I argue that expertise and its development are not primarily dependent upon knowledge and skills in cognitive structure, but on embodied being in the world, inescapably entwined with others and things.

—Gloria Dall’Alba, Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Queensland, Australia

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In a professional setting, expertise is a social agreement and a mechanism for efficient management of knowledge. All people in an organization cannot possess all relevant knowledge at all times; therefore, knowledge is consolidated by domain. The custodians of that consolidated knowledge are often regarded by their organizations as subject matter experts.

Several interdependencies can be found between SMEs and the laypeople who interact with them. If any of these interdependencies are absent from the relationship, the role of the SME is diminished or eliminated.

Researchers Harald Mieg and Julia Evetts summarized the link between experts and laypeople with a diagram similar to the following:

First, laypeople must have a problem that they cannot satisfy alone. Without problems that require the concentration of knowledge, there is no need for expertise. As discussed previously, it does not matter if the expert claims superior status; it only matters if laypeople grant the expert that status. Without that, the expert has no unique influence. Second, laypeople expect the expert to have knowledge sufficient to solve the problem. If the expert does not possess the knowledge, either because the expert has not obtained it or because the knowledge does not yet exist, then the model breaks down. All interdependencies must be present or none of the benefits of expertise and expert performance are realized.

It is also important to note that interdependencies are constantly in motion. Laypeople have ever-changing needs and expectations. Similarly, the expert’s knowledge and competency are always advancing or declining. Consequently, laypeople are constantly changing the perceived value of expert roles.

SMEs must remain relevant, and they can do this by staying well ahead of any layperson’s constantly improving competency and by maintaining knowledge and skills adequate enough for the problems laypeople need to resolve.