Solution

Feedback Cycle in Collection Processes

• Intelligence collection processes typically go through several cycles of: tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination functions (TCPEDs). They can start from initial Intelligence requirements and evolve based on real-time collected and processed information.

• Feedback or output from the collection process should be actionable. All organizations whose actions affect the status of requirements must cooperate by making status changes available on a timely basis. This near real-time feedback capability will facilitate the task of dynamic re-tasking.

• The re-tasking stage feeds back into the collection process and redirects collection toward high priority targets or goals that are identified based on previous collection cycles and intelligence requirements (e.g., priority intelligence requirements; PIRs).

Intelligence requirements

• Intelligence requirements represent the key activity to guide the whole collection process cycle and focus the collection process on the most important information needs.

• Several attempts exist to develop intelligence requirement frameworks to integrate efforts from different sources and create unified terminologies. But what can guide the intelligence requirements themselves?

• Comprehensive risk assessments that include threat, vulnerability, and consequence are crucial elements in identifying specific intelligence requirements. Those can reveal current or existing information or intelligent gaps that should be filled through intelligent gathering and collection processes.

• On the other hand, intelligence requirements can be triggered by users seeking some intelligent information about an adversary, their capabilities, intentions, or actions. This information need is then expressed to the appropriate element of the intelligence community as intelligence requirements