TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR STUDY OF USIB INFORMATION PROCESSING PROBLEMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01139A000200080006-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 18
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 3, 2004
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: June 1, 1961
• Content Type: STUDY

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UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
COMMITTEE ON DOCUMENTATION
Terms of Reference for
Study of
USIB Information Processing Problems
Purpose of Study
1. The basic purpose of the study is to help the USIB and CODIB to prepare
"guidelines for the development of information processing facilities in the
Community" (USIB-M-115)> "The study should seek to establish and define
long-range goals, with particular emphasis on considerations attending the
use of /and interpretation of information through/ automatic data processing
and the development of compatible systems" (USIB-M-144)
2. The need for such guidelines stems from the growing complexity of the
intelligence community, and the appreciable increase in the types and amounts of
intelligence information which must be handled o The interdependence of the
individual intelligence organizations and the high cost of processing information
make it mandatory that remedial action be taken now.
33. The results of a study of the intelligence community will of necessity
reflect the problems uppermost in each intelligence component as a consequence
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of providing information to, or receiving information from, the other components of
the community. Such problems should be identified and, to the extent possible solutions
for them should also be sought during the course of the study.
4. To restate and summarize, we want to set guidelines for the development of
individual information systems and. services of common concern which take full account
of the potential of modern techniques for processing information in order to improve
the collective effort.
Scope
5. The scope of the study will be comprehensive as to sources from open literature
through SIGINT or other "exotic" collection programs. Similarly, it will have to take
a broad view of the intelligence cycle and include in its investigations collection and.
the field preparation of documents, communication, systems input and information
dissemination, storage retrieval and display and user requirements for additional
collection.
Conceptual Approach
6. We visualize the study being carried out in various phases, with considerable
latitude permitted as long as the purpose of the study is kept clearly in minda
Phase I: Preparation of plan
Phase II: Organizing the effort
Phase III: Fact gathering
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Phase IV: Analysis
Phase V: Formulation of conclusions
Phase VI: Formulation of recommendations
7, The control of the study should remain unmistakably and firmly in the hands of
CODIB.
8. Dependence on outside help should be limited to expertise needed to make up
deficiencies arising as a result of inability of the intelligence community to staff the
effort from its own people.
9. The fact finding phase should include the identification of:
- the activities which by reason of function are to be included
in the study.
- the needs of these activities for classified information and
for open literature to discharge their intelligence missions.
- the problems of (a) knowing that the required information
exists; and (b) gaining access to the information itself.
- the problems of preparing input in view of the multiplicity
of sources, variety, formats, security controls, languages;
of the perishability of the information ; and of the competition
for information.
- the problems of dissemination by receiving processing centers,
including matching receipts with requirements.
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the problem of servicing requests for information by retrieval
from storage.
- current and long-range programs affecting any of the above.
1.0. The analysis phase should carefully examine questions of of ganization,
controls and procedures. The inadequacies of the present way in which the
intelligence community processes its information are to be identified. Possible
remedial steps should be examined, and statements made of prospective advantages,
disadvantages and difficulties.
Key Problems Amenable to Analysis
11. In a further effort to make. as clear as possible what we want from this study,
the following tasks relative to intelligence processing activities should be accomplished
during the analysis and subsequent phase of the project:
a . Determine an effective .allocation of functional areas
of responsibility of individual departments or agencies
engaged in intelligence processing activities within the
intelligence community.
b. For functional areas of common interest determine
appropriate means of direction, integration, coordination
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or allocation of responsibilities within the intelligence
community to ensure effective accomplishment of assigned
mission; consider that improved EDP capabilities provide
a tool for more latitude in allocating responsibilities, but
also that some new restraints that must be identified are
imposed by the interplay of standardization and/or
compatibility and the costs of operating EDP installations.
c. Through a knowledge of existing and planned capabilities
of the various components of the community, including a
survey of USIB holdings and the scope and subdivisions of
the "common data base", determine means of providing
direction to ensure the effective discharge by these
components of proposed allocated responsibilities through
(1) Use of standardized procedures and techniques
(2) Use of compatible systems of equipment.
d. Determine an effective means within the intelligence community
to ensure a dynamic and consistent advance in the capabilities
of the various components of the community to prevent large
discrepancies in capabilities from hindering the effectiveness
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of the community as a wholes including provision for evaluative-
type experiments of general community interest but too
expensive in funds or manpower for one agency to consider.
Ensure that each component group at any time not only meets
its own needs but also provides services as required to the
community.
e. Determine the extent of standardization desirable throughout
the intelligence community in areas such as
(1) Indexing, including re-evaluation of the ISC and
special consideration to relate any modified codes
to prior codes to allow for machine 'transformations
of prior coding efforts
(2) Input formating
(3) Problem oriented languages for computer usage
(4) Compiler/translator usage
(5) Display symbolics and means
(6) Adequate security control of data within EDP systems
(7) Document storage in hard copy and reduced image for
rapid retrieval purposes.
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f. Project the evolving needs for communications in support of
intelligence information processing activities and, in
conjunction with appropriate communications agencies,
appraise the adequacy of existing and planned communica-
tion facilities.
g. Determine the extent to which EDP can assist in areas such
(1) Indications and warning
(2) Document reference
(3) N-dimensional pattern analysis
(4) FLINT processing
(5) Evaluation of source data content and reliability
(6) Dissemination control at all levels
(7) Coordination of collection requirements and the
matching of information as received to related
requirements for purposes of dissemination and
feed-back to permit continuous review and
revision of requirements
(8) Analysis of economic, transportation and logistic
system constraints
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(9) Target intelligence support
(10) Intelligence incident to systematic analysis of
range activity.
h. Consider the need for and practicality of having a single
agency assume the archival responsibility for the
community .
I.. Establish means of accelerating progress in the above areas
in a manner consistent with the needs of the intelligence
community as a whole.
12. Major components which we can predict will be directly involved are:
a. State, Including the Department and selected Foreign
Service Posts.
b. CIA, including the various reference services and research
offices.
c. Defense, including the JCS, Unified and Specified Commands.
d. Army, including ACSI, the Tech Services Intelligence Agencies,
the Field Data System, and the Office of Research and Develop-
ment,
e. Navy, including ONI, Supporting Bureaus and Offices, Major
Fleet Commanders and the Fleet Intelligence Centers.
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f. Air Force, including AFCIN, A.FIC, ATIC, ACIC, AFSC, AFOSR,
ASTIA, and the AF major overseas commands.
g. NSA and associated Service components.
h. National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC).
i. National Indications Center (NIC).
j. AEC.
k. FBI.
1. Non-USIB agencies, such as USIA, NSF and NBS.
13. Numerous studies have been made over the past few years covering various
aspects of the activities and problems of concern to us in the above components.
These studies should be exploited as much as warranted in order to avoid unnecessary
efforts during the fact-finding phase. Projects such as WALNUT (CIA's counter-
intelligence name check system), ACSIMATIC (Army's man-machine system), and
the AIDS project (Air Force 438L system) are cases in point. In addition, there
exist many general studies which provide contributions on the more theoretical
aspects of our problems (e.g., NBS reports series prepared by the Research
Information Center and Advisory Service on Information Processing).
14. The preparation of recommendations for Community action in specific areas.
need not await the completion of the entire study.
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The Study Staff and Its Mission
15. The Staff assembled for conducting the study shall be a full-time working
group with no other commitments. Members are to come principally from various
Government intelligence organizations.
16. Expert consultants with skills needed to complement those of the members
of the group are to be drawn from organizations outside of the intelligence community
(some full-time, some part-time).
17. Staff personnel are to be qualified to develop long-range plans for informa-
tion processing and to establish guidelines for the introduction of methods and
equipments to achieve the long-range goals.
18. This analysis team should have within itself the capability to apply methods
and techniques of analysis to a wide variety of system problems. While knowledge
of state-of-the-art in equipments and utilization techniques must also be contained
within the team, the primary focus should be on the operations--the problem of the
users. Specification of the mode of information transmission is an engineering
problem; determination of what information needs to be transmitted and in what
format is an operations problem. The efforts of tie group should be directed
much more toward an operations analysis than an engineering analysis. In
this regard, one of the pressing tasks the team would face is the identification
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of the information links among the various organizations and the problems of inter-
face between them.
19. It is apparent that the orientation of the analysis team is critical to its
success. It must be USIB oriented, its sole mission being to devise means for
improving information processing services throughout the intelligence community.
This attitude must be reflected in any system recommendations or specifications
resulting from the group's efforts.
20. As a by-product of the planning function and its orientation toward service
to the community, the analysis team could comment on the desirability of mounting
a continuing effort in its field of investigation.
Sources of Manpower for Staffing
21. We estimate that the complement of the Staff will approximate 20 pro-
fessional personnel, including full-time consultants for a period of at least one
year. Secretarial assistance will be provided as needed.
22. Each of the following organizations shall provide at least one competent
individual: State, Defense, Army, Navy, Air Force, NSA, NPIC, JCS, AEC
and FBI. CIA shall provide up to 10 plus secretarial support.
23. In addition the staff may be augmented, as needed, by specialized outside
assistance to be selected from such organizations as. SRI, RAND, SDC, MITRE,
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and PRC. Organizations approached will be invited to make competent individuals
available. We hope that the cost to the Government will not exceed $30, 000/man/year,
including expenses incidental to any necessary move. Costs incurred over and above
normal operating costs will be borne equally by DOD and CIA.
Staff Control
24. The staff shall report to a staff director, who shall be responsible to the
Chairman of CODIB and report regularly to CODIB itself. Arrangements will be
made for interim reporting by the Staff to USIB.
Advisory Panel of Experts
25. Individuals in the Government having special competence in a field of the
Staff's responsibility will be identified and, with their consent and that of their
superiors, will constitute a panel of consultants to furnish,advice and assistance.
Security Clearances
26. All members of the staff shall be cleared for special intelligence; a selected
number shall be cleared into the NPIC; part-time experts will be cleared on a
need-to-know basis.
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Prospective Results
27. If properly organized and carried out, helpful results from this study may
be expected in four general areas
(1) Clarification, of responsibilities (see para. 28);
(2) Clarification, of compatibility goals (see para. 29);
(3) Inauguration of "system of systems" concept (see para. 30);
(4) Creation of an integrated research support program (see para. 31)0
28. Responsibilities. Here we should get some clarification of how to allocate
responsibilities for performing processing services in support of individual systems
charged with carrying out specific missions. For example, biographic information
is a general category of intelligence; query, should processing be centralized in
support of a number of other components such as NIC (early warning) or SAC
(targeting and air defense analysis), or should processing be decentralized?
29, Compatibility. We should get help in firming up concepts, now rather
loose, about the need for common coding, common formating, compatible
computer programming (an extension of the COBOL approach), compatible remote
systems input equipment, and compatible processing equipment. The entire
business of planning data exchange programs, which is a corolry of the
biographic example mentioned above, should be clarified. This effort should
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include the examination of dissemination and requirements control practices o The
study should not only identify desirable goals but recommend means for their
attainment,
300 "System of systems" approach. The existence of a multiplicity of separate
but interdependent systems requires a broader look than is usually required when
a single system is under study. There are certain basic processes common to all
our systems (see Attachment A), and there are also certain operations common to
all mechanized information storage and retrieval systems (see Attachment B for
one such scheme including both textual and diagrammatic information). Moreover
these processes and operations are performed on a data base much of which is
common to the major intelligence components a A "system of systems" approach
would therefore seem to insure an integrated intelligence effort as a minimum
results
31 o Research program in support of USIB o The study will probably result
in identification of problems which will require exploratory research in areas
of common interest. Projects meriting community sponsorship should be
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referred to a mechanism through which the several interested agencies could support
and direct a single development effort, or a group of closely related or parallel 25X1
efforts (see Attachment C).
Chairman
USIB Committee on Documentation
A: Basic Process in Utilization of
Intelligence Information
B: A Mechanized. Intelligence Information
Storage, Search and Selection System
C : Integrated USIB Research, Development,
and System Planning
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ATTACHMENT A
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ATTACHMENT B
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ATTACHMENT C
COD18- D- 825
1 JUNE 1961
INTEGRATED USIB RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, & SYSTEM PLANNING
U. S. DOCUMENTARY
INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION
COMMON
RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS
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POOLED USIB DOLLAR SUPPORT
SINGLE EXECUTIVE DIRECTION
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
- Basic Research
- System Requirements
- System Design
- Simulation
- Hardware
- Application
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