Process and analysis
What is Intelligence cycle?
The repeating process of turning questions into intelligence: direction, collection, processing, analysis, dissemination and feedback.
The intelligence cycle describes how intelligence work turns a question into a usable answer. A common version has six stages: direction (requirements), collection, processing, analysis, dissemination and feedback, after which the cycle starts again.
In practice the stages overlap, but the model is a useful check. Most failing CTI programmes skip direction, collecting everything without knowing what decision it serves, or skip feedback, never learning whether their products helped.