Method & Standards | Archer Knox

1/13

Principles

Decision-grade: we optimize for decisions, not page count.
Provenance-first: every meaningful claim can be traced.
Disclosure-ready: written to withstand discovery and cross-examination.
Least necessary: collect what’s needed; minimize exposure and PII.
Adversarial mindset: we attempt to disprove our own judgments.

2/13

Framing & Scope

Decision question (who acts, by when, with what risk tolerance?)
Hypotheses (primary, alternatives, null)
Constraints (legal, contractual, time, geography, languages)
Success criteria (what confirms/invalidates a hypothesis?)

3/13

Collection Standards

OSINT & Records

Registries, court/regulatory, corporate disclosures
Newswire, trade, technical, threat surfaces
Contracted datasets (licensed, logged)

Time-boxed sweeps Geo/language coverage

Human & Context

Privilege-aware interviews; consent model
Deconfliction; bias checks; two-source rule where feasible
Counterparty perspective analysis

Documented outreach Sanitized notes

4/13

Source & Information Grading

Source Reliability

Grade	Descriptor
A	Consistently reliable; past reporting corroborated.
B	Usually reliable; minor gaps.
C	Mixed reliability; needs corroboration.
D	Doubtful reliability; conflicts of interest likely.
E	Unreliable; contradicts known facts.

Information Credibility

Grade	Descriptor
1	Confirmed by independent sources.
2	Probably true; logical & consistent.
3	Plausible; more data required.
4	Doubtful; inconsistent or unverified.
5	Improbable; conflicts with reliable info.

We grade the source and the information separately.

5/13

Confidence & Language

High: multiple, independent confirmations; low analytic dispute.
Medium: corroborated or strongly logical, but gaps remain.
Low: limited or conflicting sources; assumptions carry weight.

Language discipline: avoid “certain,” prefer “we assess with medium confidence that…”. Include assumptions and limits.

6/13

Analytical Standards

Core Methods

Triangulation; cross-domain corroboration
Link & timeline analysis; change detection
ACH / competing hypotheses
Red-team challenge to key judgments

Bias & Error Controls

Enumerated assumptions; confidence tags
Blind source review where applicable
Structured dissent & reviewer initials
Versioned notes and change logs

7/13

Briefing Standard

Executive Actions (prioritized)
Key Judgments (with confidence)
What Changed since last brief
Indicators to Monitor

Provenance (source & info grades)
Assumptions & Limits
Alternatives & Risks
Appendix (evidence & citations)

Request exemplar brief

8/13

Chain of Custody & Audit

Evidence Handling

Time-stamped capture; hashing where applicable
Append-only activity logs
Role-based access; case segregation
Redaction workflow; PII minimization

Documentation

Who/what/when for material actions
Source handling notes & limitations
Disclosure readiness for counsel

9/13

Security & Privacy

Encryption in transit & at rest; least-privilege access
Segregated environments for sensitive matters
Client-side key options on request
Audit reports available under NDA

10/13

Retention & Disposal

Default retention aligned to engagement letter
Data minimization; purpose-bound storage
Client-approved purge schedule; verifiable deletion logs

11/13

Review & QA

Peer review on key judgments (named reviewer)
Red-team challenge for high-impact briefs
Change log with rationale and timestamps

12/13

Escalation & SLAs

We map severity to confidence with response SLAs.

Confidence \ Severity	Low	Moderate	High	Critical
Low	Log & monitor	Light triage	Notify owner	Notify leadership
Medium	Track indicator	Triage < 24h	Action < 12h	Immediate convening
High	Note in brief	Prepare intervention	Execute playbook	Execute now + counsel

13/13

Glossary (Selected)

Decision-grade: actionable within stated risk tolerance, with provenance.
Provenance: the documented origin and handling of information/evidence.
ACH: Analysis of Competing Hypotheses, a structured method to avoid bias.