- 7 minutes to read

Add or manage Domain

Empower your organization with clear accountability and process visibility by creating and managing Domains in Nodinite. This guide shows you how to map organizational boundaries, associate services with departments, and create reusable domain structures that bring clarity to your business process models.

✅ Map organizational structure to integration processes
✅ Create reusable domains across multiple BPMs
✅ Associate services with departments for clear accountability
✅ Document ownership with custom metadata and fields
✅ Deliver instant clarity on who owns what in your processes

This guide teaches how to add or manage a Domain.

Tutorial overview

Use the following table as your to-do list for managing Domains. Stay organized and ensure every domain is complete, well-documented, and ready to use across your Business Process Models.

# Topic
1. Add or Manage Domain
2. Name and Describe the Domain
3. Associate Services
4. Enrich with Custom Metadata
5. Manage Custom Fields
6. Use in BPMs

Step 1: Add or Manage Domain

Click the Add/New button to create a new Domain from the Domain Overview page in the Repository menu.
Add New Domain Button
Click the 'Add Domain' button to create a new Domain.

Step 2: Name and Describe the Domain

Give your Domain a clear, descriptive name that represents an organizational boundary—a department, business unit, team, or external partner. The name appears in BPM swimlanes and throughout Nodinite.
Name and Description
Enter the Domain name and optional description.

Mandatory fields

  • Name: Every Domain must have a unique, descriptive name. Examples:
    • Departments: "Sales Department," "Finance Department," "Logistics Department," "IT Operations"
    • Business Units: "North America Region," "EMEA Division," "Retail Operations"
    • Technology Domains: "Cloud Services," "On-Premise Systems," "Legacy Applications"
    • External Partners: "Payment Provider," "Shipping Carrier," "Third-Party API"

Optional fields

  • Description – Provide a clear summary of the domain's scope, responsibilities, and which teams or systems it represents. This helps users understand organizational boundaries and accountability.
  • Web Site – Add a link to organizational documentation, team wiki, contact directory, or department page for additional context.

Tip

Use consistent naming conventions across domains. For example: "[Department Name] Department" or "[Team Name] Team" makes it easy to understand organizational structure at a glance.

Step 3: Associate Services

Connect Services to your Domain to show which integration capabilities execute within this organizational boundary. This association provides both business and technical context in your BPMs.
Associate Services
Click the Edit button to manage which Services belong to this Domain.

How to associate services

  1. Click Edit in the Services section
  2. Select one or more Services from the available list
  3. Use the Filter to quickly find services
  4. Click Add to associate selected services
  5. Remove services as needed to reflect organizational changes

Service association strategy

  • Ownership alignment – Associate services with the department or team that owns or operates them
  • Business responsibility – Link services to the organizational unit accountable for their business outcomes
  • Multiple domains – A service can belong to multiple domains if responsibilities are shared
  • Clear boundaries – Keep domain assignments simple and intuitive for business stakeholders

Note

Services associated with a Domain will appear in BPM swimlanes when that Domain is used. This creates a visual connection between organizational structure and technical capabilities.

Step 4: Enrich with Custom Metadata

As part of the Repository Model, you can add Custom Metadata to your Domain for enhanced governance, documentation, and organizational context.
Custom Metadata
Add Custom Metadata to capture business-critical information about the Domain.

Custom Metadata enables you to:

  • Capture ownership – Assign domain owners, managers, or responsible teams with contact information
  • Document SLAs – Record service-level agreements, response times, and performance expectations for the domain
  • Track location – Specify physical or cloud location, data center, region, or office
  • Define escalation – Document escalation procedures, on-call contacts, or support channels
  • Link resources – Reference organizational charts, team directories, or department documentation
  • Cost center – Track budget allocation, cost center codes, or financial accountability

Tip

Custom Metadata on Domains travels with the Domain across all BPMs—ensuring consistent organizational documentation wherever the Domain is used.

Step 5: Manage Custom Fields

As part of the Repository Model, you can manage Custom Fields to add flexible, unstructured documentation to your Domain.
Custom Fields
Example of Custom Fields for a Domain.

Click the Edit button to manage Custom Fields. You can Add, Remove, and update values for the available Custom Fields.
Manage Custom Fields
Example modal showing how to manage Custom Fields for a Domain.

Note

We recommend using Custom Metadata for even greater flexibility, advanced querying, and better integration with reporting.

Step 6: Use in BPMs

Once created, your Domain can be reused across multiple Business Process Models as horizontal swimlanes. This ensures consistent organizational representation and reduces maintenance overhead.
Domain in BPM
Example: Domain used as a swimlane in a Business Process Model.

Using Domains in BPMs

  1. Open the BPM Designer for a new or existing BPM
  2. Click Add Domain to add a swimlane
  3. Select your Domain from the dropdown
  4. The Domain appears as a horizontal row with its associated Services
  5. Repeat for additional domains to build the complete organizational process view

Benefits of reusable Domains

  • Consistency – "Sales Department" means the same thing in every BPM across your organization
  • Efficiency – Update domain metadata once, and changes apply everywhere the domain is used
  • Clarity – Business users instantly understand organizational boundaries and accountability
  • Scalability – Add new BPMs quickly by reusing existing organizational structure

Tip

Start by defining your core organizational domains once. Then build as many BPMs as needed, reusing domains for consistency and speed.

Where Domains Appear

Once created, your Domains become organizational building blocks accessible throughout Nodinite:

Business Process Models (BPMs)

Domains appear as horizontal swimlanes in BPM diagrams, making organizational structure and accountability crystal clear.

Monitor Views

Filter and group Resources by Domain in Monitor Views to provide department-specific operational dashboards for each team.

Integration Landscape

View which Domains participate in each Integration workflow in the Integration Landscape, understanding organizational involvement at a glance.

Log Views

Group and filter logged events by Domain in Log Views to analyze departmental performance, troubleshoot organizational handoffs, and identify bottlenecks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change a Domain name after it's created?

Yes! You can safely change a Domain name at any time. The change will be reflected everywhere the Domain is used—in all BPMs, Monitor Views, and Log Views.

Can a Service belong to multiple Domains?

Yes! Services can be associated with multiple Domains if responsibilities are shared across departments or if a service participates in processes across organizational boundaries.

What happens if I delete a Domain?

From the Domain Overview, you can delete a Domain using the Actions menu. Deleted Domains can be restored later by enabling "Show deleted Domains" and selecting Restore. If a deleted Domain is used in a BPM, that swimlane will show as missing until the Domain is restored.

Do I need to create Domains before creating BPMs?

No! You can create Domains and BPMs in any order. Create BPMs first with inline domain creation, or define all your organizational domains upfront and then build BPMs. Nodinite supports both approaches.

How do Domains differ from Applications and Categories?

Domains are business/organizational focused, while Applications and Categories are operationally focused. All three can be used together for comprehensive visibility.

Can I export and import Domains?

Yes! Use the Export function from the Actions menu to export Domains individually or in bulk. This opens the Nodinite Import/Export wizard, allowing you to back up domains or move them between environments.

Next Step

Domain Overview
Add or manage BPM
Add or manage Service

Business Process Model (BPM)
Services
Resources
Custom Metadata
Custom Fields
Monitor Views
Repository Model