Monument, Colorado — research practice
Precise scope. Verifiable sources. No guesswork.
Intelligent Requirements applies a systems-analyst's discipline to information requests. We define the scope, verify that a source actually exists, set acceptance criteria for the answer, and check what comes back against those criteria before it reaches you.
A question is a specification. We treat it as one.
Most failed requests fail before they are sent: the scope drifts, the source turns out not to exist, or nobody agreed what a complete answer looks like. Four moves prevent all three.
Each engagement produces documents, not impressions: a scope statement, a source register, acceptance criteria, and a verification record that shows what was checked and what came back. Gaps are listed in writing rather than smoothed over.
Define the scope
One page states the question, the boundaries of the search, the identifiers to use and the period covered. Nothing enters the work that is not on that page.
Verify the source
We confirm that a source exists and is publicly reachable before anyone spends time writing to it.
Specify the delivery
Structure, naming, ordering and citation rules are agreed in advance, so every output is comparable with the last.
Check against criteria
Every delivered item is matched back to the acceptance criteria, with gaps listed rather than hidden.
Five services. Each one ends in a document.
Scope definition
One page that states the question, the boundaries of the search, the identifiers to use and the period covered.
02Source verification
Confirmation that a source exists and is publicly reachable, recorded before anyone spends time writing to it.
03Feasibility review
An honest read on whether the information you want is obtainable, partially obtainable, or not held anywhere public.
04Delivery specification
Structure, naming, ordering and citation rules for the result, agreed in advance so the output is comparable.
05Quality check
Every delivered item matched back to the acceptance criteria, with gaps listed rather than hidden.
The full method, in detail services.htmlWhere the work happens
Reading rooms, index shelves and pages waiting for review. The discipline is ordinary; it is the consistency that makes it useful.
An answer that cannot be traced to a source is an opinion with paperwork.David Mitchell, Intelligent Requirements
Colorado, with remote engagements across the United States
The practice works from Monument, Colorado, below Pikes Peak. Colorado work benefits from proximity; engagements elsewhere run remotely, because a verified source register and a written scope travel well.
We work with analysts, compliance teams, grant and due-diligence researchers, and anyone who has received an answer that did not match the question.
Send the question. We will tell you whether it can be answered.
Write to [email protected], call +1 (310) 555-0198, or use the form on the contact page. You will hear back from David Mitchell, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Mountain Time.