Like all organic systems, industry professionals evolve within their context. So how exactly does a professional body of knowledge rise, stabilize, and adapt over time?
The evolution of professional bodies of knowledge may occur in many ways. From an association executive’s perspective, here’s how I have watched this process play out in the professions I have served over the years:
1) Foundation – Academicians and researchers regularly update their intellectual discipline (using scientific methodology) thereby creating a foundation for a field of professions.
2) Application -- Professionals in the field practice using these academic principles (often integrating other principles from related academic fields). These practitioners experiment and compete with each other, and new best practices emerge through the application of new technologies, products, processes and procedures.
3) Development – Similarly to the peer-review process which occurs in the academic world in step one,...