Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Intellectual Capital

Peter Marshall and Damian Gordon
in which <strong>the</strong> throw could be performed using <strong>the</strong> non-traditional grips and traditional method grips.
The cognitive walkthrough and <strong>the</strong> OIM methods only generate one each. The commentary method
identified four.
Procedural Steps Identified
Verbal
Non Verbal
Results From Elicitation
0 1 2 3 4
Number <strong>of</strong> Steps
Identified
Cognitive WalkThrough
Triadic Elicitation
Commentary
OIM
Initial Demonstration
Figure 4: Strategic knowledge articulated during <strong>the</strong> initial demonstration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Tai-Otoshi technique
5. Discussion
In selecting <strong>the</strong>se techniques, many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m were adapted from <strong>the</strong>ir original use. This approach
provided much discussion during <strong>the</strong> experiment phase. In terms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> goals established at <strong>the</strong> onset
<strong>of</strong> our experiments, <strong>the</strong> triadic elicitation variation failed to elicit knowledge that aided <strong>the</strong> capture <strong>of</strong>
strategic or procedural knowledge pertaining to <strong>the</strong> techniques. The results from this technique served
more to detail <strong>the</strong> important factor a SME might consider when observing variations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> techniques
being performed. The findings from our experiments are <strong>of</strong> great interest but not in <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
goals established at <strong>the</strong> onset <strong>of</strong> our research. From our results, <strong>the</strong> cognitive walkthrough in <strong>the</strong> armbar
experiment was particularly successful in generating verbal articulations. The output-input-method
was less successful in <strong>the</strong> arm-bar demonstration as fewer steps were identified in terms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> steps.
The commentary elicitation provided a good source for <strong>the</strong> identification <strong>of</strong> strategic knowledge in
terms <strong>of</strong> when <strong>the</strong>se techniques can be employed. The results from this experiment are a useful tool
for practitioners in identifying situations in which techniques can be employed. One way in which <strong>the</strong>
commentary could have been improved would have been <strong>the</strong> inclusion <strong>of</strong> failed attempts in
performing <strong>the</strong> techniques. An initial investigation into acquiring <strong>the</strong>se types <strong>of</strong> techniques from online
sources was attempted. Finding examples <strong>of</strong> error in performance was difficult as it seemed that
practitioners are unwilling to post examples <strong>of</strong> poor technique. Extensive analysis <strong>of</strong> videos would
have been required in this task which would have resulted in a significant impact on <strong>the</strong> knowledge
acquisition bottleneck. It would have also made <strong>the</strong> experiments more difficult to repeat.
6. Conclusions and future work
The research performed serves as a good foundation in which future elicitation sessions in more <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> organisation knowledge can be externalised. In addition, it was evident in <strong>the</strong> elicitation sessions
that <strong>the</strong>se some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se techniques were particularly versatile. It is envisaged that <strong>the</strong>se techniques
could be easily used in o<strong>the</strong>r sports and physical activity. Ano<strong>the</strong>r path for future work is <strong>the</strong> potential
for embedding <strong>the</strong> externalised knowledge in a format which could be easily distributed to <strong>the</strong> Team
Ryano community and beyond (e.g. an instructional video). Fur<strong>the</strong>r experiments will focus on eliciting
more <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> organisation‟s tacit knowledge. The strategies and <strong>the</strong> techniques used at Team Ryano
are <strong>of</strong> great importance to <strong>the</strong> individuals within <strong>the</strong> club. In eliciting this knowledge and externalising
it, this format allows for knowledge to be easily distributed to all members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> groups. As more and
more students at Team Ryano rise from novice status to expert status, <strong>the</strong>re will be <strong>the</strong> opportunity to
use <strong>the</strong> group elicitation methods e.g. <strong>the</strong> de Bono Six Thinking Hats technique (DeBono 1985).
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