Keep a map of who knows what

Why it matters

Create a small expertise-routing map for recurring problems: name the domain, a person with demonstrated working knowledge, a backup person or useful artifact, and why that route is credible. Keep the map visible where work happens and revise it after real consultations, handoffs or ownership changes. This is a practical scaffold for transactive memory—shared knowledge of who knows what—not a claim that a directory by itself creates effective teamwork.

Steps

1. Name 5–10 recurring knowledge problems in task language, not job titles: for example, 'payment-retry logic' rather than 'backend.'
2. For each problem, record a primary route and a backup person or artifact. Base the route on demonstrated work, not seniority or self-description alone.
3. Put the map where questions arise and use it to route real work. Add a short note when a consultation confirms or changes who is useful for that problem.
4. Review the map after major delivery cycles or role changes. Remove stale entries and watch for single points of failure or people who become default help desks.

Check your result

Pick a recurring question at random. Another team member can route it quickly to a credible person or artifact, explain why that route is credible, and identify a backup if the first route is unavailable.

Keep this limit in mind

• Do not use the map as a status ranking, permission system, or substitute for durable documentation. Expertise can be misidentified, become stale, or reflect visibility and stereotypes rather than competence; verify it through work. For regulated decisions, protected disclosures or safety events, follow the formal channel. Research links stronger transactive-memory systems with better team outcomes, but it does not establish that a lightweight directory alone causes those gains.

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