in general, the term is used when developing materials (a book, an examination, a manual, etc.) about a topic, and expertise on the topic is needed by the personnel developing the material. for example, tests are often created by a team of psychometricians and a team of smes. the psychometricians understand how to engineer a test while the smes understand the actual content of the exam. books, manuals, and technical documentation are developed by technical writers and instructional designers in conjunctions with smes. technical communicators interview smes to extract information and convert it into a form suitable for the audience. smes are often required to sign off on the documents or training developed, checking it for technical accuracy. smes are also necessary for the development of training materials.