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Training for Information Intensive Operations

Dewar Donnithorne-TaitAdfingo Ltd

ADFINGOOverview

• Military Factors• Information Perspectives• Civilian and Commercial Operations• Deductions• Conclusions

A huge and dynamic subject area; this presentation offers a high level view and poses many questions, makes some observations and gives too few answers...

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Military Factors(Systems)

• The advent of:– More available bandwidth– Powerful computing– Better sensors, surveillance platforms– Improvements in power sources– Encryption, LPI v EW, ESM– Smart weapons– Unmanned systems

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Military Factors(Systems 2)

• Has led to:– Unprecedented battlespace transparency– Increasing sense to response speed– Precision

• But:– Masses of information, often of unknown

quality– Difficulty in identifying and handling

priorities– Changing nature of operational norms

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Military Factors(People, Processes)

• Culture:– Apart from routine civilian life– Innovative with equipment– Conservative with relationships,

processes, proven methods preferred, change handled with caution

– Accustomed to structured information– But civilian culture influencing military,

many facets, outcomes still uncertain

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Information Perspectives

A Model

Data Information Knowledge Understanding Wisdom (DIKUW)

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You don’t know what you don’t know

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Enlightenment reduces conflict

ADFINGOInformation Perspectives

• Increasing volumes of military-sourced information are under military control

• Vast amounts of non-military information exists in many disparate forms

• Current trends see increasing importance of non-military information

• Military forces need to train to deal with the changing information environment

ADFINGOIntelligence v Information

KnowledgeRequirement

DisseminateIntelligence

CollectInformation

CollateEvaluate

ADFINGOIntelligence v Information

KnowledgeRequirement

DisseminateIntelligence

CollectInformation

CollateEvaluate

Domain 1

ADFINGOIntelligence v Information

KnowledgeRequirement

DisseminateIntelligence

CollectInformation

CollateEvaluate

Domain 2

Domain 1

ADFINGOIntelligence v Information

KnowledgeRequirement

DisseminateIntelligence

CollectInformation

CollateEvaluate

Domain 3 Domain 2

Domain 1

ADFINGOIntelligence v Information

KnowledgeRequirement

DisseminateIntelligence

CollectInformation

CollateEvaluate

Domain 3Domain 2

Domain 1

Data

Understanding

Knowledge

Information

Wisdom?

ADFINGOInformation Balance

Nuclear War

War Insurgency Terrorism Aid, Peace Ops

Intent

IntentIntent Intent

Intent

Enemy

Capability

Enemy

Capability

Enemy

Capability

Enemy

Capability

Personal

PersonalPerson

alPersonal

Personal

En Cap

Environ-ment

Environ-ment

Environ-mentNB FIBUA/MOUT

Environ-ment

Environ-ment

Not comprehensive - illustrative only (Threat = Capability x Intent)

ADFINGOInformation Environment

• Controlled v Anarchic• Structured v Unstructured• Push v Pull• Publish and Subscribe• Personal Empowerment• Freedom of Information, Privacy, Security• Mass Customization• Wisdom

ADFINGOInformation Operations

Proactive use of information as a capabilityto influence outcome:• Deception

– Social– Economic– Military

• Propaganda– General– Specific

ADFINGOExecutive Agencies

Need to orchestrate information capabilities across

a wide spectrum of entities:• National Security• Government Communications• Military• Police• ‘Special’ Police• Departmental Investigators• Local Government Investigators• Non-governmental Organizations

ADFINGOInformation Operations

InfluenceRequired

ReviewIntelligence

DisseminateInformation

SelectEvaluate

Domain 3Market Survey

Domain 2Marketing

Communications

Domain 1Market Result

Data

Understanding

Knowledge

Information

Wisdom?

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Civilian & Commercial Operations

ADFINGOIssues

• Many different views of organizations eg:– Capabilities, resources– People, processes, systems– Assets, culture, organization

• Therefore many different tools, approaches• Issue of how to map civilian/commercial

onto military

ADFINGOPeople

• Rapid cultural evolution in Europe• Personal values in ascendance• Many pressures for personal empowerment• Expectation of Mass Customization• Much job recruitment requires basic IT skills• Convergence is a major factor among IT literate• Time, travel costly - internet a solution• Growth of sector-specific information gurus• Growth of sector-specific information companies• IT delivers competitive advantage

ADFINGOProcesses

• Best organizations use commercial best practice• Best practice commercial strategic

management:– Purpose (why)– Core Values (what)– Long Term Goal (what)– Shorter Term Goals (what)– Objectives (what)– Strategies (how)– Capabilities (verb-based what) – Resources (noun-based what)

• DIKUW Management vital

After ‘Why?’, the hardest question is ‘What?’.

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Knowledge Management System for DIKUW

• Human & Technical• Culture, Education, Training,

Meetings, Reports, • DIKUW as a corporate resource• Use of web-based technology• Multiple access options• Management, Maintenance, Focus

ADFINGOEnvironmental Scanning

• Proactive, continuous (and wider than ‘market research’)• External• Internal• Methodology

– incl eg STEEPLE; Social, Technical, Economic. Environmental, Political, Legal, Ethical

– incl eg SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

• Responsibilities• Output to Knowledge Mgmt System

ADFINGOStakeholder AnalysisStakeholder Analysis

• Proactive, continuous

• Responsibilities• Output to

Knowledge Management System

• Methodology– Organization– Management/Board/Committees/

International Regions– Staff– Members (as owners)– Members (as customers)– Customers– Lenders– Supply Chain players– Competitors– Government– Prospects

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Commercial Marketing Definition

The [social and] management process responsible for matching resources with opportunities, by identifying, anticipating, influencing & satisfying customer demand [through creating and exchanging products and value with others].”

(adapted for use from the Chartered Institute of Marketing definition - italics from Kotler (1991) )

How does this translate into the military/security environment? Quite well, probably...

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Business Process Re-engineering

• ‘Organize around the outcome’ (Hammer)• Military good within ‘traditional’ domains,

especially after NATO/coalition operational experience

• But military flexibility limited by culture, people, processes and systems

• Commercial trends forward-looking, risky (eg fuzzy borders, long term trust, just in time)

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Desired Commercial Outcome

• Knowledge-based, proactive, continuous

• Responsive, flexible to achieve best market fit

• Focus on core competences• Outsource non-core operations• Long term trust relationships within

context of market testing

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Deductions

ADFINGODeductions 1

• Current military/security culture and paradigms are not optimised to deal with the emerging information environment

• Base educational norms of personnel have to be improved for those working the ‘infosphere’

• Special training is required to deal with increasing military, non-military and unstructured information. This is a pressing all ranks issue

ADFINGODeductions 2

• Without a redefinition of top level strategic management, it is likely that the necessary DIKUW handling needs will exceed existing core military/security capabilities at least in the short and medium terms

• Cultural trends in (western) societies might mitigate this in the longer term

ADFINGODeductions 3

• Civil and commercial trends towards personal empowerment, environmental scanning, stakeholder analysis and mass customization are becoming increasingly relevant to the military/security environment

• Commercial people, processes and systems have much to contribute

ADFINGODeductions 4

• Civilian culture and language significantly different from military

• Benefit from military/security adopting more civilian standards to benefit directly from commercial developments

• Would improve employability of ex-military/security personnel

• Security issues, especially with soft systems• Scope for further contractorization/out-

sourcing

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Conclusions

ADFINGOPeople

• Need to recruit more clever people (education)• Need to train:

– Senior people about what can be known and how to exploit knowledge

– Staffs about evaluation and dissemination– Front end (units, specialists, contractors) about

multiple collection/delivery options and primary collation

• Cultural reorientation (DIKUW as a powerful corporate resource)

• Contractorization, out-sourcing

ADFINGOProcesses

• Need to deploy - and train for - a better system of knowledge-based strategic management

• Train for better internal and market (external) communication capabilities (two way) with all potential collocutors

• Environmental Scanning (training)• Stakeholder Analysis (training)

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Systems(not primarily a training issue)

• Secure but available appropriately to authorised users

• Clear Quality Of Service tags• Ability to deal with military, non-

military, structured, non-structured and international data and to build relevant constructs

• Fully exploit commercial developments where security permits

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Discussion

Dewar Donnithorne-Tait MA MBA FIoDCEO

Adfingo Limitedm: +44-7704-105006 e:

dewardt@aol.com