PULSE / Area-assessment service / In development
Area intelligence on an agreed cadence.
PULSE turns a defined place, a set of intelligence questions and a publication schedule into a recurring assessment requirement. It is designed for teams that need to understand changes in their operating environment without rebuilding the same brief from the beginning.
Availability, supported scope and assurance are agreed for the named evaluation. This page does not claim a production-ready or accredited deployment.
The next edition starts with your questions.
Area · Intelligence requirements · Agreed cadence
Probability, horizon and confidence remain distinct.
Know what has changed in the places that matter.
The area-assessment service in development for security, travel-risk and crisis teams. Define a place, intelligence questions and a cadence, then receive dated editions with sources, judgements, horizons and confidence.
Owns watches, assessment editions and their delivery. AIC analysts review and release the assessment.
01 / PULSE
Start with the area and the decision
Security managers, travel-risk teams and crisis decision-makers need an assessment shaped around the places and activities their organisation depends on. A PULSE watch defines a named area, the intelligence requirements and an agreed cadence for the next edition.
The watch is a durable requirement, rather than a live feed presented as analysis. Its scope should identify the decisions the assessment will support, the information cut-off and the audiences permitted to receive the resulting product.
02 / PULSE
Give every edition a clear analytical structure
An edition is a dated assessment with its own version and information cut-off. The intended product includes Vital intelligence, answers to the intelligence requirements, key judgements, an outlook, the operating environment, source references and the limitations that matter to the reader.
A judgement must remain traceable to its supporting evidence. Probability describes how likely a defined event is; the horizon says when; confidence describes the strength and limits of the supporting evidence. These are different statements and should remain visible as such.
03 / PULSE
Look across four explicit horizons
The assessment structure uses four horizons: Short term, now; Mid term, 1 week; Long term, 1 month +; and Far look, up to 1 year. A longer horizon is not a reason to invent precision or to omit a limiting assumption.
Where the assessment has no evidential basis for a forecast, the product should say so. Indicators and warnings explain what would change the judgement, so the next edition can address a changed picture rather than simply repeat the previous text.
04 / PULSE
Retain human judgement and release authority
PULSE’s intended workflow allows assistance with collection, extraction and drafting. AIC analysts remain responsible for assessment review and release. An unresolved contradiction, unsupported judgement or missing release requirement holds the product for resolution.
The application and website use the PULSE identity. Customer assessment documents use the AIC | INTELLIGENCE identity. A branded interface is not evidence that an assessment has been approved or that a delivery has succeeded.
05 / PULSE
Agree the delivery contract
The proposed delivery model includes the application, email and approved endpoint or structured-data integrations. Confirm which channels are included in the evaluated release, how recipients are authorised and which record establishes successful delivery.
A revised edition must not silently erase the earlier assessment. The recipient needs to distinguish the current product from an earlier edition, understand the information cut-off and retain the relevant handling instructions.
06 / PULSE
Understand the relationship to CORTEX and LINC
CORTEX provides the broader intelligence lifecycle: requirements, evidence, analysis, review and controlled release. PULSE is the recurring area-assessment service. A shared requirement for traceability does not make the two products interchangeable.
LINC’s intended exchange architecture includes PULSE editions under approved message contracts. That is an integration design to evaluate, not a claim that every PULSE delivery already runs through LINC. The systems, releases, permissions and receiving contract must be named.
07 / PULSE
Set the operating and handling limits
PULSE assesses areas and operating environments. It is not a product for tracking individuals. Customer information, source access and dissemination must remain within the agreed purpose and authorised audience.
The current specification sets an intended handling ceiling of OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE and excludes SECRET and above. That ceiling is a design limit, not an accreditation claim. Confirm the marking scheme, hosting, retention, identity and review arrangements for the named customer.
08 / PULSE
Evaluate the complete edition
Choose a representative area and a small set of answerable intelligence requirements. Agree the expected assessment structure, the evidence needed to justify a judgement, the review authority and the delivery route.
An evaluation should demonstrate the path from requirement to source evidence, assessed judgement, reviewer decision and delivered edition. It should also exercise a held release, an unsupported forecast, a corrected edition and a recipient who no longer has access.
Bring a requirement we can evaluate.
Name the area, the questions, the intended recipients and the decision the assessment needs to support.