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