Episode 75: The Critical Role of Tacit Knowledge in Product with William Bartlett

We continue our discussion with software engineer and agile coach William Bartlett.

Last time we spoke, in episode 68, we discussed William's journey from waterfall to agile. We discussed the many potential benefits of taking an agile approach when it is done well, but also the difficulty many teams face in making it work for them, even when they are serious about making it work.

William argued that the issue goes deeper than a simple problem of mindset and that it has to do with how to teach and learn tacit knowledge.

In this episode we dive deeper into the topic of tacit knowledge and how it plays a role in design and innovation more generally, beyond just the teaching of agile concepts,. We will be discussing 4E cognition, gibsonian ecological psychology and Cynevin.

Topics touched upon:

Can tacit knowledge be taught?

Why is tacit knowledge an important part of innovation?

4E cognition

Nassim Taleb’s concept of antifragility