An intelligence system is an organization-wide approach to capturing and capitalizing on intelligence. The relatively easy and inexpensive access to information has placed virtually all companies on an even playing field. The winners will be the ones that use this information expediently and decisively. Will your company be a winner? This evaluation is designed to answer that question by examining your ability to handle and apply vital intelligence. We have identified 40 core issues that any company considering an intelligence system should address. To receive an accurate score you'll need to consider all 40. The text in gray might help you answer any of the questions below. Gather six individuals who will be the clients and the suppliers to your proposed intelligence system. Complete the questionnaire as a team. Then click "Calculate Score" at the bottom of this page. I. STRATEGIC ISSUES Competitive Threats Have you addressed the source of your greatest competitive threats? Think about focusing your strategic efforts, and determine which of the following competitive threats are most important: Customers' bargaining power, Substitute products or services, Suppliers' bargaining power, New market entrants, Competitors. Yes No Market or Region Have you focused your intelligence efforts on a particular region, market, market segment? Or, is your market area undefined? Yes No Regulatory Changes Are you tracking government regulations and where they influence your industry? If so, how have you managed to receive early warning on regulatory changes? Have you been able to analyze these changes effectively? Are there regions or markets where you have found it difficult to analyze shifts in government policy as they influence your customers, competitors, suppliers or your firm? Yes No Accurate Forecasts How many years in advance do you need to forecast market and competitive activity? Have you managed to do so with reasonable accuracy? Has it been consistent? Have you fallen short for some reason(s)? What do you think these reasons are? Yes No The Planning Process Has corporate strategy effectively been communicated up and down the organization? Or, has it been misunderstood or delayed in arriving at certain business units? Do you need to speed the entire strategic planning process? Yes No II. INTEREST LEVEL & MOTIVATION 1. Divisional Interest: Have certain business units or divisions been more interested in an intelligence system than others? Which ones? Can you determine why these areas expressed interest? Has the interest for an intelligence process started at a grass roots level (lower management) or at a senior management level, but has not progressed beyond that point? Yes No 2. Existence of the Intelligence Process: How long has the intelligence process existed or been discussed within your organization? Can you explain why it may not have grown beyond its current level? Which areas of the company should have an intelligence system but do not have one? Has this lack of a system resulted in lost revenue or missed market opportunities? Yes No 3. Motivated Groups: Are there groups within your organization that are likely to be excited by an intelligence system and others that are not? Which groups are they? What might be the reason for their excitement, antipathy or negative view? Yes No 4. Incentives: What incentives might be lacking in certain parts of the organization? Do these lack of incentives ever cause information blockages? Can you list some of these information barriers? Yes No 5. Awareness: Do you suspect that lack of awareness of management's intelligence needs often plays a role in the lack of -- or slow delivery of -- intelligence? Can you cite instances where this lack of awareness actually created a competitive problem? Yes No III. PLANNING FOR THE SYSTEM 1. Budget: Is there a budget for the business intelligence system? If so, has the money been allocated to salaries, technology, library, etc.? Yes No 2. Needs Assessment: Have you conducted a focused needs assessment geared toward uncovering "real-world" needs of the internal clients -- mid-level, as well as senior management? Can you rank order these needs based on priority? Which needs are first-tier and which are second-tier? Yes No 3. Intelligence Drivers: Who will be the "intelligence drivers" within the corporation? Which departments will supply most of the critical information on an ongoing basis? Are there any surprises here? Yes No 4. Paradigm or Model: Have you modeled your system after that of another company? Which organization is the model and why? Yes No 5. Timetable and Deadlines: What is your current deadline for establishing or enhancing your intelligence system? Why have you selected this time period? Is the date an arbitrary one, or one that is fixed to some other corporate event? What elements of an intelligence system do you already have in place that you feel would hinder or enhance the timely completion of a new or revamped intelligence program? Yes No IV. STRUCTURE OF THE SYSTEM 1. Location: Have you decided where to house the intelligence system? In the Marketing department? R&D? Corporate Planning? If you have selected a department to manage the system, why have you decided to place it there? Expediency, budget, geographic location? Yes No 2. Size: Are you planning to build a relatively large system? How large a system are you intending to build? How many clients will it serve? What is the rationale for building a system with these dimensions? Yes No 3. Staff Level: Will you employ more than five (5) full-time staff for your intelligence program? What level of staff have you placed in the role of analyst or manager of the business intelligence system? How many years of experience in your industry or business do these individuals have? Yes No 4. Background and Training: What kind of training and in what disciplines have you provided the intelligence system staff? Has this been sufficient, in your opinion? What do you see lacking that might require additional training? Yes No 5. Delivery Mechanisms: Do you typically use e-mail or other electronic tools to deliver critical information to managers? What is the most common way for managers to send and receive critical information? Telephone? E-Mail? Face-to-face meetings? Which of these approaches seems to help generate decisions best, and why? How does your company use the following communications vehicles to transmit competitive information? Are any of these ineffective, and why? Yes No V. AUDITING INTERNAL INFORMATION The Library's Role 1. Capability: Does your company have an existing library? If so, are the librarians capable of assuming an analyst's role? Do you have the necessary texts and database services required for a fully-functioning intelligence library? Yes No 2. Strengths and Weaknesses: Does your library currently play a central role in your firm's intelligence process? What are the library's major strengths and weaknesses in its use as part of an intelligence system? The following are categories for your consideration: * Depth of collection * Cataloguing of non-traditional information sources (e.g., advertisements, packaging, brochures) * Business training received by librarians * Ability of library to network throughout the organization and draw on other resources Yes No 3. Location: How many libraries does your company have and where are they located? Do they report directly to the group managing the intelligence system? If not, will this create a problem of accountability and responsiveness? Yes No Hidden Intelligence Assets 4. Catalogue Assets: Have you catalogued your firm's non-library information assets, including: * Association memberships * Field and technical reports * Internal experts * Manual files * Market studies and reports (not located in the library) * Non-networked databases * Employees who previously worked for competitors * Regulatory and other filings Yes No 5. Use of Intelligence Assets: If you have catalogued these intelligence assets, how have you used them in the past for making strategic and tactical decisions? Where has the use of these resources fallen short? In what way? Do you need to spend time developing a system that will make better use of hidden intelligence assets? Yes No VI. ORGANIZING & STORAGE 1. Information Type: Do you have a high volume of print and electronic data to handle on a daily basis? What kind of information do you need to organize? Statistics? Annual reports? Internal memos? (Note: The type of information often dictates the way you store it.) Yes No 2. Centralized or Decentralized: Do you feel a centralized file will work best? Or, should you keep the files decentralized in places where those who need them, such as salespeople, can have easy access to them? Yes No 3. Index: Have you created an index for your files? How would you index them? By topic, by region, by market, or by customer served? Why would you select one index over another and how does that reflect on your overall strategic and business objectives? Yes No 4. User Needs: Have you designed the files to meet users' needs? In what way are these different from traditional A-Z alphabetical files? Yes No 5. Priority Resources: In your current competitive files, which of the following items have you included and why? Are some of these resources duplicating others? Are still others totally omitted from the files? Which would you deem high priority items and which low priority? Yes No VII. TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS 1. Perceived Benefits & Drawbacks: How do you perceive the benefits that computer-based technology brings to an intelligence process? Do you foresee any drawbacks in implementing a computer-based intelligence system? What are they? What are management's expectations for technology in an intelligence system? Do they see it as supplanting traditional analysts, or to work as an adjunct to an analytical group? Yes No 2. Basic Elements: Have you and your group considered the four basic elements of all computer-based intelligence systems and how they will interact with one another? These elements are: * Analysts * Hardware * Human infrastructure * Software Yes No 3. Existing Technology: Do you expect to use existing technology, rather than purchase a new package? If so, what drawbacks or benefits do you anticipate with this approach? In using existing technology, have you addressed the following questions? * What database management software exists in-house? * Will a simple spreadsheet package adequately analyze your quantitative data? * Has another group already tested or begun using a groupware program? * Can you tie into that system? * Does your e-mail system have a bulletin board capability? * Do you have the ability to broadcast information through your network of fax machines? * Is there an internal software/systems user group from which you can learn of new applications or piggy-back onto another person's application software? Yes No 4. Essential Criteria: Have you examined the need for a computer-based system based on the following criteria? * Corporate culture: Level of technology-friendliness * Number of competitors, suppliers and customers to track * Product and market mix * Rate of your industry's technology, product or service change * Size of company and locations * Volume of information Yes No 5. Levels of Technology: Are you considering merging various technologies, such as groupware, e-mail and voice mail, into one electronic intelligence system? Which of the following levels and types of technology are you considering for your intelligence system and why? * Groupware * Large System (mainframe-based) * Stand-alone Personal Computer (non-networked) * Voice and Electronic Mail Yes No VIII. ETHICAL/LEGAL CODE 1. Established Code: Have you established a set of legal and ethical guidelines for your intelligence system? Yes No 2. Information Restrictions: Are you aware of the details of the Economic Espionage Act, passed by Congress in 1996? How does trade secret, antitrust and other information restrictions affect your industry? Yes No 3. In Practice: Have you observed or witnessed staff members "crossing the line" and possibly jeopardizing the firm by misrepresenting or irresponsibly gathering information? What was the root cause of this infraction? Were they misinformed as to their limits, or were they motivated by senior managers to get the information "at all costs"? Yes No 4. Training Have the analysts and the organization at large received training in the ethical and legal guidelines surrounding the gathering and analysis of information? Yes No 5. Legal Observation Has your legal department observed your work and how you collect information? Yes No

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