What institutional knowledge should a team understand before automating a task?
In the continuous innovation panel, Liz Bacelar challenged the assumption that experience makes someone less suited to AI work. She pointed to the knowledge held by people who've spent years doing the job. Examine the exceptions they recognize and you'll put that knowledge to use.
An experienced colleague can walk you through an ordinary case and a difficult one, with private information removed or protected. The useful part is where the two stop following the same route.
Find out what tells them something is wrong and which missing detail changes the decision. Also note when they call another person and skip the standard procedure. Record those answers alongside the official process and give them the same weight.
Some workarounds shouldn't become rules
A workaround might solve a genuine problem, and it still shouldn't automatically become a rule in a new system. Confirm the requirement with the person who owns it.
Invite the employee to review your account of the work, and test whether someone else could recognize the same exception from what you wrote. If they can't, you may have captured the steps and missed the judgment.
A knowledge interview carries no promise about anyone's employment. Be clear about the project and how the information will be used, because people deserve that before they help redesign their work.
What to try this week
Choose one task and ask a colleague with years on it to describe the case where the standard steps break down.