Refers to models of possible structural and functional relationships between a set of usually four components: data, information, knowledge, and wisdom.
Not all versions of the DIKW-type models include all four components — earlier ones exclude data, later ones exclude or downplay wisdom, and several include additional components such as “understanding” or “enlightenment” after the wisdom component.
In addition, DIKW-type models are no longer always presented as pyramids, instead also as a chart or framework (e.g., by Zeleny), as flow diagrams (e.g., by Liew, and by Chisholm et al.), and sometimes as a continuum (e.g., by Choo et al.).
Alleged DIKW adaptation within the U.S. Dept. Of Defense.