R0052/2026-03-31/C001
Claim: ICD 203 defines nine tradecraft standards that govern how intelligence analysts produce assessments.
BLUF: The claim is accurate. ICD 203 explicitly mandates nine Analytic Tradecraft Standards that all IC products must implement and exhibit. Multiple authoritative sources — including the directive itself, military publications, and private-sector analyses — confirm both the count and governing function.
Probability: Almost certain (95-99%) | Confidence: High
Summary
| Entity |
Description |
| Claim Definition |
Claim text, scope, status |
| Assessment |
Full analytical product with reasoning chain |
| ACH Matrix |
Evidence x hypotheses diagnosticity analysis |
| Self-Audit |
ROBIS-adapted 5-domain audit (process + source verification) |
Hypotheses
| ID |
Hypothesis |
Status |
| H1 |
The claim is accurate: ICD 203 defines exactly nine tradecraft standards with governing authority |
Supported |
| H2 |
The claim is partially correct: the number or governing function is slightly different |
Eliminated |
| H3 |
The claim is materially wrong: ICD 203 does not define nine standards or they do not govern assessments |
Eliminated |
Searches
| ID |
Target |
Results |
Selected |
| S01 |
ICD 203 tradecraft standards count |
10 |
3 |
| S02 |
ICD 203 nine standards detailed list |
10 |
2 |
Sources
| Source |
Description |
Reliability |
Relevance |
| SRC01 |
ICD 203 official document (DNI) |
High |
High |
| SRC02 |
Eric Ford — ICD 203 in Private Sector |
Medium |
High |
| SRC03 |
Kwoun — Army Military Review |
Medium-High |
High |
Revisit Triggers
- ODNI issues a new revision of ICD 203 that changes the number of tradecraft standards
- A new Intelligence Community Directive supersedes ICD 203