An Application of the AKADAM Approach to Intelligence Analyst Work

Abstract

This paper emphasizes the use of cognitive task analysis to gain significant insight into the unique domain of intelligence analysts, how intelligence analysts view this domain, and how this domain can be replicated in a controlled simulation environment in which innovative tools and procedures can be empirically tested. Details of two comprehensive knowledge elicitation sessions involving intelligence analysts are provided as an example of using the Advanced Knowledge Acquisition and Design (AKADAM) methodology to obtain contextually relevant information for use in developing a homeland defense-oriented simulation/experimental task. Several distinctive characteristics of intelligence analyst functionality were discovered, including the multi-source integration of relevant information, complex cognitive analysis, and team collaboration in decision-making. Additional themes such as social interaction and the limitations of current analysis tools were identified.