Components Category
Overview
The Components category represents the organizational and domain-driven design structure of your business architecture. It follows a hierarchical model from high-level business organization down to specific bounded contexts.
Hierarchy
graph TD
Company[Company
Top-level organization] --> Domain[Domain
Business capability area]
Domain --> Subdomain[Subdomain
Specific business area]
Subdomain --> Context[Context
Bounded context]
style Company fill:#e1f5ff
style Domain fill:#fff4e1
style Subdomain fill:#ffe1f5
style Context fill:#e1ffe1
Element Types
1. Company
- Purpose: Represents the top-level organization or enterprise
- Children: Domains
- Attributes: Name, description, strategic goals
- 📖 Detailed Documentation →
2. Domain
- Purpose: Represents a major business capability or area (e.g., Sales, Logistics, Finance)
- Parent: Company
- Children: Subdomains
- Attributes: Name, description, domain type
- 📖 Detailed Documentation →
3. Subdomain
- Purpose: Represents a specific area within a domain (e.g., Order Management, Inventory, Billing)
- Parent: Domain
- Children: Contexts
- Types: Core, Supporting, Generic
- Attributes: Name, description, subdomain type
- 📖 Detailed Documentation →
4. Context
- Purpose: Represents a bounded context in Domain-Driven Design - a clear boundary within which a domain model is defined
- Parent: Subdomain
- Children: None (in this view - actors are managed separately)
- Attributes: Name, description
- 📖 Detailed Documentation →
Connections to Other Categories
→ Systems
Contexts are implemented by Systems and Modules. A context defines the business boundary, while systems provide the technical implementation.
📖 Learn more: Systems Category →
→ Processes
Contexts participate in business Processes. Processes orchestrate activities across multiple contexts.
📖 Learn more: Processes Category →
→ Actors
Actors (managed in the separate Actors category) can be associated with contexts to represent roles, teams, or external parties that interact with the context.
📖 Learn more: Actors Category →
Usage Guidelines
- Start at the top: Create your Company first
- Identify domains: Break down your business into major capability areas
- Define subdomains: For each domain, identify specific business areas
- Establish contexts: Within subdomains, define clear bounded contexts with well-defined responsibilities
Strategic Design Patterns
- Core Subdomains: Your competitive advantage - invest heavily
- Supporting Subdomains: Necessary but not differentiating
- Generic Subdomains: Common solutions that could be outsourced or bought