Richard Anaya explores how subject matter experts (SMEs) develop within software organizations and why time alone doesn't guarantee expertise. He argues that understanding cognitive psychology is essential to creating effective SMEs.

Why SMEs Matter

Organizations benefit significantly from SMEs through increased implementation velocity, reduced knowledge-gathering meetings, better burnout prevention, and early problem detection. SMEs excel not because of superior intellect but through efficient subconscious recall of organization-specific knowledge.

The Role of Consciousness and Subconscious

Drawing on Ayn Rand's definition of psycho-epistemology—"the study of man's cognitive processes from the aspect of the interaction between the conscious mind" and subconscious functions—SMEs outperform others because they've developed extensive long-term memory structures that enable automatic information retrieval relevant to tasks.

Requirements for SME Formation

Three conditions must be met: individuals must choose to focus and acquire knowledge; they need exposure to diverse organizational problems; and they require time to digest experiences. Critically, knowledge doesn't form automatically.

Rational Conceptualization

The essential mechanism involves abstracting individual experiences into mental concepts. Without explicit terminology for organizational patterns, experiences remain disconnected and unrecallable. Developers must intentionally connect code patterns to meaningful categories—security concerns, performance issues, design considerations.

Practical Recommendations

Measurable Actions

  • Documentation forces conceptual clarification
  • Long-term specialization prevents context-switching cognitive losses
  • Knowledge-sharing forums accelerate pattern recognition across teams

Employee Assessment

Surveys should ask whether employees feel they're applying previously gained wisdom, have adequate mental digestion time, can share knowledge, and enjoy their problem-solving work—indicators of healthy SME development conditions.

The article emphasizes that process design, not merely hiring talented individuals, determines organizational capacity to develop expertise.