Tacit Knowledge Interview Script & Notes Template

Purpose

This template helps interviewers capture tacit practitioner knowledge in a way that makes experience actionable and reusable. Use it to preserve context-rich insights, reduce rework, accelerate onboarding, and document hard-to-write heuristics and decision triggers.

Before the Interview — Planning Checklist

• Identify the primary hunger: what do we want to reuse from this person's experience (e.g., startup checklist, troubleshooting heuristics, safety shortcuts)?
• Invite the interviewee with the interview goals, estimated duration, and how the notes will be used and stored.
• Choose recording method: audio + optional video. Test device and backup recorder.
• Prepare artifacts: job aids, SOPs, logs, photos the practitioner might reference.
• Timebox: 45–75 minutes for a deep interview; shorter focused sessions (20–30 minutes) for single topics.
• Assign roles if possible: interviewer, notetaker, and technical support for recording.

Consent / Audio Permission (Suggested Script)

Please read or adapt before recording:

"Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge. We would like to record audio of this conversation so we can accurately capture your examples and the phrasing of your heuristics. The recording will be transcribed, stored securely, and used to create notes and learning aids for the team. You may ask to pause or stop the recording at any time. Do you consent to being recorded for these purposes?"

Record the interviewee's exact response and timestamp consent in the notes.

Interviewer Tips

• Begin with concrete examples: ask for a recent task or incident rather than abstract descriptions.
• Ask 'why' and 'what changed' probes to surface mental models and trade-offs.
• Encourage storytelling for edge cases; stories reveal triggers, signals, and workarounds.
• Listen for short heuristics (rules of thumb) and capture exact wording if possible.
• Validate: summarize a point and ask the interviewee if your summary is accurate.

Structured Interview Script (use as a guide)

1) Role & Context (5–10 min)

• Can you describe your role and primary responsibilities in a typical week?
• What systems, teams, or tools do you interact with most frequently?
• What outcomes are you expected to deliver?

2) Typical Workflow & Routine (10–15 min)

• Walk me through a typical task from start to finish. What are the steps you take?
• Where do you spend most of your time or encounter delays?
• What artifacts (forms, checklists, reports) do you create or use?

3) Key Decisions & Triggers (10–15 min)

• What are the most important decisions you make, and when do they occur?
• What signals or measurements tell you it’s time to act?
• Are there decision thresholds you use (even if informal)?

4) Heuristics & 'Why It Works' Probes (10 min)

• Do you have any rules of thumb you rely on? (Capture exact phrasing.)
• Why do these rules usually work? What assumptions are you making?
• When do these heuristics fail?

5) Edge Cases & Stories (10–15 min)

• Tell me about a time when things broke or an unusual situation occurred.
• What indicators tipped you off, and what did you try first? What ultimately worked?
• What did you wish you had known beforehand?

6) Exceptions, Workarounds & Known Mistakes (5–10 min)

• What common mistakes do people make in this work?
• Which shortcuts are acceptable and which are dangerous?
• Are there undocumented steps people rely on? Why are they undocumented?

7) Handoff Points & Dependencies (5 min)

• Where does this work hand off to other teams or systems?
• What information must be included in a handoff to avoid rework?

8) Required Artifacts & Where They Live

• List the essential documents, logs, screenshots, forms, and their locations (links, folders, paper locations).
• Who owns or maintains each artifact?

9) Suggested Follow-up Actions

• Immediate: add missing artifacts to the shared folder, capture a short how‑to note, or tag the knowledge item.
• Short-term: convert heuristics into a one-page checklist or decision cheat‑sheet.
• Long-term: include the knowledge in onboarding materials and an FAQ or playbook.

Notes Template (Use during or after the interview)

Copy this into your note-taking app. Leave space for timestamps and near-verbatim quotes.

• Interviewee: [Name, Role]
• Date: [YYYY-MM-DD] Interviewer: [Name]
• Duration: [HH:MM] Recording file: [filename]
• Primary hunger / purpose for capture: [e.g., onboarding, reduce rework]
• Role & context summary:
• Typical workflow (steps):
• Key decisions & triggers (capture thresholds/values):
• Heuristics / rules of thumb (quote exactly):
• Edge-case stories (timestamped):
• Known exceptions / mistakes:
• Handoff requirements & artifacts:
• Follow-up actions (who / what / by when):
• Tags / suggested topics: [e.g., troubleshooting, safety, SOP gap]

Quick Transcription & QA Checklist

• Save raw audio file and note filename/location.
• Transcribe using chosen tool; check for speaker attribution and timestamps for stories and heuristics.
• Highlight exact heuristics and decision thresholds in the transcript.
• Extract 1–3 actionable items (checklist entries) from the interview and assign owners.
• Ask interviewee to review extracted heuristics and follow-up items (quick 10–15 min review session recommended).

Storage Metadata & Suggested Tags

Store the note with visible metadata so others can find and act on it:

• Subject: short title e.g., "Line Changeover Heuristics — Shift B"
• Role: [Role name]
• Location / Site
• Systems referenced
• Criticality: (High / Medium / Low)
• Related SOPs / Playbooks
• Suggested successors (who should review during onboarding)

Sample Outputs to Create After Interview

• One-page checklist with the top 3 heuristics and decision thresholds.
• Annotated transcript with timestamps and highlighted quotes.
• Short how-to video or screencast for complex steps (if applicable).
• Knowledge card (summary + links) for the knowledge library and onboarding flows.

Common Pitfalls

• Asking only abstract questions — avoid this by requesting recent concrete examples.
• Over-editing interviewee language — keep original phrasing for heuristics where possible.
• Storing notes without metadata — makes discovery difficult.

Quick Reference: Interview Length & Focus

• 45–75 minutes — comprehensive capture across multiple topics.
• 20–30 minutes — focused capture on a single workflow, decision, or edge-case story.