ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the process of taking known information or data about situations and entities and characterizing the known, and predicting future trend actions in those situations/entities. It discusses the Intelligence Cycle, commonly used by selected members of the intelligence community to collect, process, and disseminate intelligence. The intelligence cycle consists of six interrelated phases of intelligence operations typified by broad activities conducted by intelligence groups and organizations in an effort to provide clients, consumers, and decision makers with relevant and timely intelligence. The intelligence cycle is composed of six phases: Requirements, Planning and Direction, Collection, Processing and Exploitation, Analysis and Production, and Dissemination. Military intelligence professionals refer to the process of creating a "workable hypothesis/threat modeling" as the Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment. The Processing and Exploitation Phase converts raw collected data into usable forms more readily understood by clients, decision makers, intelligence analysts, and other intelligence consumers.
