intelligence cycle

The sequence of activities whereby information is obtained, assembled, converted into intelligence and made available to users. This sequence comprises the following four phases: a. direction--Determination of intelligence requirements, planning the collection effort, issuance of orders and requests to collection agencies and maintenance of a continuous check on the productivity of such agencies. b. collection--The exploitation of sources by collection agencies and the delivery of the information obtained to the appropriate processing unit for use in the production of intelligence. c. processing--The conversion of information into intelligence through collation, evaluation, analysis, integration and interpretation. d. dissemination--The timely conveyance of intelligence, in an appropriate form and by any suitable means, to those who need it.