Structured Analytic Techniques: Taxonomy and Technique Selection for Information and Intelligence Analysis Practitioners

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to propose a new taxonomy and selection of structured analytic
techniques for information and intelligence analysis practitioners. The presented taxonomy
and selection of structured analytic techniques are based on the author’s experience in information
and intelligence analysis as well as in training analysts in the use of those techniques.
The presented classification and selection of techniques have resulted from the author’s
attempts to improve teaching and learning process of the analysts who were novice to structured
analytic techniques. From the author’s experience, a well-constructed taxonomy aids
novice analysts in understanding a purpose of used techniques and selecting the best-suited
technique for a given analytic problem. In the article the author will first offer definitions of
analysis, analytic process and analytic spectrum. This will be followed by a review of the four
general categories of analytic methods used in intelligence analysis. The author will further
explain the origins, concepts and characteristics of both structured analysis and structured
analytic techniques. Next, structured analytic techniques will be discussed in the context of
the Intelligence Cycle. Following this, the author will review several existing taxonomies of
structured analytic techniques. The article will conclude with a taxonomy and a selection of
techniques for the information and intelligence analysis practitioners, based on a review of
the literature augmented by the author’s professional experience.