing for or supporting intelligence functions. The system architecture defines the physical connection, location, and identification of the key nodes, circuits, networks, and users
and specifies system and component performance parameters. It is
constructed to satisfy operational architecture requirements per standards defined in the technical architecture. This architecture view
shows how multiple systems within a subject area link and interoperate
and may describe the internal construction or operations of particular
systems within the architecture.
3. Technical architecture is a minimal set of rules governing the arrangement, interaction, and interdependence of the parts or elements
whose purpose is to ensure that a conformant system satisfies a specified set of requirements. The technical architecture identifies the services, interfaces, standards, and their relationships. It provides the
technical guidelines for implementation of systems upon which engineering specifications are based, common building blocks are built,
and product lines are developed.

304

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

The three views are fully interrelated, although they may also be viewed in
layers to distinguish the elements, models, and metrics that comprise enterprise
(Figure 9.2). Specific DoD architecture products are defined for each of the three
views (Table 9.1) and for a comprehensive (all-view) top-level description that is
similar to the owner row of the Zachman framework. It is important to note
that the CIOs of U.S. federal organizations have also defined The Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework suitable for non-DoD organizations to organize
and manage the development and maintenance of architecture descriptions [8].
The DoD framework products have been mapped into the Zachman
framework by Sewell to illustrate the similarity and compatibility between the
two approaches [9]. Both approaches provide a framework to decompose the
enterprise into a comprehensive set of perspectives that must be defined before
building; following either approach introduces the necessary discipline to structure the enterprise architecture design process.

Architecture model layers

Quantitative intellectual
value chain
Operational
Enterprise comprised of
architecture
virtual, dynamic
learning workgroups
Workflows

Value
chain

Knowledge supply chain

Overall enterprise

Work
flow

Virtual
WG

Virtual Virtual
WG
WG

Collaborative computing
Distributed
appl. distributed objects,
applications
agents

Distributed computing
System
architecture network and facilities
for mobile processes Distributed Distributed, Replicated
Topology of networks data
Knowledge Mgmt

Figure 9.2 Three DoD views of an intelligence enterprise.

Network
technologies

Technologies

ATM switches

Technical
architecture

Physical technical
network
Technology
components and
software services

Virtual LANs WANs

LAN switches

Networks

Metrics
Return on info

MOE
effectiveness

Enterprise elements

MOP
performance

Architecture
view

Bandwidth,
capacity,
storage

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

305

Table 9.1
Major DoD Architecture Framework Products
View
All

Operational

System

Technical

Ref

Product

Description

AV-1

Overview and summary

information

Scope, purpose, intended users, environment

depicted, analytical findings if applicable

AV-2

Integrated dictionary

Definition of all terms used in all products

OV-1

High-level operational
concept graphic

High-level graphical description of

operational concept (high-level
organizations, missions, geographic
configuration, and connectivity)

OV-2

Operational node connectivity description

Operational nodes, activities performed at

each node, connecting paths and information
flows (data and control) between nodes

OV-3

Operational information
exchange matrix

Information exchanged between nodes and

the relevant attributes of that exchange

OV-6a

Operation rules model

OV-6b
OV-6c

Operation state transition

model

Operational activity sequence and timing of

business rules

OV-7

Operation event/trace model

Critical activity sequence tracing in scenarios

Logical data model

Data requirements and business process

rules of the operational view

SV-1

System interface description

Identification of systems and system

components and their interfaces within and
between nodes

SV-2

Communication description

Physical nodes and communication lay downs

SV-3

Systems matrix

System-to-system relationships

SV-4

Functional description

Functions of each system; info flows

Responses of business processes to events

SV-10a Rules model

Timing rule constraints

SV-10b State transition model

States and responses of system to events

SV-10c

Event/trace model

Critical sequences described in ops view

SV-11

Physical data model

Formats and file structures of logical data

model

TV-1

Technical architecture profile Delineation of all standards that apply to the

architecture

TV-2

Standards technology
forecast

Projection and time-phasing of transition to

emerging technical standards

From: [10].

The emerging foundation for enterprise architecting using framework

models is distinguished from the traditional systems engineering approach,

306

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

which focuses on optimization, completeness, and a build-from-scratch originality [11]. Enterprise (or system) architecting recognizes that most enterprises
will be constructed from a combination of existing and new integrating
components:
Policies, based on the enterprise strategic vision;
People, including current cultures that must change to adopt new and

changing value propositions and business processes;

Systems, including legacy data structures and processes that must work

with new structures and processes until retirement;

IT, including legacy hardware and software that must be integrated

with new technology and scheduled for planned retirement.

The adoption of the architecture framework models and system architecting methodologies are developed in greater detail in a number of foundational
papers and texts [12].

9.3 Architecture Design Case Study: A Small CI Enterprise

The enterprise architecture design principles can be best illustrated by developing the architecture description for a fictional small-scale intelligence enterprise:
a typical CI unit for a Fortune 500 business. This simple example defines the
introduction of a new CI unit, deliberately avoiding the challenges of introducing significant culture change across an existing organization and integrating
numerous legacy systems. Though small in scale, the CI unit is an enterprise
comprised of people on the CI analytic unit, CI business processes, and integrated ITs. The CI unit provides legal and ethical development of descriptive
and inferential intelligence products for top management to assess the state of
competitors businesses and estimate their future actions within the current
marketplace. The unit is not the traditional marketing function (which addresses
the marketplace of customers) but focuses specifically on the competitive environment, especially competitors operations, their business options, and likely
decision-making actions.
The situation: FaxTech recognizes that its operations are threatened by

the rapidly changing competitive landscape in its high-tech news business [13]. The emergence of new competitive threats from cable and
traditional news networks that broadcast business and technology segments are capturing increasing shares of FaxTechs market share. The
FaxTech board has issued an urgent requirement for the rapid

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

307

implementation of a CI unit. The enterprise architect recognizes the

assignment as a corporate KM project that should be evaluated against
ODell and Graysons four-question checklist for KM projects [14]:
1. Select projects to advance your business performance. This project will
enhance competitiveness and allow FaxTech to position and adapt its
product and services (e.g., reduce cycle time and enhance product
development to remain competitive).
2. Select projects that have a high success probability. This project is
small, does not confront integration with legacy systems, and has a
high probability of technical success. The contribution of KM can be
articulated (to deliver competitive intelligence for executive decision
making), there is a champion on the board (the CIO), and the business
case (to deliver decisive competitor knowledge) is strong. The small CI
unit implementation does not require culture change in the larger FaxTech organizationand it may set an example of the benefits of
collaborative knowledge creation to set the stage for a larger organizationwide transformation.
3. Select projects appropriate for exploring emerging technologies. The
project is an ideal opportunity to implement a small KM enterprise in
FaxTech that can demonstrate intelligence product delivery to top
management and can support critical decision making.
4. Select projects with significant potential to build KM culture and discipline within the organization. The CI enterprise will develop reusable
processes and tools that can be scaled up to support the larger organization; the lessons learned in implementation will be invaluable in
planning for an organizationwide KM enterprise.
The architecture framework. Meeting the criteria on the checklist, the CI

enterprise architect considers the multiple views of the Zachman architecture framework and creates a custom matrix of views appropriate for
the small CI enterprise (Figure 9.3). The appropriate (generally not all)
products to describe the enterprise are identified (unnecessary products
are blank in the figure). Each cell of the matrix contains the title of the
specific product(s) to be produced for the view that addresses a focus
(column) and stakeholder (row). The matrix identifies 10 numbered
cells that are provided (at the top level only) in the following subsections to illustrate the design approach. The arrows in the matrix also
illustrate the top-down design flow from the high-level planners viewpoint (FaxTechs top management) to the owners viewpoint (the director of the CI unit), and on to the designer, builder, and subcontractor
viewpoints.

308

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Descriptive
focus:
Stakeholder
view:

What
(data)

How
(function)

Where
(network)

Who
(people)

When
(time)

Why
(purpose)

9.3.1 (1a)
value
proposition

Scope
Contextual
planners
view

9.3.2 (2)
CI business
process

Project
milestones

Enterprise
model
Conceptual
owners view

9.3.3 (3)
Business
functions

CI
(1b)
9.3.4 (4)
enterprise
Enterprise
the CI
spiral develop
requirements
organization
schedule

System
model
Logical
designers
view
Technology
model
Physical
builders
view
Detailed
models
Out of
context
contractor
view

9.3.6 system abstraction

(5)
(6)
function
data
modeling
modeling

9.3.5 (7)
Use
cases;
scenarios

Database
schema

9.3.7 System and technical

architecture
Software
System
components structure

Analyst
computer
interfaces

Database
data I/O
designs

Software
build/buy
component
requirements

Staff plan
op sec plan
op policy
and
procedures

Network
design
compsec
design

Figure 9.3 CI enterprise architecture descriptive products.

A complete design will certainly include more products and products in

greater detail than the following illustrative subsections. The following 10 subsection numbers follow the numbering of the 10 major products identified in
the matrix.
9.3.1

The Value Proposition

The CI value proposition must define the value of competitive intelligence, how
it will impact FaxTech, who will use the intelligence products, and how the
intelligence will be valued. The mission statement succinctly defines the CI
mission:
The competitive intelligence unit provides FaxTech executive management
timely and accurate assessments of competitors activities and market positions, using ethical means, to permit an assessment of FaxTechs relative

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

309

competitive position and to enable sound business judgments based on a

comprehensive understanding of the competitive landscape.

The value added by the CI unit must be explicitly defined and top-level
performance goals identified for management by further decomposing the mission statement into the elements of value using the balanced scorecard. The
scorecard method, introduced in Chapter 3, Section 3.5, identifies specific
measures in each of the areas of the scorecard. This value proposition for CI
must include three components: the delivery of reliable and relevant information, interpretation of findings to impact strategy, and creation of special insight
to support critical decisions [15]. Competitive intelligence measures include
both hard quantitative metrics of intelligence timeliness and accuracy and soft
subjective measures of the units organizational performance [16].
The quantitative measures may be difficult to define; the financial return
on CI investment measure, for example, requires a careful consideration of how
the derived intelligence couples with strategy and impacts revenue gains. Kilmetz and Bridge define a top-level measure of CI return on investment (ROI)
metric that considers the time frame of the payback period (t, usually updated
quarterly and accumulated to measure the long-term return on strategic decisions) and applies the traditional ROI formula, which subtracts the cost of the
CI investment (C CI+I,, the initial implementation cost, plus accumulating quarterly operations costs using net present values) from the revenue gain [17]:
ROI CI = [(P Q ) C CI + I ]t
The expected revenue gain is estimated by the increase in sales (units sold,
Q, multiplied by price, P, in this case) that are attributable to CI-induced decisions. Of course, the difficulty in defining such quantities is the issue of assuring that the gains are uniquely attributable to decisions possible only by CI
information [18].
In building the scorecard, the enterprise architect should seek the lessons
learned from others, using sources such as the Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals or the American Productivity and Quality Center [19].
These sources can also provide peers by which FaxTech may benchmark its
processes and expected values. The scorecard (Table 9.2) provides the highest
level definition of expected values and measures for the CI unit to guide its
operations and measure its value-added contribution to FaxTech management.
9.3.2

The CI Business Process

The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals has defined a CI business

cycle that corresponds to the intelligence cycle introduced in Chapter 2; the

310

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 9.2
CI Unit Balanced Scorecard

Balanced Scorecard MeasuresThe Faxtech CI Enterprise

Vision and Strategy Goals

Vision and Strategy Measures

1. Enhance competitiveness and responsiveness

1. Identify top 80% of competitors operations
of FaxTech strategy; provide continuous assessment and likely strategies; 75% accuracy of financial
of competitors relative performance and market
performance compared to 6 month trailing data
positions
2. Support competitive decision making; create
operations and pricing comparison data, strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)

2. Estimate to 70% accuracy, cost of operations of major competitors; maintain SWOT on

all competitors

3. Provide predictive analyses of competitors

research and development and product
development activities, production changes, and
new product launches

3. Predict competitor actions within two

months (plus or minus); produce research and
development timelines

4. Reduce risk of surprise of mergers and

acquisitions within the marketplace

4. Identify, assess, and rank top three strategic

alliance candidates, estimate likely actions

Scorecard
Area

System Measures

Outcome Measures

Estimated return on the

investment

ROICI

Timeliness of alerts

Alert lead time

Accuracy and coverage of term CI

reports

Reporting accuracy

Shareholder
(Financial)
Customer
(Management)

Impact on decision making

Internal

Learning
and Growth

Decision impact; assessed by management

surveys

Intelligence requirement fulfillment Percentage of requirements completed

Task completion rate

Time to task completion

Competitor data coverage

Percentage of data profiles updated

Competitor data depth

Percentage of strategy profiles validated

CI team collaboration productivity

Team cohesion measures

Subject matter insight

Percentage of predictive accuracy

Intelligence workflow efficiency

Response time

Intelligence product improvements Product completeness

cycle differs by distinguishing primary and published source information, while

eliminating the automated processing of technical intelligence sources. The five
stages, or business processes, of this high-level business model include:

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

311

1. Planning and direction. The cycle begins with the specific identification of management needs for competitive intelligence. Management
defines the specific categories of competitors (companies, alliances)
and threats (new products or services, mergers, market shifts, technology discontinuities) for focus and the specific issues to be addressed.
The priorities of intelligence needed, routine reporting expectations,
and schedules for team reporting enables the CI unit manager to plan
specific tasks for analysts, establish collection and reporting schedules,
and direct day-to-day operations.
2. Published source collection. The collection of articles, reports, and financial data from open sources (Internet, news feeds, clipping services,
commercial content providers) includes both manual searches by analysts and active, automated searches by software agents that explore
(crawl) the networks and cue analysts to rank-ordered findings. This
collection provides broad, background knowledge of CI targets; the
results of these searches provide cues to support deeper, more focused
primary source collection.
3. Primary source collection. The primary sources of deep competitor
information are humans with expert knowledge; ethical collection
process includes the identification, contact, and interview of these
individuals. Such collections range from phone interviews, formal
meetings, and consulting assignments to brief discussions with competitor sales representatives at trade shows. The results of all primary
collections are recorded on standard format reports (date, source,
qualifications, response to task requirement, results, further sources
suggested, references learned) for subsequent analysis.
4. Analysis and production. Once indexed and organized, the corpus of
data is analyzed to answer the questions posed by the initial tasks. Collected information is placed in a framework that includes organizational, financial, and product-service models that allow analysts to
estimate the performance and operations of the competitor and predict
likely strategies and planned activities. This process relies on a synoptic
view of the organized information, experience, and judgment. SMEs
may be called in from within FaxTech or from the outside (consultants) to support the analysis of data and synthesis of models.
5. Reporting. Once approved by the CI unit manager, these quantitative
models and more qualitative estimative judgments of competitor
strategies are published for presentation in a secure portal or for formal presentation to management. As result of this reporting, management provides further refining direction and the cycle repeats.

312

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

This high-level description can be further detailed in a high-level operational concept graphic (the DoD OV-1 product), which illustrates the component parts that accomplish the CI cell operations (Figure 9.4). This simple
model distinguishes the interfaces to management (at the top), the delivery of
intelligence products vial a portal (on the right), and the sources of data (on the
left) centered around a knowledge base in the center. The knowledge base is partitioned into three sections. The requirements section holds specific needs and
the status of accumulating knowledge against those needs, the holdings section
accumulates collected materials, and the production section maintains produced
models and completed reports.
The annotated flows in the graphic show the major flow paths that lead
from planning and direction to collection, analysis, and reporting. This highlevel operational graphic (DoD OV-2 format) provides a general description of
the flows of data without distinguishing the controlling activities that translate
the intelligence cycle into an efficient workflow.
9.3.3

The CI Business Process Functional Flow

The owners view of the business process describes the CI process in greater
detail, distinguishing the flow of data between the basic functions of the cycle,
controls to those functions, and the mechanisms (means) that provide resources.
Of course, this cyclic model is the most abstract representation of the overall CI
process; in reality, the CI process is an intelligence continuum of these processes,

Sr. Mgmt Needs

Priorities, concerns
Intel sources

Paid
sources
LexisNexis
Trade journals
Special
collects
Contacts
Visits
Trade shows
OV-2

Clip
Paper Abstract
literature

Collector reports
and e-mails

CKO

Holdings Production Rqmts

Internet

CI Team
Full and abstracted
reports
Metadata tagged

Formal Reports
Alerts, Updates
Informal review
Thursday lunches

Rqmts

Leadership

Current CI news
Competitor analyses

Status
Production Operation cost
and price models
Textual analyses
Analysis

Tasking

Consultant

Special study reports

Benchmark validation
Query and retrieval Tasking for special
collections
Raw data sets

Figure 9.4 CI business operational concept.

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

313

which occur concurrently, rather than in a pure cycle. On a day-to-day level,

many analyses are being conducted concurrently: weekly competitor summaries,
crisis analyses of a competitors new product launch, and long-term analyses of
potential strategic alliance partners. A more detailed representation of these concurrent activities can be illustrated in a functional flow diagram using the integrated definition for function modeling (IDEF0) format [20]Figure
9.5(a)to show the five processes with all major interconnecting flows of data
(inputs on the left, outputs on the right), controls (e.g., policies and procedures
on the top), and mechanisms (e.g., resources, on the bottom).
The model provides greater detail, depicting the simple CI cycle as a
waterfall flow, but notice that this format highlights numerous other details of
interaction within the five major processes:
1. Feedback to planning and direction processes from analysis provides continual status of progress toward fulfillment of current
requirements.
2. Critical cross-cueing between published and primary source collection
activities is identified.
3. Feed forward of requirements and schedules from planning and direction to all other functions is identified.
4. Identification is made of governing policies, procedures, and templates
used in each process.
5. Status and intermediate product outputs from each process are posted
to the dissemination portal.
The IDEF0 format is defined to allow structured decomposition of each of
the processes to lower levels of functional and interface detail, as illustrated by
further decomposing the analyze and produce process in Figure 9.5(b). The
same I/O interfaces, controls, and mechanisms are retained, while revealing
inner detail in four subprocesses. This level of detail shows the receipt, indexing,
and filtering of incoming reports (subprocess 4.1) before entry into the knowledge base (4.2). Data-driven data fusion also matches incoming data to predefined warning cues (for example, a critical competitor action, such as detectable
merger indicators in financial data or comments in business reports) in subprocess 4.1. The analysis and synthesis process (4.3) performed manually by
analysts with supporting modeling and simulation tools (4.4) is constrained by
budget and schedule, guided to meet CI requirements that have been translated
to reporting templates, and guided by collaborative analytic procedures that
define the organizations team decision-making process. These subprocesses can
be further decomposed, with corresponding supporting detailed definitions of
the data exchanged between processes [21].

314

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Controls:

CI
Requirements

Ethics
policy

Analytic
Ethics policy procedures

Collection procedures
Budget,
schedule

1. Plan
& direct

Portal policy
Reporting
templates

Rqmts

Current
status

2. Collect Data
published Cue
sources
Rqmts

3. Collect
Data
primary
sources

Cue

Current
results
4.
Analyze
& produce

Retasking

CI
reports

5.
Report

Current status
Mechanisms:
CI budget

Intel
components

Analytic resources
Available sources Consultant budget
(a)

Knowledge map
(CI ontology)

Budget,
schedule

Reporting
templates

Analytic
procedures

Data 1
Data 2 4.1
Index,
filter, fuse

Update
K-map

Indexed
data
4.2
Maintain
knowledge
base

Retrieved
Data
4.3
Analyze
and
synthesize

Cue
Search,
mine

Models

Cue and filter templates

Knowledge base manager

Status
Current results
Intel components
Retasking (feedback)
4.4
Model
and
simulate

Analytic staff

(b)

Figure 9.5 (a) CI business process functional flow, and (b) analyze and produce process
functional flow.

315

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

9.3.4

The CI Unit Organizational Structure and Relationships

The FaxTech CI unit must monitor a one-billion-dollar market with five major
competitors and over a dozen related market players that can have a significant
influence on the marketplace. This scale of study influences the intelligence
breadth and volume to be studied, the size, structure, and composition of the CI
organization (operational architecture), and the supporting system architecture.
Of course, the complexity and dynamics of FaxTechs rapidly changing business
also influence the rate and volume of raw data to be analyzed and the depth of
analysis required (e.g., financial simulations). In turn, these factors define the
required budget to support the enterprise installation and annual support.
The FaxTech CI unit (Figure 9.6) includes a team of five full-time individuals led by a senior manager with intelligence analysis experience. This manager accepts tasking from executive management, issues detailed tasks to the
analytic team, and then reviews and approves results before release to management. The manager also manages the budget, secures consultants for collection
or analysis support, manages special collections, and coordinates team training
and special briefings by SMEs. The deputy and two competitor analysts perform
the day-to-day term analysis of the competitor set and special analyses either
FaxTech
FaxTech
CIO
Vision, strategy, budget, milestones
Interface to CIO; approves products
CI unit
Competitive status expert
leader
Coordinates consultants
Leads analysis and production
CI deputy
Manages workflow
lead analyst

Domain
expert (1/2)
Special
collection
assignments
Network
support (1/2)

Competitor
analyst 2

KnowledgeKnowledge
base manager

Competitor
analyst 1

Maintains
knowledge map,
database, and
hardcopy libraries
Orders open
source services

Tasks, acquires and analyzes data

Maintains competitor models
Prepares and publishes
updates on CI portal for consumers
Produces CI intelligence products

Tech standards
Network engineering,
management,
maintenance,
security, and backup

Figure 9.6 CI unit organization and relationships.

316

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

requested by management or triggered by events in the marketplace (crisis

analysis). A single knowledge-base manager maintains the CI knowledge map,
creates the database structures defined in the data model, and oversees the collection of data from commercial sources (e.g., clipping services by subscription
and purchased data sets) and the Internet. In support of this team is a half-time
network support administrator (shared with FaxTechs IT unit) and one halftime equivalent support from special subject experts to support special collections (e.g., at trade shows) and special analyses (e.g., product teardowns). This
expertise may be provided by shared time of experts within FaxTechs organization or by consultants operating under nondisclosure agreements.
The analytic team must address the need for access across numerous foreign languages to understand foreign media reports, industry documents, and
market information. The small analytic staff may have skills in several languages,
but will require translation tools and access to contracted translation support
(consultants) for special documents.
9.3.5

A Typical Operational Scenario

For each of the five processes, a number of use cases may be developed to
describe specific actions that actors (CI team members or system components)
perform to complete the process. In object-oriented design processes, the development of such use cases drives the design process by first describing the many
ways in which actors interact to perform the business process [22]. A scenario or
process thread provides a view of one completed sequence through a single or
numerous use case(s) to complete an enterprise task. A typical crisis response
scenario is summarized in Table 9.3 to illustrate the sequence of interactions
between the actors (management, CI manager, deputy, knowledge-base manager and analysts, system, portal, and sources) to complete a quick response
thread. The scenario can be further modeled by an activity diagram [23] that
models the behavior between objects.
The development of the operational scenario also raises nonfunctional performance issues that are identified and defined, generally in parametric terms,
for example:
Rate and volume of data ingested daily;
Total storage capacity of the on-line and offline archived holdings;
Access time for on-line and off-line holdings;
Number of concurrent analysts, searches, and portal users;
Information assurance requirements (access, confidentiality, and attack

rejection).

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

317

Table 9.3
A Crisis Response Scenario
1. Scenario: Crisis response
2. Summary: The CI team responds to an urgent request from management for a 72-hour turnaround
to analyze the potential for a merger between two competitors.
3. Preconditions
Competitors and consultants are identified in
the current knowledge base

4. Postconditions (results)
Status reported daily
Final report delivered at 72 hours

4. Basic flow
1. Management issues a CI crisis response memo to the CI manager, identifying specific intelligence
needs, priorities, and response time.
2. CI manager enters the requirement template and translates the memo to specific direction:
2.1 CI manager identifies the target competitors of interest.
2.2 CI manager checks specific key information needs on requirements template.
2.3 CI manager prioritizes the needs.
2.4 CI manager establishes security requirements, schedule, and reporting-dissemination
requirements.
2.5 CI manager approves requirement.
3. CI deputy creates tasking plan to accomplish the requirement direction.
3.1 Deputy opens tasking template, plans activities, and allocates task assignments to team
members.
3.2 System issues tasking assignments to the collection and analysis team.
3.3 Deputy creates special collect request form; system issues request for immediate consultant
services.
4. Knowledge-base manager sets published data collection parameters.
4.1 Knowledge-base manager translates CI requirements to sources, search, and reply format
parameters.
4.2 Knowledge-base manager sets source, search, and format parameters and issues search orders
to commercial content providers.
4.3 Knowledge-base manager creates crisis holdings partition in knowledge base.
4.4 System searches sources and identifies existing relevant holdings and creates abstracts and
links within partition.
4.5 System populates partition with accumulating data, creates abstracts, and ranks data against
requirements.
4.6 System maintains crisis holdings summary metrics.
5. Consultant issues primary source reports.
5.1 Consultant reviews special collect requirements from the field via the portal.

318

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 9.3 (continued)

5.2 Consultant reviews updated cues from ongoing analysis via the portal.
5.3 Consultant prepares and issues reports by completing the report template on the portal.
5.4 System alerts analyst to special collect report availability.
6. Analysts conduct analysis.
6.1 Analyst reviews task assignment and issues manual searches concurrent with auto searches.
6.2 Analyst creates report templates to provide status, intermediate, and final results for portal.
6.3 System automatically organizes manual and automated search holdings by template
requirements.
6.4 System generates titles, text summaries of accumulated holdings, and rank orders linked listing
6.5 System links published and special collection holdings to requirements and analysis templates.
6.6 Analyst authors text analyses in report format templates.
6.7 Analyst completes custom merger-SWOT template, linking data sources to conclusions.
6.8 Analyst runs financial analysis simulation to compute merger performance predictor metrics.
6.9 System compares template completion with requirement to produce status summary.
6.10 Analyst issues task refinements, identifying new needs from published and special sources.
7. CI deputy creates and distributes intermediate status reports.
7.1 Deputy reviews intermediate analytic products.
7.2 Deputy enters status summary, abstract of current results (if any), and links to intermediate
products.
7.3 Manager approves and releases status for distribution to portal.
8. CI manager publishes final report.
8.1 Manager approves final report.
8.2 Manager publishes final report for distribution to portal.
8.3 System maintains configuration management of final report.
9. The scenario ends
5. Alternative flows: the crisis response flow
may be extended in time and converted to a
standing watch requirement

9.3.6

6. Revision: 3.2 dated 9-3-02

CI System Abstraction

The purpose of use cases and narrative scenarios is to capture enterprise behavior
and then to identify the classes of object-oriented design. The italicized text in
the scenario identifies the actors, and the remaining nouns are candidates for
objects (instantiated software classes). From these use cases, software designers
can identify the objects of design, their attributes, and interactions. Based upon

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

319

the use cases, object-oriented design proceeds to develop sequence diagrams that
model messages passing between objects, state diagrams that model the dynamic
behavior within each object, and object diagrams that model the static description of objects. The object encapsulates state attributes and provides services to
manipulate the internal attributes.
Based on the scenario of the last section, the enterprise designer defines the
class diagram (Figure 9.7) that relates objects that accept the input CI requirements through the entire CI process to a summary of finished intelligence. This
diagram does not include all objects; the objects presented illustrate those that
acquire data related to specific competitors, and these objects are only a subset of
the classes required to meet the full enterprise requirements defined earlier. (The
objects in this are included in the analysis package described in the next section.)
The requirement object accepts new CI requirements for a defined competitor;
requirements are specified in terms of essential elements of information (EEI),
financial data, SWOT characteristics, and organization structure. In this object,
key intelligence topics may be selected from predefined templates to specify specific intelligence requirements for a competitor or for a marketplace event [24].
The analyst translates the requirements to tasks in the task object; the task object
generates search and collect objects that specify the terms for automated search
and human collection from primary sources, respectively. The results of these
activities generate data objects that organize and present accumulated evidence
that is related to the corresponding search and collect objects.
The analyst reviews the acquired data, creating text reports and completing analysis templates (SWOT, EEI, financial) in the analysis object. Analysis
entries are linked to the appropriate competitor in the competitor list and to the
supporting evidence in data objects. As results are accumulated in the templates,
the status (e.g., percentage of required information in template completed) is
computed and reported by the status object. Summary of current intelligence
and status are rolled up in the summary object, which may be used to drive the
CI portal.
9.3.7

System and Technical Architecture Descriptions

The abstractions that describe functions and data form the basis for partitioning
packages of software services and the system hardware configuration. The system architecture description includes a network hardware view (Figure 9.8, top)
and a comparable view of the packaged software objects (Figure 9.8, bottom).
The figure illustrates the allocation of packages to servers on the network.
The network view is organized in an n-tier architecture (n = 4), partitioning security, data storage, CI business logic, and client workstation functions.
The CI unit operates as a protected enclave within the larger FaxTech organization; the security zone includes the interface to the Internet, dedicated lines, and

320

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Requirement

Status
Schedule
Pct_Complete
Est_Complete
Analysis_Link
Issues_Text

Competitor_ID
Rqmt_Text
Rqmt_Priority
EEI_Rqmts
Org_Rqmts
Financial_Rqmts
SWOT_Rqmts
Other_Rqmts

CompanyList

Generates

Generates
Search
Request_ID
Competitor_ID
Topic_Category
Topic_Context
Topic_Keywords
Topic_Text
Search_Param1
Search_Param2
Generates

Analytic
process
Determines

Is reported in

Task
Task_ID
Competitor_ID
Task_Text
Due_Date
Est_Budget
Source_List
Task_Priority
Assign_Team
Data
Data_Item_ID
Data_Source
Data_Date
Data_Pedigree
Competitor_ID
Data_Abstract
Data_Text
Request_ID
Analysis
Competitor_ID
Timeline_Analysis
SWOT_Analysis
Fin_Analysis
Other_Analysis

Involves

Generates

Competitor_ID
Competitor_Name
Competiror_Text
Competitor_Data
SEC_Code

Collect
Request_ID
Collector_ID
Request_Text
Collect_Range
Collect_Class
Generates

Is linked to
Is linked to

CI summary

Figure 9.7 CI system class diagram relating requirements to analytic results.

the FaxTech Intranet. A firewall and separate intrusion detection unit separates
the three tiers of the enclave from the Internet and the local intranet, providing
enclave boundary control. Not shown are other security services (e.g., public key
infrastructure and encryption services) to provide:

321

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

Security
zone
Company
Intranet

Firewall

Data tier

Business service tier

Collaboration
and mail server

OCR
paper
documents

Client tier

Search and
extraction
server
Analytic
staff

CI Enclave
Internet
Internet
Intrusion
detection

Knowledge
base server

Portal
server

Analysis
server

Mailcollab
Search
Security

Client

Knowledge
base
Analysis
Portal

Figure 9.8 System network architecture (top) and package interfaces (bottom).

Authorized access. Multiple levels of security and individual access con-

trol are required to label and protect sensitive information.

Resistance to attacks and malicious code. Detection, resistance, and
response to external and internal attempts to access data or insert unauthorized processes is required.
Disaster recovery. The enterprise must maintain regular backups of data
and can also provide colocated or offsite mirrored servers and data storage to enable rapid recovery from physical or electronic disasters
The data tier includes the scalable relational database (knowledge base)
and a dedicated hardcopy data entry machine with a scanner and optical character recognition capability. The business tier includes the software applications
that perform the CI business functions identified earlier in the functional analysis (Section 9.3.3). This tier requires careful definition of the objects (as in class
description in the prior section) to assure compatibility between application

322

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

packages, the knowledge base, and client objects. These middle-tier business
objects are implemented by a combination of commercial applications and custom software components to provide portal, mail and collaboration, search, and
special analytic services. The client tier includes the package of common objects
(e.g., browser, mail, collaboration, and office suite) at each analysts workstation. The package view (Figure 9.8, bottom) describes the partitioning of the
objects into packages and their implementation on hardware servers.
The enterprise technical architecture is described by the standards for
commercial and custom software packages (e.g., the commercial and developed
software components with versions, as illustrated in Table 9.4) to meet the
requirements developed in system model row of the matrix. Fuld & Company
has published periodic reviews of software tools to support the CI process; these
reviews provide a helpful evaluation of available commercial packages to support
the CI enterprise [25]. The technical architecture is also described by the standards imposed on the implementing componentsboth software and hardware. These standards include general implementation standards [e.g.,
American National Standards Institute (ANSI), International Standards
Organization (ISO), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE)] and federal standards regulating workplace environments and protocols. The applicable standards are listed to identify applicability to various functions within the enterprise.
A technology roadmap should also be developed to project future
transitions as new components are scheduled to be integrated and old
components are retired. It is particularly important to plan for integration of
new software releases and products to assure sustained functionality and
compatibility across the enterprise.

9.4 Summary
Architecture frameworks provide a structured modeling methodology to guide
the design of a complete enterprisetaking into account the operations, systems, and technologies necessary to meet the enterprise mission and deliver on
the value proposition. The simple example in this chapter has illustrated the
approach to develop a comprehensive set of descriptive products for even a small
competitive intelligence enterprise. Larger scale enterprises and those with existing legacy systems (like the U.S. IC and large business KM enterprises) require
significant rigor in applying these methodologies to comprehensively model
their enterprises to achieve increased intelligence valuebut the principles illustrated in this example cell are applicable across the larger enterprise.
The extension of KM principles from the CI project across the entire FaxTech organization requires one last componenta means to communicate

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

323

Table 9.4
Representative Technical Architecture Components
Software
Component

Package Functions Performed

Security

Firewall; intrusion detection system

Private key infrastructure

Knowledge base

Relational database
Define CI process, audit workflow, and produce status reports
XML template creation, configuration management
Metadata taggingmanual summarization

Mail and collaboration Electronic messaging environment

Collaboration environment
Expert directory and finder
Search and retrieval

Web crawler, search agents, text search by key word and context, text
summarization
Image search, video search, audio search
Multilingual search and text translation

Analysis

Automated source data linking

Text analysis
Data structuring, visualization tools
Financial simulation

Portal

Digital product version publication and maintenance

Team collaboration portal
Hyperlinked document production

Client

Browser
Mail and collaboration clients
Office tool suite
Analytic tool clients

tacitly the value of organizational transformation. As we introduced in Chapter

3, this is best conveyed by the narrative story rather than by the preceding engineering architecture diagrams. From the CI project, FaxTech management
chooses one story that conveys that tacit experience to the workforce: I joined
the new competitive intelligence unit here at FaxTech in January without previous experience in news or in research and development. (I was an MI analyst
with experience in foreign language and weapons systems.) I was given one week
of training and began collaborating with our product specialists around the
globe to find out why our competitors owned one particular market segment.

324

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Everyone was very open with me and shared their frustrations; they also shared
their lists of customers and showed me our competitors products. I organized
that data in our warehouse and created a simple portal to share the data with our
marketing and sales teams. Within 2 months, I was surprised to see 65 employees conversing on the portal about this forgotten market and our competitors
products. I organized their suggestions in a lessons-learned base. The sales force
logged into the portal and gained new insight and the marketing team developed a new TechAlert news product tailored to research and development labs.
Now, a year later, we have over 100 research and development lab accounts. The
sales team even included me on their team to receive the industry new product
awardand I didnt even know what an research and development lab was
when I started here a year ago.Jenny Crenshaw, Competitive Analyst, Corporate CI Unit

Endnotes
[1]

The definition of architecture by the International Council on Systems Engineering System Architecture Working Group is: The fundamental and unifying system structure
defined in terms of system elements, interfaces, processes, constraints and behaviors. The
more compact IEEE 610.2 definition is, The organizational structure of a system or
component.

[2]

Martin, F. T., Top Secret Intranet: How U.S. Intelligence Built IntelinkThe Worlds Largest, Most Secure Network, New York: Prentice Hall, 1998.

[3]

Swindle, M., Intelligence Community System for Information Sharing (ICSIS), presented at DoD Secure E-Business Summit, May 7, 2001, accessed on-line on June 20,
2002 at http://www.secure-biz.net/OSD2001/presentations/Presentations/T06_Swindle.ppt. See also Onley, D. S., Intelligence Community Welcomes Data Sharing, Government Computer News, May 8, 2001, accessed on-line on June 28, 2002 at
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/ daily-updates/4217-1.html.

[4]

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, numerous media reports
focused on the capabilities of the IC to collaborate and share data. See, for example,
Myers, L., Report Rips Intelligence Priorities, NBC and MSNBC News Service, July
17, 2002, accessed on-line on August 31, 2001, at http://www.msnbc.com/news/
781308.asp; and Waller, D., Is the Intelligence Community Ready for this War? Time,
October 9, 2001, accessed on-line on September 30, 2002, at http:// www.time.com/
time/columnist/waller/article/0,9565,178770,00.html.

[5]

Verton, D., DIA Tackles Flow of Intelligence, Federal Computer Week, October 18,
1999.

[6]

See, for example, the following classic articles: Zachman, J. A., A Framework for Information Systems Architecture, IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 26, No. 3, 1987, and Sowa, J.
F., and J. A. Zachman, Extending and Formalizing the Framework for Information Systems Architecture, IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 31, No. 3, 1992.

The Intelligence Enterprise Architecture

325

[7] C4ISR Architecture Framework Version 2.0. U.S. DoD Office of the Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence, Washington, DC,
November 1997. (The DoD is reviewing a version 2.1 at the time of this manuscript and
is considering revising the name to DoD Architecture Framework, or DoDAF.)
[8] Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework, The Chief Information Officers Council,
Version 1.1, September 1999.
[9] Sowell, P. K., The C4ISR Architecture Framework: History, Status, and Plans for Evolution, Proc of 5th International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium,
June 2000; see also Sowell, P. K., Mapping the Zachman Framework to the C4ISR
Architecture Framework, MITRE, September 3, 1999.
[10] C4ISR Framework Ver 2.0, Table of Essential and Supporting Framework Products.
[11] See the authors Requirements Derivation for Data Fusion Systems, in Handbook of
Multisensor Data Fusion, Hall, D. L., and J. Llinas, Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2001,
pp. 15-115-8.
[12] See, for example, Rechtin, E., System Architecting: Creating and Building Complex Systems,
Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991; Rechtin, E., and M. Maier, The Art of System
Architecting, Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1997; Maier, M. W., Architecting Principles for
Systems-of-Systems, Systems Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1999, pp. 118; and Rechtin, E.,
The Art of Systems Architecting, IEEE Spectrum, October, 1992, pp.6669.
[13] The name FaxTech has no relationship to any actual business; it has been created solely for
this example. The name has been checked against the U.S. patent and trademark base to
ensure that it is not a registered trademark.
[14] Adapted from the KM project checklist in: ODell, C. and C. J. Grayson, If Only We
Knew What We Know, NY: Free Press, 1998, pp.194195.
[15] Langabeer II, J. R., Exploring the CI Value Equation, Competitive Intelligence Review,
Vol. 10, No. 3,1999, pp. 2732.
[16] Simon, N. J., Determining Measures of Success, Competitive Intelligence, Vol. 1, No. 2,
JulySeptember 1998, pp. 4547.
[17] Kilmetz, S. D., and R. S. Bridge, Gauging the Returns on Investments in Competitive
Intelligence: A Three-Step Analysis for Executive Decision Makers, Competitive Intelligence Review, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1999, pp. 411.
[18] Davison, L., Measuring Competitive Intelligence Effectiveness: Insights from the Advertising Industry, Competitive Intelligence Review, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2001, pp.2538.
[19] The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals Web site is http://www.scip.org.
The American Productivity and Quality Center Web site is http://www.apqc.org.
[20] Integrated Definition for Function Modeling (IDEF0), Federal Information Processing
Standards Publication 183, NIST, December 21, 1993. This is but one of a number of
modeling standards that may be adopted.
[21] The IDEF1X companion standard to IDEF0 provides a data modeling standard for
describing relational data: Integrated Definition for Information Modeling (IDEF1X),
Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 184, NIST, December 21, 1993.

326

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

[22] Rosenberg, D., Use Case Driven Object Modeling with UML, Boston: Addison-Wesley,
1999.
[23] The diagrams referenced in this section are standard unified modeling language constructs. See the Object Management Group for latest UML standards, http://www.
omg.org.
[24] See an enumeration of typical key intelligence topics in Herring, J. P., Key Intelligence
Topics: A Process to Identify and Define Intelligence Needs, Competitive Intelligence
Review, Vol. 10, No. 2, 1999, pp. 414.
[25] Intelligence Software Report 2002, Fuld & Co., Cambridge, MA, 2002. This report, first
issued in 2000 and updated in 2002, identified over 40 applicable packages, then reviewed
and scored the applicability of over 10 dedicated CI packages in detail.

10
Knowledge Management Technologies
IT has enabled the growth of organizational KM in business and government; it
will continue to be the predominant influence on the progress in creating
knowledge and foreknowledge within intelligence organizations. As we have
pointed out throughout this book, the successful application of new IT to
improve organizational effectiveness is entirely dependent upon the success of
process and cultural transitions necessary to reap the benefits. Envisioning the
future of KM requires an understanding of the trends in IT, particularly in those
technologies that we distinguish here as KM technologies, which will continue
to expand human thinking, collaboration, and problem solving. As we noted in
earlier chapters, the future intelligence competitions will be for rapid knowledge
discovery and delivery. When sensors and communications become global commodities, the critical technologies for the intelligence organization will be those
that support deep and rapid analysis-synthesis. In this chapter, the key enabling
and emerging KM technologies that will enable future generations of intelligence enterprises are introduced.

10.1 Role of IT in KM
When we refer to technology, the application of science by the use of engineering
principles to solve a practical problem, it is essential that we distinguish the difference between three categories of technologies that all contribute to our ability
to create and disseminate knowledge (Table 10.1). We may view these as three
technology layers, with the basic computing materials sciences providing the
foundation technology applications for increasing complexity and scale of communications and computing. These materials technologies produce computing
327

328

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 10.1
Technology Contributors to KM

Technology
Category

Description

Technology Examples

The integration and application of

KM
cognitive and organizational sciences
Technologies
to implement enterprises comprised
of humans and computing systems to
achieve operational goals

Collaboration messaging and knowledge

exchange tools

The integration and application of

Information
computer science (software) and
Technologies
computing devices (hardware) to
implement applied computing
networks that transmit, store, or
manipulate information by electronic,
optical, or other physical phenomena

Object-relational databases

Cognitive support: data fusion, mining,

analysis, and visualization tools
Intelligent agents, artificial intelligence
Network computing
Quantum and biological computing
algorithms
Multiple level security
Cryptography
Computational mathematics
Digital computing-communication
convergence

The application of materials,

Computing
biological, and other physical
Materials
sciences to implement computing,
Technologies
storage, and communication
components

Silicon microelectronics, optoelectronics,

photonics
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology
Optical and magnetic storage
Quantum scale structures

devices (hardware) that are integrated into computing network structures to

provide the platform to process data. The computer sciences produce the next
layer of abstract structures and computational methods that are the basis for ITs
(software), which are applied to organize and combine data regarding real-world
applications. These technologies are further integrated into enterprises, where
KM technologies apply the cognitive and organizational sciences to orchestrate
networks of people and computing machines to create and apply knowledge to
achieve business goals. Notice that the first layer is physical (materials), the second integrates the physical and the abstract (devices and information), while the
KM technology layer focuses almost entirely in abstractions (knowledge).
KM technology is, of course, dependent upon the capabilities provided by
the layers below, and revolutionary improvements in the underlying layers can
be expected to enable increased capabilities in KM technology growth. Because
this can have a significant effect on intelligence, the U.S. IC commissioned a

Knowledge Management Technologies

329

specific study of the potential synergistic effects of materials technologies on IT

[1]. That study noted that the future technology layer above (that is facilitated
by) IT and KM is genetic manipulation technologies that can alter life itself. In
this chapter, we focus only on the top-layer KM technologies; indeed, numerous
lower level technologies cited in the table (e.g., quantum computing and optical
storage) have the potential to revolutionize the speed, scale, and complexity of
IT capabilitiesenabling significant improvements in KM for intelligence
applications. Nanotechnology will enable ubiquitous sensing, quantum, micro,
and optoelectronic technology will enable ubiquitous communications and
computation, while IT and KM technologies will allow distributed teams of collaborating analysts to translate the global breadth and depth of information on
complex situations to actionable intelligence.
Before exploring the implications of future KM technologies, it is valuable
to briefly review the rapid growth of IT to date and its impact on KM. Over the
past 3 decades, computing (hardware) and software technologies have rapidly
transitioned from the centralized mainframe to the distributed network (Figure
10.1). As computing hardware has moved homogeneous computing toward networked heterogeneous computing nodes, software has likewise moved from a
single operating program to distributed services, assembled from component
objects at run time to provide the requested service. The granularity of operations has moved from the dedicated batch run time to a session on the network.
Administration of the single mainframe has been replaced by a distributed network administration that brings complexity, redundancy, flexibility, and greater
challenges to security.
The ubiquity of networked computing, propelled by increasing computing power, storage capacity, ubiquitous communications, broadband connectivity, and open protocols set the stage for widespread explicit knowledge
capture in databases, sharing, and analysis by OLAP. The future of IT (at the
right of the figure) will be characterized by:
Fully distributed networks of heterogeneous knowledge processes and

stores; these networks will be organized in logical tiers of greater depth

than todays two-tier client-server architectures.
The structures of these future networks will be self-organizingwith

agents detecting new capabilities as they come online and organizing

data and processes to deliver services based on the best available current
capabilities.
Autonomous agents will traverse the network to locate and apply serv-

ices required to solve complex problems (not just queries) tasked by

human analysts. These dynamic agents will understand purpose and

330

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Era:
Organizing
form
and
control

Mainframe

PC

Client-server

Hierarchy

Networked

Network

Centralized

Distributed
Personal
computing

Client-server

N-tier networked
heterogeneity

Object
oriented

Component
service

Secure selforganizing services

Language 1GL
2GL
generation (Fortran, Cobol) (C, Basic,
Pascal)

3GL
(C++)

4GL
(Java, platform
independent)

Function Subroutines
unit
(op system)
granularity a batch run
(organizer)
process
granularity

Modules
(op system)
application
run-time

Objects
(obj brokers)
session

Object, component,
service (dynamic
agents) domain
(of services) life

System
Organizing Single
control
control
administrator
and behavior

Single user

Multiple users
organize by
collaborative
work tools

Self-organizing
by automated
agency

User-to-user
teleconference
collaboration

User-to-agent
data
collaboration

Mainframe
homogeneity

Computing

Structure

and

Organizing Structured
principle

Software
technology

Implications
for knowledge
creation

Independent analysis,
product sharing face-face,
telephone collaboration

Figure 10.1 Four generations of IT.

context, and they will guide the organizing properties of the network to
optimize service delivery.
Security services will provide strong, biometric-based protection of

service and information.

Of course, these are the technologies that have enabled organizations to
move from a focus on lower level data processing to the higher level attention to
KM. The implications for intelligence analysis-synthesis are profound. The analytic processes of the past were founded on individual SMEs with limited-text
soft-copy products, and they were restricted to telephone or face-to-face collaboration with others. Todays KM technologies are enabling online collaboration
and problem solving with dispersed analytic teams, using the support of analytic
tools to explicitly model problems and solutions. Tomorrow, IT will enable

331

Knowledge Management Technologies

highly effective collaboration and problem solving among teams of humans and
their autonomous agents across secure networks with access to vast arrays of heterogeneous data stores of structured and unstructured data. These agents will
empower analysts to query directly for knowledge (i.e., answers, rather than
querying for data or information) across multiple languages and media. They
will also support analysts to understand the results of queriesrepresenting and
explaining multidimensional information for human understanding. This
human-agent collaboration will, however, introduce new cultural and social
issues yet to be appreciated.

10.2 KM Research for National Security Applications

The quest to develop these future IT capabilities in the United States for
national security applications, including intelligence, is performed by a wide
range of components within the DoD and IC as depicted in Figure 10.2.
The DCI Strategic Intent specifically identifies KM and supporting technologies as key elements of the processes of unifying the community through
collaborative processes and investing in people and knowledge (these are the first
two of the Strategic Intent objectives) [2]. KM technology applications are categorized by the IC CIO in the following areas:

Joint Services
JCS- Info superiority/net-centric war leadership
OSD/C3Iarchitectures, C4ISR systems
DISA/D2C4I & intelligence
Natl defense univNCW
DARPAinfo technology and
/ D7rqmts analysis
and
IW
academic
theory
Systems (KM) research
DMSOmodeling and simulation
Air Force
AF Office of Scientific
Researchartificial
intelligence, perception
and cognition
AF Science
Advisory Board
battlespace infosphere
AF Research Lab
Info Directorate C4ISR
(Rome), sensor
Directorate (Dayton)
AF Battle Labsinfo
Ops experiments

Army
Army Research Office
Knowledge-based
systems, sensor webs
Army Research Lab
battlefield KM
Nets and decision
making
Army Digitization Office
experiment, demo
integration
Army Space Pgm
Office

Navy/Marines
Office of Naval Research
Cognitive
augmentation, training,
intelligent systems
SPAWAR System Center
San Diego
NCW systems R&D
Naval Research Lab
Navy Ctr AI
ResearchKM and
intelligence research
NWDCNCW
experimentation

Figure 10.2 U.S. DoD and IC KM technology developers.

Intel Community
ARDA-Adv R&D Agency
In-Q-Telintel
community
CIA/DIAall source KM,
analysis and digital
production R&D
NRO, NSA, NIMA, CMO
Tasking, processing,
exploitation, and
dissemination R&D

332

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Intelligence business processesgovernance, applying resources, IT com-

petency, and IT service delivery;

KMcollaboration, intelligence applications, directory services, infor-

mation storage and management, subscription and delivery services,

search and access facilitation, administration applications, and messaging (and e-mail);
Infrastructurenetworking, information assurance, computing plat-

forms, and infrastructure management.

Emerging KM enterprise concepts and supporting technologies have been
studied in numerous DoD and IC studies, including:
Advanced battlespace information system. This U.S. DoD Director

Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) study in 1998 evaluated

the application of emerging ITs to provide military KM capabilities to
support capabilities sought in Joint Vision 2010.
Building the joint battlespace infosphere. This is a 2000 Air Force Science

Advisory Board study of Air Force implementations of KM concepts.

Navy command center of the future. This is a 2000 Naval Research Advi-

sory Committee study of Naval KM for command and control.

The global technology revolution bio/nano/material trends and their syner-

gies with information technology by 2015. This is a 2001 RAND

National Defense Research Institute study for the National Intelligence
Council examining the implications of potential discontinuities in IT.
Global Trends 2015: A Dialogue About the Future with Nongovernment

Experts. This is a National Intelligence Council study of world futures,

including effects of global IT, published in 2000.
In addition to government studies, it is important to note that IT consulting organizations routinely publish projections of commercial KM technologies
for business applications [3].

10.3 A KM Technology Roadmap

The sequence of integration and implementation of ITs into KM capabilities
can be illustrated in a technology roadmap (Figure 10.3). The trend of KM
capabilities includes a sequence of major generations, each characterized and
enabled by a unique integration of available IT.

333

Knowledge Management Technologies

First generation KM Second generation KM
Emphasis on
capture, store
knowledge (like
physical assets)
Text data
warehouse

Query

Emphasis on multiEmphasis on integration of knowledge into all aspects

media, sharing
of business culture and operations to revolutionize
culture, collaboration business and processes
process, and networks
Object-relational
data warehouse

Multimedia
metadata
Text-numerical
analytic tools

Portals
Lesson
learned
culture

E-mail
Supply-side
emphasis

Future KM

Webbased
culture

Collaboration
workspaces
Demand-side
emphasis

Heterogeneous multimedia warehouses

Multimedia ontologies
markup languages

Cross-media analysis and modeling

Dynamic, custom portals

Networked
human-computer
team culture

Multilingual
natural language
query

Human-computer agent collaboration

Integration emphasis

Figure 10.3 A roadmap of three KM technology generations.

The first generation of KM (19851995) was enabled by early networked

computing technologies: shared databases, email, and service directories. This
generation emphasized the capture and storage of corporate explicit knowledge.
Often called a supply-side emphasis, this generation focused on the capture of
organizational knowledge in the form of text data in relational databases.
E-mail, reports, business process data, and scanned paper documents were
indexed and entered into databases accessible by search engines. These capabilities provided unprecedented access to organizational data by key word queries.
The introduction of email in this period also encouraged asynchronous collaboration and the building of communities of practice across time and space. These
capabilities encouraged a first generation KM culture that captured and
shared lessons learned and developed best practices to be shared across the
organization.

334

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

The second generation of KM enterprise technology now being implemented emphasizes the demand-side by focusing on the delivery of products to
users. To effectively deliver accurate, timely, and relevant knowledge to users,
technologies are being developed to support four demand-side goals:
1. Complete use of all data types. IT is being applied to capture, store,
search, and manipulate multimedia information (multilingual audio,
video, and text; imagery and geospatial data). Object-relational databases and warehouses store structured and unstructured data; metadata
tagging (e.g., XML) is used to increase the content description of data
sets, while content-analysis technology is increasing the ability to
search, categorize, and tag unstructured data.
2. Organizationwide collaboration. Integrated synchronous-asynchronous
collaboration tools enable secure multiple-mode text, graphics, audiovideo conferencing, and data sharing.
3. Comprehensive analysis of all sources. Data-mining and data-fusion tools
process a wide variety of numerical and textual data sets to correlate
content, detect patterns of known behavior, and discover relationships
across diverse data types.
4. Organizationalwide tailored dissemination of knowledge. Corporate
portals and information-assurance technologies are providing secure
access to knowledge across the organization. User profiling (manually
entered by the user and automatically learned profiles derived from
user behavior) tailors the information presented to the user.
The effect of these current second-generation technologies on the culture
has been to enable a Web-based culture that accepts larger distributed communities of practice comprised of people who perform collaborative knowledge
sharing and problem solving.
Future generations of KM will emphasize the creation of knowledge by
completely integrating the supply and demand sides of the enterprise with
greater machine intelligence to support the human users of the enterprise. These
future technologies will add to the previous generations by adding:
Deep content understanding. Ontologies of general (common-sense) and

domain-specific structured knowledge will enable greater access to, and

reasoning about, heterogeneous data sources to provide deeper understanding of context and content of captured and stored explicit
knowledge.
Intelligent support to users. Autonomous intelligent agents will contrib-

ute to collaborative analytic teams, first as supporting contributors with

Knowledge Management Technologies

335

powerful, yet narrow, capabilities (e.g., search) and ultimately as near

equals to their human leaders in more general reasoning. This capability
will contribute to a deeper exchange of tacit and explicit knowledge
between humans and agents, respectively.
Dynamic human-agent collaboration. Agents will collaborate with
human users at high levels of abstract reasoning to collaboratively solve
problems.
These future generations will move toward a more collaborative humanmachine culture that teams humans and their agents to create knowledge to
achieve organizational goals. Trusted autonomous agents, almost indistinguishable from human analysts in analytic behavior, yet distinctively more powerful
in certain areas of reasoning and search, will support human teams in ways not
yet fully understood; this will certainly require new cultural adjustments [4].

10.4 Key KM Technologies

The technologies critical to moving toward future generations of KM capabilities are enumerated in the technology matrix (Table 10.2), which distinguishes
technologies as core (the basis of todays first and second generation KM implementations and capabilities), enabling (the technology base for the next generation), and emerging (beyond next generation, a revolutionary departure from
current KM practices). The matrix further distinguishes technologies by their
contribution to explicit or tacit knowledge creation or to explicit-tacit knowledge exchange.
The following subsections highlight several of the most pertinent enabling
and emerging KM technology capabilities that are identified on the technology
matrix. The paragraphs describe the projected capabilities (what), which will be
the result of current basic and applied research that is developing the methods
(how) of the technologies. Endnotes in the paragraphs cite several of the current
research and development programs supporting the U.S. IC in many of these
areas.
10.4.1 Explicit Knowledge Combination Technologies

Future explicit knowledge combination technologies include those that transform explicit knowledge into useable forms and those that perform combination
processes to create new knowledge.
Multimedia content-context tagged knowledge bases. Knowledge-base

technology will support the storage of multimedia data (structured and

336

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Table 10.2
KM Technology Matrix
Knowledge Exchange Category

Core: Required to
Maintain and
Sustain Current
Capabilities

Enabling: Tech
Base for Next
Generation
Capabilities

Section 10.4.1
Explicit Explicit

Section 10.4.2
Explicit Tacit

Section 10.4.3
Tacit Tacit

Text and measurement

(sensor) data capture,
indexing, mapping, and
warehousing; HTML and
XML

Push/pull (subscribe/
query) dissemination

Distance e-learning

IIDR

3D and synthetic
n-dimensional
visualizationvirtual
reality

Semiautomated data
fusion and mining of
structured data

Object- and text-based

tagging, indexing,
search, and retrieval

Synchronous/
asynchronous
collaboration tools
Creativity supportive
tools
Visual and strategy
simulation tools
(experience)

Global-scale multilingual Collaborative agentnatural language

teams

Tailored naturalistic
collaboration tools

Multimedia contentcontext tagged

knowledge bases

Rapid expert knowledge

acquisition

Human-agent problemsolving collaboration

Situation immersion

Integrated deductioninduction

Natural language query

and conversation

Intimate tacit
simulations

Multilingual speech
interaction
Automated deductiveEmerging: Beyond
inductive reasoning and
Next Generation,
learning
a Departure From
Current Practices Automated ontology
creation

Purposeful, aware
agents
Human cognition
augmentation
Direct brain interaction
Pervasive personal
networked computers

Combined human-agent
learning; personal agent
tutors, mentors, and
models
Indistinguishable
human-like agent
partners, communities
of practice, and teams
Direct brain tacit
knowledge awareness,
tracking, articulation,
and capture

unstructured) with tagging of both content and context to allow comprehensive searches for knowledge across heterogeneous sources.
Multilingual natural language. Global natural language technologies

will allow accurate indexing, tagging, search, linking, and reasoning

about multilingual text (and recognized human speech at both the content level and the concept level. This technology will allow analysts to
conduct multilingual searches by topic and concept at a global scale; it

Knowledge Management Technologies

337

will also allow linkage of concepts across cultures and continents. The
technology will also allow context and content summarization, understanding, and explanation [5].
Integrated deductive-inductive reasoning. Data-fusion and-data mining

technologies will become integrated to allow interactive deductive and

inductive reasoning for structured and unstructured (text) data sources.
Data-fusion technology will develop level 2 (situation) and level 3
(impact, or explanation) capabilities using simulations to represent
complex and dynamic situations for comparison with observed situations. Data-mining technology will enable knowledge discovery to be
performed in unstructured data; discovery will be performed at the content level (correlation of data) and at the context level (explanations of
the reasons for correlations) to support the discrimination of meaningful high-level patterns and relationships [6].
Purposeful deductive-inductive reasoning. Agent-based intelligence will

coordinate inductive (learning and generalization) and deductive (decision and detection) reasoning processes (as well as abductive explanatory reasoning) across unstructured multilingual natural language,
common sense, and structured knowledge bases. This reasoning will be
goal-directed based upon agent awareness of purpose, values, goals, and
beliefs.
Automated ontology creation. Agent-based intelligence will learn the

structure of content and context, automatically populating knowledge

bases under configuration management by humans.

10.4.2 Human-Computer Tacit-Explicit Exchange Technologies

Human-computer technologies include all capabilities to interface and integrate
human tacit (and articulable explicit) knowledge with computing machines and
communication.
Collaborative agent teams. Agent technology will provide agents as col-

laborative team members, first as supporting helpers, then as intelligence participants and peers who can become expert contributors. The
agents will operate with autonomy, purpose, intelligence, and the capability to explain the rationale for their contributions to the team.
Rapid expert knowledge acquisition. Distributed, continually updating,

and reusable knowledge bases will be maintained for a wide range of

intelligence domain topics; these knowledge bases will enable rapid and
continual creation, refinement, and validation of knowledge by

338

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

distributed contributors. These knowledge bases will be integrated with

deductive-inductive reasoning engines (see prior paragraph) to support
analysis, situation assessment, and decision making.
Situation immersion. Virtual-reality technologies will ingrate visual, tac-

tile, and agent storytelling capabilities to provide integrated explicit and

tacit (respectively) experiences of data, information, and finished intelligence to humans. These immersive technologies will provide mixed
reality experiencesintegrating synthetic and actual data to allow analysts to be immersed in complex high-dimensionality situations, including the real and the possible. These technologies will be automatically
populated by data.
Natural language query and conversation. General question-answer que-

ries at high levels of abstraction will be able to be posed to, understood

by, and answered by intelligent systems [7].
Multilingual speech interaction. Natural, bidirectional speech across the

major global languages will not only enhance the capture of explicit
conversation, it will enable more natural and accurate collaboration
between analysts and foreign intelligence partners and contributors.
Purposeful, aware agents. Agent technology will provide a degree of self-

awareness, purpose, and understanding to agents that will provide an

appreciation of the overall intelligence context, enabling them to adapt,
explain, and interact with analysts at a high level of abstraction.
Human cognition augmentation. Technologies that will monitor human

attention and focus will be used track performance and guide the flow
of information to augment cognition; these technologies will also counteract human limitations in memory, attention, learning, and sensing
(visualization) [8]. Instinctual systems will detect human sense and
autonomic reactions, as well as recognition of subliminal cognitive cues
(e.g., the unspoken huh?; hmm; oh!; and ah ha!) to cue tight
interactive analysis collaboration between human and machine.
Direct brain interaction. This is direct multidimensional presentation to

human braincomputing to humans (multilingual speech and context

recognition) and computing to physical world (robotics). Current
direct brain-to-computer research is focused on the control of physiological functions to enable disabled individuals to control robotic
devices by thought. The more complex emerging technologies will go
beyond such binary or discrete exchanges to higher level cognitive
conversations.
Pervasive personal networked computers. While agents will provide per-

sonalized intelligent support, wearable or body-augmented networked

Knowledge Management Technologies

339

(wireless) computations will enable their continuous presence to monitor support and anticipate human activity. Analysis, problem solving,
and collaboration will not be constrained to the desktop.

10.4.3 Knowledge-Based Organization Technologies

Technologies that support the socialization processes of tacit knowledge

exchange will enhance the performance and effectiveness of organizations; these
technologies will increasingly integrate intelligence agents into the organization
as aids, mentors, and ultimately as collaborating peers.
Tailored naturalistic collaboration. Collaboration technologies will pro-

vide environments with automated capabilities that will track the context of activities (speech, text, graphics) and manage the activity toward
defined goals. These environments will also recognize and adapt to
individual personality styles, tailoring the collaborative process (and
the mix of agents-humans) to the diversity of the human-team
composition.
Intimate tacit simulations. Simulation and game technologies will enable

human analysts to be immersed in the virtual physical, symbolic, and

cognitive environments they are tasked to understand. These technologies will allow users to explore data, information, and complex situations in all three domains of reality to gain tacit experience and to be
able to share the experience with others.
Human-like agent partners. Multiagent system technologies will enable

the formation of agent communities of practice and teamsand the

creation of human-agent organizations. Such hybrid organizations will
enable new analytic cultures and communities of problem-solving.
Combined human-agent learning. Personal agent tutors, mentors, and

models will shadow their human partners, share experiences and observations, and show what they are learning. These agents will learn monitor subtle human cues about the capture and use of tacit knowledge in
collaborative analytic processes [9].
Direct brain tacit knowledge. Direct brain biological-to-machine con-

nections will allow monitors to provide awareness, tracking, articulation, and capture of tacit experiences to augment human cognitive
performance.

340

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

10.5 Summary
KM technologies are built upon materials and ITs that enable the complex
social (organizational) and cognitive processes of collaborative knowledge creation and dissemination to occur over large organizations, over massive scales of
knowledge. Technologists, analysts, and developers of intelligence enterprises
must monitor these fast-paced technology developments to continually reinvent
the enterprise to remain competitive in the global competition for knowledge.
This continual reinvention process requires a wise application of technology in
three modes. The first mode is the direct adoption of technologies by upgrade
and integration of COTS and GOTS products. This process requires the continual monitoring of industry standards, technologies, and the marketplace to
project the lifecycle of products and forecast adoption transitions. The second
application mode is adaptation, in which a commercial product component may
be adapted for use by wrapping, modifying, and integrating with commercial or
custom components to achieve a desired capability. The final mode is custom
development of a technology unique to the intelligence application. Often, such
technologies may be classified to protect the unique investment in, the capability of, and in some cases even the existence of the technology.
Intelligence organizations have a mandate to remain competitive and a
mandate to leverage the significant commercial investment in information and
KM technologies. The Government Electronics and Information Technology
Association reported that in 1997 global commercial IT research investments
exceeded the entire (not just IT-related) U.S. DoD research development, test,
and evaluation budget and was increasing at a rate significantly higher than
DoD investments [10]. This commercial technology is available to all intelligence competitors and the intelligence technologist requires the wisdom to
know how and what technologies to adopt, adapt, and develop. Technology is enabling, but it is not sufficient; intelligence organizations must also have the vision
to apply these technologies while transforming the intelligence business in a rapidly changing world.

Endnotes
[1]

The Global Technology Revolution Bio/Nano/Material Trends and Their Synergies with
Information Technology by 2015, Study for the National Intelligence Council, RAND
National Defense Research Institute, 2001. In addition, the projected global societal
effects of IT were reported in Anderson, R., et al., The Global Course of the Information
Revolution: Technological Trends: Proceedings of an International Conference, RAND
CF-157-NIC, 2000. In the terminology of that report, KM capabilities would be considered artifacts or services, rather than a technology.

Knowledge Management Technologies

341

[2] The Strategic Intent is classified document, but essential KM activities are described in
unclassified documents. See IC CIO, Advancing Information Systems to Improve the Business of Intelligence, DCI/CMS/IC CIO, 2000.
[3] For example, see Enterprise Portals: Connecting People, Information, and Applications,
META Group Publications, 2000; Advanced Technologies and Applications Study, The
Gartner Group, 2001; and Corporate Portals, The Delphi Group, 2001.
[4] The reader should be aware that this future possibility is envisioned by some serious thinkers as a grave danger. In the context of this book, we deal only with the future certainty of
increasing machine intelligence and the potential benefits to knowledge creation. For the
concerns on this issue, see Kurtzweil, R., The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers
Exceed Human Intelligence, New York: Penguin Books, 1999; and Joy, Bill, Why the
Future Doesnt Need Us, Wired, 8.04, April 2000, accessed online on August 6, 2002, at
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html.
[5] The DARPA Translingual Information Detection, Extraction, and Summarization Program is conducting research in relevant topic detection, extraction, and tracking to enable
English-speaking users to access, correlate, and interpret multilingual sources of real-time
information.
[6] The DARPA Evidence Extraction, Linking, and Discovery program is developing knowledge discovery technology to overcome the domain dependent limitations of current technologies to provide extraction of evidence from unstructured data, automated detection of
relevant links, and learning of a wide range of pattern types (e.g., temporal, organizational,
and transactional.)
[7] The Advanced Research and Development Agency Advanced Question and Answer Program (Acquaint) is conducting research to: question understanding and interpretation
(including contextual interpretation, query expansion, and query taxonomy), answer derivation (including information retrieval and extraction from multiple media/languages and
data types, interpretation, synthesis, resolving conflicting information, and justification),
and answer formulation and presentation (including summarization, synthesis, and
generation).
[8] The DARPA Augmented Cognition program is conducting research methods to measure
human cognitive load and capacity to optimize the flow of information to the human sensor channels in an effort to overcome cognitive limitations. The DARPA-sponsored InfoCockpit research conducted by Carnegie-Melon/University of Virginia is an example of an
immersive visual environment constructed to enhance human memory of complex situations.
[9] The ARDA Novel Intelligence from Massive Data program is researching tacit knowledge
capture and use technologies.
[10] Federal Information Technology Forecast, Government Electronics and Information
Technology Association, Washington D.C., 1998.

About the Author

Ed Waltz is the technical director for intelligence systems with the Veridian Systems Division, Applied Science and Technology Sector. He leads research and
development for advanced KM technologies applied to difficult intelligence
problems. His more than 30 years of engineering experience have encompassed
a wide range of signal and data processing applications, with emphasis on noncooperative and automatic target recognition, data fusion, modeling and simulation, and KM systems. He has broad experience working with U.S. intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance and C2 systems.
He is internationally recognized for his expertise on the subjects of data
fusion, information warfare, and knowledge management; he has lectured on
these subjects throughout the United States and Europe, and in Canada and the
Middle East. Mr. Waltz is also the author of Information Warfare Principles and
Operations and coauthor of Multisensor Data Fusion (published by Artech
House, 1998 and 1990, respectively). He has authored or coauthored more than
35 other technical publications on advanced sensors, information warfare, and
intelligence analysis.
Mr. Waltz received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the Case Institute
of Technology, Cleveland, Ohio, (1968), and an M.S. in computer, information, and control engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
Michigan (1971).

343

Index
availability, 48
capability maturity levels of, 124
collaborative, 143, 173
collaborative tools, 44
data, 5
decision, 147
defined, 160, 16465
hypotheses, 226
impact refinement, 202
matrix, 225
MI objects of, 32
new, 49
situation refinement, 202
subject of, 209
user availability, 47
See also Analysis-synthesis
Analysis of competing hypotheses (ACH),
144, 22427
for collaborative analytic reasoning, 225
matrix, 255
process flow illustration, 226
structure, 225
Analysis-synthesis, 16162
collaborative, 235
distinctions, 163
intelligence consumer expectations and,
19698
with intelligence cycle, 16162
in intelligence workflow, 198202
as modeling process, 18086

Abductive reasoning, 17375

creating/testing hypotheses, 17475
critical stage of, 174
defined, 173
hypothesis selection, 175
in intelligence example, 17879
Peirces abductive method, 174
process, 17778
process form, 173
See also Reasoning
Abstraction, 68
Acquisition, 69
Agent-based simulation (ABS), 294
Agents
aware, 338
brokering, 26667
defined, 26566
functions, 267
human-like partners, 339
interactive, 267
personal information (PIMs), 266
planning, 267
Alternative analysis, 14647
American Intelligence Journal, 21
American National Standards Institute
(ANSI), 322
American Productivity and Quality Center
(APQC), 22
Analysis, 15991, 225
alternative, 14647

345

346

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Analysis-synthesis (continued)
M&S support, 290
in national decision-making chain, 165
practice of, 195235
principles of, 159
process, 16061
process description, 162
structured, stages, 22729
See also Intelligence analysis
Analyst-agent interaction, 26567
Analytic applications, 166
Analytic tools. See Cognitive services
Apprehension, 188
Archtypes, 79
Argumentation
chain of reasoning for, 214
common forms of, 21314
convergent, 213
defined, 210
divergent, 214
graph theory and, 217
linked, 213
serial, 213
space, 183
structured inferential, 21315
structuring, 20923
Toulmins scheme, 215
Asynchronous collaboration, 133
Automated combination, 27489
data fusion, 27783
data mining, 28388
defined, 27475
Automated data fusion, 243
Automated ontology creation, 337
Automated processing, 2035
implementation, 205
problems, 2045
Backward chaining, 177
Balanced scorecard (BSC), 8992
cause-and-effect model, 9192
CI unit case study, 310
defined, 89
gains, 90
valuation model, 90
views, 8991
Black propaganda, 230
Brain
direct interaction, 338
direct tacit knowledge, 339

Brokering agents, 26667

Business intelligence (BI), 17, 100102
components, 17
defined, 1415
emphasis, 101
focus, 17
implementations, 1012
information sources, 21
taxonomy, 17, 18
See also Intelligence
Business process
analysis and production, 311
CI case study, 30912
functional flow, 31214
intelligence, 332
planning and direction, 311
primary source collection, 311
published source collection, 311
re-engineering (BPR), 9
reporting, 311
Business to business (B2B), 95
Business to customer (B2C), 95
Capital
customer, 86
human, 86
innovation, 86
intellectual, 85, 87
intelligence as, 8593
knowledge, 88
process, 86
Cause-and-effect model, 9192
defined, 91
illustrated, 92
measures categories, 91
Center-edge, 137
Centralized collaboration, 13637
Chain(s)
national decision-making, 165
purpose, 31, 33
reasoning, 214, 220
value, 32, 33
Chief knowledge officer (CKO), 83, 86
Chokepoints, 114
CIO Magazine, 22
CI unit case study, 30622
analyze and produce process functional
flow, 314
architecture framework, 307
balanced scorecard, 310

Index
business operational concept, 312
business process, 30912
business process functional flow, 31214
business process functional flow
illustration, 314
crisis response scenario, 31718
enterprise architecture descriptive
products, 308
FaxTech, 31516, 320
mid-tier business objects, 322
operational scenario, 31618
organization and relationships, 31516
package interfaces, 321
return on investment (ROI), 309
situation, 3067
system abstraction, 31819
system class diagram, 320
system network architecture, 321
system/technical architectural
descriptions, 31922
technical architectural components, 323
value proposition, 3089
waterfall flow, 313
Civilization, waves of, 7
Codification and coordination, 71
Cognitive hierarchy, 3
Cognitive services, 245, 24956
decision support tools, 25253
defined, 249
exploration tools, 250
importance, 24950
reasoning tools, 25052
sensemaking tools, 252
summary, 25758
taxonomy, 251
tool use, 25356
Cognitive shortcomings, 2079
strategies, 209
types of, 208
vulnerabilities, 23132
Collaboration, 108
asynchronous, 133
barriers, 108
behavior levels, 130
centralized, 13637
directory, 253
distributed, 137
facilitation role in, 13133
facilitators, 133

347
human-agent, 335
modes, 134
mutual trust, 131
organizational, 12942
paths, 14042
process, 130
services, 245
social, 118
synchronous, 133
tailored naturalistic, 339
virtual, 118
Collaborative analysis tools, 44
Collaborative culture, 13133
Collaborative environments, 13337
defined, 133
group structuring, 13637
virtual, 133, 134
Collaborative information agents, 265
Collaborative intelligence workflow, 13742
collaborative paths, 14042
situation, 138
team, 13840
Collaborative processes, 109
Collaborative virtual environment (CVE),
133
Collection, 3334
categories, 36
HUMINT, 3738
intelligence, 3642
managers, 13940
planning, 4042, 161
primary source, 311
published source, 311
sources and methods, 3540
tasking, 161
technical intelligence, 3840
Collective intelligence, 129
Combination
automated, 27489
defined, 272
explicit knowledge capture and, 274
explicit to explicit, 72
intelligence use case spiral, 79
in intelligence workflow, 243
Commercial off the shelf (COTS), 256, 340
Communities of organizational practice,
11517
defined, 116
forum, 118

348

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Competitive Intelligence Magazine, 21

Competitive Intelligence Review, 21
Competitor intelligence (CI), 17
defined, 15
information sources, 21
See also CI unit case study; Intelligence
Computer network attack/defense
(CNA/CND), 18889
Consonance evidence combination, 21719
Constructive-destructive process, 172
Content technologies, 259
Conversation modes. See Knowledge creation
model
Cover, concealment, deception (CCD), 223
Creative chaos, 73
Crisis response scenario, 31718
Critical, structured thinking, 14347
basic elements, 145
basis, 143
See also Thinking
Cross Industry Standard Process for Data
Mining (CRISP-DM), 285
Customer
aggregation, 94
capital, 86
Customer relationship management (CRM),
98
automated capabilities, 98
business, 99
intelligence, 99
Customer to business (C2B), 96
Customer to customer (C2C), 96
DARPA Rapid Knowledge Formation (RLF)
project, 272
Data
analysis of, 5
at beginning point of argument, 214
cleansing, 286
defined, 3
pump, 76
refinement, 279, 280
selection and transformation, 286
space, 182
storage, 24547
visualization tools, 44
Data fusion, 27683
automated, 243
data mining integration, 28889
data mining vs., 284

defined, 275, 277

illustrated, 280
process, 27778
target-observer model for, 278
See also Automated combination
Data fusion model, 200, 279
level 0: data refinement, 279, 280
level 1: object refinement, 279, 28081
level 2: situation refinement, 279, 28182
level 3: impact refinement, 279, 282
level 4: process refinement, 279, 28283
level distinctions, 283
Data mining, 28388
bottom-up, 291
data fusion integration, 28889
data fusion vs., 284
defined, 275, 288
functional stages, 28688
as inductive process, 285
operations, 28687
operator techniques, 287
patterns, 284
process, 28384
See also Automated combination
Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, 22
Data warehouse, 286
Deception, 229
counter analysis process components, 234
countering, 22934
countermeasures, 232
counter methodology components, 233
hypotheses, 233, 234
intelligence, 231
leadership, 231
methods, 229
strategic operations categories, 230
See also Denial
Decision analysis, 147
Decision emergence theory (DET), 130
Decision making
analysis-synthesis and, 165
defined, 165
intellectual-emotional commitment, 207
naturalistic, 15051
Decision support systems (DSSs), 252
Decision support tools, 25253
defined, 252
functions, 253
See also Cognitive services

349

Index
Decision synthesis, 22627
Deduction, 16768
defined, 167
expression, 167
in intelligence example, 178
path of, 17677
propositional argument forms, 169
See also Reasoning
Defense Intelligence Journal, 20
Denial, 229
counter analysis process components, 234
countering, 22934
countermeasures, 232
counter methodology components, 233
hypotheses, 233, 234
methods, 229
operations, 231
See also Deception
Descriptive analyses, 11
Digital production services, 245
Directed graphs, 217
evidence and inference forms, 218
inference network, 221
in linking evidence, 224
Direct evidence combination, 217
Disintermediation, 94
Dissonance evidence combination, 219
Distributed collaboration, 137
Document object model (DOM), 262
Domain knowledge, 277
Dynamic knowledge, 59
Economic value added (EVA), 88
Effects-based military operations (EBO), 279
Enterprise
architectural model, 97
defined, 1
information architecture elements, 19
intelligence, 2
Enterprise architecture, 85, 299324
defined, 299
describing, 3026
design case study, 30622
integration system, 247
operations, 300301
summary, 32224
Evidence
analysis, 225
marshaling, 176, 21113
missing, 174

negative, 175
positive, 174
Evidence combination, 21719
consonance, 21719
direct, 217
dissonance, 219
redundant, 219
Explanation space, 18384
Explicit capture, 274
Explicit knowledge, 6368
basis of, 64
categorization, 67
combination technologies, 33537
conversation modes, 7173
defined, 63
knowing, 68
in physical sciences, 64
understanding, 65
See also Knowledge
Exploration tools, 250
Externalization
intelligence use case spiral, 7879
in intelligence workflow, 24243
tacit to explicit, 7172
Externalization-to-internalization workflow,
256
First generation KM, 333
Formal learning, 12729
distance learning canned (DL-canned),
128
distance learning collaborative (DLcollaborative), 128
distance learning remote (DL-remote),
12728
residential learning (RL), 127
See also Learning
Forward chaining, 177
Generation, 7071
Global sensors, 8
Government off the shelf (GOTS), 256, 340
Gray propaganda, 230
Groupware
collaborative implementations, 13637
defined, 134
functions, 13536
Harvard Business Review, 22
Holism, 147

350

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Human-agent learning, 339

Human behavior modeling, 29394
Human capital, 86
Human cognition augmentation, 338
Human-computer interaction (HCI), 80,
33739
Human intelligence (HUMINT), 6, 7,
4142
clandestine sources, 37
collection, 3738
reports, 38
sequence, 38
source categories, 3738
Hypotheses
analysis, 226
analysis of competing (ACH), 144,
22427
candidate, 186
competing, evaluating, 22329
creation, 162, 17475, 183
D&D, 233, 234
distinguishing, 186
evaluation criteria, 176
full set, generating, 22324
model, 182, 184
selection, 175
structure illustration, 211
structuring, 21011
synthesis, 225
testing, 163, 17475
views, 183
IC system for information sharing (ICSIS)
defined, 300
system architecture, 301
IEEE Transactions of Knowledge and Data
Engineering, 22
Impact refinement, 279, 282
analysis, 202
defined, 279
Incongruity testing, 234
Inductive generalization, 169
Inductive prediction, 170
Inductive reasoning, 16873
defined, 168
forms, 169, 170
in intelligence example, 180
path of, 178
See also Reasoning

Inference processes
direction of, 167
structure of, 168
See also Reasoning
Inference(s)
computation, 224
reconstructive, 234
Inferential analyses, 1112
Inferential networks, 21523
logical structure, 223
for military deception hypothesis, 221
Infomediation, 94
Informal learning, 12527
experimentation, 12526
external comparison sources, 126
internal experience, 126
knowledge transfer, 12627
systematic problem solving, 125
See also Learning
Information
defined, 3
dominance, 16
enterprise architecture elements, 19
SBU, 75
See also Data
Information, indexing, discovery, and
retrieval (IIDR), 42
Information retrieval (IR), 24749
approaches, 24748
capabilities taxonomy, 249
data query methods, 247, 248
defined, 247
text query methods, 248
Information visualization, 26465
applications, 266
methods, 265
Innovation capital, 86
Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE), 322
Intangible asset monitor (IAM), 88, 89
Integrated deductive-inductive reasoning,
337
Integrated Definition Models (IDEF), 303
Integrated reasoning process, 17580
Intellectual capital
components of, 87
defined, 85
See also Capital

Index
Intelligence
access categories, 36
applications, 1217
business (BI), 14, 17
as capital, 8593
categories, 1012
collective, 129
competitor (CI), 14, 17
cycle, 34
defined, 12, 1011, 29
descriptive analyses and, 11
disciplines, 6, 1217
discipline subjects, 14
dissemination, 35
environment, changing, 50
future of, 4850
global cooperation, 49
human (HUMINT), 6, 7, 3738, 4142
inferential analyses and, 1112
KM and, 124
measurements and signatures (MASINT),
37
methodology standards, 198
military (MI), 14, 16
national, 14, 1516
nation-state, 1213, 2933
objects, 13
open source (OSINT), 20, 35, 49
planning/direction, 33
processes, 3335
processing, 34
production, 3435
products, 11, 3335
threat-warning, 13
See also Analysis; Collection
Intelligence analysts, 164
cognitive shortcomings, addressing,
2079
role of, 2057
tacit knowledge, 205
Intelligence and National Security, 20
Intelligence business models, 9596
B2B, 95
B2C, 95
C2B, 96
C2C, 96
Intelligence business strategies, 9394
customer aggregation, 94
disintermediation, 94

351
infomediation, 94
Intelligence consumer
defined, 13839
expectations, 19698
as stakeholder, 30
See also Project team
Intelligence CRM, 99
Intelligence deception, 231
Intelligence enterprise, 1720, 2950
applications, 96102
architecture, 96102, 299324
characteristics, 9697
defined, 2
elements, 17
existence, 29
HCI view, 81
operational architecture, 18
operational view, 81
operations, 300301
systems architecture, 18
technical architecture, 1819
technical view, 81
Intelligence information markup language
(ICML), 261
Intelligence portal services, 26364
Intelligence process
analysis-synthesis balancing, 4648
analysis-synthesis focusing, 4546
assessments and reengineering, 4448
collection/analysis balance, 45
KM in, 4244
observable events, 40
phases, 43
planning, 4042
target modeling, 41
Intelligence product values, 93
Intelligence SCM, 101
Intelligence services tier, 24445
cognitive services, 245
collaboration services, 245
digital production services, 245
indexing, query, retrieval, 244
operational processing, 244
workflow management, 245
Intelligence targets
apprehension, 188
of IO, 190
predication, 188
reasoning, 188

352

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Intelligence targets (continued)

representative, 189
in three domains, 18690
types of, 186
Intelligence tradecraft, 15153
analytic taxonomy, 152
defined, 107, 151
state of, 2023
Intelligence use case spiral, 7480
combination, 79
defined, 7475
externalization, 7879
illustrated, 77
internalization, 79
situation, 7577
socialization, 7778, 7980
summary, 80
Intelligence workflow
analysis-synthesis in, 198202
combination, 243
externalization, 24243
internalization, 24345
mental model formation within, 207
publishing, 26263
Interactive analytic tools, 243
Interactive search/retrieval tools, 44
Internalization
explicit to tacit, 7273
intelligence use case spiral, 79
in intelligence workflow, 24345
International Journal of Intelligence and
Counterintelligence, 20
International Journal on Multi-Sensor,
Multi-Source Information Fusion,
2223
International Standards Organization (ISO),
322
IT technologies, 32731
characterizations, 32930
four generations of, 330
Janes Intelligence Review, 21
Journal of Knowledge Management, 22
Journal of Strategy and Business, 21
Kepner-Tregoe, 144
KM technologies, 32740
adaptation, 340
application areas, 33132
automated ontology creation, 337

aware agents, 338

collaborative agent teams, 337
combined human-agent learning, 339
contributors to KM, 328
custom development of, 340
defined, 327
direct brain interaction, 338
direct brain tacit knowledge, 339
explicit knowledge combination, 33537
generations, 333
growth, 328
human cognition augmentation, 338
human-computer tacit-explicit exchange,
33739
human-like agent partners, 339
implications, 329
integrated deductive-inductive reasoning,
337
intimate tacit simulations, 339
key, 33539
knowledge-based organization, 339
matrix, 336
multilingual natural language, 33637
multilingual speech interaction, 338
multimedia content-context tagged
knowledge bases, 33536
natural language query/conversation, 338
pervasive personal networked computers,
33839
purposeful deductive-inductive reasoning,
337
rapid expert knowledge acquisition,
33738
roadmap, 33235
situation immersion, 338
summary, 340
tailored naturalistic collaboration, 339
See also Knowledge management (KM)
Knowing
defined, 68
explicit, 6869
organizational, 70
processes, 68
process management, 69
tacit, 69
Knowledge
in a changing world, 410
in action, 68
behavioral, 67

Index
categorization, 67
as central asset, 56
defined, 3
detection/discovery methods, 276
domain, 277
dynamic, 59
enhancement strategy components, 61
environment, 16
explicit, 6368
flow, to action, 60
flowpaths, 113
focused creation, 60
inferred, 277
intangibles, 86
investment in, 109
as object, 6368
as process, 6871
repositories, 113
significance, 8
sources, 113
tacit, 6368
transferring, 12627
valuation of, 85
workers, 103
Knowledge, attitude, skills (KAS), 122
Knowledge and Process Management, 22
Knowledge-based organization, 10753
communities of practice, 11517
fundamental clusters, 115
KM project initiation, 11718
organizational collaboration, 12942
organizational learning, 12129
organizational problem solving, 14251
storytelling and, 11821
structures, 11215
virtues and disciplines, 10921
Knowledge-centric approach, 8
Knowledge creation, 274
enabling conditions, 74
hierarchy, 62
Knowledge creation model, 7174
explicit to explicit (combination), 72
explicit to tacit (internalization), 7273
illustrated, 72
tacit to explicit (externalization), 7172
tacit to tacit (socialization), 71
The Knowledge Creating Company, 71
Knowledge culture developers, 83
Knowledge discovery. See Data mining

353
Knowledge management (KM)
applications, 8485
defined, 1, 55
definitions, 57
disciplines, 84
elements, 56
first generation, 333
future generations of, 33435
information sources, 2223
infrastructure introduction, 10
innovation, 103
intelligence and, 124
in intelligence process, 4244
IT role in, 32731
networks, 118
organic school of, 120
perspectives, 108
projects, initiating, 11718
research in national security applications,
33132
second generation, 1023, 334
strategy basis, 57
taxonomy of, 8085
technology and tools, 85
See also KM technologies
Knowledge management processes, 12,
55104
defined, 8081
disciplines and supporting tools/
techniques, 82, 83
intelligence enterprise, 81
practical transaction, 70
Knowledge representation
defined, 213
layers, 273
Knowledge strategists, 83
Koestler
bisociation, 171
common forms of human inductive
discovery, 170
constructive-destructive process, 172
graphical representation of discovery, 171
Leadership deception, 231
Leading the Revolution, 9
Learning
defining/measuring, 12223
distance, canned (DL-canned), 128
distance, collaborative (DL-collaborative),
128

354

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Learning (continued)
distance, remote (DL-remote), 12728
formal, 12729
informal, 12527
modes, 12529
organizational, 12129
residential (RL), 127
team, 122
transformational, 122
Lockwood analytic method for prediction
(LAMP), 145
Maintenance, 69
Management International Review, 21
Mapping
defined, 112
five stages of, 11214
organizational knowledge structures,
11215
process, 113
Marshaling evidence
defined, 176
hypothesis argumentation structures and,
212
M&S support, 290
structuring arguments and, 21113
See also Evidence
Matrix analysis, 225
Matrix synthesis, 225
Measurements and signatures intelligence
(MASINT), 37
Measures, 32, 33
Mental models
defined, 122
formation within intelligence workflow,
207
Military dominance, 16
Military intelligence (MI), 16
defined, 14
focus, 32
information sources, 2021
objects of analysis, 32
operational, 32
reporting cycle, 32
tactical, 32
See also Intelligence
Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, 21
Mind
as intelligence target, 65
as knowledge manager, 65

understanding, approaches to, 66

Modeling, Virtual Environments, and
Simulation (MOVES), 291
Modeling and simulation (M&S), 28994
analysis-synthesis support, 290
complex situations and human behavior,
29394
defined, 289
implementations, 289
intelligence applications, 29091
for I&W, 29293
tools, 44
Models
defined, 289
as explanation, 182
explicit, 181
financial, 181
as hypothesis, 182, 184
typical forms of, 185
Multiattribute utility analysis (MAUA), 144
Multilevel security portal (MLS), 76
Multilingual natural language, 33637
Multilingual speech interaction, 338
Nanotechnology, 329
National intelligence, 1516
components, 16
defined, 15
focus, 14, 15, 32
information sources, 2021
objects of analysis, 32
reporting cycle, 32
support, 15
See also Intelligence
National intelligence estimates (NIEs), 47,
196
GAO report, 197
standards, 196
National Strategy for Homeland Security, 50
Nation-state intelligence, 1213
major categories of, 32
stakeholders, 2933
Naturalistic decision making, 15051
approaches, 15051
studies, 150
Natural language query/conversation, 338
Network-centric approach, 8
Networks of conversations, 111
The New Competitor Analysis, 37
N-tier system architecture, 244

355

Index
Object(s)
of analysis, 32
intelligence, 13
refinement, 279, 28081
Observe-orient-decide-act (OODA) loop,
199
Open source intelligence (OSINT), 20, 35,
49
Operational architecture, 18
defined, 303
illustrated, 304
products, 305
Operational processing, 244
Organization, this book, 2324
Organizational analysis, 120
Organizational collaboration, 12942
culture, 13133
environments, 13337
intelligence workflow, 13742
See also Knowledge-based organization
Organizational competencies, 11718
Organizational knowing, 70
Organizational learning, 12129
defining/measuring, 12223
knowledge maturity measurement,
12325
modes, 12529
See also Knowledge-based organization
Organizational link analysis process flow, 228
Organizational problem solving, 14251
critical, structured thinking, 14347
naturalistic decision making, 15051
problems, 14243
strategy flow, 146
systems thinking, 14750
See also Knowledge-based organization
Organizational values/virtues, 11012
People, 80, 103
disciplines and supporting tools/
techniques, 8283
intelligence enterprise, 81
investment in, 109
knowledge culture developers, 83
knowledge strategists, 83
perspective, 107
pointers to, 115
People-Capability Maturity Model
(P-CMM), 12324
Performance drivers, 91

Personal information agents (PIMs), 266

Planning, 165
agents, 267
collection, 4042, 161
intelligence process, 4042
problems, 142
Political liberation front (PLF), 75, 78, 80
Predication, 188
Problems
assessment, 145
decomposition, 146
detection, 143
discovery, 14243
explanation, 143
planning, 142
representative categories, 204
Process capital, 86
Processing-analysis workflow, 201
Processors
defined, 81
disciplines and supporting tools/
techniques, 82, 83
intelligence enterprise, 81
Process refinement, 279, 28283
Production content management services,
260
Project team, 13840
all-source analytic cell, 139
collection managers, 13940
intelligence consumers, 13839
single-source analysts, 139
Psychological operations (PSYOP), 189, 229,
231
Purpose chain, 31, 33
Reasoning, 68
abductive, 17375
chains, 214, 220
deductive, 16768
defined, 188
flows, integrating, 177
integrated deductive-inductive, 337
integrated process, 17580
processes, 16775
purposeful deductive-inductive, 337
sensemaking distinctions, 2056
Reasoning tools, 25052
analytic tasks, 25152
defined, 250
support, 25051

356

Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise

Reasoning tools (continued)

See also Cognitive services
Reconstructive inference, 234
Redundant evidence combination, 219
Refinement
data, 279, 280
feedback, 288
impact, 202, 279, 282
object, 279, 28081
process, 279, 28283
situation, 202, 279, 28182
Retroduction, 177
defined, 178
in intelligence example, 178
Revolution in military affairs (RMA), 9, 10
Second generation KM, 334
Sensemaking, 69
defined, 206
reasoning distinctions, 2056
tools, 252
Sensitive but classified (SBU)
information, 75
kickoff meeting, 77
Service values, 93
Simulations
agent-based (ABS), 294
collaborative nature, 290
defined, 289
intelligence applications, 291
intimate tailored, 339
See also Modeling and simulation (M&S)
Single-source analysts, 139
Situation immersion, 338
Situation refinement, 279, 28182
analysis, 202
defined, 279
Social collaboration, 118
Socialization
defined, 108
intelligence use case spiral, 7778, 7980
tacit to tacit, 71
Sources, 31, 33
open, 47, 48
primary collection, 311
published collection, 311
Stakeholders, 2933
intelligence consumers, 30
intelligence producers, 30
owners, 30

structure and metrics of, 30

Stimulus-hypothesis-option-response
(SHOR) model, 199
Storage, 24547
application integration alternatives,
24647
issues, 24546
structure alternatives, 246
Storytelling, 11821
modes, 119
tacit knowledge communication withy,
11821
Strategic outcomes, 91
Structured judgment tools, 44
Structuring arguments, 21113
Structuring hypotheses, 21011
Studies in Intelligence, 20
Supply chain management (SCM), 98100
business, 101
defined, 98
functions, 9899
intelligence, 101
key impact measures, 99100
Supply-side emphasis, 333
Surveillance/reconnaissance sources, 39
Synchronous collaboration, 133
Synthesis
decision, 22627
hypothesis, 225
matrix, 225
up-down, 291
Systems architecture, 18
defined, 303
illustrated, 304
products, 305
Systems thinking, 14750
analytic thinking vs., 148
approaches, 150
characteristics, 14849
Tacit knowledge, 6368
basis of, 64
categorization, 67
communicating, with storytelling, 11821
conversation modes, 7173
defined, 63
direct brain, 339
human analyst application of, 205
knowing, 68
in metaphysics, 6465

357

Index
understanding, 65
See also Knowledge
Target-observer model, 278
Tasking, collection, processing, exploitation,
dissemination (TCPED), 100
Tasking, processing, exploitation,
dissemination (TPED), 200
Technical architecture, 1819
defined, 303
illustrated, 304
products, 305
Tension factor, 44
Thinking
analytic, 148
critical, structured, 14347
systems, 14750
Third wave, 6
Threat-warning intelligence, 13
Toulmins argument structure, 21516
Tradecraft Notes, 15253
Transfer, 6970, 71
Transformation, 69
Transformational learning, 122
Unified Modeling Language (UML), 303
U.S. DoD
contrast in perspectives, 59
Joint Directors of Laboratories (JDL) data
fusion model, 200, 279
KM and, 58
KM technology developers, 331
research development, test, evaluation
budget, 340
views of intelligence enterprise, 303, 304
U.S. DoD Architecture Framework, 3035
defined, 303
operational architecture, 303
products, 3045
systems architecture, 303
technical architecture, 303
view illustration, 304

views, 3034
U.S. IC, 44
chains of purpose and values for, 31
chief information officer (CIO), 263
collaboration, 13738
evolution/revolution alternatives, 49
KM technology developers, 331
metadata/metadata markup working
group, 261
Operational Network (ICON), 300, 301
stakeholders, 2930
Strategic Investment Plan for Analysis,
24950
U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)
KM definition, 58
perspectives contrast, 59
Value chain, 32, 33
Value propositions
categories, 8788
CI unit case study, 3089
customer intimacy, 88
defined, 87
operational excellence, 87
product-to-market excellence, 8788
Values
categories, 110
intelligence product, 93
organizational, 11012
service, 93
Virtual collaboration, 118
Virtual Corporation, 67
Waterfall flow, 313
Workflow management, 245
XML, 26061
predefined metadata format, 263
SIGINT content example, 261
Zachman Architecture Framework, 302

The Artech House Information Warfare Library

Electronic Intelligence: The Analysis of Radar Signals, Second Edition,
Richard G. Wiley
Electronic Warfare for the Digitized Battlefield, Michael R. Frater
and Michael Ryan
Electronic Warfare in the Information Age, D. Curtis Schleher
EW 101: A First Course in Electronic Warfare, David Adamy
Information Warfare Principles and Operations, Edward Waltz
Introduction to Communication Electronic Warfare Systems,
Richard Poisel
Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise,
Edward Waltz
Principles of Data Fusion Automation, Richard T. Antony
Tactical Communications for the Digitized Battlefield, Michael Ryan
and Michael R. Frater

For further information on these and other Artech House titles,

including previously considered out-of-print books now available
through our In-Print-Forever (IPF) program, contact:
Artech House

Artech House

685 Canton Street

46 Gillingham Street

Norwood, MA 02062

London SW1V 1AH UK

Phone: 781-769-9750

Phone: +44 (0)20-7596-8750

Fax: 781-769-6334

Fax: +44 (0)20-7630-0166

e-mail: [email protected]

e-mail: [email protected]

Find us on the World Wide Web at:

www.artechhouse.com