Short-circuiting information overload in documents - the Hints System

Professional intelligence analysts typically have access to a vast quantity of open source information, mostly unstructured free-text. Much of it is out on the Web, on CDs, email and on scattered office documents. When faced with a tight deadline they have to assimilate the information at their fingertips and write to prepare a report or brief. Very often crucial business or military decisions are made on the basis of these reports. The HINTS operational prototype provides analysts with tools to manage, analyse and assimilate a large quantity of electronic documents. HINTS short-circuits the information overload problem the analyst faces by automating two of the processes people use to deal with large quantities of textual information. They SCAN to find names, items and facts of particular interest to them, and they SKIM to find the main points, themes and ideas of an article.