Gathering the raw data involves more than the collection of raw data that appears directly related to the problem at hand. It includes getting access to all of the data accumulated, touching on these subjects or targets. That accumulation has taken place both within this particular context and over a lifetime of experiences.

Here the CI analyst carefully reviews all of the raw data. This is not a onetime, quick-pass reading. It requires a slow and careful reading of all materials, usually twice or even more. The best CI analysts will review the materials in different ways each time: once organized by source, another time organized by topic, and a third time in chronological order. The goal is to master all the data, even that which does not, at first seem to be important. Experience shows that it is often those particular bits of raw data that later are found to have an unexpected connection or importance.

Now the CI analyst thinks about everything that has been collected. Consciously and unconsciously, the analyst assembles the facts in various ways, so that one or more logical pictures begin to emerge. Incubation almost always overlaps incorporation of the data because:

• Both start as the data begins to come.

• Both involve an evaluation of the validity of the data, as well as the credibility of the source.

Beyond merely incorporating, however, incubation marks the beginning of the real interpretation of the meaning of the raw data.

After studying the problem presented by the end user and the data bearing on it, the real meaning of the data, and thus a solution to the problem, finally become clear. Sometimes this enlightenment can occur in a flash, but more often, it is a gradual process. Enlightenment encompasses the actual analysis of the raw data, in the sense of drawing conclusions, data interpretation, and the formation and testing of hypotheses.

In this stage the CI analyst seeks to prove, or disprove, the solution that presented itself during enlightenment. This is not merely verifying the raw data. It involves drawing specific conclusions and then testing the validity of the conclusions against the observed facts, before presenting them to management.