As the nature and the shape of the knowledge becomes clear, it’s time to settle on the more specific strategies for pursuing the knowledge capture. This requires envisioning the final product, both in terms of content, structure, and media.

Strict Work flow
Sometimes there is a clear sequence of activities that can be characterized. The steps may be regular in their sequence even if the execution of any particular step is highly variable.

• Distinguish carefully between simple procedures (to be repeated in the same way every time regardless of who does the work) and more sophisticated sequences which are variable from one situation to the next, or contingent on who is doing the work.
• Simple procedures are seldom the appropriate target for knowledge capture; they are typically captured in existing manuals. The challenge may be one of access or dissemination rather than capture.

Loose work flow
Sometimes there is a sequence of steps … but only sort of. In may situations some steps come before others, but it is not a strict linear flow. Later steps may surface issues which require you to go back and revisit earlier decisions. So each step in the flow is best captured as a set of options or choices rather than an immutable series of actions.

• The key issues are often enumerating the possible choices and the criteria that would support one choice over another.
• There may often be a distinction between the visible behavior and the underlying decision process. For example, there may be a series of questions that are commonly used to feed a decision, such as asking about a job candidate’s experience as a way to reach a decision about a possible hiring.
• The choice points in a loose work flow are often matters of judgment rather than the predictable application of rules. Examples or criteria for the choice may be more instructive.

Enhancing existing knowledge capture products
There may be PowerPoint training programs that could be expanded by capturing the Expert’s annotation of the slides. There are programs for knitting together slides and audio files to create a stand-alone training piece (Microsoft Producer).

Networks of issues, agencies, or persons
Some knowledge is intimately linked to a complex network of some sort. The knowledge is obscure to the typical observer precisely because they never fully grasp the network of people or issues or organizations that are involved. They are always responding to just a piece rather than to the whole puzzle.

• Networks are different than a mere list; the links between the elements is the essential feature of the network. For example, a network of individuals may be knit together by links of “trusts” or “listens to” or “has authority over” or some other dimension. A network of organizations might be knit together with links such as “shares information” or “has a similar goal” or “draws from same labor pool”. A network of issues might be joined with links such as “makes this issue worse” or “is a subset of”.
• Networks are often structured. For example, at the highest level the network might be “County”, “State”, “CBO’s”, “Funders”, and then each of those clusters breaks down into more detailed networks of county agencies or community organizations.

Case studies

• From the Expert
• From the beneficiaries of the Expert

Having the Expert and the Learner tackle specific projects.

Source:  Jerry Talley