Brief Type Selection

Five brief types cover the full range of intelligence delivery. The competitive alert is a single finding delivered in real time — one signal, one implication, one recommended action, delivered within hours of detection. The situation assessment is a snapshot of a specific entity or market at a point in time — comprehensive but current, not longitudinal. The trend analysis tracks a phenomenon over time — what changed, what the trajectory suggests, and what the inflection points were. The decision brief presents options with evidence and recommends one — structured for a specific decision by a specific decision-maker with a specific deadline. The strategic assessment is the most comprehensive format — a full-picture analysis of a domain that integrates multiple intelligence threads into a unified picture.

1. Competitive Alert One finding. Immediate. 200 words maximum. Delivered within hours. Use when: a competitor made a move that demands same-day awareness. Do not use when: the finding requires contextual analysis to be meaningful.
2. Situation Assessment Point-in-time snapshot. 500-800 words. Delivered within 48 hours. Use when: a stakeholder needs current state understanding of an entity or market. Do not use when: the trajectory matters more than the current position.
3. Decision Brief Options with recommendation. 600-1000 words. Tied to a specific decision deadline. Use when: someone needs to choose between alternatives. Do not use when: there is no clear decision to be made — that is a situation assessment.