The design and implementation of an automated intelligence collection management tool

Abstract

Currently, the only support for tactical intelligence collection management to a U. S. Army field commander is a manual process. This process results in a product that is many times erroneous and untimely. In response to this, the problem addressed by this work is to design and implement an automated collection management tool which will enable an intelligence analyst to provide a more timely and accurate intelligence picture of the battlefield. The approach taken was to design the tool using an object oriented paradigm, develop the asset resource evaluation algorithms, and then implement the tool using U.S. Army Intelligence Community standards for interface design, coding, and functionality. This tool allows an intelligence analyst to translate a Commander's guidance into intelligence indicators composed of nodes with observable signatures, track collection assets, and evaluate the collection capability of assets against observable signatures by availability, capability, and vulnerability. The results of this thesis is an automated collection management tool which is presently under evaluation by the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School for fielding at all echelons.