Shared Intelligence Evaluation VisualizEr (SIEVE): Web-based threat assessment for cross-cultural intelligence analysis

Accurate cross-cultural intelligence analysis of rapidly developing threats is extremely difficult when the environment is characterized by dispersed and fragmentary data, cross-cultural differences, and inherent cognitive predispositions to exhibit biased information integration. The objective of this Phase I proposal is to integrate the results and lessons learned from a series of research programs to create a new tool to support cross-cultural intelligence analysis called SIEVE (Shared Intelligence Evaluation VisualizEr). SIEVE integrates notions from these different efforts as well as novel notions for the reduction of decision bias, to create a powerful threat assessment system for cross-cultural intelligence analysis. SIEVE creates a Web-based coordinating representation for analysts' activities populated with seven key design features derived from a cognitive model. These design features specifically address the problems inherent in information integration by physically separated analysts, cross-cultural exchange of meaning, and biased hypothesis exploration and decision making. This proposal lays out the elements of the design of such a system, and it details the tasks necessary to develop a prototype.