Library Adoption
Understand how library adoption works in Dictiva — copy independence, version tracking, divergence detection, and what the Library Origin panel tells you.
How Adoption Works
When you adopt a library statement, Dictiva creates an independent copy in your workspace. That copy is yours to own — you can edit it, change its lifecycle state, add it to assemblies, and customize it for your organisation without any restrictions.
Two things are deliberately not possible once you adopt:
- Edits do not flow back to the library. Your changes stay in your workspace.
- Library updates do not override your copy. If the Dictiva team publishes a new version of a library statement, your copy is unaffected.
This design gives your governance program stability. A library update that rewords a requirement will not silently change a statement that your team has already reviewed and published.
The Divergence Flag
When you first adopt a statement, your copy matches the library version exactly. Dictiva tracks this alignment and marks the statement as not diverged.
The moment you edit the adopted copy — changing the title, body, modality, or risk tier — Dictiva records a diverged state and timestamps when that first edit occurred. The statement is now considered your own variant of the original.
Divergence is informational, not restrictive. A diverged statement is perfectly valid. The flag simply tells you that your copy has drifted from the library original, which can be useful when:
- You want to know whether your statement reflects the latest library thinking or your own customisations
- An auditor asks whether you are using a standard template or a custom requirement
- You are reviewing your governance program and want to identify which statements have been tailored
The Library Origin Panel
Every adopted statement has a Library Origin section at the bottom of its detail page. This panel shows:
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Origin | The library statement this copy was adopted from, linked to the library for reference |
| Version | The library version that was current at the time of adoption |
| Collection | The curated collection the library statement belongs to |
| Maturity | The maturity level of the library original (Foundational, Walk, Run, or Fly) |
| Adopted | When the adoption was created |
| Diverged | When the first edit was made to your copy (only shown if diverged) |
Maturity Levels
Library statements are tagged with four maturity levels that reflect how demanding the requirement is:
| Level | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Foundational | Baseline requirements suitable for programmes just starting out |
| Walk | Intermediate requirements for developing programmes |
| Run | Advanced requirements for mature, well-resourced programmes |
| Fly | Leading-edge requirements for highly mature organisations |
When you adopt a statement, you inherit its original maturity tag. You can change this after adoption to reflect your own assessment.
Adopting from the Library
- Navigate to Library in the sidebar
- Browse or search for statements
- Click a statement to preview its full text, domain, and regulatory mappings
- Click Adopt — a copy is created in your workspace immediately
You can only adopt statements from domains included in your plan. Enterprise tenants have access to all 32 domains. Community tenants can preview the library without adopting.