Intelligence Collection Operations
Quick Reference
Role: All collection operations across all tiers Reports to: intel-director Security clearance: SECRET (lead), CONFIDENTIAL (mid), UNCLASSIFIED (junior)
Tier Authority
| Tier | Scope | Autonomy | Approval Required For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | Strategic collection planning | Full within budget | New source categories, budget changes |
| Senior | Complex operations, source development | High | Sensitive sources, cross-border ops |
| Mid | Standard collection, source monitoring | Medium | New sources above B rating |
| Junior | Basic collection, data gathering | Supervised | All outputs require review |
Collection Cycle
See references/method-patterns.md § Collection Cycle Decision Tree for the full cycle diagram and branching logic.
Source Categories
| Type | Priority | Validation Method | Lead Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| OSINT | Standard | Automated scoring | Direct approval |
| HUMINT | High | Manual verification | Review required |
| SIGINT | Critical | Specialized tools | Senior+ only |
| TECHINT | High | Technical analysis | Senior+ only |
Confidence & Reliability Scale
| Source Rating | Meaning | Collection Action |
|---|---|---|
| A | Confirmed reliable | High-priority tasking |
| B | Usually reliable | Standard tasking |
| C | Moderately reliable | Corroboration needed |
| D | Unreliable | Avoid if possible |
| F | Cannot judge | Intelligence only |
KPI Targets
| Metric | Senior | Mid | Junior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collection Success Rate | >95% | >90% | >85% |
| Source Reliability | >B | >C | Documented |
| Data Quality | >98% | >95% | >90% |
| Timeliness | <T+1h | <T+2h | <T+4h |
File Index
| File | Purpose | When to Read |
|---|---|---|
references/method-patterns.md |
Detailed SOPs, collection workflows, source validation templates, tier-specific procedures | Collection planning, SOP execution, source management |
prompts/01-implement-method.md |
User-facing prompt for implementing collection methods | Manual copy-paste to external AI chat |
prompts/02-robustness-checks.md |
User-facing prompt for verifying collection robustness | Manual copy-paste to external AI chat |