Explicit versus tacit. Tacit knowledge is difficult or impossible to express, write down and codify (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995), for example: why do you look at certain parts of a screen to collect information? Explicit knowledge, on the other hand, can be readily articulated, written down, codified and shared (Courtney, 2001). Standard operating procedures, and instructions how to design bicycles are examples of explicit knowledge.