ISO/IEC 24773-2:2024
(Main)Software and systems engineering — Certification of software and systems engineering professionals — Part 2: Guidance regarding description of knowledge, skills, and competencies contained in schemes
Software and systems engineering — Certification of software and systems engineering professionals — Part 2: Guidance regarding description of knowledge, skills, and competencies contained in schemes
This document contains guidance for certification that can be used by certification or qualification bodies regarding the description of knowledge, skill and competence within their particular schemes based on ISO/IEC 24773-1.
Ingénierie du logiciel et des systèmes — Certification des professionnels de l'ingénierie du logiciel et des systèmes — Partie 2: Recommandations relatives à la description des connaissances, aptitudes et compétences contenues dans les programmes
General Information
Standards Content (Sample)
International
Standard
ISO/IEC 24773-2
First edition
Software and systems
2024-05
engineering — Certification of
software and systems engineering
professionals —
Part 2:
Guidance regarding description of
knowledge, skills, and competencies
contained in schemes
Ingénierie du logiciel et des systèmes — Certification des
professionnels de l'ingénierie du logiciel et des systèmes —
Partie 2: Recommandations relatives à la description des
connaissances, aptitudes et compétences contenues dans les
programmes
Reference number
© ISO/IEC 2024
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© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Major elements of certification and qualification scheme . 1
5 Recommendations — Body of knowledge (BOK) . 3
5.1 General .3
5.2 Scope and depth of a BOK .3
5.3 Construction or assembly of BOK: content hierarchy and guides to BOK .4
5.4 Professional orientation and style .5
5.5 Separation of topics and orthogonality .6
5.6 Treatment of knowledge and references to other disciplines and other basic knowledge
domains . .6
5.7 Objectivity and verifiability.6
5.8 Presentation of practical knowledge versus pure theory .7
5.9 Bibliography and referenced source materials .7
5.10 Validation of BOK .7
5.11 Maintenance of BOK .7
6 Recommendations — Description of skills . 8
6.1 Skills are related both to knowledge and competency .8
6.2 Skills are acquired and developed .9
6.3 Skills differ from individual (personal) attributes .9
6.4 Skills have performance levels .9
6.5 Groups of skills and highly specific skills .9
6.6 Maintenance of skills definitions and performance levels .10
7 Recommendations — Description of competencies . 10
7.1 General .10
7.2 General objectives in describing competencies .11
7.3 Separation of competencies from titles or roles within organizations . 12
7.4 Lower-level competencies and work products . 12
7.5 Use of external competency definitions . . 13
7.6 Generic competencies . . 13
7.7 Other professional competencies .14
7.8 Proficiency Levels .14
7.9 Maintenance of competency definitions and proficiency levels . 15
8 Other general recommendations .16
8.1 Individual attributes .16
8.2 Assessment and validation of assessment .17
8.2.1 Assessment of knowledge and cognitive skills .17
8.2.2 Assessment of competencies .17
8.2.3 Assessment of experience relative to competencies .17
8.3 Guidance regarding code of ethics, code of conduct and ethical behaviour .17
Annex A (informative) Professional licensure in systems and software engineering . 19
Bibliography .20
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity.
ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/
IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives or www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs).
ISO and IEC draw attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the
use of (a) patent(s). ISO and IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any
claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO and IEC had not
received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers
are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent
database available at www.iso.org/patents and https://patents.iec.ch. ISO and IEC shall not be held
responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.
This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 7, Software and systems engineering.
A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 24773 series can be found on the ISO and IEC websites.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards
body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and
www.iec.ch/national-committees.
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
iv
Introduction
The ISO/IEC 24773 series replaces and expands upon ISO/IEC 24773:2008.
The ISO/IEC 24773 series consists of the following parts.
— ISO/IEC 24773-1 serves as the basis for the ISO/IEC 24773 series. It contains terminology, concepts, and
requirements which are common to the remaining parts.
— This document contains guidance which can be used by certification bodies regarding the definition
of knowledge, skills and competencies that are to be incorporated into a certification scheme for
professionals in software and systems engineering.
— ISO/IEC 24773-3 provides specific requirements for certification schemes for professionals in systems
engineering.
— ISO/IEC 24773-4 provides specific requirements for certification schemes for professionals in software
engineering.
The ISO/IEC 24773 series is applicable across all organizations and for conducting assessments using a
variety of methods, techniques and tools.
This document also contains additional discussion and guidance concerning the requirements for
certification schemes defined in ISO/IEC 24773-1. It contains general guidance concerning the elements of a
certification scheme, particularly as they apply within the domain of software and systems engineering. It
contains guidance for the description of several key elements of certification schemes which are generated
or referenced by the certification body:
— body of knowledge (BOK);
— skills;
— competency.
In addition to addressing technical skills, knowledge and competence, ISO/IEC 24773-1:2019, 6.3.1 requires
that a conformant certification scheme address other aspects of professionalism, such as professional skills/
attributes and a code of ethics. This document provides additional descriptions and guidance regarding
these other aspects of professionalism to be addressed by a conformant scheme.
This document is useful to certification bodies offering schemes for the certification of professionals in the
domain of systems or software engineering. It offers guidance for certification bodies when defining or
designing the various elements of their respective certification schemes, as well as guidance for description
of these scheme elements.
Annex A contains further explanation about the distinction between certification and professional licensure.
Annex A also contains additional guidance to encourage harmonization between a certification scheme and
the requirements of regulators.
By considering the guidance contained in this document, certification bodies can provide a clearer and more
precise description of their certification schemes. This in turn benefits the other stakeholders (potential
certificants, accreditation bodies, professional and technical groups, and employers), allowing them to
more accurately assess the certification scheme and compare to other schemes. This document is also
useful to (potential) applicants or candidates of certification schemes, in that they can obtain additional
background information concerning the requirements for certification schemes claiming conformance
to the ISO/IEC 24773 series. Understanding the requirements for a certification scheme (as expressed
in ISO/IEC 24773-1, ISO/IEC 24773-3, and ISO/IEC 24773-4) along with the guidance contained in this
document, helps the candidate to compare various schemes, and understand where/how such guidance
is reflected in and incorporated into the various schemes. Similarly, employers; evaluators of professional
personnel who are certificants; and evaluators of certification schemes in the domain of software and
systems engineering can also use the contents of this document to better understand the requirements, as
well as the differences between various schemes.
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
v
International Standard ISO/IEC 24773-2:2024(en)
Software and systems engineering — Certification of software
and systems engineering professionals —
Part 2:
Guidance regarding description of knowledge, skills, and
competencies contained in schemes
1 Scope
This document contains guidance for certification that can be used by certification or qualification bodies
regarding the description of knowledge, skill and competence within their particular schemes based on
ISO/IEC 24773-1.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 17024, Conformity assessment — General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons
ISO/IEC 24773-1:2019, Software and systems engineering — Certification of software and systems engineering
professionals — Part 1: General requirements
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions in ISO/IEC 17024, ISO/IEC 24773-1, and the
following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
KA
knowledge area
sub-area or grouping of related topics within a body of knowledge (BOK)
Note 1 to entry: See 5.2 and 5.3.
4 Major elements of certification and qualification scheme
This clause introduces the major elements of a certification and qualification scheme as listed in
ISO/IEC 24773-1.
Clauses 5 to 8 discuss the various elements in greater detail.
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
Conforming certification schemes have the following major elements at a minimum:
— body of knowledge (BOK);
— skills;
— competencies.
Figure 1 depicts these elements and the relationship between them within the context of a certification scheme.
The body of knowledge (BOK) associated with a certification scheme contains items of knowledge which
are relevant to the engineer or professional in the domain being targeted by that certification scheme.
Recommendations for describing the BOK for use in a certification scheme are explained in detail in Clause 5.
NOTE 1 Also see ISO/IEC 24773-1:2019, 5.3 for the explanation of knowledge, BOK and cognitive level.
Skills defined for a certification can represent various abilities of the certificant, such as the ability to apply
specific knowledge in the performance of an action, or a single step within a sequence. Recommendations
for describing skills are explained in detail in Clause 6. Since skills are defined based on a certain set of
knowledge topics, Clause 6 also contains recommendations about relationship between knowledge and skills.
NOTE 2 Also see ISO/IEC 24773-1:2019, 5.4 for the explanation of skill and performance level.
Competencies represent the ability to successfully complete tasks that certified persons are expected to
undertake. Each competency required by the certification scheme is associated with appropriate proficiency
levels (see ISO/IEC 24773-1:2019, 6.5.3). A competency area may be defined and may include various related
competencies. Recommendations for describing competencies for use in a certification scheme are explained
in detail in Clause 7. Since competencies are defined based on a certain set of knowledge topics and skills,
Clause 7 also contains recommendations about relationship among knowledge, skills and competencies.
NOTE 3 Also see ISO/IEC 24773-1:2019, 5.5 for the explanation of competence and proficiency level.
Figure 1 — Major elements of certification scheme and relationships among them
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
Other relevant elements of a professional certification scheme are not depicted in Figure 1:
— individual attributes (refer to 8.1);
— pre-requisite education or other pre-requisite qualifications;
— other KAs not in the reference BOK (refer to Clause 5).
Clauses 5 to 8 in this document provide additional guidance related to these elements.
[11]
The CASCO document “How to Develop Schemes for the certification of persons” provides useful introductory
information about and general guidance concerning certification schemes and certification bodies.
5 Recommendations — Body of knowledge (BOK)
5.1 General
The following recommendations apply to the BOK as used within a certification scheme for professionals in
the domains of software and systems engineering.
Within ISO/IEC 24773-1 and ISO/IEC 17024, a BOK is a required element of a certification scheme.
The term “body of knowledge” is used within many contexts, both in industry, academia and professional
bodies. The scope and meaning of a BOK should be clarified, especially since any particular BOK may be used
for many purposes.
Accordingly, the certification body may choose to construct and define a BOK specifically for its own
certification scheme. It may choose to adopt another (externally defined and controlled) BOK for use in
its certification scheme. In a pragmatic approach, the certification body may construct a unique BOK by
assembling reference material from existing sources.
5.2 Scope and depth of a BOK
The purpose and scope of any BOK should be clarified – whether that BOK is utilized as an element of a
certification scheme; as a foundation for academic syllabus or curriculum; or as a basis for professional
regulation.
A BOK, for the purpose of this document, provides the underlying knowledge contained within an appropriate
set of topics grouped into KAs (illustrated in Figure 1). The enumeration of topics, in a sound structure or
hierarchy, is essential.
A certification body may choose to assemble a BOK using several approaches (see subclauses in Clause 5).
However, the BOK should always be managed and treated as a whole; and the certification body should
ensure the integrity, accuracy and currency of the BOK as a whole.
The scope of the BOK should be consistent with the purpose and intended use of the BOK. In the case of a
BOK associated with a profession or a professional discipline, the BOK should at least cover the essential
knowledge of the discipline. That is, the scope of the BOK should include all relevant KAs. See additional
suggestions in Clause 5 concerning coverage of “related disciplines” and “supporting disciplines”.
The scope and depth of knowledge contained in the BOK should be consistent with and sufficient to support
the various skills and competencies defined as other elements of the certification scheme. This completeness
and sufficiency should be validated.
The depth of the material covered by the BOK should also be consistent with the purpose and intended
use of the BOK. For the purpose of a professional discipline, if a KA is deemed essential and necessary for
the understanding and practice of that discipline, then the material provided may be extensive in order to
provide more detail. The knowledge provided in a given KA in the BOK should be provided in depth sufficient
for professional practice.
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
A BOK may include or reference supporting KAs. Supporting KAs should be included in a BOK where such
knowledge is directly required for professional practice, or where such knowledge is originating in another
discipline (such as discrete mathematics, quality assurance or economics) and underlies the knowledge
contained in the primary KAs. The information included in these supporting KAs may not necessarily
be provided in depth and does not need to be repeated in the BOK if they are referenced to authoritative
external sources.
Existing reports of BOK development projects such as “The Guide to the Software Engineering Body of
[12]
Knowledge” and “Towards a distinctive body of knowledge for Information Systems experts: coding ISD
[13]
process knowledge in two IS journals” may help design the purpose, scope, and depth of a BOK.
See 5.6 concerning “supporting or related disciplines”.
5.3 Construction or assembly of BOK: content hierarchy and guides to BOK
A BOK may consist of many KAs. A KA may in turn consist of specific topics, and even sub-topics, arranged
in a hierarchy.
The BOK should present information or knowledge for each defined KA. See further guidance in 5.4
concerning the quality of the knowledge sources referenced or used within a BOK.
However, the assembly or presentation of the knowledge content for a given KA or topic within that KA may
be via reference to an external source.
Thus, the BOK itself may contain source knowledge material for some KAs, or it may provide references to
external knowledge sources and not contain the referenced external source knowledge material directly.
This approach has the advantages of:
— modularity – new references may be added or substituted easily when the content for a KA (or topics
within) evolve;
— efficiency – external knowledge sources (provided they also meet criteria for source information quality)
are already written and do not need to be re-written for the purposes of the BOK which incorporates them;
— external reviews and validation – in seeking to adhere to the highest standards of information quality
and integrity, an external knowledge source may indeed have the benefit of thorough peer review and
widespread recognition.
However, regardless of whether the BOK contains knowledge which is specifically written for a given topic,
or whether a topic is covered by an appropriate external knowledge source, the integrity and accuracy of the
BOK remains the responsibility of the BOK developer.
The BOK topic section should describe or summarize the objective knowledge inherent in the topic and
contain citations which permit the reader to obtain more detailed information.
In the case where a BOK is broad and contains many distinct KAs, and where the depth of a BOK is significant,
an overview or a summary should be included within each KA, before going into detail or citing references
for sub topics. This summary provides a useful overview of the scope and depth of each major topic area.
This is of great value for at least the following reasons:
— practitioners in the discipline (or users of that BOK) may not require all of the in-depth knowledge of
every topic, but for the purposes of professional certification may need a certain amount of knowledge;
— the summary presents the nature and scope of the topic being treated (presumably by one or more
external knowledge sources) and provides a rationale for inclusion of each of the external knowledge
sources; this is helpful as a validation tool for readers and reviewers (and future maintainers) of the
content for that KA.
A BOK document does not need to be one self-contained, encyclopaedic work. It may achieve depth and
breadth by referring to other works, particularly when the cited works and their references are well
organized and structured.
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
However, the BOK should have integrity in its resultant depth and breadth. A BOK should not simply cite a
comprehensive text which in turn contains numerous sections and topics. The BOK should itself contain the
structure of topics and subtopics, making specific references to specific topic areas in the comprehensive
text. This allows for clean separation of knowledge topics and subtopics and also allows for focused review.
In the event that a BOK is constructed or assembled using many external references to authoritative
knowledge sources, it may be considered a “Guide” to that BOK (e.g. Guide to the Software Engineering Body
[2] [3]
of Knowledge and INCOSE SE Handbook ).
In this case, even though the referenced articles and knowledge content are not written directly by the
developers of the BOK, the developers are still responsible for the integrity and quality of the BOK, including
selection or coverage of topics, and the selection or referencing of appropriate source material. This means
that even the content included via reference should be verified and reviewed. The content of the entire BOK
should be reviewed and validated against the other elements of the certification scheme, including skills and
competencies. In addition, when the BOK incorporates material via external references, special attention
should be given to ongoing maintenance and updates to the external material. Refer to 5.11 for maintenance
considerations.
The material within the BOK and even within each KA should be properly integrated. Each KA should contain
an overview or a summary for each KA. An overview or a summary is especially important when integrating
material from an external source or when blending original information with such externally referenced
material.
Along with an overview of the content (from various sources) contained in a KA, the rationale for the
selection(s) of the externally referenced content should be provided. See also guidance in 5.5 concerning
“overlap between multiple knowledge sources”.
Existing literature review and survey on BOKs in terms of their contents and structure such as “Open BOK
[14]
on Software Engineering Educational Context: A Systematic Literature Review” may help construct and
structure contents of a BOK.
5.4 Professional orientation and style
The BOK (topics or KAs and the knowledge therein) should be selected and described for the purpose of
professional use.
While some BOK may be created for other purposes such as academic purposes, a BOK used in a certification
scheme for software and systems engineering professionals should be oriented towards professional
knowledge.
In the case of knowledge relevant to a professional, not only “theory” but also the practical knowledge
required by a practitioner should be considered. This can include:
— industry, technical and commercial standards;
— practices, methods and techniques;
— tools;
— current quality criteria and evaluation or verification methods;
— currently well-accepted empirical evidence, statistical knowledge related to the domain (various kinds
and aspects).
The BOK should also contain information for each KA which reflects the detailed and precise knowledge
needed by the professional. Information and external references should be suitable for use by professionals.
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
In the case of a BOK for a professional discipline or domain, the BOK should be reviewed by authorities
responsible for professional practice in that discipline. See also guidance in 5.10 concerning review and
validation of the BOK.
NOTE Validation of a BOK by a professional or regulatory body is not equivalent to validation or endorsement of a
certification scheme which utilizes that BOK.
For this reason, certification bodies considering the construction of a new BOK vs the adoption of an existing
BOK may determine that use of a recognized existing BOK may have an important advantage: the existing
BOK may already have achieved recognition and validation from professional bodies or regulatory bodies.
5.5 Separation of topics and orthogonality
Topics for a BOK should be orthogonal – the intention is to have little or no overlap between topics or KAs.
Within the discussion and presentation of each topic and sub topic area, the description should remain
focused and not attempt to covey knowledge contained in other topic areas or sections.
However, the inter-dependencies and relationships between topics should be recognized and treated within
the BOK. For example, a treatment of “systems integration” as a topic may contain an explanation of the
relationship to (along with a reference to) the related topics “interfaces and subsystem/component design”,
“configuration control”, and “testing – integration”.
5.6 Treatment of knowledge and references to other disciplines and other basic
knowledge domains
The objective of a BOK for professionals in software engineering and systems engineering is to present
knowledge within the discipline. As mentioned in 5.4, the BOK should contain or present the knowledge
needed by a professional practicing with that discipline to be fit for use from the professional standpoint.
This presents a challenge to those who are responsible for the production of a BOK and to certification
bodies, because the scope of both should be determined with respect to supporting and related disciplines.
Within a BOK written for the systems and software engineering discipline(s), it is impractical to include all
the knowledge about the supporting disciplines. Further, the knowledge regarding these disciplines is not
unique to or originating within the disciplines of systems and software engineering - they are authoritatively
maintained elsewhere. Therefore, a BOK covering the disciplines of systems and software engineering should:
— enumerate the supporting disciplines;
— refer to existing authoritative BOKs or authoritative references for each supporting discipline;
— summarize within the software engineering or systems engineering BOK the relationship of the
supporting disciplines to various topics and KAs in systems and software engineering;
— use a more detailed explanation (and more specific reference) to a knowledge source in one of the related
disciplines where one is needed within a systems or software engineering topic or KA.
Presentation of knowledge within a supporting or related discipline domain may involve the inclusion of (or
reference to) knowledge from other disciplines, mathematics and sciences.
Concepts, terms and facts from other disciplines should be introduced or referenced in order to convey their
application in software or systems engineering KAs. The terminology and concepts from the other discipline
should be accurately used or referenced within a systems or software engineering BOK, but not covered in depth.
5.7 Objectivity and verifiability
Source knowledge material and references should be written as true factual statements, written objectively
and where possible backed up by supporting references, including origin and authorship of referenced
source materials.
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
Subjective statements, opinions and unsupported or unverified content should be avoided.
5.8 Presentation of practical knowledge versus pure theory
Where a BOK is presenting information or knowledge relevant to professionals, it is possible that the
material is not entirely proven. It may be the case that practical topics or knowledge are presented as current
accepted practice, not as pure knowledge which has been proven beyond dispute. Such caveats should be
annotated to these descriptions.
In such cases where practical knowledge is presented, various approaches or applications of theory may
apply. Different schools of thought may exist and be accepted within the profession. Methods and techniques
may be introduced in industry by professionals, but may not be proven or valid in all contexts. These should
be presented as widely accepted or credible views, not as proven fact.
5.9 Bibliography and referenced source materials
While a BOK may reference external documents and source materials, the referencing should be precise (see
5.3). The complete bibliographic information should be contained within the BOK in order to make it easier
for the reader and reviewer.
The referenced external source materials should also be available to the public.
5.10 Validation of BOK
The BOK for systems and software engineering disciplines should be authoritative and thus should be
validated.
Where possible and especially where BOK topics make use of external reference materials (e.g. texts,
scholarly papers, conference proceedings), such materials should be reviewed and accepted in academic and
professional sense.
Reviews should occur during development. A review:
— should include experts and various stakeholders;
NOTE Stakeholders for a BOK can include academics, professional bodies, employers and industry groups as
well as technical experts and individual professionals.
— may be done on a per KA basis, provided the BOK is well structured and the topics are reasonably
orthogonal;
— of a KA should include the summary text for that KA as well as the detailed content;
— of a KA should include verification of all cited external references, and the rationale for inclusion into
that KA;
— should also be held at the time of BOK / KA integration, in order to:
— check for dependencies, relationships, overlaps or contradictions between KAs;
— check for missing or duplicated content;
— validate the BOK as a whole.
5.11 Maintenance of BOK
The BOK can contain (directly) a great deal of knowledge and factual information which is superseded or
made obsolete. For example, frequently changing knowledge can be related to:
— tools;
— techniques;
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
— empirical evidence or statistical data related to the discipline and practice.
In order to be of value in the long term, the BOK should be modular in design and maintainable in the first
place. In addition, planning and preparation for maintenance (correction or addition of content), updates
and reviews should take place prior to the publication of the BOK. This strategy helps to keep the BOK up to
date on an ongoing basis and is preferable to an ad-hoc or irregular approach to updates.
Maintenance should include provision for feedback and corrections from BOK stakeholders and BOK users
after publication. Following the strategy of planning in advance for maintenance, the published BOK itself
should contain a declaration of BOK maintenance policies, and information which provides instructions for
users regarding the feedback mechanism.
The certification body is responsible for maintaining all elements of a certification scheme. See
ISO/IEC 17024:2012, 8.5 for the relevant requirement.
Consequently, the updates and maintenance of the BOK should be done under controlled steps to ensure
that the changes to the BOK are consistent with changes to the other elements of the certification scheme
(including scope). The certification body should evaluate the impact of any change to the BOK (including KAs
referencing external sources or BOKs which may have changed) upon their operational certification scheme.
The changes to BOK content should be reviewed and approved. Other elements of the certification scheme
(examinations, job review, competency definitions and assessment methods) should be re validated against
the updated BOK prior to implementing a change to the certification scheme as a whole.
The issues to consider with respect to BOK updates and changes include:
— review and approval of the new BOK version;
— planning, scheduling and promotion of the introduction of a new version;
— planning, scheduling and promotion of the retirement of an old BOK version;
— planning and support for any overlap in use of the old and new BOK versions.
6 Recommendations — Description of skills
6.1 Skills are related both to knowledge and competency
When considering and defining skills in the domain of systems engineering and software engineering, the
relationship of each skill to both knowledge and to competency should be examined. Figure 1 depicts this
relationship.
Skills can be related to knowledge in the sense that a skill can represent the application of knowledge.
Skills can also be related to competency, which is the ability to apply knowledge and skills to achieve
intended results.
Thus, if a certification body is considering skills definition, it can be helpful to use as a starting point:
— a BOK, if it already exists; for each KA or topic in the BOK, one may consider: “how is this knowledge
applied?”;
— a set of tasks, or work products as a starting point; for each task or work product, one may consider:
“what skills are involved or required in performing this task or producing this work product?”.
The required skills and their performance levels should be enough to fulfil the competencies required by
a scheme. The underlying BOK should cover the knowledge required to execute the skills at the required
performance levels.
“Generic competencies" and "Other professional competencies" are described in 7.6 and 7.7. The certification
body may define these specific abilities in the Scheme. The certification body may choose to define these
abilities as skills, following the guidance in this clause.
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
6.2 Skills are acquired and developed
Some general (abstract cognitive) skill categories include:
— reasoning;
— analytical skills;
— problem solving;
— innovation.
However, a certification body should identify in the certification scheme those practical skills (in areas such
as systems analysis, software construction, testing) in the professional domain which are more closely
related to specific KAs and competencies as appropriate for the certification scheme.
Skills are not intended only to reflect pure knowledge, but they can be viewed as the successful application
of such knowledge.
For example, while a BOK may contain a KA related to software testing, and may include knowledge of
certain testing standards, testing techniques and testing tools, the practical skills associated with testing
may include:
— ability to identify when a particular standard or test technique is needed;
— ability to write a test conforming to a standard;
— ability to successfully apply or use a tool to implement a test.
6.3 Skills differ from individual (personal) attributes
Personal attributes like honesty, work ethic, cooperative attitude may be identified as part of the
certification scheme and form part of assessment of a candidate. However, while such personal attributes
may be observable, they may be difficult to evaluate consistently and objectively. These personal attributes
are also difficult to relate objectively to software engineering and systems engineering competencies. For
additional discussion of individual personal attributes, refer to 8.1.
6.4 Skills have performance levels
Skills are defined but the performance of a particular skill varies from individual to individual. Performance
levels are defined for a given skill and this relationship is depicted in Figure 1.
When defining and describing an individual skill, levels of performance for that skill should be considered. Since
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it is assumed that a skill can be acquired or developed, it is expected that an individual may gain that skill
incrementally. In other words, the description of a skill can take into account some ability at one performance
level (say at a minimum performance level or nominal performance level), while the description then also
addresses the highest ability, which corresponds to the highest performance level defined for that skill.
6.5 Groups of skills and highly specific skills
Skills can be defined in groups or hierarchies, so that more specific skills can be addressed as part of a group
of skills. This flexibility allows the certification body to add detailed skills of interest to the certification
scheme. However, a certification scheme should contain not only very detailed and specific skills, but also
broad skills and competencies, since the nature of software engineering and systems engineering domains
is broad.
© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
[1]
Existing skill and competency frameworks in software and systems engineer
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