ISO IEC 24773-2-2024 PDF

Full title and description

ISO/IEC 24773-2:2024 — Software and systems engineering — Certification of software and systems engineering professionals — Part 2: Guidance regarding description of knowledge, skills, and competencies contained in schemes. The document provides guidance for certification or qualification bodies on how to describe the knowledge, skills and competence elements in certification schemes for software and systems engineering professionals.

Abstract

This part of the ISO/IEC 24773 series contains guidance intended for certification and qualification bodies regarding the description of knowledge, skill and competence within their particular schemes, specifically where those schemes are based on ISO/IEC 24773-1.

General information

• Status: Published.
• Publication date: 16 May 2024 (Edition 1, 2024-05).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO) — published as an ISO/IEC joint standard under ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7.
• ICS / categories: 35.080 (Software).
• Edition / version: Edition 1 (2024).
• Number of pages: 21 pages.

Scope

The standard offers practical guidance for the description and formulation of knowledge, skills and competencies (KSC) within certification schemes for software and systems engineering professionals. It is intended to be used by certification or qualification bodies when they define or document the KSC elements of a scheme and is explicitly based on the general requirements set out in ISO/IEC 24773-1. The guidance helps align scheme content with an agreed reference (bodies of knowledge, competency models) so that certification criteria are clear, comparable and suitable for accreditation.

Key topics and requirements

• Guidance on describing and structuring knowledge, skills and competence (KSC) items for inclusion in certification schemes.
• Advice on mapping KSC elements to reference bodies of knowledge and to the general requirements in ISO/IEC 24773-1.
• Recommendations to support consistent scheme documentation that facilitates comparability and accreditation (used in conjunction with ISO/IEC 17024 principles for certifying persons).
• Examples and explanatory notes to help scheme owners write outcome-focused competence descriptions suitable for assessment and decision-making.
• Relationship and alignment guidance across the ISO/IEC 24773 multipart series (links to domain-specific parts such as systems engineering and software engineering).

Typical use and users

Used by certification scheme developers, accreditation bodies, professional societies, employers developing internal credentialing, and training organisations that need to document or align competency frameworks and exam/assessment requirements for software and systems engineering roles. The guidance is helpful when creating new schemes or when revising existing schemes to meet international comparability and accreditation expectations.

Related standards

Key related standards include: ISO/IEC 24773-1:2019 (Part 1 — General requirements for certification schemes in this series), ISO/IEC 24773-3:2021 (Systems engineering domain guidance), ISO/IEC 24773-4:2023 (Software engineering domain guidance), and ISO/IEC 17024 (requirements and principles for bodies certifying persons). These documents together form the normative and domain-specific context for designing and operating credible certification schemes for software and systems engineering professionals.

Keywords

Certification, certification scheme, competence, competencies, knowledge, skills, KSC, software engineering, systems engineering, ISO/IEC 24773 series, ISO/IEC 17024, professional certification, accreditation.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO/IEC 24773-2:2024 is Part 2 of the multipart ISO/IEC 24773 series; it provides guidance on how certification schemes should describe the knowledge, skills and competencies that define the target professionals for certification.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers practical guidance for formulation, structuring and documentation of KSC elements within certification schemes (how to describe what candidates must know and be able to do), including mapping to reference bodies of knowledge and alignment with the general requirements in ISO/IEC 24773-1.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Certification/qualification bodies, scheme developers, accreditation assessors, professional associations, training providers and employers developing or reviewing certification criteria for software and systems engineering roles.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: Current—ISO/IEC 24773-2 was published on 16 May 2024 (Edition 1) and is the current published guidance for KSC descriptions within the ISO/IEC 24773 series.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is Part 2 of the ISO/IEC 24773 series. The series includes Part 1 (general requirements, 2019), Part 3 (systems engineering, 2021) and Part 4 (software engineering, 2023), among related deliverables developed under ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Certification, competence, knowledge, skills, KSC, certification scheme, accreditation, software engineering, systems engineering, ISO/IEC 24773.