Cep Ubad Abdullah, Sherly Rahmawati, Wayne Cotton, Louisa R. Peralta
Professional competency frameworks are important for aligning educational outcomes with workforce needs. While multiple frameworks exist across sectors, the underlying research-informed design principles guiding their development remain fragmented. This systematic review synthesises methodological approaches and proposes research-informed design principles used in developing professional competency frameworks across diverse professions, identifying common patterns and informing future framework design. A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 and SWiM guidelines. Searches across major academic databases yielded 3656 records. After screening, 47 studies met inclusion criteria. Data extraction focused on methodological processes and development activities. Thematic analysis was used to generate a set of design principles: (1) Foundational Inquiry and Evidence Gathering; (2) Consensus-Building and Collaborative Validation; and (3) Framework Development and Iterative Refinement. The development of competency frameworks is inherently cyclical, interdisciplinary, and iterative, blending empirical inquiry with collaborative validation. The identified research-informed design principles offer a transferable blueprint applicable across sectors, from healthcare to education and other industries. Thus, it is strongly recommended that future studies use these initial research-informed design principles to inform competency development. The systematic review has been registered with Open Science Framework (OSF). © 2026 by the authors.
School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, 2006, NSW, Australia; Tourism Education, Faculty of Social Sciences Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, 40154, Indonesia; Technical and Vocational Education, School of Postgraduate Studies, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, 40154, Indonesia
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