POLESTAR

Abstract

In this paper, we describe POLESTAR (POLicy Explanation using STories and ARguments), an integrated suite of knowledge management and collaboration tools for intelligence analysts.POLESTAR provides built-in support for analyst workflow, including collection of textual facts from source documents, structured argumentation, and automatic citation in analytic product documents. Underlying POLESTAR is a scalable dependency repository, which provides traceability from product documents to source snippets. The repository's notification engine allows POLESTAR to alert analysts when dependent sources are discredited and aid them in repairing affected arguments. The paper then discusses recent extensions to POLESTAR to support collaborative analysis through community-of-interest finding, portfolio sharing, and peer review of arguments. We conclude with a preview of future research and summary of POLESTAR's primary benefits from the point of view of its deployed users.