Knowledge is not simply the accumulation of facts or even experience. It comes in a variety of flavors. An early assessment the Interviewer needs to make is what type of knowledge are they searching for.

Procedural knowledge
Sometimes knowledge is fluency with a sequence of steps. This is the domain of classical work process capture. There is a straightforward flow with possible points of divergence, gates, and end points. It is usually possible to identify the required resources, the intermediate deliverables, and the final product or value delivered.

• Observation is usually sufficient to learn. If the Learner can simply watch the flow they can typically understand what is to be done and start practicing.
• Procedural knowledge is often shared by many in the organization. For that reason, it is seldom a high priority for knowledge capture efforts, unless it is a process engaged only yearly and it is critical to capture the process understandings from one year to the next. For example, budgeting is complex but infrequent. An employee could easily be here several years before they start to feel comfortable with the procedures.

Tacit knowledge
Unlike procedures, some knowledge feels more like “wisdom”. There is some unescapable step that requires judgement based on expertise and experience. This is the unconscious competence of the Expert. They will be involved in a process of discovery right along with the Interviewer or the Learner. Reflecting on specific cases may prompt them to access their intuitive and immediate clarity of how to act. Often the Expert is forced to create an abstract model for the first time.

• An Expert relying on tacit knowledge may often behave differently even in superficially similar situations; the value of their experience is that they can generate specific procedures to match the situation rather than relying on rigid procedural steps.
• Observation is usually NOT sufficient for learning. In fact, the Learner may complain that they’ve watched the Expert do it over and over again but still feel unable to replicate the same level of quality.
• This is the domain of strategic insight, the “big picture”, or the acute sensitivity to subtleties that escape the notice of the novice.

Cumulative knowledge
Some knowledge is built over years of experience. It is not just the complexity or subtlety, but the essential of the knowledge that it is acquired over time. Institutional memory.

Examples
• Building relationships within a domain
• Learning a network of stakeholders and key players (i.e., knowing the “players” in the County and State Welfare system)
• Knowing the history of an organization, or of an issue
• Being aware of an entire system (i.e., knowing how all the various departments of the county interface with community organizations to respond to residents’ needs)

There is no way to transfer cumulative knowledge in bulk to a Learner; the real issue is not “What does the Expert know?” but rather “How does someone accumulate knowledge as smoothly as possible?”
• The Expert may be able to introduce the Learner to key players, but the Learner will have to establish their own credibility and trust.
• The history of the organization may be extremely value in the present, but its value ages quickly, so there is a continuous need to update one’s knowledge. Even if the Expert could transmit their history knowledge, the Learner would need to immediately start building their more current sense of things.
• The Expert may have a certain presence in a network (i.e., being well known among many counties, or in State forums), but the Learner will still have to establish their own reputation. They cannot simply assume the reputation of the Expert.

Source: Jerry Talley and Laleh Shahidi