Ebook
A Tradecraft Primer: Structured Analytic Techniques
US Government, CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence
Forty-five free pages that name and explain the core structured analytic techniques: key assumptions check, ACH, devil's advocacy, red teaming, and more. The fastest route from Heuer's ideas to practice.
Published in 2009 as a companion to Heuer's book, the primer groups techniques into diagnostic, contrarian, and imaginative families, explains when to use each, and gives a strategy for combining them. It is explicitly not a comprehensive account of analysis. It is the short reference most intelligence courses hand out.
From 2009 and unchanged. The techniques are the same ones taught today.
Worth it if
- You have read Heuer and want the techniques in a form you can run tomorrow
- You lead a team and need a shared, short reference
- You cannot justify the price of the full structured analytic techniques textbook yet
Skip it if
- You want the full catalogue of techniques; this has twelve
- You want anything about collection or OSINT tools
What is inside
- 01
Diagnostic techniques
Key assumptions check, quality of information check, indicators or signposts of change, analysis of competing hypotheses.
- 02
Contrarian techniques
Devil's advocacy, Team A and Team B, high-impact low-probability analysis, what-if analysis.
- 03
Imaginative thinking techniques
Brainstorming, outside-in thinking, red team analysis, alternative futures analysis.
- 04
Strategies and bibliography
How to combine techniques across an analytic effort, with a short reading list.
What you will be able to do
- Run a key assumptions check on a case in under an hour
- Choose between contrarian techniques when a conclusion feels too easy
- Facilitate a short red-team session with a written structure
How current it is
Unchanged since 2009 and still the standard short reference.
- Updated
- March 2009
- Maintained
- Archived
How to get the most from it
- 01
Pick one technique per case
Key assumptions check for most; ACH when hypotheses compete.
- 02
Print it
It is short enough to keep on the desk.
Strengths
- Short and free
- Official
- Practical structure
Limitations
- Only twelve techniques
- No worked examples from OSINT
- Government register
Pair it with
FAQ
Questions, answered
Is this the same as Heuer and Pherson's book?
No. The primer is a short government publication from 2009. The book is a commercial textbook with 66 techniques.
Can I share it with my team?
Yes. It is a US Government work with no copyright notice.
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