Tacit Knowledge : A Needed Addition to SOPs in a Forensic Science Environment

Within a quality management structure at a forensic science organization where processes are explicit by nature, the authors have found that there is still a tacit element required, where a baseline of minimum acceptable performance from protocols is supplemented by interactions with colleagues and one's own thought processes. Such concepts are only being discussed at a nascent level in the Quality Management System literature, where the tacit world has not yet diffused into the very explicit world found in quality management writings. In looking at the process level, findings are presented with respect to the interplay of the explicit knowledge within standard operating procedures and the practitioners' tacit knowledge requirements needed in actually completing the process. Ultimately, these findings will help improve the way process is carried out in a knowledge-intensive forensic science environment by having insights into how tacit knowledge works, and make conclusions on tacit knowledge within the world of process governed by standard operating procedures.