Requirements management is also concerned with the process of keeping track of which information requirements are satisfied by which collected information, and which are
outstanding. Hence RM is concerned with tracking and expediting the various aspects of collecting information, and with correlating requests with collected information.
6.2.2 Mission Management
Mission management MM determines what kind of information can satisfy an IR. MM forms a collection strategy by determining how to satisfy IRs, based on what collection
methods are available, and on their suitability to those IRs. MM formalizes the collection strategy into a collection plan. MM derives specific collection requests CRs from IRs.
An example from the scientific area illustrates the process of transforming IRs into CRs. In this case, meteorologists had the need to assess the effectiveness of their ability to
model both the clear and cloudy sky radiative energy budget in the subtropics and to assess the climate effects of high altitude, optically thin cirrus clouds. This need was
translated into the requirement to determine both the radiative properties such as the spectral and broadband albedos, and infrared emittances and the radiative budget of
cirrus clouds. That was the RM activity. This IR was then split into two different CRs. The Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer was integrated on the NASA Altus UAV and also on
the DOE Sandia Twin Otter, in both zenith and nadir viewing modes. That was the MM activity. Both platforms were then tasked to make radiometric observations in parallel.
An AM activity, discussed below.
6.2.3 Asset Management
Assets management AM identifies, uses, and manages available information sources in order to meet information collection goals. AM executes the collection plan by
submitting the CRs to the resources involved. This may require resource specific planning. In the medical diagnostics area, the diagnostician fills out a laboratory form
which specifies the CRs, and sometimes just sends the patient to the lab with the form. In general, there is a human in the loop, and the SPS will need to be able to take that into
consideration.
6.3 Collection Management Process
The collection management process is only one part of the larger collection process, or workflow. The larger process involves:
• Planning and management of the information management and production effort. • Actual collection and correlation of information.
• Processing of the information, consisting in conversion, rectification, etc. • Production, or putting the information into a usable from.
• Dissemination of the information to consumers.
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Each of the steps in this larger process itself involves complex processing. For example, in the actual collection step, it is customary to identify the following phases.
Phase 1: Collection requests are evaluated and either rejected or else assigned a time window in which they will be executed, so that requestors can make commitments which
are contingent on the execution of their request.
Phase 2: sets of collection requests are organized by type and scheduled for execution. This may involve interaction with the requestor.
Phase 3: requests are executed, information is collected and passed through a processing pipeline which ends back at the requestor, or at a point designated by the requestor.
Phase 4: the overall performance of the collection request process is evaluated with respect to its goals customer satisfaction, or the advancement of science, or so on.
CM per se is just the first step in this larger workflow. It consists in identifying, prioritising, and validating information requirements, translating requirements into
observables, preparing collection plans, issuing requests for information collection, production, and dissemination, and continuously monitoring the availability of requested
information. In CM, based on the type of information required, on the susceptibility of the targeted activity to various types of collection activity, and on the availability of
collection assets, specific collection capabilities are tasked.
7 Concept of Operations
7.1 Existing System Functionality
