Information Quality: Critical Ingredient for National Security

Abstract

Information Quality Management is critical for national security not just because of the myriad information types, including textual, audio, video and other complex information types and to the difficulties in collecting intelligence information, but because of the consequences of failure of national security caused by low-quality information. The diversity and breadth of the number of autonomous or semi-autonomous agencies create complexity in aggregating data from disparately defined databases. Federal laws, an open society, human rights and privacy further hinder the ability to collect, access, aggregate and use certain information. The collection of intelligence information requires rigorous procedures and technologies to error-proof the collection processes, to assure information quality and techniques for analyzing less-than-optimum-quality information. Data definition and database design for information required across multiple agencies can and must be standardized to prevent misinterpretation and analysis failure. Standard Information Quality Management processes with specific considerations applied to address the nature of intelligence information. Cultural transformation within various intelligence community organizations will enable agencies to sustain a level of information quality to minimize the risks of national security process failure.