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Subject Matter Expert (SME) 101

Posted on November 21, 2007

What's a SME? Who's a SME? and What the Hell Does a SME Do?

Dude: "Hey Bill, are you finished with the final round of testing yet?"

Bill: "Yeah Dude, I'm through, but SMEs want to look over it now."

Dude: "Damn. Well tell them Froto says Hello."

OK, a SME isn’t a creature living in the caves in an imaginary world of little people, nor is it the new sandwich at Quizno’s (actually a Sammie, and small as hell). SMEs are actually a necessary part of a successful project. It’s likely that a SME came up with the idea for the project that you’re working on right now.

When you are placed on the project you’ll absorb the vision, accept the responsibilities, boast to your friends and family about your new project, begin coding in your head the way home from work and in general, accept the mission as your own.

After you’re involved in the project it may seem like SMEs are those people that get in the way and suck up project money. You’re wrong. A SME may have been dreaming up your project for 5 years, working through the flaws of the idea, testing it’s feasibility, orchestrating surveys for feedback, bringing other individuals together that share the same vision, all before you even set your green foot in the project.

You may not realize that many years of work is invested in the project before you even knew about it. The months of work you put in is the last step of a series of steps the project has gone through. Don’t act like this is your creation or your idea or you’ll look the like the Big Brother who singed up for the recognition of it.

A SME knows the vision, history, setbacks, potential roadblocks, and risks of the project. They invest their time and ideas in the project in hopes that the project will succeed. Many SME’s are not in it for the money, but simply to watch their idea become reality. These are the people who you should respect, involve, and solicit.

They are experts in the subject matter, their feedback will be based on years of experience, they may have advanced degrees in the field, and may have even devoted their life to the subject.

Don’t overlook or disregard a SME, for they’re the most vested person in the project. Want to earn some brownie points…show a SME a sneak peek of some software early in the game. Now listen to the SME’s feedback, wipe the brown stuff off your nose, and get back to work.