PROPOSAL FOR THE RAPID TRANSMITTAL OF INFORMATION REPORTS AND CUSTOMER REACTIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP92B01090R002600120028-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 33
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 25, 2000
• Sequence Number: 28
• Content Type: REPORT

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PROPt SAL ?a THE
SID TRAN UTAL OP INFORlATION R ' S AND Ci3T41 REACTION
The Problem
The problem faced by the Agency Planning Group in the routine in-
telligence field comes under three heading;s :
a. Speed of processing, taking advantage of nee: technology;
b . lity of reporting, dismi saeing submarginal. information -? and .
sources -- at the earliest ppossible ete e;
c. Tailor-made dissemination, to keep analiyst.s from being flooded
with materials not pertinent to their work.
These facets are interrelated. Processing del:ya in getting reports
to customers breead addition 1 delays in getting reactions nM evaluations
to the collectors. The hal -life of information is short; loss of interest
in it due to time lag pa oduces lack of interest in imWroviuW; the source ? s
production.
If wee are able significantly to out the number of processing steps
myl their ag7re'?ga.te tune, users will better recognize 5 heir own interest
in furniahin4i feedback to the collector. Collectors will appreciate this
timely inter st in their operations; and case officers and so,,rces alike
will be encouraged by the speed with which their nniteriai was handled, and.
the interest Washington bas taken in it.
Speed a?4 quality are particularly closely interwoven in the field
of xtrginal nor submarginal reporting. If users cyan let the collector
know quickly th?z t certain n2 aterial8 are valueless, operations can bee
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for n x wpid 8yt'i a ix encom ssin6i the remainder of ?`;1' !. ;:eiiigenae
co inity,
At the present tire inforri ion is received " 4y intelligences ..n &,ycts
ovar an extended period of timer a ).'ter the event b Ang reported. Same,
in3'o. a ,tioon is received ii a xn ,tter of hours o:~' c :y fx!L,r the FLITS +. 35 .;f .
the -.mbied reports of other repartiY a conies in ;3 ;a + ,nr the C .deat"iu
Sexvices of CIA. The ba k of the information, hcrmver, is received I,n
di:q tc?h or repurt form aver several wee. o or znon vhq 'cailo4th j . For
ex ns ie, C] mdeatine rvices pauch s, rep,orte, ac ,~ord.].r. ; to a r. eceat
twc -dad S3aP ple, .reach the., cum4ste l c3eeks on ati of 5 days az ter
i hc-,-i.r enqui iti in in this field. A Bchemf ti.c eh3 of th : p:ra;ae,nt auL
tb de .eta d patterns of the x e :e pt of : spar eo by follow o.
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ZMOI of Report j
in the nmber of TDs disseminated. This volume of reporting -- even
supposing it to be wholly desirable - Imposes grave saes on
outgrown the Agency's ability to it etfe:ctively. Evi-
dence of this is to be seen in delays betin the receipt, of informa-
tion reports at Headquarters &C], their delivery to cu; rs such as
those reported above.
CS reports laterally dies ted, in the field cscet':e reach
other .cies ewad departments in We skiing ,on trough e r channels
appreciably sooner t h a n t h r o u g h C I A . . o In & ncer, other agencies
and departments have disseanin*ted information t?akera f:'ci' CIA reports
in their own publications before the Agency received its oven copies.
Cue complain that they receive too zzy, reports they do not
need, and that they fail to receive irai'orantioa they do need. The
limitations of collection e s acid p collecting c amts re-
tort that custaners fail to a their needs k aoen ,g a clearly
pbrased, up-to-date requirenents ead substantive ev .uet on of reports
A lack of cc?unicatios between the tco elements is evi
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Synopsis of the Proposal
The cycle of the proposed system consists of the following elements:
a. Reports are typed at the field station in TD format on a Flexo-
writer with a tape byproduct.
b. After mecb aical encrypting, tape is forwarded to adqu&xters
by unaccc* penied piuch or, as XW-26 equipment beds available, by
c. After raetcbanicel decrypting at the Headquarters' Signal Center,
clear tom', tape is furnished the Cable Secretariat.
0. On a twin of the input Flexovriter, the clear text tape is auto-
w 4ically typed in TD format, and carbons furnished tea the action desk.
e. An OCR document analyst assigned to the Cable Secretariat places
appropriate ISC codes on the mat, together with an indiction; of the die-
semination normally accomplished by OCR. Simultaneously, the action desk
reviews its copies, adding appropriate release and dies i ticn instruc-
tions and risking minor corrections. A completed copy is returned to the
Cable Secretariat.
f. The fully ISC coded, released, corrected, eixl CS-numbered TD is
then run off for external and internal distribution by messenger or elec-
trical transmission.
g. Initial Reaction Sheets (see Attachment A) are fill in by
s
analysts with substantive interests, and returned within, three working
days to OCR. 25X1A
h. The processes incoming Initial Reaction
Sheets, on punched cards. Lists of Requirements are processed in the same
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Processing by Field Sill Center
The Office of tcatinxas ban elaborated the ueceas ary proce-
dures to be used in field aid d . rs S Centers for the
Teletape encrypting and de tine process. The essence of these pro-
cedures is to prevent confusion bet-amen clear text and encrypted is .pes
prior to dispatch.
After encrypting, the original clear text tape is destroyed a
the encrypted,, secure tape dispatched by fastest available means. Tole-
tape experience to date indica.&es that this will be the unaccompanied
State Department pouch which eves ` jy air mod! and Is privileged:
Agreements with the air lines prevent it from, being for is
it held up in custom upon rival.
Arrangements have bee i matte with. the Departumt. of meter to move
Tee1etape packages by next airplane., rather than waitijg for a larger
dispatch from the originator's ,typevMYriter to the Rs rs desk con-
cerned in one vorking day (tak ad antes o of the ea> t-to-west time
shi t . It has been found
differential), although the no is two to three dasssys.,
Teletape see Background Paper #5.)
s ible by these c ns
ve a Teletape
(For details on
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Confirmati.
In the subsequent pro ws, air g of the tape , the registries bot i. in
the field a at He . s. are by s ed. In ordr-T to satisfy the
records needs of both, we mom the original ty . copy c the T iatap
dispatch by pmeh, a treat, it in the same mwner a other die-
patch for records purp~,ses. This confir'a a ;ion copy c) also be used
to back us up in any situation ir. which tap is lost (io vueh. event has
occurred to date). Ne Q 1ec-z to saj: c boa ` iea of the original
typing are used in the fief. ft the etati .'s file d documentation
purposes. I t a s aadviasa sble to use the s s t i in the Tele as
reporting process
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Pr+c mma Lomax Arrival at M : e 's
Ad to messsnge arrsnmta exist for the .r nt Of Tel au",
t V= arrival in = unac ntM at the Depart-tw-nt. of ft %W, r%W, to
RID. The tap* Is merely lc l as a unit axA moved by hu to the
Sill. center in L Building t ,thamt delay. There r i nt.Ml p e$ain
produces a clear text tape. In the Tel-Aape process as Mve tented
it so far, this clear text tam, is aiel! ivred to the Divi ton for further
q sc, how r, we p 44 that it go
1 1 ice. For the rW)rtjn%
directLy by dumb-waiter upstaira to the ble Sear xie
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ProftV8ing k Cable Secretariat
The first item to appear on a reports tape viii be the non-
dis ble Operational and Source cover Slot w The typist in the
Cable Secretariat viii piece one of tbese sheets, with the number of
carbons required by the Division, in her Flexowriter end aa#tcamstica11y
type this portion of the v teria1. The machine stops at the end of
the pie. The typist then puts a T.D. mt, with tore or `our carbons,
into the machine and, resumes autamatic typing of the di.s ble por-
tico of the report.
The table Secretariat rot-sins the T.D. mat for treatment an
described below. The Operati aad Source Corer 8a :t and carbons,
and the carbons of the `.f.D., are furnished by mass er to the
Division reports office which has action on the report.
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operating experience against the day when it may be necessary or de-
sirable to make extensive eleptrical disamination to a wide rye of
customers o
For details on KW-37 and its potential, sea Ba_`i groznd Taper No.
8.
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I 25X1A
25X1A
Feedback for Coders
Every theoretical discussion of retrieval probis brings out the
inevitable human limiyations in the coding process. For a recent review
of this problem,
Analysts in the D ; current Division are not omniscient universal
geniuses; they t re able, to assign the apparently essential codes, but
they are bound to overa,ook, or not to be aware of, files under rhich
retrieval might in future become essential. This is the primary criticism
of the present library 1;ystem, leveled at it by personnel using it. The
intelligence subject ccnie, present or revised, is a splendid instrument,
useful exactly to the paint to which coders properly foresee the headings
under which material miry need to be recovered, but no further.
The better and more widely knonm the Intelligen:e Subject Code, the
more it is directly uEod and contributed to by exper,? lin their Carious
fields, the better the retrieval system. The Initial reaction Sheet pro-
vides a simple method of contributing to the coding. This presume that
the ISC codes originally aasinned by doc nt analysts are wirailable on
the report for review. LM a zyst who receives a copy can .ke care of
his own interests beyond the initial coding by add.ir appropriate codes
on the form.
Aecbanica11y, the additional entrie;3 will be re erred to the. Docu-
meat Division in weekly tabulations. These UUill cittA the nane of each
contributing analyst, the additional codes each has proposed, and the
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report numbers to which these pertain. They can appear, in document number
or 3SC Code order, or any other desired arrangexent, for discussion with
the proponents if this is indicated, and integration into the system.
Once this feedback process has been underway for sl a time, and
analysts have become used to it, it is to be hoped tat they will develop
such confidence in the ability of the library -- particularly as chani-
zation provides increasingly reliable and rapid service to retrieve
:what they need, that they will be willing to dispense with the bulk of
their on paper holdings. Without participation in the,ccding process,
this confidence, we believe, cannot be established.
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Feedback for Disseminators
Background Pagern Nos. 1, 3 and 14, when read together, spell out
another cause of delrAys in processing information reports to the ultimate
Agency user: The u tbod, now in use, of successive diss3e3nination through
organizational channels, with major distribution to the Office, from there
to the Branch, ::ton there to individuals. Bulk process ing through several
steps is ith ?ently inefficient, when seen as a whole, not only in terms
of time, but also in terms of the number of copies required which must be
based on extreme Potential needs, rather than specific known needs.
Alternatively, dissemination might be achieved within the Agency,
frown a central point directly to individual analysts, on the basis of
their specific requirements, kept up-to-date on a continuing basis, by a
feedback system suitable to mechanization.
Under such a system, dissemination can take plat>; by subjects coded
in the ISC, thus taking advonte of the fact that regorto moved by the
proposed reporting system i.ll carry pertinent codes on every copy. Coded
requirements, on the one hand, : cot led reports on the other, are a pre-
requisite for any attempt to mechanize the routine portion of the dissem-
ination process. (Unusual a, of require nts would be handled, outside the
system.}
An analyst's Statement of Requirements may be dex'iv . in the first
instance by tabulating his response to Question 1 of thelll Initial Reaction
Sheet over a period of some months. The tabulation W
aal contain all the
1~ld
reports he received, and their subjects in terms of the'lSC Code.
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Document analysts could translate this tabulation into a tentative State-
ment of Requirements,, for refinement in discussion with the analyst con-
cerned. This would yield the analyst's current State cent of Requirements
on which disseminations to him would be bzxed. This in turn would be
kept up-to-date by the continuing feedback. of his reactions on the IRS.
Theexperiment in automatic diese minstion now un ie ay in _ 25X1 A
indicates that much additional paper is pumped into the mill by the
straight-faced, undiscriminssti machine. This is due to inadequately
spelled out requirements which are adequately understood by trained
analysts, but cause hash by machine. A feedback system as proposed here
properly used -- will tend to give the ariyst and hip: supervisor direct
control over the volume of information delivered to the "In" basket.
The supervisor is an interested party inthis process because of his
responsibility for a proper workload distribution to bxis subordinates.
This, in practice, is a most difficult task; most supezrv sors carry their
own workloads, and do not inspect their subordinates' "" baskets at
regular intervals. Based on the Initial Reaction Sheat, supervisors may
receive every week, or at any other convenient interval., a tabulation by
name of their subordinates of the reports they took in, end their reac-
tions to them. This is a tool which night lead. itself very well to
proper workload distribution.
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Feedback for Collectors
The remaining material on the form is intended to guide the collector.
It does not contain written evaluations, but provides for checking off
the simplest and, under the circumstances, most useful elements of
25X1A
guidance. A punched card system will be developed to bring geese ele-
ments to the rapid attention of field stations and Hwadquarters desks and
Staffs concerned. The system embodies the essential facts of projects,
sources and reports, i.e. the Operational and Source Cover Sheet, the CS
report form, or its TD equivalent, Project Sumiary She t, and lists of
Requirements and their numbers. Non-operational port.ona of the cards
will be reproduced for OCR for tabulations of use to DD/t elements. On
the basis of thi's material, and the Initial Reaction `b cards received
from OCR, in the CS will be in a position to distribute
such reports as the following at appropriate interval :
1. To the field --
$y station or base, source c: 'yptonym, and re-
ports officer: a tabulation of reports in field report
and cable number order, citing the CS nt $ , the subject,
and each Initial Reaction received to date; requirements
levied on the station, citing reports w A IRS reactions
pertinent to each; a list of reports not disseminated by
rg Headquarters, giving brief reasons.
2. For the 13e q a tea: r $r'r lch -"
Copies of the above B in ice or CS number
order, a list of outstanding evalb,%tion? (from Q,taestion 7
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Under the impetus of this system, it is to be hoped that substan-
tive evaluations will be processed to the field with ?s speed
approxi ting that of the Initial Reaction system. They now take on
the order of six months to reach the field from the cite of the orig-
inal report. They are often valueless by that time. The reasons for
these delays are for the most part mechanical and will be sepaateiy
investioated end dealt with.
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Reproduction Bottleneck
While the model system will aai a electrical txantri o