CAPTURING TACIT

KNOWLEDGE
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Partial session with a loan officer trying to capture her experience
on how she decides to approve or deny a loan.

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Ways to capture Knowledge
by Knowledge developers
 Flowchart
 Flow diagram
 Decision tree
 Decision table
 Other graphical representaions

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Partial decision tree for a Loan Advisor

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Knowledge Codification in the KM System Life Cycle
Intelligence
Capture Tools gathering
Programs, books,
articles, experts Shells, tables,
tools, frames
maps, rules
KNOWLEDGE
CAPTURE
(Creation) KNOWLEDGE
CODIFICATION

DATABASES
TESTING AND
Explicit Knowledge DEPLOYMENT

GOAL
KNOWLEDGE
INNOVATION

KNOWLEDGE
SHARING

KNOWLEDGE
TRANSFER
DATABASE Collaborative
tools, networks,
Intranets
Web browser,
Web pages
KNOWLEDGE
Distributed
BASE
systems
Insight
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What Is Knowledge Capture ?
 A process by which the
expert’s thoughts and
experiences are captured

 A knowledge developer
collaborates with an expert
to convert expertise into a
coded program

 In simple terms, we want

to “know” how experts
know what they know
Three important steps
 Use an appropriate tool or
technique to elicit
information from the expert

 Interpret the information

and infer the expert’s
knowledge and reasoning
process

 Use the interpretation to

build rules that represent
expert’s solutions
Improving the Knowledge
Capture Process
 Knowledge developers should focus on how
experts approach a problem
 Look beyond the facts or the heuristics
 Re-evaluate how well knowledge developers
understand the problem domain and how
accurately they are modeling it

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Indicators of Expertise
 Peers regard expert’s decisions good
decisions
 Every time there is a problem, the expert is
consulted
 Expert sticks to the facts and works with a
focus
 Expert has a knack for explaining things
 Expert exhibits an exceptional quality in
explanations

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Expert’s Qualifications
 Knows when to follow hunches
 Sees big picture
 Possesses good communication skills
 Tolerates stress
 Thinks creatively
 Exhibits self-confidence
 Maintains credibility
 Operates within a schema-driven orientation
 Uses chunked knowledge
 Generates motivation and enthusiasm
 Shares expertise willingly
 Emulates a good teacher’s habits
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Pros and Cons of Using a
Single Expert
Advantages:
 Ideal when building a simple KM system
 A problem in a restricted domain
 Facilitates the logistics aspect of coordinating
arrangements for knowledge capture
 Problem-related or personal conflicts are
easier to resolve
 Shares more confidentiality with project-
related information than does multiple expert

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Pros and Cons of Using a
Single Expert (cont’d)
Drawbacks:
 The expert’s knowledge is not easy to
capture
 Single experts provide a single line of
reasoning, which makes it difficult to evoke in-
depth discussion of the domain
 Single experts more likely to change
scheduled meetings than experts who are
part of a team
 Expert knowledge is sometimes dispersed
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Pros and Cons of Using
Multiple Experts
Advantages
 Complex problem domains benefit from the
expertise of more than one expert
 Working with multiple experts stimulates
interaction
 Listening to a variety of views allows
knowledge developer to consider alternative
ways of representing knowledge
 Formal meetings frequently a better
environment for generating thoughtful
contributions
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Pros and Cons of Using
Multiple Experts (cont’d)
Drawbacks:
 Scheduling difficulties
 Disagreements frequently occur among
experts
 Confidentiality issues
 Requires more than one knowledge
developer
 Process loss in determining a solution

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Developing a Relationship
With Experts
 Create the right impression
 Do not underestimate the expert’s experience
 Prepare well for the session
 Decide where to hold the session

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Styles of Expert’s Expressions
 Procedure type—methodical approach to the
solution

 Storyteller—focuses on the content of the

domain at the expense of the solution

 Godfather—compulsion to take over the

session

 Salesperson—spends most of the time

explaining his or her solution is the best
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 Approaching Multiple Experts
 Individual approach—holding a session with one
expert at a time
 Primary and secondary experts— start with the
senior expert first, on down to others in the
hierarchy. In this approach, the primary expert
verifies solutions in the event of diverse responses
or conflicting opinions of secondary experts.
Alternatively, bottom up approach is useful when
the primary expert is in demand and cannot devote
full-time to the project. In this approach information
is gathered from secondary experts first and then
consult the primary expert to check reliability of the
tapped knowledge. 20
Approaching Multiple Experts
(contd.)
Small groups approach — experts gathered
in one place to provide a pool of information.
Each expert tested against expertise of
others in the group. For this approach to be
successful knowledge developer must have
experience in assessing tapped knowledge
as well as perception and cognition skills.
Issue with this approach is to deal with
power.

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Analogies and Uncertainties In
Information
 Experts use analogies to explain events.
Example: This student reminds me of a
student I had in the same course last year.
She did great work. Most probably this one
will do just as well.

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Analogies and Uncertainties In
Information (contd.)
 An expert’s knowledge is the ability to take
uncertain information and use a plausible
line of reasoning to clarify the fuzzy details
Example: Expert comment “ the procedure I
just explained works most of the time”.
Most: 60%,75% or more
 Understanding experience. Knowledge in
cognitive psychology is helpful.

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Analogies and Uncertainties In
Information (contd.)
 Language problem- Can be unclear in
number of ways:
- Comparative words( such as taller or better)
- Certain words or components may be left
out of an explanation
- Absolute words or phrases (such as never,
always, cannot)
- Ambiguous words
 Reliable knowledge capture requires
understanding and interpreting expert’s
verbal description of information, heuristics,
and so on 24
The Interview As a Tool
 Commonly used in the early stages of tacit
knowledge capture
 The voluntary nature of the interview is
important
 Major benefit is behavioral analysis
 Interviewing as a tool requires training and
preparation
 Great tool for eliciting information about
complex subjects
 Convenient tool for evaluating the validity of
information acquired
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Types of Interviews
 Structured: Questions and responses are
definitive. Used when specific information is
sought.
 Semistructured: Predefined questions are
asked but allow expert some freedom in
expressing the answers.
 Unstructured: Neither the questions nor their
responses specified in advance. Used when
exploring an issue.

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Examples of Unstructured
(open Ended) Questions

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Variations of Structured Questions
 Multiple-choice questions offer specific
choices, faster tabulation, and less bias by
the way answers are ordered

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Variations of Structured Questions
 Dichotomous (yes/no) questions are a special
type of multiple-choice question

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Variations of Structured Questions
 Ranking scale questions ask expert to
arrange items in a list in order of their
important or preference

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Guide to a Successful
Interview
 Set the stage and establish rapport
 Properly phrase the questions
 Question construction is important
 Listen closely and avoid arguments
 Evaluate session outcomes

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Phrasing the questions

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Things to Avoid
 Taping a session without advance permission
from the expert
 Converting the interview into an interrogation
 Interrupting the expert
 Asking questions that put the domain expert
on the defensive
 Losing control of the session
 Pretending to understand an explanation
when you actually don’t
 Promising something that cannot be delivered
 Bring items not on the agenda
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Sources of Error that Reduce
Information Reliability
 Expert’s perceptual slant
 Expert’s failure to remember just what
happened
 Expert’s fear of the unknown
 Communication problems
 Role bias

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Errors Made by the
Knowledge Developer
 Something about the knowledge developer
colors the response of the domain expert.
Some of the effects include:

 Age effect
 Race effect
 Gender effect

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Problems Encountered During
the Interview
 Response bias
 Inconsistency
 Communication difficulties
 Hostile attitude
 Standardized questions
 Lengthy questions
 Long interview

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Issues to Assess
 How would one elicit knowledge from experts who
cannot say what they mean or mean what they say?
 What does one say or do when the expert says,
“Look, I work with shades of gray reasoning. I simply
look at the problem and decide. Don’t ask me why or
how.”
 How does one set up the problem domain when one
has only a general idea of what it should be?
 What does one do if the relationship with the domain
expert turns out to be difficult?
 What happens if the expert dislikes the knowledge
developer?

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Nonverbal Cues for Ending an Interview

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Rapid Prototyping in Interviews
Rapid Prototyping or build-as-you-go
approach, in which knowledge is added
with each knowledge capture session.
This incremental or iterative approach
allows the expert to verify the rules as
they are built during the session.

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