“A body of knowledge (BOK or BoK) is the complete set of concepts, terms and activities that make up a professional domain, as defined by the relevant learned society or professional association. It is a type of knowledge representation by any knowledge organization.”

“A body of knowledge is the accepted ontology for a specific domain. A BOK is more than simply a collection of terms; a professional reading list; a library; a website or a collection of websites; a description of professional functions; or even a collection of information.

A landscape of practice (LoP) refers to a number of related communities of practice (CoPs) working on a body of knowledge. Participation in a LoP involves members of the CoPs developing competence in their area of interest and keeping up to date with knowledgeability relevant to the LoP.”

Examples:

  • Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) from the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA)
  • Business Architecture Body of Knowledge (BIZBOK) from the Business Architecture Guild
  • Data Management Body of Knowledge (DMBOK) from the Data Management Association (DAMA)
  • Enterprise Architecture Body of Knowledge (EABOK) for the enterprise architecture (EA) discipline
  • Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) from the Project Management Institute (PMI)
  • Product Management Body of Knowledge (ProdBOK Guide) from the Association of International Product Marketing & Management (AIPMM)
  • Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) from the IEEE Computer Society
  • Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBOK) from the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), the IEEE Systems Council, and Stevens Institute of Technology