Grouping domains in Performance Analytics domain configurations

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Grouping domains in Performance Analytics domain configurations

    Performance Analytics domain configurations enable ServiceNow customers to create reusable domain groupings rather than configuring domains individually per user. These configurations allow you to select and organize domains visible to user groups, define hierarchical relationships, and aggregate scores across multiple domains. This feature requires thePerformance Analytics – Domain Separation Supportplugin.

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    Domain configurations are linked to data collection jobs and dashboards to provide relevant Performance Analytics scores while maintaining indicators and related records in the global domain. The domain context for data collection jobs is always determined by the Run as user.

    Key Features

    • Reusable domain groupings: Define groups of domains for shared visibility and score aggregation.
    • Hierarchical relationships: Configure parent-child domain hierarchies to roll up scores.
    • Flexible score collection and aggregation: Options to collect scores from individual child domains, roll up scores to parent domains, and aggregate scores into separate domains.
    • Run as user domain context: The Run as user’s domain visibility controls data collection scope, especially important when collecting scores from process tables or database views.
    • Domain Configuration record: Managed within the padomainconfigurations table added by the plugin.
    • Integration with data collection jobs and dashboards: Domain configurations can be associated with collection jobs to automate score gathering and with dashboards to enable domain-specific score viewing via domain pickers.
    • Update sets support: Transfer domain configurations between instances using update sets, including aggregation domains if aggregation is enabled.

    Practical Use and Configuration

    To implement domain grouping in Performance Analytics:

    • Create a domain configuration to specify which domains to include and how to handle score collection and aggregation.
    • Assign the domain configuration to relevant data collection jobs to collect indicator scores across the selected domains.
    • Link domain configurations to dashboards to enable users to filter and view scores by domain.

    When collecting scores from data tables like Incident, use a global domain administrator as the Run as user to ensure full visibility. For process domains, assign a Run as user with explicit access to the relevant domains to overcome visibility limitations.

    Use aggregation options to control whether and how child domain scores roll up into parent domain scores and whether an aggregate score is stored in a separate domain, providing flexibility for your reporting structure.

    Why This Matters

    This capability streamlines Performance Analytics administration in multi-domain environments by enabling centralized configuration, consistent score aggregation, and flexible reporting. It ensures that Performance Analytics data collection respects domain visibility and separation policies while providing comprehensive insights across domain hierarchies.

    Instead of configuring Performance Analytics for the domains of a specific user, create a reusable domain configuration. Select domains that are visible to a group of users, or filter domains directly. Domain configurations let you define hierarchical relationships and aggregate scores across multiple domains.

    Note:
    Performance Analytics domain configurations are enabled with the Performance Analytics – Domain Separation Support plugin. For more information about plugins, see Activate a Plugin.

    Associate these domain configurations with specific data collection jobs and dashboards to provide relevant scores to users. At the same time, maintain your Performance Analytics records, such as indicators, breakdowns, and their sources, in the global domain.

    Important:
    Regardless of whether a domain configuration is used, the Run as user always determines the domain context of where the data collection Job runs.

    Only Performance Analytics administrators with access to all the domains in a configuration can edit a data collection job that has a domain configuration applied to it.

    Required approach

    Only the Global approach to Performance Analytics with domain separation supports domain configurations. For more information, see Approaches to Performance Analytics with domain separation.

    Data tables, process tables, and Run as user

    The Run as user always determines the domain context of where the data collection Job runs. If you are collecting scores only on data tables such as Incident [incident], set an administrator from the global domain as the Run as user. This user, and the data collector running under them, has full visibility of all data table records.

    A different approach is needed if you are collecting scores on a process domain. It is common practice to define process records such as business rules and SLAs on a process domain. In this case, a Run as user who is a global administrator has visibility only to global domain records of these tables. This limitation also impacts scores collected through database views, for example if a join is made to an SLA table like contract_sla. In such cases, set a user with explicit visibility into the relevant process domains as the Run as user.

    Collection, roll-up, and aggregation options

    The Domain Configuration record provides flexibility in the way domain records contribute to scores. Prior to the availability of the Domain Support plugin, records in child domains would “roll up” and contribute to the score of a parent domain. The Domain Support plugin provides additional options for how records in child domains should be handled:

    • Select whether to collect scores from individual child domains.
    • Select whether to roll up scores from child domains into the parent domain score. You can roll up child domain scores with or without also collecting the individual scores.
    • If you roll scores from child domains up to the parent domain, select whether to roll up all child domains or only the ones that the domain configuration explicitly includes.
    • Select whether to sum all collected individual domain scores into an aggregate score. This score is stored in a separate domain.

    The following table shows the scores that are collected for different configurations with a parent domain and three child customer domains. The table also shows aggregate values.

    Table 1. Example of domain configurations for a single parent domain with three children
    Configuration Parent Domain: MSP
    Child domains: Customers MSP contains customers
    A B C MSP Customers Aggregate
    Data
    New incident records 30 100 50 20 0 -
    Results
    No aggregate options - - - 20 - -
    No aggregate options + Aggregate - - - 20 - 20
    Collect Children 30 100 50 20 0 -
    Collect children + Aggregate 30 100 50 20 0 200
    Collect Children + Roll up only selected domains (A and C) 30 100 50 100 80 -
    Collect children + Roll up only selected domains (A and C) + Aggregate 30 100 50 100 80 200
    Collect Children + Roll up all child domains 30 100 50 200 180 -
    Collect Children + Roll up all child domains + Aggregate 30 100 50 200 180 380
    Roll up only selected domains (A and C) - - - 100 - -
    Roll up only selected domains (A and C) + Aggregate - - - 100 - 100
    Roll up all child domains - - - 200 - -
    Roll up all child domains + Aggregate - - - 200 - 200

    Domain configuration records

    The Performance Analytics – Domain Separation Support plugin adds the Domain Configurations [pa_domain_configurations] table to your instance. The details of each domain configuration are stored in one of these records.

    Transferring records between instances

    Use update sets to transfer domain configurations between instances. If the domain configuration has Collect aggregate enabled, also transfer the aggregation domain separately. For more information, see Transfer domain configuration with score aggregation.