Understanding Domains
Learn how governance domains organize policies, statements, and library content in Dictiva, and how to select the right domains during onboarding and beyond.
What Are Domains?
Governance domains are thematic categories that organize your governance program. Each domain covers a distinct area of organizational governance, from Information Security to Environmental & Sustainability.
Domains serve three purposes in Dictiva:
- Organization: Statements, library content, and glossary terms are grouped by domain
- Content gating: Your plan tier and domain selections determine which library content is accessible
- Maturity tracking: You can assess and track governance maturity per domain
The 15 Domains
| Domain | Description | Example Statements |
|---|---|---|
| Data Governance | Data quality, ownership, lineage, stewardship | "Each data asset must have a designated data owner" |
| Information Security | Access control, encryption, incident response | "All systems must enforce MFA for administrative access" |
| Privacy & Data Protection | Consent, data subject rights, transfers | "Data subject access requests must be fulfilled within 30 days" |
| Risk Management | Assessment, treatment, monitoring | "Risk assessments must be conducted annually" |
| Business Continuity | Backup, DR, availability | "Critical systems must have RPO ≤ 4 hours" |
| IT Operations | Change mgmt, monitoring, capacity | "All production changes must follow the change management process" |
| Human Resources | Hiring, training, acceptable use | "Background checks must be completed before start date" |
| Legal & Compliance | Contracts, reporting, retention | "Regulatory filings must be submitted by statutory deadlines" |
| Financial Controls | Authorization, reconciliation | "Expenditures over $10,000 require dual approval" |
| Vendor Management | Due diligence, contracts, monitoring | "Critical vendors must complete annual security assessments" |
| Environmental & Sustainability | ESG, carbon, waste | "Carbon emissions must be reported annually" |
| Quality Management | Process standards, improvement | "Nonconformities must be documented within 24 hours" |
| Ethics & Conduct | Code of conduct, whistleblowing | "All employees must complete annual ethics training" |
| Physical Security | Facility access, visitors, assets | "Visitor access must be logged and escorted" |
| AI & Emerging Technology | Model governance, bias, transparency | "AI model outputs must include confidence scores" |
Selecting Domains
During onboarding, you select the domains relevant to your organization. This selection:
- Filters library content: You only see statements in your selected domains
- Organizes your workspace: Domain filter pills let you quickly navigate content
- Scales with your program: Add more domains as your governance program matures
Recommended Starting Points
| Organization Type | Recommended Domains |
|---|---|
| SaaS startup | Information Security, Privacy, Risk Management, IT Operations |
| Fintech | Information Security, Financial Controls, Risk Management, Legal & Compliance |
| Healthcare | Privacy, Information Security, Risk Management, Quality Management |
| Manufacturing | Quality Management, Environmental, Physical Security, IT Operations |
| Any organization | Ethics & Conduct (universal), Human Resources (universal) |
Changing Domain Selections
Navigate to Settings > Domains to add or remove domains at any time. Adding a domain immediately unlocks library content in that area. Removing a domain hides library content but doesn't delete any statements you've already adopted.
Domain Onboarding
When you select a new domain, Dictiva provides an onboarding flow that helps you understand:
- What the domain covers
- Key governance concepts in that area
- Recommended library collections to adopt
- Relevant regulations and frameworks