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(U) The Placemat: What in the World Is It?
FROM:
SIGINT Performance Planning (S01X)
Run Date: 07/05/2006
(U) You've probably heard people talk about "the Placemat," but
have you wondered what it is? The Placemat is the familiar
term used to describe the US SIGINT System (USSS)
Strategy. The Placemat identifies SID's overall vision and mission
and gives strategic direction to the SIGINT enterprise. It contains
twelve goals under three headings: Mission (Ends), Capabilities
(Ways), and Management (Means). Each goal is directly aligned
with the NSA Strategic Plan as well as the DNI's National
Intelligence Strategy. Since all goals fit on one page, it is termed
"the Placemat."
(U) The strategic direction outlined in the Placemat extends
through 2013. If we are going to reach these strategic goals, it is
important to manage the steps that will take us there. This is done
with the aid of an 18-month implementation plan, known as
the Long Range Plan.
SERIES:
(U) The Placemat
1. The Placemat: What
in the World Is It?
2. USSS Strategy and
Long Range Plan: A
Vocabulary Lesson
3. Strategies Are Nice,
But What Are We
Doing About It?
4. The New A&P
Strategy
(U) The Long Range Plan is the framework around which key USSS
projects and activities are tracked and reported. It also supports
greater accountability for results, as it identifies goal, objective,
milestone, and performance measure leads who are responsible for
managing each activity and reporting progress to senior leadership
each quarter. The SIGINT Director and senior leadership make
decisions during this review on actions to be taken, resources to
adjust, processes to be improved or milestones to be adjusted
where progress is being impeded.
(U) Our Canadian partners at CSE first came up with the format
and style for a strategic "placemat." We liked it so much that we
shamelessly stole the idea and the nickname. There have been five
iterations of the Placemat since the stand-up of SID in 2001.
(U) To learn more about the Placemat, type "go SID-Placemat" in
your web browser and stay tuned for more SID today articles
explaining each of the SID goals.
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108