DMBOK

DMBOK, or the Data Management Body of Knowledge, is a comprehensive guide to data management published by DAMA International. It describes the practices, governance structures, roles, and competencies considered essential for treating data as a strategic organizational asset. The book provides a framework for planning, implementing, and assessing data management programs.

The guide divides data management into knowledge areas that cover the end-to-end data lifecycle. These areas typically include Data Governance; Data Architecture; Data Modeling and Design; Data Storage and Operations; Data Security; Data Integration and Interoperability; Documents and Content Management; Reference and Master Data; Metadata Management; Data Quality; and Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence. Each area outlines its scope, key processes, required capabilities, and how it interacts with other areas.

DMBOK is used by organizations to establish data management capabilities, design data strategies, set standards, and guide implementation projects. It also underpins professional certification; the Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) credential is aligned with the DMBOK knowledge areas.

The guide was first published in 2009; a major revision, commonly referred to as DMBOK2, followed in 2017, with subsequent updates kept to reflect evolving data management practices.