Domain knowledge

Domain knowledge is knowledge of a specific discipline or field in contrast to general (or ___domain-independent) knowledge.^[1] The term is often used in reference to a more general discipline—for example, in describing a software engineer who has general knowledge of computer programming as well as ___domain knowledge about developing programs for a particular industry.^{[citation needed]} People with ___domain knowledge are often regarded as specialists or experts in their field.^[2]

Knowledge capture

In software engineering, ___domain knowledge is knowledge about the environment in which the target system operates, for example, software agents. Domain knowledge usually must be learned from software users in the ___domain (as ___domain specialists/experts), rather than from software developers. It may include user workflows, data pipelines, business policies, configurations and constraints and is crucial in the development of a software application. Expert ___domain knowledge (frequently informal and ill-structured) is transformed in computer programs and active data, for example in a set of rules in knowledge bases, by knowledge engineers.

Communicating between end-users and software developers is often difficult. They must find a common language to communicate in. Developing enough shared vocabulary to communicate can often take a while.

The same knowledge can be included in different ___domain knowledge. Knowledge which may be applicable across a number of domains is called ___domain-independent knowledge, for example logic and mathematics. Operations on ___domain knowledge are performed by metaknowledge.

See also

• Artificial intelligence
• Domain (software engineering)
• Domain engineering
• Domain of discourse
• Ontology (information science)
• Knowledge engineering
• Subject-matter expert

Literature

• Hjørland, B. & Albrechtsen, H. (1995). Toward A New Horizon in Information Science: Domain Analysis. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 1995, 46(6), p. 400–425.

References

1. Bohle Carbonell, Katerina; Stalmeijer, Renée E.; Könings, Karen D.; Segers, Mien; van Merriënboer, Jeroen J. G. (2014-06-01). "How experts deal with novel situations: A review of adaptive expertise" (PDF). Educational Research Review. 12: 14–29. doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2014.03.001. ISSN 1747-938X.
2. Simonsmeier, Bianca A.; Flaig, Maja; Deiglmayr, Anne; Schalk, Lennart; Schneider, Michael (2022-01-02). "Domain-specific prior knowledge and learning: A meta-analysis". Educational Psychologist. 57 (1): 31–54. doi:10.1080/00461520.2021.1939700. ISSN 0046-1520.