Report: Structured Analysis Techniques for Navajo Couple Case

This report examines three structured analysis techniques – the structured brainstorming technique, key assumptions check technique, and analysis of competing hypotheses – and their application to the investigation of the death of a young Navajo couple. The structured brainstorming technique involves gathering diverse perspectives to identify potential causes, the key assumptions check technique assesses the validity of assumptions made during the investigation, and the analysis of competing hypotheses evaluates various potential explanations based on available data. The report details how these techniques are used to gather information, identify assumptions, assess the consistency of hypotheses, and ultimately, determine the most plausible explanations for the couple's death, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and unbiased evaluation in the investigative process. References from Beebe, Intelligence, and Jr. are included.

STRUCTURED ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES
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Structured Analysis Techniques Summary
Structured Brainstorming Technique
This technique is deployed in exhausting all the possible answers and explanations to what could
be the cause of the death of a young Navajo couple. A team of participants is brought on brought
and independently asked to express their views very briefly on what they think could be the most
probable cause of the death (Beebe, 2011). Upon completion of the independent and monologue
discussion expressed in paper, the information is collected by the team leader who brings them
together treating them as equal to each other. Display the expressed ideas from the various
participants so that they can be seen by all the participants in the exercise.
Each of the participants will take some time to internalize the ideas in which it is expected that
from the displayed ideas, new and fresh ideas will emerge as improvements on the already
presented thoughts. This will; form the basis of brainstorming where from the information
presented by a participant, another will be able identify a thing or so that if added will make the
idea or reasoning beyond or outside the box. More value will be attached to each of the ideas by
the various participants and hence making those ideas no longer obvious thoughts but instead
creative, well thought structured opinions around a theme (Beebe, 2011). Upon completion of
making the constructive improvements, the ideas can then be classified into groups of similarity
that would help in coming up with summarized but concrete explanations of the possible cause
of death of the young Navajo couple.
Key Assumptions Check Technique
This is a technique which denotes that failure to acknowledge the assumptions made increases
the chances of having a critical failure in the entire investigation. This technique has been used in

affirming the analogy that the death of the young Navajo couple could be out of a virulent
common flu virus (Intelligence, 2012). The analogy into the cause of death of the young Navajo
couple as from a virulent common flu virus was established by having a group of participants
brought from both the academic spheres and the local or those who had limited or no scientific
understanding of the relations between human health and diseases and literally believed in th
culturally and social aspects to offer explanations.
Each of the participants was independently asked to generate a list of the possible assumptions
they would use in supporting the analogy after which the various assumptions were made public
to all the participants to inject any that could have been forgotten by everyone. The assumptions
are then analyzed based which involves possible explanations into why one would be confident
enough to claim that an assumption is current and when if any can any of the assumptions be
untrue. The relevance of the assumption over time that is borrowing from the past all the way to
the current generation would also be established (Jr., 2014). From this the assumptions would be
grouped into those that are supported fully, those that are supported but with possible gaps and
those that have no basis to be supported as they are weak in evidence. Assumptions are used as
the possible explanations of various phenomena upon identifying ion reasonable and suffice
assumptions.
Analysis of Competing Hypotheses
This is a technique that offers an unbiased methodology that is used in the evaluation of various
competing hypotheses for a group of observed data (Intelligence, 2012). For the case of delving
into the causes of death of the young Navajo couple, a set of hypotheses could are developed
among them the increase in the number of rodents increase diseases outbreak, changes in

weather patterns influence the population of rodents and hence the likely of the flu among other
hypotheses. A list of all the information that is perceived to be of importance is generated and the
various assumptions, gaps, arguments and important evidence captured in the list.
The level of consistency of each of the hypothesis is established and ranked as highly consistent,
consistent, highly inconsistent, not applicable, neutral or even inconsistent. This provided
grounds upon which some of the hypotheses were eliminated. The credibility of each of the items
which could be of relevant information is rated that offers an opportunity to eliminate the
irrelevant information (Beebe, 2011). The hypotheses that are left after the rating and assessment
based on the relevance to the information is refined to find out the possible of merging two or
more hypotheses and coming up with new hypotheses. Conclusions are made on the possibility
of each of the hypotheses based on the scores of inconsistency and thereafter interpretations of
the most critical information items of the hypotheses. The consistency of a hypothesis to the
relevant information on the possible causes of the death of the young Navajo couple determines
the strength of the hypothesis.

References
Beebe, S. M. (2011). Cases in Intelligence Analysis: Structured Analytic Techniques in Action.
New York: CQ Press.
Intelligence, C. f. (2012). A Tradecraft Primer: Structured Analytic Techniques for Improving
Intelligence Analysis. London: Lulu.com.
Jr., R. J. (2014). Structured Analytic Techniques for Intelligence Analysis. London: CQ Press.