The intelligence phase begins with the identification of organizational goals and objectives related to an issue of concern (e.g., inventory management, job selection, lack of or incorrect Web presence) and determination of whether they are being met.
Problems occur because of dissatisfaction with the status quo.
Dissatisfaction is the result of a difference between what people desire (or expect) and what is occurring.
In this first phase, a decision maker attempts to determine whether a problem exists, identify its symptoms, determine its magnitude, and explicitly define it.
Often, what is described as a problem (e.g., excessive costs) may be only a symptom (i.e., measure) of a problem (e.g., improper inventory levels).