Tribal Knowledge
Unwritten knowledge shared within a team that exists nowhere in documentation.
What it means
Tribal knowledge is the collective tacit knowledge of a group — habits, tricks, and rules passed on verbally and taken for granted by the team.
Why it matters
It's highly effective within the team but extremely fragile: a handful of people leaving is enough to make it disappear.
A real-world example
One shift has its own proven method that no one else knows or uses.
Unspoken knowledge and experience that exists only in people's heads.
The transfer of practical insights between colleagues, shifts, sites, or projects.
The body of practical knowledge and procedures that lets an organization run and make decisions.
A group of experts who share experience and jointly develop know-how in a given field.
Turning specific people's knowledge into a structured, usable form.