Information Technology Decision Making for the Intelligence Community: A Delphi Study.

摘要

This qualitative study, using a three-round Delphi method, developed an information technology (IT) decision-making framework for use in the U.S. intelligence community (IC). The primary focus of IT decision making in the IC is to provide capabilities that meet the needs and requirements to conduct effective intelligence operations and mitigate expensive IT failures. An initial panel of 25 experts from across the federal government provided data for the study via the Delphi Decision Aid. The expert panel provided open-ended, subjective responses to the study questions. NVivo 8 qualitative software served as the tool to organize, analyze, and present findings. The findings indicated numerous processes are available or in place across the government that might be conducive to mitigating gaps and deficiencies in current IC IT decision making. The findings provided foundational processes for a new model. A thorough literature review and the opinions of expert panelists resulted in a compilation of processes, ideas, recommendations, and lessons learned to inform leadership, change cultural barriers, and define an enhanced IT decision-making framework for the IC.