User roles
User roles group permissions and assign responsibility to users within a Lowgile application.
What a role is
Section titled “What a role is”A role is a named set of permissions assigned to users.
It is used to:
- Control access to features and data,
- Determine who can perform actions, and
- Define who participates in workflows.
A role:
- Groups related permissions,
- Is assigned to one or more users, and
- Controls access to screens, actions, and data.
Roles simplify permission management by allowing you to assign predefined capabilities instead of configuring access for each user individually.
Roles versus permissions
Section titled “Roles versus permissions”Roles and permissions serve different purposes:
- Permissions (access control) define what is allowed
- Roles assign those permissions to users
A single permission set can be reused across multiple roles.
For example:
- An access control configuration may allow creating and editing purchase requests.
- This same configuration can be assigned to both a Requester role and an Admin role.
Insight
Define permissions once, then reuse them across roles to keep access control consistent and maintainable.
Roles versus users
Section titled “Roles versus users”Roles define access and responsibility, while users represent individual people in the system.
- A user is a specific individual who logs in and performs actions.
- A role defines what that user is allowed to do.
A single user can be assigned one or more roles depending on their responsibilities.
How roles are used
Section titled “How roles are used”Roles connect users to both permissions and processes.
1. Access control
Section titled “1. Access control”Roles determine which permissions apply to a user.
This controls:
- Which screens a user can access,
- Which actions they can perform, and
- Which data they can view or modify.
2. Workflows
Section titled “2. Workflows”Roles assign responsibility for tasks within a process.
When a task is reached in a workflow, the associated role determines which users are eligible to perform that task.
Key Lesson
Roles assign permissions to users and determine who participates in workflows. They act as the bridge between access control and process execution.