Page "History of the United States National Security Council 1977–1981" Paragraph 5

President Carter changed the name of the documents in the decision-making process, although the mechanics of NSC review differed little from that of previous administrations.

The Presidential Review Memorandum ( PRM ) replaced the National Security Study Memorandum ( NSSM ), and the Presidential Directive ( PD ) supplanted the National Security Decision Memorandum ( NSDM ).

PRMs identified topics to be researched by the NSC, defined the problem to be analyzed, set a deadline for the completion of the study, and assigned responsibility for it to one of the two NSC committees.

If the selected committee were the Policy Review Committee, a member was designated to serve as study chairman.

The study chairman assigned an ad hoc working group to complete the study, which was ultimately reviewed by the responsible committee ( either the PRC or SCC ).

When the committee was satisfied that the study had incorporated meaningful options and supporting arguments, the study's conclusions went to the President in a 2-or 3-page memorandum, which in turn formed the basis for a Presidential Directive.