tacittoexplicit

Tacittoexplicit is a term used in knowledge management to describe the process of converting tacit knowledge—unspoken, experience-based know-how—into explicit knowledge that can be documented, stored, and transmitted within an organization. The concept builds on the distinction between tacit knowledge, which is personal and hard to articulate, and explicit knowledge, which is codified and shareable.

It encompasses a family of methods such as interviews, storytelling, think-aloud protocols, after-action reviews, and the creation of manuals, checklists, and standard operating procedures. The goal is to expose tacit know-how embedded in routines, troubleshooting, and judgment calls, and to codify it in a form that others can learn from and reuse.

Benefits include improved onboarding, faster knowledge transfer, and more consistent performance. Challenges include the contextual nature of tacit knowledge, the risk of oversimplification, and the resources required for effective elicitation and validation. Some knowledge may remain difficult or undesirable to codify due to safety, privacy, or complexity.

Tacittoexplicit is widely discussed in organizational learning, knowledge management, and engineering contexts. It informs design of training programs, knowledge bases, and collaborative work practices, and it underpins approaches such as knowledge capture during project debriefs and post-mortems.

Related terms include tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, knowledge management, and knowledge capture.