Training for Information Intensive Operations

1. Training for Information Intensive Operations Dewar Donnithorne-Tait Adfingo Ltd

2. Overview 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... • Military Factors • Information Perspectives • Civilian and Commercial Operations • Deductions • Conclusions

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Information Perspectives A Model Data Information Knowledge Understanding Wisdom (DIKUW)

7. You don’t know what you don’t know

8. Enlightenment reduces conflict

9. Information 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

10. Intelligence v Information Knowledge Requirement Collect Information Disseminate Intelligence Evaluate Collate

11. Intelligence v Information Knowledge Requirement Domain 1 Collect Information Disseminate Intelligence Evaluate Collate

12. Intelligence v Information Knowledge Requirement Domain 1 Collect Information Disseminate Intelligence Domain 2 Evaluate Collate

13. Intelligence v Information Knowledge Requirement Domain 1 Collect Information Disseminate Intelligence Domain 3 Domain 2 Evaluate Collate

14. Intelligence v Information Knowledge Wisdom? Knowledge Requirement Data Domain 1 Collect Information Disseminate Intelligence Domain 3 Domain 2 Understanding Information Evaluate Collate

15. Information Balance Nuclear War War Insurgency Terrorism Aid, Peace Ops Intent Intent Intent Intent En Cap Enemy Capability Enemy Capability Intent Environ-ment Enemy Capability Environ-ment Enemy Capability Environ-ment Environ-ment NB FIBUA/MOUT Personal Environ-ment Personal Personal Personal Personal Not comprehensive - illustrative only (Threat = Capability x Intent)

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

17. Information Operations Proactive use of information as a capability to influence outcome: • Deception • Social • Economic • Military • Propaganda • General • Specific

18. Executive 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

19. Information Operations Knowledge Wisdom? Influence Required Data Domain 1 Market Result Disseminate Information Review Intelligence Domain 3 Market Survey Domain 2 Marketing Communications Understanding Information Evaluate Select

20. Civilian & Commercial Operations

21. Issues • 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

22. People • 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

23. Processes • 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?’.

24. 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

25. Environmental 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

26. 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 Stakeholder Analysis

27. 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...

28. 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)

29. 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

30. Deductions

31. Deductions 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

32. Deductions 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

33. Deductions 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

34. Deductions 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

35. Conclusions

36. People • 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

37. Processes • 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)

38. 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

39. Discussion Dewar Donnithorne-Tait MA MBA FIoD CEO Adfingo Limited m: +44-7704-105006 e: dewardt@aol.com