TASK TEAM II - ITEM IDENTIFICATION FINAL REPORT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01139A000400120001-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 108
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 10, 2005
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 13, 1965
• Content Type: REPORT

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CODIB-D-111/1.2/6
ATTACHMENT
UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
COMMITTEE ON DOCUMENTATION
TASK TEAM II - ITEM IDENTIFICATION
FINAL REPORT
T/II/R -1
13 August 1965
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T/II/R-1
13 August 1965
UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
COMMITTEE ON DOCUMENTATION
TASK TEAM II - ITEM IDENTIFICATION
MEMORANDUM FOR: Chairman, Committee on Documentation
SUBJECT: Transmittal of Task Team II Report
REFERENCE: CODIB-D-111/1.2/2, 25 November 1964
1. Transmitted herewith is the report of CODIB Task Team II,
Nue Item Identification. This report is the result of 22 meetings of the
Task Team (beginning on 13 October 1964), a good deal of homework on
the part of team members, and staff analytic assistance from the CODIB
Support Staff.
2. A list of participating members is attached, indicating extent
of participation in meetings. The Team worked together as a group of
interested and knowledgeable people and not as representatives of
particular agencies or departments. Departmental coordination was
expected to take place after the report is submitted to you.
3. CODIB's original charge to the Task Team was a double one:
a, develop and publish a standard item list and, b. develop and imple-
ment standard item description elements. The Team has responded to "a"
by proposing an Item Register System (Recommendation A-B), together
with an implementation plan and resource estimates. The Team feels that
"b" can best be accomplished during the establishment of an Item Register
System and so recommends in this report (Recommendation C).
4. In Recommendation D the Team proposes its own dissolution. The
Team will therefore not engage in further activities until CODIB has
acted upon that recommendation.
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T/II/R-1
13 August 1965
5. The report consists of five sections: a brief summary of con-
clusions and recommendations (Section I), an introductory section dis-
cussing the problem and relating the Team's approach to other possibili-
ties and Task Teams (Section II), a discussion of the basic elements of
a proposed solution to the problem (Section III), a proposal for an
Item Register System, together with an implementation plan, resource
estimates, and consideration of system alternatives (Section IV), and
specific recommendations (Section V). In addition, six informative
appendices are attached. A special-channels supplement to Appendix 3
and Appendix 4 will be forwarded separately.
6. I would like to take this opportunity to commend to you the
fine work done by all concerned, both those on the Team itself (including
those assisting from the CODIB Support Staff) and those in the agencies
who supported them.
7. I aLso feel it my duty to give my own impressions of the
adequacy of this type of organization to do this type of work. As
stated in the Terms of Reference (Referenced above), the overall task
was "to prepare gross alternative plans for an operational system,
(which) would be difficult to accomplish without some full-time assis-
tance and continuity." The CODIB Support Staff has provided a good deal
of this staff-analytic capability, without which the Team report might
never have been finished. However, I would like to state here as my
personal opinion (not necessarily reflecting the views of the Team) that
a part-time ad-hoc group is not the best instrument for system design
activities. The use of a committee is most valuable in bringing
together diverse backgrounds and experiences to advise, guide and eval-
uate such activities, but the actual design work is best done by full-
time staff personnel.
25X1
25X1
Chairman, CODIB Task Team II
Attachments:
a. List of participants in Task Team II work
b. Task Team II Report
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13 August
1965
Participation in Task Team II Activities
CIA
State
*Mr. Curtis L. Fritz (9 meetings)
*Mr. Robert F. Whipp (9 meetings)
DIA
Air Force
*Lt. Col. Robert R. McAnaw (all meetings)
Army
*Mr. Robert D. Baxter (14 meetings)
Mr. Charles L. Johnson (meeting 6)
Navy
Mr. D'Armand Dochez (meetings and 7)
LTJG Glen A. (meeting 6)
NSA
CODIB
Support Staff
(as
number of meetings and agrees
*Participated in a substantial
an individual) with the substance of this report.
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T/II/R-1
13 August 1965
UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
COMMITTEE ON DOCUMENTATION
TASK TEAM II - ITEM IDENTIFICATION
Report
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
I. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations 1
II. Item Control 4
III, System Elements 10
A. Elements of Information 10
1. List of Elements 10
2. Unique Reference Number 12
3. Categorization 13
B. Item Level 19
C. Sample Item List 21
D. Scope 21
IV. System Integration and Alternatives 24
A. Item Register System 24
B. System Implementation 25
C. Resource Estimates 27
D. Implementation Alternatives 27
E. Alternatives to an Item Register System 28
V. Recommendations 33
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Appendices
-
Table of Contents (Cont'd)
1. CODIB-Approved Terms of Reference for Task Team II
2. SCIPS Survey Coverage
3. Item Identification Control Systems
4. Item Identification Lists
S. Sample Pages of an Item Register List
6. Suggested Input Card Format
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Summary
I. Summary_2f Conclusions and Recommendations
Information handling in the Intelligence Community is characterized
by large and growing investments, a steady increase in the quantity of
information, both incoming and in files, occurrence of more and more fast-
reaction requirements and an increased application of intelligence to
areas outside the Community itself.
In this dynamic environment, the vast majority of information and
intelligence is provided in the form of "documents". Many of these are
issued and distributed as series. These documents are received and pro-
cessed by many organizations and, in a certain sense, tie the Community
together. However, in order to take advantage of this aspect, WQ must be
able, in many different processing systems, to identify these items
commonly and to call each by the same name. A further requirement is to
be able to categorize or classify these items for different end-use
purposes, and to be able to refer to the same categories of these items
in different information systems. We have used the phrase "item control"
to refer to these needs.
The need for item control derives from the need to manage information
processing activities (collection, communication, dissemination, storage,
retrieval, manipulation), the need to design more effective information
processing systems, and the need to communicate effectively between pro-
cessors, users, system designers and managers. With respect to system
design and information-exchange uses, the need is to describe efficiently,
simply and accurately the inclusion and exclusion of information content
in a given file or information system. Not until we can accurately and
definitively describe the scope and content of our information systems can
we hope to have more useful interchange between systems. Neither can we
usefully identify and eliminate duplication of information processing
until we have a means of item identification on a common or comparable
basis. Without comprehensive and standardized inventories of information
items, users cannot have nor be given assurance that all available infor-
mation resources have been brought to bear on a given intelligence problem,
estimate, or analysis.
Before we can solve all the problems involved in linking community
systems together through data exchange at the more detailed level of the
actual information content of files or items, we need to have gross common
handles on the items that flow between organizations. Item control at the
series level, addressed by Task Team II, therefore, does not directly
provide, but is a prerequisite to, better control of the information
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Summary
content of intelligence issuances, either through shallow-level con-
tent control of the substantive contents of documents (as planned by
Task Team I) or, later, coordination of deeper information-level con-
trol, as in deep-indexing retrieval systems. The Team, therefore,
feels that its proposals for an Item Register System should be consi-
dered now, since many further improvements within the Community could
be assisted by such a system (See Section II and IV).
The Team identified the essential elements most nearly meeting the
criteria for unique identification of items (Section III). These in-
clude a minimum list of data elements such as originating organization,
title, classification, unique reference number, etc. (Section III A 1
and III A 2) and devised a categorization scheme to be used for fully
identified items to provide a capability for grouping them to serve
different purposes (Section III A 3). In Section IV the Team inte-
grated the elements into a proposal for an Item Register System with
the following general characteristics:
1. Decentralized input by producers of requisite infor-
mation by the producers of the item.
2. Centralized processing of input information and main-
tenance of an authoritative item register and descriptive data base,
and,
3. Diversified form, formats and orderings of item infor-
mation to satisfy a spectrum of uses, including catalog-type print-
outs, special bibliographies, and ad-hoc query responses.
The initial system is envisioned as one laniCluely controlling and
identifying some 5000-7000 items at the series level. Preliminary
manpower and cost estimates for the system, for designing, testing,
evaluating and to reach operational capability in about six months,
include 28 man-months of analyst and programmer time, 12 man-months of
clerical support and 170 machine hours (based on Once
the design, testing, evaluation and build-up are complete, it is
estimated that maintenance of the item register, production of periodic
products and servicing of ad-hoc requests will require an estimated
10 machine hours per month, one half of one analyst's time and one
fourth of one clerical's time (See Section IV C). Full evaluation by
the Community users is provided for during the build-up period (Section
IV B).
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Summary
Several alternatives to an Item Register System are discussed by
the Team (Section IV E), but judged less adequate. Team members pro-
posed the Item Register System as a solution which does little or no
violence to local systems, but which provides a unique and simple
capability for system-to-system interchange of information about
intelligence items. On this basis, other improvements in the future
can be more solidly built.
The Team's recommendations can be summarized as follows: imple-
ment the Item Register System (including community evaluation) by
assigning the task to one agency as a service of common concern
(Recommendations A and B), assign the task of further standardization
of bibliographic elements to the implementing agency chosen, to be
performed when the Item Register System is a going operation (Recom-
mendation C), and disband the present CODIB Task Team II immediately
(Recommendation D).
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II. Item Control
The U. S. Intelligence Community is large and diverse. There is
a great deal of information processing going on every day. The costs
of this processing can be indicated (if not precisely determined) by
some of the SCIPS findings.
The SCIPS survey identified hundreds of intelligence components
which receive, process and produce thousands of intelligence items
each year. Many of these items are issued in series, some of them at
regular time intervals; daily, weekly, monthly, etc. In the aggregate,
they result in several hundred thousand issuances per year. To ful-
fill requirements, millions of copies are produced each year.
While all of the SCIPS survey data is now more than two years
old, it appears safe to assume that the magnitude of the Community pro-
ducts dissemination operations has not diminished, Indeed, the
figures developed by SCIPS are quite oonservative since in many cases
they do not reflect secondary or subsequent reproduction of copies of
issuances made by recipient organizations.
The size of the Community in terms of organizations, items, pro-
cesses and people can be indicated by Appendix 2, taken from the SCIPS
report.
Task Team II's initial objective was to specify requirements for
item identification. Growth in the volume of information collected,
processed and produced together with drastic reduction in time avail-
able for response has resulted in increased functional specialization
within the intelligence field. Examples of such specialization
include establishment of photo and elint exploitation centers, science
and technology centers and current intelligence, indications and warning
centers. Such specialization has sharpened the focus of interest and
enhanced timely response to programmed requirements. It has also
imposed requirements for increased coordination and integration of
information and intelligence at national command levels.
Many personnel representing professions and techniques not pre-
viously associated with intelligence have entered the arena, including
those from such areas as operations research, system engineering, and
automatic data processing. In military organizations, there has been
an influx of personnel with predominantly operational backgrounds. At
the same time, requirements for intelligence support by organizations
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outside the Community have increased. Examples of these increased
requirements can be found in wargaming, force structure planning,
command and control of forces, military aid programs, and many more.
Management at all levels in the Community is faced with immense
problems relating to the coordination of work, the most economical
use of resources, planning for the future, etc. Basic elements of the
Community include organizations and their missions, people, equipment,
"items" (the objects of information processing), item flows and pro-
cessing procedures. Organizations have different missions, but there
may be similarity in some of the other elements. Many different
organizations, for instance, perform the process of indexing. Such
processes are performed to support the different missions of the organi-
zations, and so may differ as the missions differ. However, many
"items" produced by one organization are disseminated to other organi-
zations engaged in analyzing, producing, and controlling information.
The use of these items may be different in the different organizations,
thus a single item cannot usually be considered only in relation to
its original purpose. This situation can be a source of strength,
since it is obviously better to try to use products for many different
purposes than to generate even more "items" by confining each to a
single type of end-use. However, this situation has its own inherent
dangers of duplication in the processing activities--that is, similar
processes (even though for different purposes) may be performed in
several activities on the same "items". There is a ray of hope, how-
ever, in that this situation can give rise to cooperative arrangements
that cut down on the duplication and release resources for other jobs,
It should be possible to build on the fact that the flow of "items"
forms a thread that ties the Community together in an otherwise
pluralistic environment. The solution then lies in the control of the
"items" themselves so that improvement can be based on the fact that
they are received and processed by many organizations.
In past years emphasis has been placed on control at the organiza-
tion and policy level (DCID's and other Community-wide directives,
CODIB action, departmental policy and organizational control, etc.) and,
at times, on a very deep level of information control (standardization
of name-check forms, compatibility of detailed indexing schemes, etc.).
A middle-level effort, based on the information-bearing items that tie
the Community together has been less evident. This is, we feel, a gap
that needs filling. If control is exercised at the highest, policy
level alone, the various organizations in the Community which thereby
have their boundaries and functions delineated for the common good will
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still need, to a great extent, to process the same types of "items".
Unless these items are precisely identifiable in the various using
and processing units so that their use can be followed from unit to
unit and each can communicate easily with the others about them, both
divergence and overlapping may continue between organizations no
matter what the policy directives say. Without the ability to identify
items precisely, the advantages provided by the appearance of many of
those items in different processing units may be lost, leaving only
the danger of duplication and wasted effort. Similarly, the success
achieved in developing and maintaining standard methods of representing
and processing at the deeper levels of information content may well
depend on the availability of precise item level identification.
Knowledge of what is sent and received, by whom, and what is pro-
cessed and where, is vital for management of Community assets. We shall
call this item control. This control, as indicated above, can be estab-
lished at various item levels. A somewhat oversimplified list follows:
Series level - Identifiable and describable groups of
individual issuances having various elements in common, including
originating organization, title, frequency, originator's purpose, and
degree of processing performed to produce the issues. Elements of
control at this level are mostly evident in the document issuance
header, but some elements (particularly the degree of processing
performed) may not appear on the document at all. Control, iden-
tification and description at this level not only facilitate over-
all managerial planning and control of the Community resources, but
also speak directly to the need of the processing organizations
themselves in communication with each other to perform their function
of providing the "end user" with the information he needs. Thus,
for instance, dissemination units often can distribute to their
customers on the basis of the header or series-type information
(sometimes called "standard distribution" or "subscription-type"
distribution as contrasted with "content dissemination").
Issue level - Individual issuances of the above series plus
one-time monographic publications which are disseminated according
to the content of the individual document. Elements of control at
this level are found both in the header of the issuance and in the
text itself. The using analyst serviced by the processing units
usually describes his need in terms of subject and area content of
the documents he wants, and the processing unit (if dissemination
is the process) examines every issuance and analyzes both header and
content to decide if the analyst needs the information. Most stor-
age and retrieval processes depend on the issue level or even
further, the informational content level within each issuance.
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Task Team I is examining possible aids to content control at the
issue level, at a relatively shallow substantive level intended to be
useful for dissemination and perhaps at least some storage and retrie-
val operations. Their effort is not intended to solve all the problems
of deep indexing for retrieval, but it is at least addressed to the
issue level, where the concepts of subject and area control are perhaps
best applied, and where there can be a more direct application to the
analyst needs.
Task Team II, on the other hand, addresses the control problem at
the series level. This control will serve the managers directly, will
greatly aid the system designers in identifying and categorizing that
which is to be processed in various different ways, and will aid the
disseminators and storage and retrieval systems in their problems of
identifying documents not produced locally. This will be an indirect
benefit to the using analyst.
Having sketched out the general problem, distinguished between
different levels of control, isolated item control as our theme, and
further indicated at what level this team approached that theme, we
can perhaps redefine the problem: Basically, since information for
%se intelligence purposes flows in "documentary form" and in potentially
identifiable "series", and since it is used by many organizations for
purposes often far beyond that intended by the issuing organization, a
fundamental requirement is to be able, in many different information
processing systems belonging to different organizations with different
missions, to identify these items and to call each by the same name.
A second problem lies in the standardization of the elements used to
identify and describe these items. In so far as element standardization
applies to the identification problem, our judgment expressed in the
Task Team Terms of Reference (Appendix 1) still holds: It is better to
begin with a registration of a minimum number of elements for common
identification purposes to form a base for further standardization of
other elements, than to attempt to standardize on all header elements
at once.
The Task Team examined SCIPS data and experience to ascertain pro-
gress being made in the Community on item identification and also con-
ducted limited fact-finding of its own. These efforts revealed that
most organizations are quite clear in recounting the processes which
they apply to intelligence items. However, many organizations find it
more difficult to itemize what is received from whom and to identify
precisely which items receive what processing. In some cases readily
accessible knowledge of inputs was confined to generalizations such as
"we process all information reports received" or, "all reports containing
personality information from all sources." Further investigation into
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either items processed or their sources usually reveals that "all"
is really "some, unspecifiable" and that to define the word "some"
may require detailed file analysis or in other cases protracted
interception and documentation of items at receipt points. Knowledge
of what items receive which processes is necessary to make signifi-
cant comparisons between processing occurring in USIB agency compo-
nents. This was particularly true when SCIPS attempted to specify the
transmission of documents between processing units. The inability to
specify items in a standard manner during data acquisition resulted in
time-consuming man and machine operations to establish item/process
associations which would, in turn, provide insights into both formal
and informal community relationships. (See Volume V of the SCIPS
report for detailed discussion.)
The Team also considered a previous CODIB-sponsored effort: The
Union List of Intelligence Serial Publications, produced in 1957 and
updated in 1959. This publication contained many elements for item
identification and control as well as free text description of the
serial's general content and purpose. However, it was limited in the
serials it covered, and it was not published again after 1959. The
NW value of such a tool depends on its comprehensiveness and on its currency.
The Union List was published without a method for updating or expanding.
During its deliberations, the Task Team also collected information
on existing publication lists, indexes and catalogs, and on existing
item control systems. A description of systems and lists, not intended
to be exhaustive, is contained in Appendices 3 and 4. An examination
of these shows that many organizations feel the need for control of
items at the series level. Many produce catalogs of their own publi-
cations. Some have found it necessary to control some of the header
elements of the publications of other organizations in order to pro-
cess, disseminate, index and find the items of interest to them in a
uniform manner. The information in Appendices 3 and 4 shows, however,
that although many elements are used in common in the different lists
or systems, the use or method of representation of those elements
differs so widely that the user has great difficulty in putting them
together. Such an examination also shows, however, that the total
number of elements needed for identification may be rather small, and
that most, if not all, of these elements already appear on such lists.
This augurs well for a further effort to standardize for common
interdepartmental identification purposes.
The limitations of past or existing efforts towards community
item control, as seen both in the SCIPS effort and in the Team's
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fact-finding, become design features for a new effort at item control
in the Community which would be
comprehensive in coverage,
standardized in form,
dynamically maintained,
serving a variety of uses, and
readily accessible in form and content.
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III. System Elements
This section will present and discuss the Team's findings con-
cerning the basic elements of a further effort in item identification
and control. These are: essential elements of information, categori-
zation of series used for intelligence purposes, and item level. These
elements are then combined to produce sample pages of an item list.
Finally, inclusions and exclusions are considered.
A. Elements of Information.
1. List of Elements.
The Team began with a consideration of the basic
elements of information needed for identification and minimum descrip-
tion of items. It was found that various processing units in the
Community use different combinations of elements to make unique iden-
tification of items, but that these combinations might differ between
units and that even if the elements were the same, the method of repre-
sentation of those elements might differ widely. What is lacking is
a tool which relates to each other those elements used in the
Community for identification purposes so that cross-talk can be facil-
itated. Further, it was felt that the provision of additional descrip-
tive elements (beyond those needed for unique identification) would
serve the purpose of assisting in the decision of inclusion or exclu-
sion of items in end-use, system management or design situations from
particular use viewpoints.
The first task, then, was to identify and list those
elements most commonly used for identification purposes, to test these
in a live environment to see what problems of identification might
arise, and then to decide on a minimum number of elements necessary to
relate the efforts in a number of producing units to identify items
uniquely (to be called "required" elements) and to list those other
elements which might aid the user most in management or design situations
("desired" elements).
A survey of approximately 250 intelligence documents
was conducted. A substantial number of SI documents were included in
the survey. The test provided further definition of item and element
characteristics as a basis for final element selection. For example,
it was found that producer at the agency level, and sometimes major
component level within agency did not provide sufficient definition
even in association with series level title. Also, it was discovered
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that certain series designations were actually aggregations of unique
items. Even so, a series designation or short title such as
etc., was of significant value when used in
conjunction with the exact title of the item and its producer. In a
similar vein, the use of a standard form such as DD Form 1396 by pro-
ducers in various agencies or components was a significant factor in
identification and description. Following the item identification
test, Team deliberation resulted in the following list of required and
desired elements:
Required
a. Exact title of item
b. Classification of title
c. Series designation and control, if any
d. Producing agency or department, major
component thereof, and lowest organi-
zational level identifiable from the
item itself
e. Range of security classification applied
to item
f. Dissemination control applied to item
g. Item status, i.e., is the item currently
being produced? If not, inclusive dates
of publication.
h. Unique reference number.
Desired
a. Short title of item, if any and its
security classification
b. Frequency of issuances
c. Form(s) in which produced
d. Categorization of item
e. Remarks.
Most of these elements can be used for both identifica-
tion and description in the sense used here. Identification leads to
the setting off of one item from all others so that clear and unambiguous
communication about that item can take place in different systems using
different vocabularies. Description not only helps to define unambiguous
identification, but also lends itself to the formation of classes of
items which can, in many management and design situations, greatly help
by eliminating the need for repetitive examination of every individual
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item. For instance, the element "security classification" can be
used a) to help distinguish two different items similar in other re-
spects, as different classification editions of the same unit's pro-
duct, and b) to help form a class for inclusion or exclusion purposes--
as in the situation where a system is being managed or designed which
will not include any items above a certain classification level. The
list above contains two elements not now appearing on items, (unique
reference number and categorization) each of which speaks to one of
these two general uses.
2. Unique Reference Number.
The need for a. unique reference number grows from the
basic need to identify an item unambiguously and the fact that this
need is now met in so many different ways in different processing
units. If two processing units need to communicate with each other
about items (for instance, to borrow them from each other) and if
each has a slightly different system of uniquely identifying those
items, they will usually (if the communication need is frequent
enough) set up cross-reference files or lists to the system of the
other unit. The elements listed above will uniquely identify items
at the series level for most purposes and most processing units. A
shorthand method of referring to the item so identified is needed for
communication purposes (e.g., for secure telephonic communication) as
well as to represent a clear and definitive identification decision:
"This collection of elements stands for this particular item and no
other." It was felt by the Team that although any combination of the
elements now in use could perform this function, a new element should
be created that would have only this role to play. Various processing
units would then not be required to set up new files or cross-reference
lists but could rely on one single cross-reference system from their
own local identification system to one common to all.
These considerations (security of communications and the
need to hold down the growth of new cross-reference lists or files) led
the Team to opt for a unique reference number which would represent the
result of an identification decision, and which would contain in its
method of representation only the meaning that this item is no other
item. It was felt that attempts to build more meaning into the number
(such as originator, security classification, content, etc.) might
encourage many processing units to set up new files or cross-reference
lists of their own on this number, which would simply add to the costs
without gaining anything in power of identification.
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The Team therefore concluded that an authoritative item
list operating at the "series" level, containing the elements listed on
page 11 could remain relatively stable (perhaps a few hundred changes
per year) and should n'ovide a unique reference number which should be
meaningless without a copy of the list--perhaps assigned sequentially
to a random sort of the list. It is quite possible that after the
authoritative item list has been in use for some time, producers and
users will find each other's techniques of and describing
items quite useful. This will, however, evolve very slowly and may
never be complete. In the meantime, a unique reference number applied
in a standard manner will tie the different identification/description
systems together and enable these systems to reference and discuss
each other's items expeditiously via any communication medium.
3. Categorization.
As mentioned above, elements of information for-identi?
fication/description purposes have two types of use: discriminating
between different items (identification) and class-forming. The
unique reference number just discussed relates to the first of these
uses; the second new element ("categorization") relates to the second.
The purpose of class-forming is first of all to provide a definitive
way of describing item inclusions and exclusions for an authoritative
item list or register system. In addition, many similar uses will be
found for the same capability: to aid the manager in identifying
similar types of items for analysis of coverage, overlap, prospective
integration, etc., to aid the system designer in breaking down the
large volume of items into smaller groupings of similar items for
analysis of content, purpose, etc., to indicate the nature and scope
of source materials utilized in production of a given item, and to aid
in permitting or precluding release of items as a class where, when,
and if appropriate.
Such class-forming or categorization is useful to avoid
the necessity of continually re-examining every single one of many
items. It therefore should be based on proper inventorying and identi-
fication of the items. We can use a number of elements of information
to produce unique identification of items, and then categorize those
items so that this unique identification can continue to be useful even
without examining every one. Some of the elements listed on page 11
serve both these purposes: they help to identify an item uniquely, and
can also be used to class numbers of identified items. Thus, we can
group the items by originating organization, by security classification,
by frequency, by dissemination control, etc.
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The Team found, however, that one aspect of class-
forming was not clearly addressed by these existing elements. Even
knowing the title, originating organization, classification, etc., of
an item does not always tell the user where in the intelligence cycle
the item was produced. Thus, the degree of processing that resulted
in the item is not always apparent. To some extent users can determine
this from the content or from more intimate knowledge of the producing
organization's mission and function, but those further removed from
the originator do not always possess such knowledge. Even if, on the
issue level, the item is represented by subject and area indicators,
this does not necessarily distinguish between, for instance, the result
of translation activities performed on foreign publications on the one
hand, and considered analytic evaluation of that material on the other.
The Team therefore developed a simple categorization
scheme intended to complement other class-forming elements to make the
authoritative item list (once the items are uniquely identified) a more
useful tool. It was noted that the categories "raw" and "finished" in
wide use in the Community were not sufficiently defined, so that one
man's "raw" could be another man's "finished". However, as a first cut,
this existing categorization both indicates the need for this class-
%me forming ability and serves as a point of departure. The Team began by
establishing three major categories:
Substantive
Information items of potential intelligence
value, products of intelligence research and analysis,
intelligence estimates and projections.
Substantive Support
Items which are developed to support effective
acquisition, processing, production, maintenance,
storage and retrieval of substantive information
and intelligence.
Non-Substantive
Items of an administrative or operational
nature occurring in intelligence organizations which
are not otherwise associable with substantive
information or intelligence.
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The general concept of categorization of substantive
intelligence items was the type and amount of processing applied in
creating them. Restated, the rationale for placing an item in a parti-
cular category is the type and amount of processing which has been
applied to an item from the time information is acquired and reported
through numerous as well as various processes until it may be blended,
with or without attribution, into a national estimate or projection.
This sequence may involve a process such as developing a latent image
on film, translation of a foreign language document, or preparing a
textual report of a visual sighting. It may require technical pro-
cessing and analysis of related sets of analog data as in elint,
acoustint, or seismint processing. The products of reporting and
technical processing are synthesized and analyzed to produce basic
forms of intelligence. That is, the "who/what is where" and the "how
many" or "how much". Additional substantive analysis is usually
necessary to postulate the "why" and "so what" phase of intelligence
production. The latter may be produced on the highest levels as a
national intelligence estimate or projection.
A logical extension of the processing concept of cate-
gorization beyond this point would carry us into the realms of appli-
cation of intelligence to military operations, personnel requirements--
both qualitative and quantitative--materiel procurement, logistics,
research and development, etc. This extension was not attempted by
the Team, even though the insights provided thereby might be signi-
ficant in defining, developing and maintaining appropriate intelligence
response patterns.
The category scheme which was ultimately selected by the
Team as suitable for the purpose of supporting the creation and mainten-
ance of an authoritative item register consists of the following
categories, subcategories, modifiers, and their notations:
a. Substantive Items (10)
Items containing information of potential
intelligence value such as information on people,
their activities and relationships; products, product
characteristics; installations; locations, events;
situations, etc. Also items resulting from the tech-
nical and substantive analysis of this information and
intelligence estimates and projections based thereon.
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(1) Textual Collection Products (11). Items
containing information of potential intelligence value
which are in their original form as first received or
generated, and that form is textual. Examples are
attache reports, interrogation reports, clandestine
service reports and foreign publications in their
original form.
(2) Technical Collection Products (12). Items
containing information of potential intelligence value
which are in their original form as first received or
generated, and that form is non-textual. Examples are
photographs, analog and digital recordings and materiel
for analysis.
(3) Technical Processing Products (13). Items
resulting from processing of collection products. Such
processing is primarily intended to provide the information
contained in the original item in a more comprehensible
form for a substantial number of users. Examples are
translations of foreign language publications, photo
interpretation reports, materiel analysis reports,
L_ land NSA end-product.
(4)r ReportsStud1-6-s?ana.14014-e-144gr-nrr? (14) .
Items containing conclusions based on analysis/synthesis
of pertinent information contained in collection products
and products of technical processing available from "most"
sources/methods of acquisition. These items usually re-
flect the results of particular investigations or
analyses, may contain conjecture but usually are not
estimative as to national or international impact. They
may be departmental, inter-departmental or national in
scope. Examples are economic, political and scientific
analysis reports; area studies; biographic analysis
reports; orders of battle; intelligence briefs, bulletins,
reviews, summaries and digests; photo intelligence reports
which reflect the use of other than photo source materials;
intelligence surveys and inventories; target and other
graphic intelligence materials.
(5) Estimates and Projections (15). Items con-
taining conjecture and calculations based on available intel-
ligence which address purposes, intentions, capabilities and
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vulnerabilities of hostile and friendly powers.
They may indicate possible courses of action, both
friendly and hostile. Examples are departmental
and national estimates, programmed and/or ad hoc;
projections of capability; economic, industrial,
military, scientific, etc.
b. Substantive Support Items (20)
Items which support the management, acquisi-
tion, processing, production, storage and retrieval Llt.1m1_,,
substantive items. They may 1.ael_a___y,_11-,*ccontainKub-
stantive intelligence related to their support purpose.
(1) Research and Reference Aids S21). Items
which are created to identify (and refer the user to)
substantive items or to file holdings thereof. Examples
are bibliographies, item or file indexes, title listings,
tables of contents, abstracts, extracts or summaries
of items or file holdings.
(2) Requests and Requirement Items (22).
Items which reflect user needs for information items to
be collected and reported, for items to be disseminated,
for files to be searched and items retrieved, for
research and substantive analysis. Examples are collec-
tion requirements and guides, dissemination 1-i-ss-, file
index searches,.ackfuest-3 for.- palytic studies, estimates
and projections.
Go Substantive Management and Processing Aids
(23). Items supporting the management of substantive in-
formation acquisition, processing and production activi-
ties. Examples of management items are directives, plans
and programs, status reports and product inventories.
Examples of processing items are code books and coding
manuals, standing operation procedures, operating schedules,
dictionaries, glossaries, machine programs, etc.
c. Non-Substantive Items (30)
Items of an administrative or operational nature
which deal with such subjects as personnel, facilities,
logistics, physical security, etc., of the U. S.
Intelligence Community.
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d. Modifiers
The following modifiers are applicable to all
categories. They provide additional discrimination with
a minimum number of categories: In connection with an item
register, the modifiers Counterintelligence and Domestic
Subjects are most apt to be used for exclusion purposes.
The modifiers Foreign Publications, Current Intelligence
Items and Collations are most apt to appear in association
with items to be included in an item control system. Note,
for instance, that the products listed under "collation"
below bring togeljer information that results from
different levels or types of processing?they belong to
different class categories [5 (a) and 5 (c) - Technical
Processing products, 5 (b) and 5 (d) - Studies with Current
Intelligence modifier, 5 (e) and 5 (f) - Studies, 5 (g) -
Research and Reference Aids]. Hence the use of a modifier
for collations, insteadof a new class.
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B. Item Level.
Section II of this report distinguished between issue level
and series level of "items." The identification/description effort we
are discussing centers around the series level. However, there are
many specific questions that arise when trying to define just what the
series level is. For instance: What is an issue and what is the series
if the NIS is being considered? Is the NIS itself the series, and each
section of each chapter of each area an issue? Or are there several
NIS series, perhaps one for each area or one for each chapter? It is
obvious that decisions of this type will materially affect the size (and
therefore the costs) of an authoritative item list. The item identifi-
cation test carried out under the Team's auspices was of substantial
assistance in considering what might be an appropriate item-level for
entries in an authoritative list. It was apparent that the establish-
ment of such a list at the issue level would result in hundreds of
thousands of line entries, some of which would change each day. The
series level appeared promising even though the SCIPS experience in-
dicated that such a list might involve several thousand line entries.
In addition there exist many intelligence items which should be in-
corporated in an authoritative item list which are not issued in
series.
It was decided that the series level would be used for
recurring products, and groups of individual titles would be listed
for non-recurring products. At the same time, it was acknowledged that
adjustments in this general concept of item level might be required as
the list was being developed and additional items or series designations
were encountered.
The decision to develop the list at the series level created
several second order problems. Acquisition of certain descriptive
'elements cannot be done solely by inspection. For example, security
classification and dissemination controls may vary from issue to issue,
therefore, the range of classification and dissemination control which
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have been applied to items in the series, or might be applied thereto,
must be reported by the producer and may be subject to change from
time to time. Provisions must be made for timely reporting of such
changes to avoid misrepresentations in the list. Also, frequency of
publication may not be manifest from an inspection of a given issue
or even several issues and must also be specified by the producer.
The same is true concerning variant orders, forms and formats in which
an item can be obtained from the producer.
In view of these problems the Team decided that the design,
development, implementation and maintenance of an authoritative item
control system would probably require continuing contributions from
item producers and a central reporting point for maintenance of the
item register and for providing service therefrom. Further, many ?f
the detailed decisions concerning what is a series and what is an
issue can only be made concretely in the context of building an item
list. On the other hand these decisions will affect the costs of the
list itself. This consideration influenced the Team in its decision
to recommend an early evaluation step during the initial operating
period for the item control system (see below under Recommendations)
Now before full operational implementation. The following discussion
was thought helpful as a guide to ?those who would make the concrete
decisions during such an initial period:
There are a number of guides which aid in defining
item level. One is represented by the utilization of stand-
ard report forms such as is often the case in collection
reporting. An example would be Air Force reporting on DoD
Form 1396.
Another guide is the existence of series desig-
nators which are applied to many categories of intelligence
documents issued in series. The designator is usually a
set of numbers or letters. These designations sometimes
serve the purpose of short titles of the series. Examples
are NIE (National Intelligence Estimates), SNIE (Special
National Intelligence Estimates), BR (Biographic Report).
In other cases, the series is designated by a name, e.g.,
Technical Memorandum or Propaganda Report followed by a
numerical designator (e.g., Vol. II Issue 33) or title
(e.g., "Sovidt Attendees at the Fifth International Con-
ference") for each specific issue. In these cases we
deal at the series, not the specific issue level.
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Originator is also a critical factor in unique item
identification. Many series have identical series designators
but are issued by different organizations (e.g., Intelligence
Briefs, Intelligence Summaries, etc.). Each such series
designator in conjunction with its originator should be a
separate line entry in the item register. In cases where
these items are issued daily and also weekly, monthly, etc.,
each daily, weekly, etc.oill be an individual rine entry.
Security classification and dissemination controls
applied may also cause item discrimination when "sanitized"
versions are issued. In such cases, the versions have
different content, different dissemination patterns and
different processing.
On the other hand, a change in physical form without
change in content is not a criterion for creating a separate
line entry in the item register. Variations in form are
indicated in the descriptive elements of the item control
system.
C. Sample Item List.
The elements of information discussed above, including
unique reference number and categorization, applied to items at the
series level (not completely defined as yet but sketched out in the
guidelines above) enable us to provide a sample of what an authori-
tative item list might look like. An example is given in Appendix
5 and is meant to be illustrative of the kinds of information to be
carried, and not definitive. A number of further detailed decisions
would still need to be made, such as further specification of exact
method of representation, use of codes or abbreviations, field
lengths, etc. It is felt that these decisions can best be made in
the live environment of an initial build-up of an item control system.
D.
How many different types of items should be covered by an
authoritative item list? The conclusion drawn above and from past
experience is that the list should be comprehensive. Its usefulness
may depend on this factor. However, just what does this mean in terms
of which items to include? Here the Team decided that no exclusions
should be made on the basis of security classification alone. In
other words, all feasible levels of classification, from unclassified
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up, should be included. In principle, no originating organization's
products should be excluded if they are used in the production of
intelligence. (This principle holds even though the details of drawing
the boundaries may be left to a later evaluation of a live item list.)
But even if all originators and all security levels are eventually
included, what types of items should be included within these limits?
Here the Team made use of the categorization scheme (see
III A 3 above) devised as part of its effort. Subject to community
requirements expressed after an initial evaluation of an operational
item control system, the Team felt that 1) all "non-substantive" items
should be excluded; 2) all "domestic subject" items should be excluded;
3) within the counterintelligence items, only the classes "studies"
and "estimates" and all the "substantive support" classes should be
included, but textual and technical collection products and technical
processing products should be excluded. The inclusions/exclusions can
best be indicated by the following table, expressed in terms of the
categories and modifiers set forth in III A 3 above:
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IV. System Integration and Alternatives.
We have discussed (Section In the problem of item identification
and its relation to other efforts at community rationalization, and, in
Section III, have laid out some basic elements of a proposal for a new
effort to fill some of the gaps mentioned in Section II. It remains to
integrate these elements into a system proposal (Section IV A) to pro-
vide an implementation plan for the proposed system, identifying and
describing functions and tasks to be performed as well as attendant
processes and resulting products (Section IV B), to give preliminary
cost estimates of manpower and equipment required to implement the
system (Section IV C), to discuss various options for performing these
functions (Section IV D) and, finally, to discuss some alternatives to
the proposed system (Section IV E).
A. Proposal for an Item Register System.
After listing and discussing the specific elements of a
possible solution discussed in Section III, the Team felt that the pre-
ferred solution would be the creation of an Item Register System. The
general characteristics of this system are
1. decentralized input by producers of requisite
information on items as specified in Section III
A of this report,
2, centralized processing of input information and
maintenance of an authoritative item register
and descriptive data base,
3. diversified form, formats and orderings of item
information to satisfy a spectrum of uses to
which such information might be put.
Inputs will be information on intelligence items which are
produced or processed by member-agencies of the United States Intelligence
Board. Input items will be included according to the table in Section
III D of this report.
Another aspect of inclusion in the Item Register System is tha-
of the security level of the operation. It is felt that for certain pur-
poses, such as cross-source correlation, the usefulness of item registry
products will be in direct proportion to their scope. The registry should
be capable of providing products as comprehensive as necessary to provide
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all requisite identifying and descriptive information about items to
qualified users. The need for an authoritative item list derives from
the large number of items being produced and distributed within and
external to the Intelligence Community. A considerable number of these
items fall into special need-to-know categories such as accorded so-
called SSO and SAO materials. In response to present operating secur-
ity procedures, an item list might be prepared for release at the
Secret level. Several TOP SECRET supplements might also be prepared.
Also consolidated lists prepared for release at appropriate security
levels might also be considered. In a related field, i.e., applica-
tion of dissemination controls, the ability to provide lists which
are releasable to certain foreign governments or their representatives
and to qualified civilian contractor organizations appears desirable.
With the foregoing exclusions and inclusions in mind, inputs
to the item registry should be anticipated from CIA, DIA, NSA, other
intelligence components of the DoD (including Army, Navy, Air Force and
the Commands), State and AEC.
Outputs from the system will include various regularly pro-
duced catalog-type listings and answers to ad-hoc queries. Further
suggested specification of processing and production is contained,
below, in Section IV B (System Implementation).
B. System Implementation.
Implementation of the Item Register System will involve a
sequence of functions and tasks as indicated below.
(Phase I)
Function Description of Tasks
1. System Design
2. Data, Collection
Determination of reporting pro-
cedures, forms, and data file
structures; computer system flow
charting and programming; design
of products; establishment of data
codes and tables (for organizations,
security classes, etc.).
Collection of examples and descrip-
tive data on items. Formatting and
transcribing of this data.
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3. Initial System
Operation
4. Evaluation
(Phase III)
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Keypunching of data, file building,
production and reproduction of out-
puts, servicing of queries, data
base maintenance.
Establishment of criteria, survey
of users through CODIB, compilation
of evaluation results, and prepara-
tion of report for CODIB on form,
format, frequency and type of
services, and inclusion factors.
5. System Modification Establishment of changes and modi-
fication of data files, programs,
and products, based on evaluation
results. Collection of information
on additional items as suggested by
evaluation.
6. System Maintenance Institution and operation of report-
ing system and monitoring for dele-
tions, additions or changes in item
corpus. Production of periodic pro-
ducts and servicing of ad-hoc requests.
Conduct of occasional further
evaluation surveys.
The machine system will be capable of generating a broad spec-
trum of item level information in a variety of forms to suit the needs
of users. Products may take the form of tabulator printer listings
or punched cards or magnetic tape for further machine processing by
recipients. Periodic listings may be provided by conventional repro-
duction methods when large numbers of copies are required.
Machine printouts may be provided in various formats designed
to meet specific user needs by utilizing a report generator program.
Since maximum fixed fielding of information is a preliminary design
criterion, many different orderings of data base information may be pro-
vided (see Appendix 6 for a suggested card layout for data input).
Basic orders in which item lists would normally be anticipated are
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a. by producer, alphabetic subsort by item name
b. by category, with alphabetic subsort by item name
by security classification, subsort by producer,
secondary subsort alphabetic by item name
d. by dissemination controls applied, subsort by
producer, secondary subsort alphabetic by item
name
e. numerically by unique reference number
f. possibly a permuted title index
g. by producer, subsort by category, secondary
subsort alphabetic by item name
h. by category, subsort by producer, secondary
subsort alphabetic by item name.
C. Resource Estimates.
Preliminary estimates of resources needed to perform the
functions and provide the products described above are given below.
-ol. 1
Col. 2
Col. 3
Col. 4
Function
Analysts
Programmers
Clericals
1.
2
for 2 months
2 for 3 months
1 for 3 months
2.
2
for 4 months
1 for 1 month
3.
1 for 1 month
2 for 2 months
4.
2
for 2 months
1 for 2 months
(plus costs
of evaluation by the users)
5.
2
for 2 months
1 for 2 months
2 for 2 months
6.
2month
per
k- per month
4
Col. 5
Machine Time
(based on
20 hrs.
30 hrs. per mo.
3 mos.
30 hrs. per mo.
2 mos.
10 hrs. per mo.
D. Implementation Alternatives.
Gross alternative methods for performing these functions are
as follows:
1. CODIB Support Staff to perform analytic functions
(column 2 above) with assistance from CIA or DIA for programming,
keypunching and machine time (columns 3,4,5). This would require
augmenting the CODIB Support Staff with analytic manpower as
listed in Column 2 above.
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2. CODIB Support Staff to monitor contractual assis-
tance for systems analysis, surveys and programming, with
machine time (Column 5) and perhaps keypunching (Column 4)
assistance from CIA or DIA.
3. One agency (CIA, DIA, NSA. or State) to be named
to perform the whole operation as a service of common con-
cern, with reimbursement and/or manpower inputs from other
agencies.
4. One agency (CIA, DIA, NSA or State) to be named
to perform the whole operation as a service of common con-
cern without further reimbursement or manpower inputs from
other agencies.
5. A new joint project staff to be established full
time for the specific purpose of building and maintaining
this system, with machine assistance from CIA or DIA.
be either:
Under any of the above alternatives the mode of operation can
1) Agencies responding to questionnaires and
instructions from the system unit, or
2) Active collection by the systems unit using
CODIB representatives as access to each agency.
E. Alternatives to an Item Register System.
Sections IV A through IV D have presented a proposal for an
Item Register System to fill the gaps in item . control discussed in
earlier sections of this paper. This section will provide a general
treatment of alternative methods of attacking the problems mentioned in
Section I. The alternatives to an Item Register System can be classed
under two headings: promulgation of standards, and preparation of an
authoritative list of indexes. No attempt has been made to list
exhaustively all the different combinations of solutions possible--
most will fall under one of these two headings. Each is followed by
a discussion indicating why the Team opted for the Item Register System.
1. Promulgation of Standards.
The Community might agree on the minimum number of ele-
ments needed for identification and description and on the exact
method of representation for each element. This would represent a set
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of standards, which could then be promulgated by USIB. If the stan-
dards were adopted by all members of the Community for their own pro-
ducts, and if. a working agreement were adopted for some Community
members to report to all others on products originating outside the
Community, then communication would be greatly facilitated and further
steps, perhaps including cooperative processing arrangements which
might include an authoritative item list, would be possible.
This solution would be subject to the following pro-
blems; To be of any use a set of standards must be applied. It
should carry with it a plan for application. If we do not provide a
plan, if we simply promulgate the standards, we can do so either by
issuing the standards with no follow-up, or by providing some sort of
periodic checking mechanism. Without follow-up, very little might
result. It may cost each installation something to adopt the stand-
ards, and there would be no concrete way of showing each the advan-
tage of conforming. If a periodic check is performed roughly similar
results might follow. The reports from the installation might not
mention all the potential applications or might state that application
is inappropriate to some activities. If, however, the standards are
"forced" on the activities, there is a danger that the standard ele-
ments or methods of representation will be adopted in each activity
in addition to those now in use, so as to minimize the disrupting
effect on existing processes or files. This might at least partially
negate the benefits of standardization. It would enable the organi-
zations better to communicate with others, as intended, but no
further improvement would be possible in the local processing activi-
ties; and it is in these local activities that the ultimate pay-off
for standards lies. In addition, such superimposition can represent
extra cost.
If we promulgate a set of standards with an implemen-
tation plan, we face the following problems; Such a plan will require
much more thorough study of each local application. This effort would
be needed to cost out the effect of adoption of the standard according
to a particular implementation plan. Unless a thorough systems study
underlies the implementation plan, this alternative would still have
the psychological effect of "ramming" the standards down the throats
of the various activities. Also, the cost of making such a thorough
systems study might be large in relation to the advantages of
adopting the standard itself.
Even if we can promulgate the standard, and even if it
is accepted in enough activities to make it worthwhile, we still would
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have the problem of updating it. Organizations, missions, and pro-
cessing all change over time, so standards must have a dynamic quality.
To prevent these changes from negating the good effect of standard-
ization, alterations in the standard must be agreed on by all concerned.
This requires some central monitoring and approving mechanism.
The above considerations produce somewhat of a dilemma.
The result might be either 1) that standards will be given lip-service
only, with resulting costs in lack of communication, lack of cross-
system correlation capability, duplication of effort and the con-
tinued divergence of our systems, or 2) the application of standards
alongside existing system elements, resulting in higher costs than
ever, even though a possibility might exist that the divergence could
be reversed.
2. Authoritative List of Indexes.
Appendices 3 and 4 contain a partial list of indexes,
product surveys, and production programs prepared by various agencies.
These provide substantial "local control" over "local production."
However, within their limited scope they do provide the potential user
with valuable insights about locally-produced products. A review of
these items indicates that most oE the identification/description
elements discussed in Section III A of this report are already in-
cluded as elements in these items. Dissemination of such a list of
these indexes to appropriate elements throughout the Community would
undoubtedly result in some expanded awareness of "who else is doing
what, and how often." This approach would respond to a number of pur-
poses of an authoritative item list. Specifically, it would
a. be available for reference by analysts
b. assist in data exchange
c. assist in communicating.
Substantial additional effort would be necessary to make the list of
indexes a useful tool to
a_ aid in describing inputs to files and their outputs,
b. help avoid duplicative processing and production,
c. help avoid gaps in processing and production,
d. help predict and schedule workloads,
e. facilitate system studies and. detailed system design.
In the main, the additional effort would involve standardizing on at
least the elements necessary to uniquely identify an item, the assignment
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of a unique reference number to line items in the indexes and cate-
gorization of line items in accordance with the category scheme de-
scribed in Section III A 3. This additional effort might well
approximate the effort necessary to create a dynamic Item Register
System
An additional step which would carry the concept of
an authoritative list of indexes forward would be to request those
components of the Community who do not do so to publish an index to
their products. Here again they should utilize as a minimum those
elements necessary to identify their products in a unique manner.
The next step in sophistication which could be under-
taken would be to have each index producer standardize on the method
of representing the unique identification elements. This would in-
volve some change to existing systems. It is also noted that within
given agencies where several such indexes are produced no attempt has
hitherto been made to standardize on methods of representation or
even, in some cases, the elements. In any event, it is felt that the
tiso' benefits of such standardization should outweigh the impact of
resultant system changes.
The authoritative list of indexes is adjudged to be
inadequate but would constitute a useful instrument throughout the
Community, and therefore the Team considers it a definitely second-
best response to its objectives.
The foregoing system alternatives in most respects
approximate incremental implementation alternatives which minimize
change and support requirements. These approaches will tend to delay
systematic operation while providing a tool for Community use which
exists today only in a fragmentary form. It is quite possible that the
interface problem between "local systems" should be solved once and for
all on input as proposed by the Task Team (Section IV A) rather than
being resolved innumerable times as a function of output analysis by
each user each time he uses a list.
The cost of continuing divergence is not easy to esti-
mate, whereas the cost of a given proposal must be more concrete.
What are the characteristics of steps which will avoid the dilemma?
They should perform a needed service not now being performed, and,
through that service, help to reverse the divergence and begin a con-
vergence which, even though slow, would be organic. We would then be
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letting the changes which are inevitable work for rationalization and
not against it, and basing further progress on the rational motivation
of the local system managers who would see the benefits to their own
operations of each successive step, and take it when they need to. It
should be appreciated that the implementation of standards for item
identification does not in itself result in an item list, but only
facilitates its creation and maintenance, which again must be done
either once for the Community or duplicatively in each component.
It is submitted that the Item Register System repre-
sents a "small" step (small in relation to the cost of the Community)
upon which other organic changes can be founded as time goes on. The
Team therefore considers this system the "preferred" solution.
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Recommendations
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V. Recommendations
Task Team II recommends the following actions:
A. Implement an Item Register System by performing Functions 1
through 4 in the table on page 25 of this report, by naming one agency
(CIA, DIA, NSA or State) to perform the whole operation as a service
of common concern, with reimbursement and/or manpower inputs from other
agencies as appropriate (implementation alternative 3 on page 28).
The decision on what items to include in Functions 1 through
4 would be guided by the following:
1. Referring to the category-modifier table in Section III
D of this report, only those class-modifier intersections marked with
an X would be considered for inclusion.
2. Within these general inclusions, as many items will be
included as the time allotted permits, subject to the following
additional guidelines:
a. Maximum coverage within the time available for
items produced by USIB Agencies, provided that
b. At least a representative minimum of items pro-
duced by non-USIB U. S. Government agencies are included and
c. At least a representative minimum of foreign
original publications are also included.
B. Subject to the results of evaluation at the end of six months
(Function 4), implement Functions 5 and 6 on a continuing basis
C. In addition, instruct the implementing organization to develop
item description element standards and recommend them together with an
implementation plan.
D. Disband the present CODIB Task Team II immediately. Instruct
the CODIB Support Staff to advise the implementing systems unit on any
problems that may arise in the performance of Functions 1 through 6.
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C ONFIDENTIA. L
Appendix 1
- 2 -
list (although if all systems standardized their header data, they
would of course be better able to produce input to such a list and
thus require less centralized resolution to produce the list). Instead,
the immediate product would be standards for header information which
might or might not be accepted in all component systems of the Cothmunity.
Logically, it might seem best to standardize all document descrip-
tion elements for the entire community, and then devise a system for
reporting certain of these elements to a central point for maintenance
of an inventory or item list. This would, in the present circumstances,
be impractical, especially if we were forced to wait for general
acceptance and use of such a standard for document description before
producing an item list. Further, the gains from an item list can be
realized by concentrating on only a very small number of document de-
scription elements, which could be more easily standardized, at least
for an inventory, than the total list of elements. For instance, per-
haps all that is needed to begin a fruitful cross-talk between systems
is an inventory containing category, series title, originator, class-
:1mi ification and some kind of unique item number. Since most if not all
local systems already control title, originator and classification
(although title and originator vary so much that at present it is
extremely difficult to cross-correlate between systems), all that
would be necessary is the provision of a unique number which would tie
together items called by different names in different systems and/or
different levels of source or originators.
It is therefore apparent that the "Item List" might precede the
final acceptance of standardized complete document description elements
by many of the Community IP systems. Further, introduction of such an
item list into the Community would, if an update system were devised,
enable the kind of cross-talk which would in turn facilitate acceptance
of further standards on other descriptive elements.
It is proposed, therefore, that this task team, now charged with
both jobs, tackle them one at a time, starting with the "Item List."
The following task statement, therefore, will deal with the "Item
List," and within that task, only with the first phase of the work.
On this latter point, it should be pointed out that the CODIB report
on SCIPS (cited above) defines the task as follows: "develop and
publish a standard item list." It is felt that the first task is to
define the scope and develop a plan for such an item list. This task
can be accomplished by ad-hoc task team methods plus tasking the
departments and agencies with some fact-gathering homework. The actual
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Appendix 1
preparation and updating of the item list itself, however, may re-
quire some mechanism with a greater measure of continuity and
centralized direction, and possibly EDP support.
The following task statement, therefore, refers only to the
"Item List" and within that, only to the first, or planning phase:
II. Item Control Task Statement (First Phase)
A. Objective
To develop a plan whereby an inventory and standard identi-
fication of publications, document series, and other processing items
of substantive intelligence can be developed and maintained.
B. Initial Problem Parameters
1. Scope
a. Items containing or directly concerned with
information on foreign areas
b. All subjects and areas
c. All sources and classification
d. All forms and degrees of processing.
2. Characteristics
a. Dynamic reporting and update system
b. Both periodic reference lists and ad-hoc query
response
c. May maintain samples.
3. Constraints
a. The system must service entire Intelligence Community
b. Must consider local item control objectives
c. The system, itself, is not intended to provide
content control or document retrieval.
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C. Initial Tasks
Appendix 1
1. Review and summarize significant present and planned
item identification systems and activities of USIB
member agencies.
2. Identify common elements of item identification systems.
3. Establish categories of items useful for community
identification systems.
4. Obtain rough estimate of volumes by major categories.
5. Identify control points in the Community where item
control is or should be established.
6. Determine the scope of the item list, establish pri-
orities and phases for implementation.
7. Develop gross alternative plans for an item register.
8. Determine additional tasks required to accomplish
objectives of Part I (Item List) and Part II
(standardization of elements).
9. Make initial report including recommendations to CODIB.
D. Resources Required
This task involves the following types of work: team dis-
cussion of goals, plans, etc.; planning and scheduling of homework tasks;
departmental homework; analysis of results of that homework; resolution
of differences and preparation of alternative plans for implementation.
Four types of resources will be used: the Task Team as a group, the
individual team members, the CODIB Support Staff, and CODIB members.
Their general tasks will be as follows:
1. Task Team as a group: setting goals, determining
schedules and deadlines, discussion and resolution
of problems identified by staff work, monitoring all
work connected with the initial tasks (#1-8 above).
2. Individual team members: obtaining the information
required from departmental components.
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_ 5 _
3. CODIB Support Staff: work at various times with the
SCIPS data base; identifying common elements of the
item identification system after departmental home-
work is done (task 2); identify alternative categories
of items useful for community identification systems
(task 3) for decision by the group; helping individual
members to obtain gross volume figures (task 4) and
pulling these figures together; use of the SCIPS data
base and members' information to identify alternative
control points for item control for decision and
resolution by the group (task 5); preliminary staff
work to identify and present gross alternative plans
for an item register for consideration by the group
(task 7); staff work in initial drafting of additional
tasks required to accomplish objectives, again for
group decision (task 8).
4. CODIB members: assist in obtaining additional,
necessary departmental support for task team efforts.
Since departmental homework is required as well as group work,
it is felt that the job can best be done by the Task Team with the
assistance of the full-time members of the CODIB Support Staff in the
work outlined above. This is particularly important since the overall
task of this phase of the team's mission is to prepare gross alterna-
tive plans for an operational system. This would be very difficult
to accomplish without some full-time assistance and continuity.
However, planning and direction will be in the hands of the Task Team,
whose members will in addition assist in arranging for the departmental
homework.
Members of the Task Team will require clearances above
Secret, and members should be assigned from or have ready access to and
knowledge of the publications control focal points in each department:
CIA, DIA, State, NSA, Army, Navy, Air Force and NPIC. With the active
support of the CODIB Support Staff, members of the Task Team will spend
about one day a week equivalent in addition to arranging for obtaining
departmental homework.
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APPENDIX 1
CODIB-D-111/1.2/2
25 November 1964
UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
COMMITTEE ON DOCUMENTATION
ITEM IDENTIFICATION - TASK TEAM II
Terms of Reference
I. Scope
The idea for this team was formed by combining two of the groups
suggested in the CODIB report to USIB on the SCIPS Report (CODIB-D-82/28,
26 February 1964, page 21). The CODIB report envisaged one group to
"develop and publish a standard item list" and another to "develop and
implement standard item description lists." These two tasks are
distinctly different, although they use some common elements of infor-
mation. By the same token some of these elements are common also to
other task teams: content control, foreign publications, and also
installations description. The differences between the two parts of
the "bibliographies" task team are in many respects as great or greater
than the differences between that task team and others. Thus the
"item list" is an inventory and standard identification of publications
of all kinds of use in intelligence work. The emphasis is on identifi-
cation, being able (on a continuing basis) to call a given series by
the same name or number in all processing organizations using that
item. The purpose of work on item description lists, on the other
hand, is to standardize header elements (those describing the document
as opposed to its contents). Both concepts are closely related, of
course, since both have to do with identification of items rather than
content, and both speak to the problem of cross-system correlation.
However, the product of each effort would be different. In the case of
an item list, this would be an updated identification list available
to all which would facilitate cross-system communication about the
existence and processing of the same documents in different systems.
Such a list would need to be a constantly updated tool requiring a
standardizing authority and a central publishing point. Standardizing
item description lists, on the other hand, would not result in such a
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Group 1
Excluded from automatic
downgrading and
declassification.
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APPLNDIX 2
The attached table from the SCIPS Report shows the SCIPS cover-
age in terms of agencies, organizational units, information processing
activities, people, pieces of equipment, items, files and unit records
in those files As explained in the SCIPS Report, SCIPS covered only
a. part of the Community: six agencies out of nine, 61 organizational
units of an estimated 250, etc. Thus the 348 information processing.
activities are only a small part of the total. This is therefore
true of the people, equipment, and files. Through analysis of the
distribution patterns of items flowing into and out of the units sur?
veyed, SCIPS identified or noted 2500 organizational units, although
not all of these do a significant amount of information processing.
The purpose of this table is not to delineate exactly the size of the
Community, but simply to give ball-park figures in terms of the key
elements.
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APPENDIX 4
ITEM IDENTIFICATION LISTS
This Table represents a selection of types of indexes, catalogs,
bulletins and lists currently published by government organizations to
aid in identifying and acquiring items. It is not intended to include
all known item-list types, but only to compile examples showing a
variety of types, purposes and formats.
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APPENDIX 5
SAMPLE PAGES OF AN ITEM REGISTER LIST
This appendix consists of an illustrative section of an author-
itative item list, showing the fields, the suggested methods of repre-
sentation, and some examples of remarks. No attempt has been made
to represent all originating organizations, classifications, cate-
gories or frequencies. The first table presents thirteen items as
they might appear on an item list and is preceded by tables which give
the meaning for codes or abbreviations used in the item list. The
numbers entered under "Ref 4" are intended to show what unique reference
numbers might look like. The numbers themselves are purely arbitrary,
for illustrative purposes only.
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APPENDIX 6
SUGGESTED INPUT LARD FORMAT
This appendix consists of a suggested layout form for the input
cards for the Item Register System, and is based on the elements
discussed in Section III. A. and the codes and methods of represen-
tation given in Appendix 5. The form is illustrative only, since it
would need revision during the detailed system design period. The
fields are laid out as they might appear on the input cards, not as
they would appear on tape.
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producing agency is found to be desirable. For example,
designation of Information Reports produced by CIA as
25X1 I The same is true for NSA's Elint
Reports which are also given unique series identification.
A final example is the issuance from time to time
of sanitized versions of a given document wherein the .
releasability statement may be the most apparent, if not
the only, indication of different content in two otherwise
identically titled and identified series. Similar problems
arise in identifying documents issued at different security
levels which, if treated as a single series, give rise to
confusion and possible inadvertent disclosure.
In each of these cases unique identification can
be and is made - but only by obtaining more descriptive elements
than the mere title. If the customer does not know these
elements, a dead-end may result. If he does but must be
queried again, extra work is the result. These units through-
out the community are doing their job under these circumstances,
but only by creating files and fostering expertise which in
effect bring into being dozens of miniature "item registers"
in many organizations. The need therefore exists for some
centralized assistance (as in the proposed Item Register
System) which can conserve manpower, expertise and time by
eliminating at least some of the need for many auxiliary
files and for.such a long training period. Almost every unit
throughout the community dealing with this problem is obliged
to crest "snag" files or "authority" files to help them iden-
tify what the customer wants and then to express this identi-
fication in the terms needed by another unit which might have
the item. A large number of "catalogs" or "item lists" have
been created by producing organizations, both for management
purposes and to aid in this identification process. A list of
some of these catalogs can be found in Appendix 3 of the Task
Team II report. The combined coverage of these "catalogs" is
not complete, however, and they use different formats,
different elements of information, and different methods of
representation, thus increasing the difficulty of using them
for the identification problem. The publication, in 1957 and
1959, of CODIB's Union List of Intelligence Serial Publications
(Union List) represented a partial answer to this problem. The
usefulness of this publication is still attested by the dog-
eared copies used every day in many processing units; the
limitations are indicated by the vast number of additions and
notes pencilled into these copies. The Union List was not
fully comprehensive and it was not dynamic. An Item Register
system would be both. Furthermore, the Item Register would
provide an unclassified, unique identifying number for each
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Sr
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intelligence item by which it could be differentiated from
all other intelligence items regardless of title or other
similarity. This unique number would provide the "handle"
by which these items could be referenced in unclassified
messages or telephone conversations. In that regard it would
be similar in usage to theI
assigned to installations as recommended in the Task Team IV
report.
?b. System design: Identification is necessary for
system design and information exchange as well as for document
borrowing and dissemination. Here the need is to describe
efficiently, simply, and accurately the inclusion and exclusion
of information content in a given file or information system,
operational or under design. An example of this need is the
fact that CIA's CHIVE designers have so far found it necessary
to expend over 90 man-days in an effort to itemize series for
25X1 I Iso that selection criteria, inclusion and
exclusion decisions and other design decisions can be made.
25X1 This list,' I is only one-shot, however,
and will have to be updated continually either during
development or operation of the new system. An Item Register
System can be of considerable assistance to Project CHIVE for
areas of the world to he implementedI
e. Management of resources: Not until we can
accurately and definitively describe the scope and content of
our information systems can we hope to have more useful inter-
change between systems. Neither can we usefully identify and
eliminate duplication of information processing until we have
a means of item identification on a common or comparable basis.
Since many document series contain information on a variety of
subjects and areas, and can be used by organizations doing a
variety of functional tasks in the community, accurate and
definitive inventories of such document series plus the ability
to divide the total into meaningful:, classes are needed when
managers consider how to "assign responsibility" for informa-
tion processing.
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7,1
1,31,1J
6 January 1966
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Reference
THROUGH : Chief, Document Division, OCR
SUBJECT : Item Register System
1. The attached outline of Optional Implementation Programs for
Item Identification Register lists and compare,sthree possible routes which
can be taken to accomplish the recommendations of Task Team II Report
(T/II/R-1 dated 13 August 1965).
2. All three routes assume that a CIA Project Leader will be
appointed to organize and carry through to completion any route chosen.
This will require full time of a Project Leader in addition to part time
support from the CODIB Support Staff, the members of which are most
knowledgeable about SCIPS and Task Team II experience.
3. The route of hiring an outside contractor team was rejected
for the following reasons:
a. Delay in clearing a contractor for special material.
b. A Project Leader would have to spend a great deal
of valuable time indoctrinating and training a
contractor.
c. Data collection per se cannot be done by a contractor.
d. The machine development work does not need a
contractor.
e. There is not much left other than the transcription
work. It is true that some system design and planning
could be accomplished by a contractor.
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ti,.
-2-
4. The figures for machine development were supplied by
OCS/Application Division and are based on the use of existing programs
(e.g. FICEUR and other used by OCS). These figures (see Attachment
2) do not include costs of Functions 5 (System Modification) and 6 (System
Maintenance) as listed on pages 25 and 26 of Task Team II report (see
Attachment 3), because it is difficult to estimate without knowing in
advance the results of the Evaluation (Function 4). A rough guess at
the upper limit might be: 1/2 man month of analytic time plus one man-
day per month of machine system maintenance (or other OCS time) and
5 hours of machine time. These figures represent indefinitely continuing
costs.
5. Without doubt, Route 1 (CHIVE Catalog) is the quickest and
easiest route, but also the weakest in quality and coverage, and can be
estimated only up to the point of evaluation. Route 2 (In-house) starts
with lower limits than Route 3 (Community Participation), namely 1500
items, presuming that this Route can test the system design and procedures
prior to full scale operation. Expansion to full operational capability
will have to proceed either as Route 2 or 3. Therefore, eventual costs
to CIA.(as Executive Agent) and/or CODIB members cannot be based on
Route 1.
Chief, Analysis Branch
Attachments: 3
1 - Outline of Optional Implementation Programs for
Item Identification Register
2 - OCS Support of CODIB Task Team II
3 - Pages 25 - 26 of Task Team II Report
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Attachment 2
13 December 1965
Estimate of OCS Resources Required to Support CODIB Task Team II
(Item Identification)
Assumptions
In developing this estimate it has been assumed that the record
design and processing required will be such that existing programs can
be used for the greater part of the system functions. Other assumptions
are:
file size -- 25, 000 card imaige records (5,000 items, 5 cards per
item.
batch updating once a month resulting in 3 complete listings of the
file in different sequences,
Live ad hoc requests per month.
Estimate
Development Cost:
System design -- one-half man-week
Programming and testing (edit and validation program, and
setup of existing programs) -- 3 man-weeks
Initial system operation ? one man-week
Key punch -- one man-week
Machine time (program, debug, and file creation) -- 6 hours
System Modification: One man-week
System Maintenance:
Per month -- one man-day
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SEcar.:T
(Phase I)
Attachment 3
Pages 25 & 26 of
Task Team II Report
Function Description of Tasks
1. System Design
2. Data Collection
3. Initial System
Operation
(Phase II)
4. Evaluation
(Phase III)
Determination of reporting procedures,
forms, and data file structures; com-
puter system flow charting and pro-
gramming; design of products; establish-
ment of data codes and tables (for
organizations, security classes, etc. ).
Collection 6f examples and descriptive
data on items. Formatting and trans-
cribing of this data.
Keypunching of data, file building,
production and reproduction of outputs,
servicing of queries, data base
maintenance.
Establishment of criteria, survey of
users through CODIB, compilation of
evaluation results, and preparation of
report for CODIB on form, format,
frequency and type of services, and
inclusion factors.
5. System Modification Establishment of changes and modifi-
cation of data files, programs, and
products, based on evaluation results.
Collection of information on additional
items as suggested by evaluation.
6. System Maintenance Institution and operation of reporting
system and monitoring for deletions, additions
or changes in item corpus. Production
of periodic products and servicing of
ad-hoc requests. Conduct of occasional
further evaluation surveys.
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(lag
26 January 1966
MEMORANDUM R. Lirector of Central Reference
SUBJECT
REFERENCE
1. The
viewpoint of:
: Item Register System
dated 6 January 1966, 'Item Register
lowing points o
consideration represent the consolidated
2. Three possible routes of accomplishing the recommendations
of Task Team U Report (CODIB-D-111/1. 2/6, 27 December 1965 Final
CODIB Approved) were outlined in referenced memorandum of 6 January
1966. Both Routes Z and 3 represent acceptable approaches to the creation
of an Item Register because they would provide an adequate base for
evaluating the system. Route 1 (CHIVE Catalog) covers and
therefore does not fulfill the recommendations of the Task Team; therefore,
it has been rejected by the four of us.
3. Route 3 really implies a Committee approach and as the
Chairman of Task Team U stated on page 2 of his August 13, 1965 trans-
mittal of the Team Report: "A part time ad-hoc group is not the best
instrument for system design activities... the actual design work is best
done by full-time staff personnel. We four strongly believe that centralized
control during design and initial implementation is critical and absolutely
essential. Therefore, Route 2 is recommended as the route to follow -
CIA design, testing, and implementation.
4. The nlanpower staffing seems to necessitate in addition to
strongsupport from the CADDIB Support Staff:
A Project Leader
b. Full time assistant. This should be an individual who is
knowledgeable in both code word and collateral documentation,
who is efficient and above all willing. The work of designing
formie, Tadnitoring data collection, and editing the results
should be hareiled as a joint 2 man job-Project Leader and
Assistant.
\
GTOUP t
Ezduted 'from nlemea
OnvinzraOr.7, anq
4
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T
a.
b.
C.
d.
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The support from OCS (system design, programming,
key punching, and machine time) was outlined in referenced
memo.
Data collection and filling in of forms - Special Register
and Document Division.
ing of manpower indicated in paragraph 4 above:
project Leader
Assistant
Z OCR Divisions
OGS Support
- full tirne - 6 months
- full time - 6 months
- I 1/2 man months each
- 6 man weeks
6. In spite of heavy OCR manpower requirements for this task,
we feel it is the only way to do the Job properly. Although it would not
be productive during the design and initial build-up stages to obtain help
from other USW members, such assistance would, however, be a. definite
asset during the later, operational period. Experience gained by OCR in
this carefully controlled initial stage will enable us to produce not only
the initial system for evaluation, but also reasonable plans for community
support and assistance for final operational implementation.
CC:
CODIB Sup
rt Staff
Chief, Analy
is Branch
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- 2
report (T/II/R-1). The descriptive elements of an item
deemed desirable by the team were:
a. the short title of item, if any, and its
security classification
b. frequency of issuance
a. form(s) in which produced
d. categorization of item
e. remarks
A scheme for providing item categorization i-s--d+setTs-sed--h-
blow-and-a-flulletreatment is provided in paragraph III/A/3,
page 13 of the report.
2. Subsequent to the foregoing actions, the Team tested
the elements described above and the category scheme on
r:froximately two, hundred documents available in CIA Headquarters.
During this period, the team also tentatively defined what was
meant by "item level". The tentative definition was used ir-1
determining the items to be identified and described in the
item RegisterSystem. The item level problem is indicated, for
example, by the NIS publications. Should the entire NIS be
treated us an item or should each section of each chapter of
each area be treated as an item? Or, are there several NIS
series, perhaps one for each area or one for each chapter? It
is obvious that decisions of this type will materially affect the
-d therefore the cost) involved. Firm decisions on these
matters remain to be reached:
:3. In order to provide necessary insights for CODIB
.!valuation for -7-,; 7)roposal for an Item Regis]e , the team
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designed preliminary data acquisition forms, data redneLici
forms for punch card preparation, and designed necessary anon
tables for representing the 'information required, in maehire
form. In addition, a few sample pages of an item register we .e
i.sa Jreparea and incorporated in the report.
It is noteworthy that most of the work done by the
-team was considered by them as preliminary or tentative, and
is subjeet to necessary modification in light of experience
gained in final system design and implementation by the
System Management.
5. Wth that in mind, a plan for system implementa iot
was also developed by the team on a similarly tentative basis.
Three phases were proposed, subdivided into:
Phase I
(1) system design
(2) data collection
(3) initial system operation
Phase II
0-0
Phase
evaluation
system modification
system maintenance
vflelete treatment of this system implementation scheme
Ps as aaragranh IV/h, pages 25 and 26.
13, A set of working papers detailing these implementation
stoCs has been prepared for consideration by the system
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designers. It is hoped that system design and implementatiou
plans can thus proceed in an expeditious fashion. At all
times, it should be kept in mind that these papers are
intendnft merely to focus our attention on the problenls
which must be solved before an operational Item Registry
System can be achieved.
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PRELIMINARY STATEMENT ON THE ITEM REGISTER SYSTEM (TES)
Recapitulation of Events Leading to the Establishment of the
IRS.
1. During its deliberations, Task Team II determined
the elements necessary to identify an item uniquely. In
. addition, the team identified a number of elements which were
considered desirable in describing the items identified
uniquely. The items necessary to identify an item uniquely
are:
a. the exact title of the item
b. classification of its title
c. Series designation and control, if any
d. producing agency or department, major
component thereof, and lowest organizational
leyel identified from the item itself.
e.- range of security classifications applied
to the item
f. dissemination controls applied to the item
,. item status, i.e.,. is the item currently being
produced? If not, inclusive dates of publication.
In addition to the foregoing, the Team decided that each item
en identified would be assigned a unique reference number which
-at-e that tE is collection of elements stands for t'hie
articnThr item and no other. A discussion of the Unique
-,--nea Number appears in paragraph III/A/2, page 12 of the
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SYSTEM DESIGN
Preliminary Statement
1. The Team plans call -for the creation of an initial
operating capability leading to an operational system in
six months. This involves preliminary data collection and
reduction to be performed in Document Division and Special
Register of OCR. Tentative estimates indicated that from
1500 - 3000 entries might be acquired in this manner.
2. As a result of testing during the Task Team effort
approximately two hundred items have been identified as
candidates for the item register. This was done during
a ten-day period and is considered indicative only. As
:!La collection approaches the 1500 item level in OCR, it
is felt that some analysis of these entries should be under-
taken. It is possible that this analysis may reveal that
? steps involving data reduction, key punching, machine output
etc., can be initiated at this point and proceed in parallel
with further data collection.
3. At the outset, certain of the required elements,
for example classification range and dissemination controls
applied, Cannot be ascertained by examining a given issue of
the item being registered. Therefore, the producer must be
queried for this information'. It would seem appropriate to
sP the oroducer to confirm the entire entry at the same
tme he is asked to provide these elements. If this is to
be done, then we must plan to provide a preliminary output
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data collected in a suitable form. This will probably in-
volve design of machine input records and at least one basic
output format for this purpose.
When the producer is queried in this manner, we
should also keep in mind that we are in an area which might
he the basis for transitioning from the static initial
operating capability to a dynamic operational capability.
Tentative plans for maintenance and update of the Item
Register can be tested at this point.
5. The sequence of events outlined above identifies some
of the steps needed to attain an operational Item Register
System. These steps will be further specified in other
preliminary statements having to do with the development of
acquisition and reduction forms, data file structure, as well
as formats in which to publish the item register, etc.
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*we
%me
DATA FIDE STRUCTURE
Preliminary Statement
1. In its deliberations, the Team concluded that tHe
L:em icgister System might best be designed for operation
0:n
This requirement was based on the
estimated size of the file, estimated file activity, and
the nature and number of outputs which might be requested.
2. Also, it was decided that all fields in the
computer record should be addressable. A majority of these
should also be sort fields. For examule
Item title - alphabetical sort
Frequency - code sort
Language - code sort
Producing organization, including agency, major
component, production element - alphabetical sort
Forms in which produced - code sort
Classification code sort
Dissemination - code sort
Status - code sort
Category - code sort
Numeric sort_ on unique reference number
e Orders in which item lists would normally be anticipated
are:
a. Ly proarecn.?, alr)h, netical subsort by
;7. name
b. By category with alphabetical subsort by
i.
i5 in
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e. By dissemination controls applied, sobsort
bv producer, secondary ssubsort alphabetic-A ai ice Home.
? d. Numerically hr unique reference ni_mLen
e. Possibly a permuted title index
By producer, subsort by category, secondary
suhsort alphabetical by item name.
3.'Utcr data collection the information acquired oil!
be standardized to a degree and entered in an abbreviated or
eoded form in a fixed field. The data reduction form wilit
then be aunched on IBM cards. It will then be mach inc
verified and printed for further analysis by the system
designers. Present preliminary design calls for aoproximately
120 eheracters of formatted inFormation plus a Remarks _Field
Ii the necessary number of characters to convey clarifying
her' inHrmation of a pertinent nature. As noted in tbe
, iminary statement for system design, certain information
gaas wilt occur which cannot be filled in until provided by
the producer of the item. An output form will be so constructed
to provide space for the producer to enter the required
informatron.
After the requisite information has been provided
hv brodreers and key punched onto the existing carCs, 5t will
be hrrorrintc to consider Converting from punch ei-And to
toye form. The magnetic tape form should provide
cr n-sa tility
and permit the use of look-up tables so
Lh,rt: ,oin other codes and abbreviations used may be expanded
o o-L':put into normal EngliSh words. Thereby, the need for
users to rely on decode sheets to understand the contents of
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a Win be minimized.,
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DATA COLLECTION
Preliminary Statement
1. The Team recommended a data collection phase aft cit
was estimated to require two analysts each for a period or
four months, and one clerk for a. period of one month.
Subsequent to the publication of the report and its acceptance
by CODII3 ,
prepared a memorandum for the
Director of Central Reference. through Chief, Document Division,
OCR, Subject Item Register System, dated 6 January 1966,
which proposed three possible routes by which an Item
' Register System might oe implemented. Route 1 would be vj
the Chive catalog. Route 2 Was designated In-House (Special
Register and Document Division), and Route 3, In-Community
(13519 Agency participation). These optional routes were
reviewed and discussed by
1 It was the consensus of the
group that Route 2 In-House (Special Register and Document
Division) be selected as the best route to proceed with
implementation. A discussion of these deliberations is
contained in
memorandum for the Director of
Central Reference, Subject Item Register System, dated
26 January 1966.
2. Initiation of the Item Register System implemented
as proposed in Route 2 involV-ing 1500-3000 items will impose
the following requirements:
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a. Design and reproduction of a data e.lleetion
form;
b. Two people for a period of approximately tour
months with some cleriCal support;
c. Facilities in areas in the Agency where
copies of intelligence documents are available For
inspection.
One starting point for implementing the system might be the
Task Team I test data base OF two hundred documents which
were identified and described during Task Team delibera-
tions. The sheets preparedjon each of these documents
would, most probably require some verification before being
recorded on the new data collection form. It is also
possible that similar efforts being conducted by the Chive
Task Force could he adaptedjor use in the Item Register
System. It is also possible that where available up-to-
date editions of production lists and indexes such as the
DIAAP-1, Production Center Intelligence Products Index might
be utilized effectively.
0. Having exhausted the aforementioned sources, it
will be necessary to examine copies of actual intelligende
documents constituting the CIA holdings. This effort will
center hi Document Division and Special Register for a period.
est mated at about four months. There will probably be a
requirement for desk space and storage facilities in or near
the areas in which the analysts will collect and record data.
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Classification
ITEM REGISTER
DATA COLLECTION FORM
Source of Information
Date of Information Recorded.
1:.ecorder Ident
LL:m Title
(Lecord exact title as it appears on published documents)
tie Classification
(Unclassified thru Top Secret. Also applioThic
epiltrol markings, if any).
Title, Series, or Form Designation ?
.)re,nization
Agcncy
Maj. Components
.12roducing Element
(:Nrrently being produced, no lunger beingproduced,
iet.-ion susp(nded, etc.'l
Pf Publication
iIs) in hhich produced
iHaatic
Weekly, Monthly, etc.)
(Lard copy%':, punched cards, Punched Paper Ta'pe.
hcludes Looks, magazines, graphs, charts, photographs, microfilm coni s. et:e
leU. putiished
iroreign La..auo Items only)
PF.,re of Ttem.
tOr) eearoo
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Ltassi?cation
1;issemination Controls Applied to Item
(YoFURN, Controlled DLssdm
unspecified, so sLte. If none, so state)
Cateery
',-',eleot from Category List and DeseripLions i'co.fiee01
?,,t,sarks
(use as necessary to provide claWifying info, otoitt PuvroGz' 0 t?c YubocoSwTh -
C
n;. -i 1 cat7i on
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DATA REDUCTION
Preliminary Statement
Following initiation of data collection and
probably before data collection is completed for the 1500
to 3000 items, :transcription of the recorded data onto punch
cards should begin. At this point, it seems desirable to
record the information to be keypunched on separate data
reduction forms. In this process certain entries will be
coded, others abbreviated, generally to economize on the
number of machine cards involved and to facilitate selcetin.n
and sorting for outputs. Necessary instructions for this
. -
operation must be prepared. In so doing, it is hoped
that this recording will be essentially a clerical task.
Code sheets originally developed by the Task Team have
been updated and a copy is attached for review and
modification as may be deemed necessary. Also, a draft
data reduction form is attached for similar review.
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SECRET
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USIB-D-39. 7/14
17 January 1966
UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
MEMORANDUM FOR THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
SUBJECT Committee on Documentation Report of
Task Team II (Item Identification)
REFERENCES a. USIB-D-39. 7/6, 6 May 1964
USIB-M-322, 29 April 1964, item 5
c. USIB-D-39. 7/5, 16 March 1964
1. The enclosed report by the Committee on Documentation (CODIB)
on the study undertaken by CODLB's Task Team II (Item Identification),
pursuant to USIB direction in reference a. , is submitted for USIB
consideration of the Recommendations contained in Section D, page 5.
2. This report is the second response to the USIB action at its
meeting on 29 April 1964 (reference b. ) approving as amended the CODES
recommendations on pages 20, 21 and 22 of the Stage I Report of the Staff
for the Community Information Processing Study (SCIPS) (reference c. ).
Pursuant thereto, nine Task Teams were established by CODIB to report
on Paragraphs 4, a. through j. of the final USIB-approved recommendations
contained in the attachment to reference a. These Task Team Reports, as
they are completed, are being reviewed by CODIB which will then submit
as appropriate its report and recommendations for USIB consideration.
The first of the.CODIB reports on the studies undertaken by the nine Task
Teams (Task Team IV?Installations) has been circulated as USIB-D-
39. 7/13, 5 January 1966.
3: Specifically the enclosed CODIB report and its attached Task
Team II report are a response to Recommendations 4. b. and c. of the
final USIB -approved recommendations regarding the SCIPS Report which
directed CODIB to establish an ad hoc group to "develop and publish a
GROUP 1
Excluded from automatic
downgrading and
declassification
SECRET
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USIB -D-39. 7/14
17 January 1966
standard item list" and "develop and implement standardized item
description lists", The enclosed CODIB report contains a Summary
of Task Team Findings; CODIB Comments on the Task Team Report;
and in Section D, page 5, CODIB 's Recommendations to USIB.
4. The enclosure and its attachment will be scheduled (probably
during February) on the agenda of a USIB meeting, subsequent to Board
action on the CODIB Report of Task Team IV (Installations).
xecu ive ecre
Enclosure
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CODIB-D-111 /1 .2/6
27 December 1965
Final COB Approved
UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
COMMITTEE ON DOCUMENTATION
REPORT OF TASK TEAM II (ITEM IDENTIFICATION)
References: a. USIB-D-39.7/6 (6 May 1964)
b. CODIB-D-111/1.2 series (28 Jul 64- 20 Aug 65)
A. Background
*fteir
This is a report on the study undertaken by CODIB's Task Team II (Item Identifi-
cation) pursuant to USIB direction contained in reference (a). The objective of this
Task Team was to plan for a standard inventory and listing of series-type informa-
tion items of use in the intelligence process, and to consider the problem of
standardization of the bibliographic elements common to most of these items. This
would facilitate data and file exchange within the Community, aid in on-going inter-
,3ystem operations, and assist the system designers and system managers in
planning and controlling their own operations.
B. Summary of Task Team Findings
1. General
The Task Team II report (attached) notes that the steadily increasing volume
of information and intelligence items, both incoming and in files, manifests itself?
GROUP I
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principally in the form of "documents" which, if systematically approached, can be
controlled and identified uniquely. These items, in effect, do tie the Community
together, but truly useful interchange among Community information systems and
avoidance of undesirable duplication in processing, can occur only when we can
accurately and definitively describe the scope and content of our systems. This
then points to a comprehensive and standardized inventory of information items
In circulation or in file in the Community. The Team's conclusions are that a)
such an inventory would best be met by the establishment of an Item Register;
and b) that further standardization of bibliographic elements should be undertaken
after the Register is in being.
2. Item Register
The Item Register System is envisioned as consisting of 1) decentralized
input of requiisite information by the producers of the item; 2) centralized pro-
cessing of input information and maintenance of an authoritative item register
and descriptive data base; and 3) diversified form, formats and orderings of item
information to satisfy a spectrum of users, including catalog-type printouts,
special bibliographies? and ad hoc query responses. The report discusses
requirements for such a system, its elements of information, codes and other
methods of representation, machine requirements, expected outputs from the
system, and provides a scheme for implementing the system, together with cost
Noir/figures.
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The elements of information which most nearly meet the criteria for unique
A identification are listed in both required and desired categories, as follows:
Required
a. Exact title of the item
b. Classification of the title
c. Series designation and control, if any
d. Producing agency or department, major component thereof
and lowest organization level identifiable from the item
itself
e. Range of security classification applied to the item
f. Dissemination control applied to the item
g. Item status, i.e., is it currently being produced? If
not, inclusive dates of publication
h. Unique reference number
Desired
a. Short title of item, if any, and its security classification
b. Frequency of issuance
c. Form(s) in which produced
d. Categorization of item (Substantive; Substantive Support;
Non-Substantive - defined in the report)
e. Remarks
3. Implementation and Community Impact
Implementation would take place incrementally, in the following general
steps: 1) detailed design, programming, initial collection of data and initial input
to the machine system, plus the production of an initial set of output products; 2)
a thorough evaluation of this initial product by the Community; 3) redesign and
further collection (if found necessary during evaluation); 4) a continuing phase of
maintenance and operation of the system. The report recommends that this
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CODIB-D-111/1.2/6
system be implemented by a single agency acting as executive agent, but does not
specify which agency should be chosen.
The initial system would control and identify between 5000 - 7000 items at
the series level. Preliminary manpower and cost estimates for the system (design-
ingitesting, evaluating and reaching operational capability in about six months)
include 28 man-months of analyst and programmer time, 12 man-months of clerical
support and 170 machine hours
nance of the Item Register, production
hoc requests will require an estimated
?
one analyst's time and one-fourth of one clerical. Full evaluation by Community
users is provided for during the buildup period.
C. CODIB Comment on the Report
In the view of CODIB, the report addresses a fundamental problem that needs to
be solved: identification of the information-bearing "documents" which are processed
In the Community. CODIB feels that the Task Team has adequately discussed the
goals, objectivek, alternative solutions, and cost implications. CODIB therefore
Once in operation, mainte-
of periodic products and servicing of 2.1
10 machine hours per month, one-half of
agrees with the conclusion that an Item Register System should be initiated and
evaluated. CODIB further agrees with the Task Team that the executive agent
route is the best way to implement this proposal, provided that sufficient continuity
and expertise can be obtained.
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D. Recommendations
It is recommended that USIB:
1. Note the general findings and conclusions of the Task Team II report.
2. Direct the CIA to undertake the task of implementing and operating
an Item Register System as outlined in the report, obtaining such
assistance and guidance from the CODIB Support Staff as is appro-
priate and necessary, and submit the detailed design to CODIB for
approval.
3. In addition, direct the CIA to develop item description element
Q:2-)
standards and recommend them to CODIB together with an imple-
mentation plan.
4. Call for quarterly progress reports during the implementation
phase, including Community evaluation when appropriate.
Attachment
Paul A. Bore
Chairman
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6 8eteier 1967
14040ii'OR:
Here are several documents which I believe set the
stage for the producers to review, correct, and add to
the 1400 item data base. Have been thinking in terms
of going through the respective COMB members Who will
in turn query their producers. Your comments on any and
all of this are solicited.
The 1400 data base and programs are all set for
printing out item descriptions by producer.
CC:
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Instructions for Editing and Correcting Preliminary
Product Sheets (Item Register System)
Introduction
In February, 1966, USIB requested that CIA undertake the detailed
design, implementation,and operation of an intelligence Item Register
system. Since that time the detailed design for such a system has been
completed and an initial computer data base identifying and describing
approximately 1400 items produced by various USIB agencies has been
developed, together with basic operating and maintenance programs.
While the Item Register is intended to provide a comprehensive,
authoritative ana up-to-date record of intelligence community products,
certain types of products have been excluded, at least during initial
implementation. For example, maps, charts, and photographs are
excluded, however PI reports and items about foreign mapping activities
and substantive support items such as catalogs and indexes are included.
Products which are not distributed beyond t4 department producing them
are also excluded. One-time publications (as opposed to periodicals
and serials) of all types are excluded. Non-substantive items and items
devoted to domestic subjects will not be incorporated in the data base.
Counterintelligence items are confined to intelligence studies, reports,
estimates, and related substantive support items.
The identification and description of the 1400 items included in
the current data base was accomplished by inspecting issues of the items
available in CIA and by examining various agency and departmental
catalogs and compendia treating on their product, as well as available
. . . .
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instances, these sources of information did not provide complete up-to-
date informatiou. Therefore, it is necessary that the producing elements,
themselves, examine the results of this effort in identifying and
describing their products and correct errors appearing therein. They
should also provide such missing information as the security classification
range of the item (as opposed to the classification appearing on a
single issuance), the dissemination controls applies, frequency of
issuance, production status, etc. For this purpose three copies each
of the product description sheet are provided. One copy appropriately
annotated should be returned to this office through the agency's
CODIB member.
In most of the serial entries only two or three examples of the
recurring titles within the series are included. For example, in a world-
wide order of battle series made up of items published and disseminated
independently on each of 124 countries, only recurring titles for
Afghanistan, Algeria, and Albania are included. In these instances, as
well as others which the producing element may note, an up-to-date
list of the additional recurring titles is requested. Finally, since the
1400 items covered are merely representative rather than comprehensive,
producing elements should provide required information on adraiTional
quallT37Ing items which they producelusing the attached form and its
accompanying instructions. Please note that much of the information may
be the same for all recurring titles within a series, e.g., producer,
series title, short title forms in which produced, status, etc. There-
fore, for this type of new item it is necessary only to complete a
single form containing the non-changing, standard series level information
and to attach listings of the information that does change, e.g.,
recurring title within series, item title, security classification,
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Instructions for completing Item Reg. Form L. (attached)
Item Title: Entries appearing in this field may be the precise
titles followed by the title classification, if any, of intelligence
periodicals, series (recurring) titles, recurring titles within a
series, and in some instances, recurring titles within a sub-series,
e.g., Counterintelligence Digest (a periodical), Antiaircraft Artillery
Order of Battle (e) (a series title), Communist Forces, Southeast Asia
(a recurring title within a series or sucseries).
Series Title: The series or sul7series title followed by the
title classification, if any, is entered here when a recurring
title within series or subseries is entered in the Item Title field.
Example:
Alternate Series Title: The series title followed by the title
classification, if any, is entered here when the sub-series title
appears in the Series Title field and the recurring title within sub-
series appears in the Item Title field. Example:
Short Title (if any): The short title is entered here only when
it actually appears on issues of the item.
Series Designation: Enter here such series control numbers as
Producer: See sample sheets attached.
Iterri Descriptiim:
Status: indicate production status of the item, i.e., active,
inactive (specify final publication date) or planned (specify initial
publication date) .
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Frequency of Issuances: Indicate frequency. Please specify if
item is a daily, whether it is produced 5, 6, or 7 days a week.
Forms in which produced: Indicate whether issues of item are
available in hardcopy, punched cards, punched paper tape, magnetic
tape, microfilm, teletype transmission, or in multiple forms as
appropriate.
Classification Range: Indicate the classification(s), which can
appear on issues of the item, e.g., all iss
es of a given item may
be classified secret, or issues of a given item may be unclassified,
confidential, or secret,depending upon content.
Dissemination and Use Controls Applied: List the various dissemina-
tion and use controls which appear on issues of the item. If
dissemination controls do not appear on issues, but no release determina-
tion has been made, so state.
Access Controls: Indicate special system control applicable to
the item, e.g., SAO,SSO, Restricted Data, STOP, etc.
?r176m Register Number: Assigned by CIA.
Remarks: Enter necessary clarifying information. Include brief
narrative statements of item coverage, scope, purpose, etc.
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ITEM REG. FORM I
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Classification when lilted. in
ITEM REGISTER SYSTEM
Item Identification/Description Form (For
Entering New Items Only)
Item Register No.
(Leave Blank)
Item Title followed by item title classification, if any, e.g., (U),
(C), (S), (T):
Series Title followed by series title classification, if any, (If item
title above is a recurring title within a specified series, enter
series title here.)
Alternate Series Title followed by series title classification, if any,
If above'is a sub-series title, enter series title here
Short Title (if any):
Series Designation (if any):
Item Language, if other than English specify:
Item Category:
Index:
(Leave Blank)
Producer:
Dept/Agency:
Major Component:
Producing Element#:
(Leave Blank)
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Classification when filled in
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Item Description
Production Status (Circle one):
A = Active
I = Inactive, specify final publication date
P = Planned, specify initial publication date
Publication Frequency (Circle one):
A = Irregular C - Semi-monthly
D - 7 x a week M - Monthly
J - 6 x a week N - Every 2 months
F - 5 x a week Q - Quarterly
E - 2 x a week T - 3 x a year
W - Weekly S - Semi-annual
Y - Annual
B - Every 2 weeks Z - Every 2 years
X - Other, specify
Classification Range (Circle codes as appropriate):
U - Unclassified
C - Confidential
S - Secret
T - Top Secret
Dissemination and Use Controls (applied to any issue of the item)
(Circle codes as appropriate):
N - No Foreign Dissem
C - Controlled Dissem
A - No Dissem Abroad
W - Warning Notice - Sensitive sources and methods involved
B - Background Use Only
O - Official Use Only
X - Other Dissem or use controls, specify:
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Classification when filled in
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Access Controls (circle as appropriate)
SSO -
SAO -
RD - (restricted data)
X - Other, specify
Forms in which available (circle codes as appropriate)
HC - Hard Copy
MF - Microfilm
PC - Punched Cards
PT - Punched Paper Tape
MT - Magnetic Tape
TT - Teletype Transmission
X - Other, Specify
Remarks (Clarifying information: Include Lyief, narrative description
of item, its purpose, scope, etc):
Item included in a Departmental Item Catalog (Circle one):
No
Yes, give precise title of "local" item catalog
Is Departmental Item Catalog maintained by EAM/computer (circle one):
No
Yes - Please provide interpreted machine card describing this item.
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Element
Card #
c?Unique Reference #
cIE)
g Item Title, Including
"Title Classification
?zr
0 Short Title, Series,