tribal knowledge

Definition

Critical information that exists only in certain employees' heads rather than documentation, creating bus-factor vulnerabilities and power dynamics. The undocumented institutional memory that vanishes when someone quits.

Example Usage

Our deployment process is pure tribal knowledge—when Marcus left, we discovered nobody else knew how the production server actually worked.

Origin

Knowledge management and organizational learning terminology from the 1990s

Fun Fact

Studies estimate that 42% of critical business knowledge exists only as tribal knowledge, making it vulnerable to loss and creating hidden organizational risks.

Source: Knowledge management and organizational learning terminology

Related Terms

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