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118 Chapter 4

What valuable knowledge
Identification would be worthwhile
to capture?

Refine
requirements Conceptualization
Model the knowledge

Refine xyz
concepts Codification

Organize and
externalize knowledge
Figure 4.4
Key knowledge acquisition phases

The importance of record keeping during knowledge capture, especially tacit knowl-
edge capture, cannot be emphasized enough. Original transcripts, recordings, and
reference materials need to be carefully organized in a knowledge acquisition database.
The source of each piece of key knowledge must be carefully recorded for future refer-
ence. The key fi ndings should also be systematically captured. Templates are often
used to structure and standardize knowledge acquisition processes. A sample knowl-
edge acquisition session template is shown in fi gure 4.5 . It is important to always send
back transcripts and summary forms to the people interviewed. This serves to validate
and complete the content but also gives the interviewee the chance to edit comments
so they are not taken out of context.

Tacit Knowledge Capture at the Organizational Level
Organizational knowledge acquisition is a qualitatively different process from those
that occur at the individual and group levels. Whereas in the latter we are primarily
concerned with identifying and coding valuable knowledge, which is mostly tacit in
nature, organizational knowledge capture takes place on a macro level. Malhotra