Work Management Body of Knowledge (WMBOK™)
Published by the Work Management Institute (WMI)
What is the Work Management Body of Knowledge?
The Work Management Body of Knowledge (WMBOK™) is the authoritative collection of concepts, principles, frameworks, practices, and terminology that define the discipline of Work Management.
Developed and maintained by the Work Management Institute (WMI), the WMBOK™ establishes a shared foundation for how modern organizations clarify, coordinate, and complete work across teams, functions, and technologies.
It serves as the conceptual backbone for Work Management as a professional discipline—distinct from project management, operations management, and tool-specific methodologies.
Why a Body of Knowledge for Work Management?
Work has fundamentally changed.
Most modern work is:
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Continuous rather than project-bound
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Cross-functional rather than siloed
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Knowledge-driven rather than task-driven
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Increasingly augmented by AI and intelligent systems
Yet organizations still rely on fragmented models—projects, tools, workflows, and best practices—without a unifying discipline to connect them.
The WMBOK™ exists to address this gap by providing:
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A coherent mental model for how work actually functions
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A shared language across roles, teams, and tools
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A discipline-level foundation that transcends any single methodology or platform
What the WMBOK™ Covers
The WMBOK™ is organized into high-level knowledge domains that collectively define Work Management as a discipline. These domains evolve over time, but include areas such as:
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Foundations of Work Management
Core definitions, scope, and principles of the discipline -
Work Typologies and Flow
How different types of work behave, move, and interact -
Coordination and Collaboration Systems
The structures that enable alignment across people, processes, and tools -
Visibility, Alignment, and Decision-Making
Making work understandable, navigable, and actionable -
Work Intelligence and AI Collaboration
Human–AI collaboration in clarifying, coordinating, and completing work -
Measurement, Outcomes, and Value
Understanding progress, effectiveness, and impact beyond activity -
Humanity, Ethics, and Sustainable Work
Designing work systems that respect people, cognition, and well-being
The WMBOK™ defines what belongs to Work Management, not how a specific organization must implement it.
Relationship to WMI Certifications
The WMBOK™ serves as the foundational reference for all certifications offered by the Work Management Institute.
This includes, but is not limited to:
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Certified Associate in Work Management (CAWM™)
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Advanced and role-based Work Management credentials
Certification programs assess applied understanding of Work Management principles as defined within the WMBOK™, rather than adherence to a specific tool, methodology, or vendor framework.
A Living Body of Knowledge
The WMBOK™ is a living body of knowledge.
It is:
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Continuously refined as work evolves
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Informed by research, practice, and real-world application
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Updated to reflect emerging patterns, technologies, and organizational realities
The Work Management Institute serves as the long-term steward of the WMBOK™, ensuring its relevance, integrity, and independence.
Current Status
The Work Management Body of Knowledge is currently in active development.
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Foundational frameworks and principles are publicly available
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Executive summaries and reference materials are released incrementally
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Formal editions align with certification milestones
Future versions of the WMBOK™ will be versioned, cited, and maintained as the discipline matures.
About the Work Management Institute
The Work Management Institute (WMI) is the world’s first institute dedicated exclusively to advancing the discipline of Work Management.
WMI exists to:
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Define the discipline
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Curate its body of knowledge
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Establish professional standards
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Support practitioners navigating modern work
WMBOK™ and Work Management Institute™ are trademarks of the Work Management Institute.