ABSTRACT
The production of intelligence is a process, one that is modeled by the Intelligence Cycle (IntC). While the process has always existed in one form or another, Robert Glass and Philip Davidson first introduced the actual term in their groundbreaking 1948 book, Intelligence Is for Commanders. The earliest versions of the IntC integrated five distinct functions, each occurring as a discrete function in a linear path:
Step One: Planning and Direction;
Step Two: Collection;
Step Three: Processing and Exploitation;
Step Four: Analysis and Production; and
Step Five: Dissemination.
Over the years, critics have noted that the actual production of intelligence is much more chaotic than that presented by the nice, neat IntC. As a result, in 2011, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) introduced his own version of the model, which more closely mirrors real world circumstances. In the DNI’s version, the steps are not discrete but interrelated-dissemination can come directly after collection if an impatient policymaker is unwilling to wait for a polished product. In addition, the DNI introduced a sixth step-Evaluation-which occurs during every step of the process.