# Leading Indicator **Entity class:** Causal And Behavioral-Modeling Layer concept **Leading Indicator** is an observation or analytic method used to identify departures, recurring structure, or candidate signals for further assessment. Used correctly, Leading Indicator supports conditional inference and collection planning without promoting proximity, exposure, or model output into proof. ## Counterterrorism predictive-graph role The page records capability and analytic function. Any claim of a named operational deployment remains subject to the [[wiki/Counterterrorism Predictive Graph Evidence Ladder|evidence ladder]]. The analytic state should distinguish ground truth, observed evidence, inferred state, and predicted state. ## Relationships - **domain router:** [[wiki/Causal Inference|Causal Inference]]. - **ontology neighbors:** [[wiki/Behavioral Indicator|Behavioral Indicator]] and [[wiki/Lagging Indicator|Lagging Indicator]]. - **synthesis:** [[wiki/Counterterrorism Predictive Graph|Counterterrorism Predictive Graph]] and [[wiki/Predictive Intelligence Loop|Predictive Intelligence Loop]]. ## Sources - [NIST/SEMATECH — e-Handbook of Statistical Methods (accessed September 23, 2026)](https://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/) - [Oden Institute — Tan Bui-Thanh research profile (accessed September 23, 2026)](https://oden.utexas.edu/people/directory/Tan-Bui/) **As of:** 2026-09-23