202204301406 Teams should own critical knowledge

Given that 202110231440 Knowledge is the backbone of a product organization, we need some mechanism to store that knowledge in a durable way.

Although 202110231449 Externalization of knowledge is an important step in the usefulness of accumulated knowledge, it alone is not enough for that knowledge to be considered durably stored (as I'm sure anyone who's read an old company knowledge-base can plainly see).

Rather, teams are the only long-term, durable storage location for critical organizational knowledge because they satisfy the 202204301410 Criteria for durable knowledge storage by abstracting individuals (202202011405 Teams abstract individuals over time).

Teams satisfy the evolutionary criteria by continually doing new and different things. Their group knowledge must evolve to the ever-changing circumstances of their environment. Thus the knowledge they hold will continually be subjected to re-examination, re-evaluation, and change.

They also satisfy the intentionality criteria by passing the intention behind choices to new members as well as the context in which the decision was made.

Note that even though this is a vital role for teams to play in an organization, we rarely give it the attention it deserves. The ability for teams to be a durable storage for knowledge does not always mean that they do it well in practice.