Accumulating intelligence information

According to the CIA, the Intelligence Cycle is the process by which information is acquired, converted into intelligence, and made available to policymakers. Information is raw data from any source that may be fragmentary, contradictory, unreliable, ambiguous, deceptive, or wrong. Intelligence is information that has been collected, integrated, evaluated, analysed, and interpreted. Finished intelligence is the final product of the Intelligence Cycle ready to be delivered to the policymaker.

There are three types of finished intelligence: basic, current, and estimative. Basic intelligence is the fundamental and factual reference material on a country or issue, current intelligence reports on new developments, and estimative intelligence judges probable outcomes. The three are mutually supporting because basic intelligence is the foundation on which the other two are based, current intelligence helps to continually update the knowledge foundation, and estimative intelligence serves to revise overall interpretations of country and issue prospects for both basic and current intelligence. The CIA World Factbook is an examples of the three types of finished intelligence.