> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ovaledge.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ovaledge.com/business-glossary/domains.md).
# Domains
The Business Glossary is designed to capture and document business knowledge through clearly defined terms. It follows a hierarchical structure: Domains at the top level, followed by Categories and Subcategories, enabling organized, scalable management of business terminology.
A domain corresponds to a business process (e.g., financials, HR policies, client relations) or a departmental structure (e.g., sales, accounting, manufacturing), and organizations often use both approaches. Regardless of the structure adopted, OvalEdge recommends creating a dedicated Privacy domain to leverage advanced features, including the Data Classification module and Governed Data Query capabilities.
## Types of Domains
### Primary Domains
Primary Domains provide a structured framework in which the terms created are called Primary Terms. Each data object can be associated with only one Primary Term and automatically inherits the association policies defined for that term.
### Auxiliary Domains
The Auxiliary Domain consists of Auxiliary Terms. These are used in situations where stakeholders from different lines of business and departments have different definitions for a Term. In these situations, auxiliary terms can be used to associate more than one term with a data object, adding additional definitions to the data object.
{% hint style="info" %}
When a primary term is applied to a data object, attempting to assign another primary term will trigger a pop-up notification indicating that the object is already associated with a primary term. This restriction ensures that each data object maintains a single authoritative classification. In contrast, auxiliary terms can be assigned freely, and multiple auxiliary terms may be associated with the same data object without conflict.
{% endhint %}
## Categories
A category is a high-level container for grouping related terms within a specific domain. It functions like a folder that organizes terms around a common theme or purpose. For example, within a finance domain, a category such as "Financial Instruments" might include terms like stocks, bonds, and derivatives.
Each category can include:
* A description explaining its purpose and the types of terms it contains.
* Assigned governance roles (e.g., Owner, Steward, Custodian), which control who can manage and update the terms within the category.
## Subcategories
Subcategories provide a more granular level of organization within a category, allowing terms to be grouped into more specific themes. Continuing with the finance example, within the "Financial Instruments" category, subcategories could include "Equities" and "Fixed Income".
Each subcategory can include:
* A description to clarify its focus and the types of terms it contains.
* Governance roles (e.g., Owner, Steward, Custodian) that allow precise control over term management within the subcategory.
Subcategories help users navigate extensive glossaries by breaking complex categories into manageable, clearly defined sections.
## Setting Up & Managing Domains
To create a new domain within the OvalEdge application:
1. Navigate to Administration > Security from the left-hand panel.
2. In the Security module, click on the Domains tab at the top.
3. In the Domain Security tab, click the plus (+) icon located at the top right corner to create a new domain.
\
Multiple domains can be created within OvalEdge, each serving as a container for organizing a wide range of business glossary terms. Under each domain, you can define categories and subcategories, enabling a hierarchical and logical organization of terms.
In addition to structural organization, each domain supports the configuration of several default governance settings, including:
* Default Classifications
* Default Associations
* Governance Roles
* Default Permissions
* Custom Fields
These settings are inherited by terms created within the domain and subsequently extended to associated data objects. This inheritance ensures consistent governance, robust data security, and effective metadata management across the organization.
### Domain Creation
When users initiate the creation of a new domain, they will be prompted to provide and configure the following details:
* **Domain Name**: A unique and descriptive name that identifies the domain.
* **Domain Description**: A brief explanation of the domain’s purpose or scope.
* **Security and Governance Admins**: Users who will manage the security and governance settings for the domain.
* **Governance Roles**: Assignment of key roles, including:
* Steward
* Custodian
* Owner
* Three additional configurable governance roles allow flexibility to align with organizational structures.
Who can create and manage a Domain?
* Users who hold the Domain Creator role have the authority to create domains.
* Users with Security Administrator or Governance Administrator roles have elevated privileges to configure and manage the structural and governance components of a domain. They can:
* Define categories and subcategories to organize glossary terms.
* Set classifications for data sensitivity or type.
* Assign governance stakeholders (Owners, Stewards, Custodians).
* Establish default associations between terms and data objects.
* Configure user- or role-based permissions to control access to domains and their terms.
* Governance stakeholders, such as Owners, Stewards, and Custodians, can be assigned at various levels within the Business Glossary hierarchy — including domain, category, and subcategory levels. These stakeholders serve as subject-matter experts with in-depth knowledge of relevant business processes. Their key responsibility is to ensure the accuracy, consistency, and quality of glossary terms and their associated metadata. By overseeing term definitions and their governance attributes, these stakeholders help maintain reliable, standardized business vocabulary across the organization.
### Domain Security & Default Permissions
Users with the Security and Governance Administrator role have the authority to assign domain-level permissions across all domains. These permissions can be granted to individual users or entire roles. Once permissions are assigned, users with those roles or with direct access can view and interact with the terms in the domain in the Business Glossary. The extent of actions they can perform depends on their assigned permissions and their license privileges.
When a new user is created in the application, they are assigned a role that governs their access and capabilities. This role includes specific meta permissions—such as Meta-Read and Meta-Write—that control access to metadata-related activities, such as viewing or editing metadata. Additionally, data permissions are assigned, which define the level of access to actual data: No Access, Preview, Read, or Write. Together, these permissions determine how users can interact with both metadata and data, shaping their experience and functionality within the application based on their assigned role.
In this discussion, the primary focus will be on metadata permissions, specifically Meta-Read and Meta-Write. These permissions are essential for ensuring that only authorized individuals can view or modify metadata within a domain.
* **Meta-Read**: Users with the Meta-Read permission can access and view domain terms within the Business Glossary. This permission enables them to review all relevant term information, including descriptions, default associations, associated data objects, term relationships, classifications, and other metadata attributes.
* **Meta-Write**: Users with this permission can view term details and curate, edit, and revise them. They can modify term descriptions, adjust term relationships, add/delete data object associations, edit default associations, and curate the terms within the domain.
#### Default Governance Roles
Governance Roles are crucial in ensuring the quality and consistency of terms and attributes within our Business Glossary. These Governance Roles are subject-matter experts in their respective domains and are responsible for addressing any concerns data users have about terms and their attributes.
OvalEdge has specific default governance roles for each domain - Owner, Steward, Custodian, and Governance 4, 5, and 6 (if configured). These roles are responsible for maintaining the quality and consistency of terms.
Let’s look at default domain properties and how to update them next.
* Domain Security & Default Permissions
* Default Data Association Preferences
* Default Governance Roles
* Default Classifications
* Default Custom Fields
## Manage Domain Properties
### Update Permission
Users can update permissions from the security module under the Domains tab by selecting “Update Permissions” from the nine-dot icon. Permissions allocated at the domain level extend to term-level actions, allowing users to perform actions based on meta permissions, as described above.
{% hint style="info" %}
Users and roles without domain permissions cannot see the domain or its related terms within the Business Glossary.
{% endhint %}
### Delete Role
If roles no longer require domain access, they can be deleted. Deleting a role involves removing the users associated with it from the domain, ensuring that the role no longer has access.
### Update Governance Roles at Domain and Category levels
Assigning governance roles is required when creating a new domain, and these roles can be configured at both the domain and domain-category levels. The default governance roles set at the domain level automatically apply to the terms created within that domain. Additionally, users can modify these governance roles at the term level, ensuring that individuals with the right expertise handle each term appropriately. The advantage is that users with appropriate authority can update governance roles for individual terms without affecting the broader domain configuration.
### Default Data Association Preferences
The Default Associations functionality is crucial in securing and managing data across the organization.
One key aspect of Default Associations is that these settings are inherited by terms created within a domain and extend to the data objects associated with those terms.
Default Associations functionality establishes data object security by applying masking policies, restrictions, and classification functionalities. It enhances the understanding of the data object, data discovery, and standardization by enabling the copying of Titles and Business Descriptions.
These preferences include options such as:
* **Copy Title to Catalog**: Replaces the data object's original title with the associated term's name, simplifying data discovery and standardization.
* **Copy Business Description to Catalog**: Replaces the data object's original business description with that of the associated term. This action enhances users' understanding of the data object by providing enriched context and information.
* **Masking**: Masking policies help protect sensitive information by concealing it from unauthorized users while still allowing authorized access.
* **Restricted**: Restrict access to specific data objects, enhancing overall data security.
* **Copy Steward / Custodian / Owner / Governance Role 4, 5, 6 to Catalog**: It transfers the Governance role to the associated data object. The assigned Governance Role will oversee and maintain the data object's content and quality, and assist data consumers in resolving any issues related to the respective data object.
* **Show Classification in Catalog**: The classifications set at the term level will be applied to the catalog data objects associated with the term and displayed on the respective data object summary pages. This classification system helps categorize and locate data objects based on their classification, i.e., confidentiality or sensitivity.
* **Copy Tag to Catalog**: This option automatically copies tag(s) from a Business Glossary term to its associated objects in the Data Catalog.
* If a term has the same tags as the catalog object, only the unique tags will be copied; duplicates will not be added.
* If a published term is changed to draft, any tags previously copied from it will be removed from the associated catalog object.
* If a published term is deleted, any tags copied from it will be removed from the associated catalog object.
* If tags are added later to a published term, the newly added tags won’t be directly copied to the objects until the term is drafted and published again.
{% hint style="info" %}
* When these settings are made as defaults at the domain level, they automatically apply to all the terms created within that domain. Nonetheless, users can customize these default settings at the term level according to their preferences.
* Even if no default preferences are chosen at the domain level, the term level offers a set of associations that can be selected as needed.
{% endhint %}
### Configure Classifications
Default Classifications allow categorizing data objects based on their sensitivity and significance. This categorization process is essential to ensure confidential information is handled and protected appropriately. Users can set up classifications within a specific domain, aligning them with their organization's requirements.
For example, users can create classifications such as "Sensitive," "Restrictive," "Confidential," "Internal," "Public," and more. This classification system helps organize data objects according to predefined criteria, such as levels of confidentiality, privacy, data sensitivity, and compliance standards.
The default classifications at the domain level automatically apply to all the terms created under that domain and extend to the data objects linked to those terms.
When users classify a term, they essentially classify all the associated data objects, indicating their specific security and handling requirements. This makes it easy for them to understand what each data object is about. For example, they can quickly spot sensitive or restricted data, which helps them make better decisions.
{% hint style="info" %}
If the classifications are not configured at the domain level, they won't be visible at the term level. However, if some classifications are configured but not marked as defaults, they will be visible on the term's detailed page, accompanied by checkboxes. To apply these classifications to data objects, users must manually check the checkboxes at the term or domain levels.
{% endhint %}
### Configuring Categories and Subcategories
Categories can be configured for a particular domain to give users a more in-depth categorization of data or terms. For each category, users can input the description and assign governance roles. When a term request is generated, it will be directed to the category's governance role.
Governance roles configured at the domain level can be cascaded to the hierarchy. If the domain has a category and different governance roles, then the term created within the category will have the governance roles configured at the category level. Suppose the domain has a category, and within that category, we have subcategories with configured governance roles. In that case, the terms created within the subcategories will inherit the subcategory's governance roles. If no governance roles are configured by default, all terms within the domain will inherit the domain's governance roles.
### Domain Page
Users can access detailed information about a domain by clicking the domain name. This action takes the user to the domain summary page, which provides comprehensive information about the domain. The page features a detailed description of the domain's purpose and scope. The Default Association Preferences section highlights crucial information, including which options are enabled or disabled within the domain and the classifications configured for it. Also, a table view is provided at the bottom, allowing users to quickly scan categories, subcategories, descriptions, and governance roles for efficient decision-making.
## Custom Fields on Domain
Custom fields offer a means to include extra term information or details that are not covered by standard term attributes in the Term summary page of the Business Glossary. Users can create custom fields for text, code, numbers, and dates to enhance searchability and the usefulness of data. These custom fields can be configured globally for all domains or specific domains.
When custom fields are created for a specific domain, terms linked to that domain will display the additional fields on their summary pages in the Business Glossary.
No additional fields will be displayed in the absence of global or domain-specific custom fields.
## Viewing Domains
Through the domain page, users can add a domain to the watchlist.
* Adding a Domain to the Watchlist facilitates easy data access for stakeholders and manages notifications about terms and other governance activities within that domain.
Domains can be viewed through Business Glossary Tree View and List View.
**Tree view**: The business glossary's tree view provides a top-down view of the entire organizational term structure. It displays a hierarchical representation in the left panel, showcasing domains, categories, subcategories (if any), and the associated terms within each. Clicking a specific term opens the term details.
**List View**: On the other hand, List View displays terms in a tabular format. This format provides detailed information about terms, allowing users to filter and locate specific terms based on their attributes.
## Link to Business Glossary
A "domain" is a specialized zone in the business world that includes important words and phrases specific to a particular area, such as finance or technology. Now, think of a "business glossary" as a dictionary where users explain and define these terms so everyone in the business can understand them. So, "linking a domain to a business glossary" is like connecting that special zone to our dictionary. This connection makes it easy for everyone in the company to find and understand the correct meanings of the important words in that area, helping everyone speak the same language and work together smoothly.
## Domain Relationship Dashboard
A dedicated Domains Dashboard is designed to visualize relationships among domains and the terms created within them.
For instance, Term 1 from Domain 1 can be sophisticatedly linked to Term 2 from Domain 2 through relationship types such as "is synonym to," "calculates," and more. These cross-domain relationships create a web of interconnected links.
In the Domains Dashboard, users can see different domains represented as circles. These circles are connected by dotted lines, showing how the domains are related. The size of each circle indicates how important the domain is, with bigger circles indicating more important domains. When users hover over a domain or a dotted line, they can see more details about that domain or the connection between domains. This includes categories, subcategories, and specific relationships between domains.
Users can also zoom in and out of the diagram, search for specific domains, or filter the information to focus on their interests. This makes it easy to explore and understand the relationships between different domains.
## Domain-Domain Relationship Diagram
The domain relationship dashboard helps users visualize how multiple domains within the ecosystem are related. The domain-domain relationship diagram helps users understand how domains relate to one another. Users can hover over the dotted line between two domains and, in the stats popup, see counts of categories, subcategories, and terms related to other terms in the domain; the relationship types involved; and counts for each relationship type. To visualize this relationship, users can click the dotted line between the two domains to open the domain-domain relationship diagram. This diagram shows the terms between the two domains and their relationships. Categories and subcategories to which the term belongs are shown to understand the hierarchy of the term. When the user hovers over the term, they can see the following.
1. The quick view and redirect options allow the user to view the term and navigate to a new page.
2. The entire path gets highlighted. This helps the user understand the relationship type the term holds with the related term. It also allows the user to backtrack through the term's hierarchy and understand which category or subcategory it belongs to.
3. If the term name is too long, it will be truncated, and the entire name will be shown in the tooltip.
The user can view internal relationships within terms from the same domain. To do so, the user can check the “Display Term(s) Internal Relationship” checkbox and view the internal relationships.
The user can filter the diagram by Relationship type and Term Name. The default zoom-in/zoom-out functionality helps the user view the diagram in full-screen mode.
## System Settings on Domains
| Key | Description |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| ordertyperetrieve.default.classification |
To view data object columns for the specified Term- Classification.
Parameters:
The default value is empty.
Enter the classification names in the field
provided.
|
| oef.domain.category |
Specify the format for logs that contain
personally identifiable information (PII).
Parameters:
The default value is set to domain. Category to
include information about the domain and
category in the log entry.
Enter the value in the field provided.
|
|
show\.draft.terms.to.viewers
|
This setting enables a toggle button in the
Business Glossary to toggle and display both Draft / Published terms in the Tree View and List