Area of Knowledge

An area of knowledge is a highly organized socially constructed aggregation of shared knowledge (a.k.a. corpus) for a distinct subject matter.  Subject matter experts (SMEs) create, use, and maintain an area of knowledge.

An area of knowledge has a specialized insider vocabulary, underlying assumptions (axioms, theorems, constraints, assertions, restrictions), and persistent open questions that have not necessarily been resolved (i.e. flexibility is necessary).  You can think about an area of knowledge as being characterized in a spectrum with two extremes:

  • Kind area of knowledge: clear rules, lots of patterns, lots of rules, repetitive patterns, and unchanging tasks.
  • Wicked area of knowledge: obscure data, few or no rules, constant change, and abstract ideas.

Stakeholders of a system need to be in agreement as to an undisputed core knowledge of an area of knowledge. Sensemaking is the process of determining the knowledge, or deeper meaning or significance or essence, of the collective experience for those within an area of knowledge.

The Cynefin Framework provides a tool for understanding and categorizing knowledge and rules within a corpus.  Per the Cynefin Framework, knowledge can be categorized as being:

  • Best practice (obvious)
  • Good practice (only obvious if you have the right skills and experience like subject matter experts)
  • Emergent practice (tend to have to have more skills and experience, then can use principles to group alternatives into sets of good practices)
  • Novel practice (tends to be unique, but describable, only the "best of the best" work at this level within an area of knowledge)

Note that an area of knowledge does not exist within a silo.  One area of knowledge can interact with some other area of knowledge.

Other aliases use for the term area of knowledge are "domain of understanding" or "domain" or "system of interest" or "community of practice".

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