Administering User Rights

This article shows how to define, edit, and duplicate user rights in ResourceFirst.

See the article Introduction to User Rights for the definition of rights and a description of the xx page.
See the article Effects of User Rights for an explanation of the effects and uses of rights.

Overview

Users of ResourceFirst must be granted access rights to view or modify objects in the system and to have access to various system features. This article explains how to administer those rights.

Rights Page Layout

1 OBS filter for user list – select a resource OBS node to filter user list to those who are also resources in the node.

2 User List – list of all registered users of the system.

3 Right Types – list of all right types that can be assigned to users.

4 Objects to which the selected Right Type applies – list of project nodes, resource nodes, projects, or resources or empty.

5 Rights assigned to the selected user(s) – the rights assigned to the selected user or users.

6 Assign and Remove right icons for the selected user(s) – icons to add or remove assignments for the selected user or users.

Rights

Some or all of the following rights and associated levels can be applied to users of ResourceFirst.

Right	Level
Resource	R0 – R3
Project	P0 – P3
Financial	F0 – F3
Rate	FR0, FR2
Timesheet	T0 – T3
Administrator
Baseline
Official Baseline
Partition Admin

The privileges and scope of each of the right-level combination is defined in the table below. For more detailed descriptions of the right-level combinations, see the section, Rights Defined, in this article.

Rights can apply to a specific instance, such as Project ABC, or across all projects in a project OBS node or all Resources in a resource OBS node. The “Applies To” column in the table below shows what each right applies to.

Note: Newly granted and/or updated Rights take effect the next time the User logs-in.
If the User is in the system at the time of the update, ask them to log out/log in.

 

PDWare User Right	Right Abbreviation	Applies To	Privileges
Administrator	Administrator	Application	All system functions and objects.
Resource Read Only	R0	Resource Node	Read-only access to resources in the selected OBS node.
Resource Data	R1	Resource Node	Modify resource capacity. Add/Modify/Delete resource and skill assignments. [Cannot Add/Delete resources or modify attributes.]
Resource Edit	R2	Resource Node	All R1 privileges. And Add/Delete resources. Modify resource attributes.
Resource Administrator	R3	Resource Node	All R2 privileges And Edit the Resource Organization Breakdown Structure under the specified node. Grant users rights to resources and nodes within the selected node. [Admin>Settings>Portfolio checkbox must be checked – , Allow Managers to Assign Rights to their Users.]
Project Read Only	P0	Project Node	Read-only access to projects in the selected OBS node.
Project Manager	P1	Individual  Project	Modify project attributes. Submit project Status. User must have P0 to the node containing the selected project. This right is automatically applied if a user is selected as “Manager” on a project. It is NOT automatically deleted from the previous manager if any. [Cannot Add/Delete projects.]
Project Edit	P2	Project Node	All P1 privileges. And Add/Delete projects.
Project Administrator	P3	Project Node	All P2 privileges. And Edit the Project Organization Breakdown Structure under the specified node.
Baseline	No abbreviation	Not applicable	Enables submission of a baseline on the selected project. Captures forecast values only; no assignment attributes, no project dates or attributes.
Official Baseline	No abbreviation	Not applicable	Give user a choice to capture a baseline or an official baseline. Capture project dates and attributes and assignment attributes as well as forecast values.
Partition Admin	No abbreviation	Not applicable	Enables the user to act as an administrator within the user’s partition.
Financial Read-Only	F0	Cost Center, Resource or Project Node	Read-only access to Financial and Asset assignments in the selected node
Financial Project Manager	F1	Individual Project	Add/Modify/Delete Financial and Asset assignments on the selected project.
Financial Edit	F2	Resource or Project Node	Add/Modify/Delete Financial and Asset assignments in the selected node.
Financial Administrator	F3	Resource or Project Node	All F2 privileges. And TBA
Rates Read-Only	FR0	Resource Node	Can view Labor Rates in the specified OBS node.
Rate Edit	FR2	Resource Node	Can view and modify Labor Rates [Requires R3 to the resource OBS]
Timesheet Approval	T0	Individual Resource	Can approve Timesheets for individual resources.
Timesheet Approval	T1	Resource Node	Can approve Timesheets for all resources in the selected node.
Timesheet Auto	T2	Individual Resource	Enable automatic approval for timesheets submitted by specific resources.
Timesheet Auto	T3	Resource Node	Enable automatic approval of timesheets from all resources within a node.

For a full definition of each of these rights, see the section below: Rights Defined.

Other effects of user rights include:

Rights to features or functions – Some system features are configurable based on rights. In this case, you can choose which rights enable those features.
For example, you can decide the right and level (P2, P3, or Admin) required to delete a project. This is set on the page and section Admin>Settings>Portfolio.

Rights to See or Edit Specific Fields – Hide Under Field and Lock Under Field are available to determine which rights can see or edit those fields. See the section below: Field Specific Rights – Hide and Lock.

Authorized managers can grant rights to others. Read the section: Allow Resource Managers to Assign Rights to their Users

Setting up Your ResourceFirst Admin User

ResourceFirst is delivered with a generic system administrator user called Admin. The PDWare representative will provide you with that Admin’s initial password.

The rights configuration of a system administrator requires additional rights beyond Administrator. Here is the comprehensive list:

• Administrator
• Baseline
• Financial Administrator (F3); associate with the highest OBS node
• Timesheet Approval (T1); associate with the highest OBS node

How To

Accessing and Navigating the Rights Page

Accessing the Rights Page

To access the Rights page, click the Admin icon in the main menu column, then select Users & Rights, then Rights.

Note: A user with R3 Resource Administrator rights will also see an Admin icon, but they will only see the Admin submenu option to Lock OBS nodes.

Navigating the Rights Page

Sections on this page include:

• Resource OBS section (upper left): If you would like to apply and/or remove rights quickly to groupings of Users, select the OBS node(s) from within this area.
• Users section (left pane): Users are listed here for which you will assign rights.
• Icon for the Copy User’s Rights: To the right of the user’s name you will find an icon that appears as a double page. This allows you to copy a user’s rights to one or more users.
• Right Types (Center pane): Lists the available rights to assign.
• Rights Nodes/Selection (Appears below the Right Types when clicking on certain rights): Lists the available OBS nodes, resources, or projects against which you will apply the rights. See “Resource Nodes” in the screenshot below for an example.
  • Note: some rights do not include OBS nodes, resources or projects; rather they are applied at the system level.
• Assigned Rights section (right pane): Lists the rights applied to the resource(s). If this section is blank, this means that the resource(s) have yet to receive assigned rights. Use the right or left arrows on the left of this box to add or remove rights for a user.

Tip! To quickly locate users in a long list, in addition to selecting a Resource OBS, you can filter on the Resource Name. Click the dropdown on the “Full Name” column and select “Filters.”

Steps to Grant and Rescind Rights

Rights can be granted to an individual User, or to a group of users (either via multi-select or by node).

Modifying rights for an individual

Step 1 (Optional): Filter the User list.

In the Resource OBS section, select an OBS node(s) to narrow the list of users. Or use the Full Name column dropdown to filter on a specific name.

Step 2: In the Users section, place a check next to the name of the user for whom you will apply the right(s).

Step 3: In the Rights Type section, highlight the right to be applied.

• Note: Only one right can be selected at a time.

Step 4: Select the appropriate item(s) to which to apply the rights.

If the Right selected is meant to be applied to a Resource or Project OBS Node, or to individual projects or resources, those items will appear below the Rights Type section.

• Note: Multiple OBS Nodes, projects, or resources can be selected at the same time.

Step 5: Click the right arrow to move the Right/Target Item association into the Rights section.

• • To rescind a Right, highlight the Right located in the Assigned Rights section on the right of the page and then press the left arrow to remove the right.

Modifying Rights for More than One User

Method 1: Select the Users

Follow these steps:

Step 1: In the Users section, place a check next to the names of users for whom you will apply the right(s). You may need to scroll down the list to find all names.

Step 2: In the Rights Type section, highlight the right to be applied.

• Note: Only one right can be selected at a time.

Step 3: If the Right selected is meant to be applied to a Resource or Project OBS Node, or to individual projects or resources, those items will appear below the Rights Type section. Select the appropriate item(s) to which to apply the rights.

• Note: Multiple OBS Nodes, projects, or resources can be selected at the same time.

Step 4: Press the right arrow to move the Right/OBS Node association into the Rights section.

• To rescind a Right, highlight the Right located in the Rights section on the right of the page and then press the left arrow to rescind.

Method 2: Filter by OBS

Step 1: In the Resource OBS section found in the upper left corner of the rights page, navigate to the OBS node that holds the group of users to receive the Right.

Step 2: To the list of Users associated with the selected OBS node, either:

• Place check marks next to the subset of names, or
• Place a check mark in the top box to automatically select all names in that list.

Step 3: In the Rights Type section, highlight the right to be applied.

• Note: Only one right can be selected at a time.

Step 4: If the Right selected is meant to be applied to a Resource or Project OBS Node, or to individual projects or resources, those items will appear below the Rights Type section. Select the appropriate item(s) to which to apply the rights.

• Note: Multiple OBS Nodes can be selected at the same time.

Step 5: Press the right arrow to move the Right/OBS Node association into the Rights section.

• To rescind a Right, highlight the Right located in the Rights section on the right of the page and then press the left arrow to rescind.

Copying Rights from One User to Another

Icon for the Copy User’s rights: To the right of the User’s name you will find an icon that appears as a double page. If you click on the icon to the right of the user (within that left pane), you’ll be presented with a dialog allowing you to duplicate that user’s rights to one or more users.

Rights Defined

Before you begin working within ResourceFirst, you must have the necessary rights and privileges. If you require additional rights, contact your ResourceFirst administrator. The following access rights are available to view, edit, or administer ResourceFirst features and capabilities.

RESOURCE READ ONLY (R0)

• Enables viewing of all records related to the resources in the OBS Node to which the user has R0 rights. Includes skill assignments and resource assignments in that OBS Node.
• Right is applied to a Resource Node

RESOURCE DATA (R1)

• Enables editing of capacity and/or forecast data (not the resource or assignment attributes).
• Enables the creation and update of skill assignments and resource assignments to projects.
• Right is applied to a Resource Node

RESOURCE EDIT (R2)

Enables:

• Includes all Resource Data (R1) rights
• Editing of resource-specific attributes
• Adding skills to resources
• Adding Resources
• Deleting Resources (as defined in the Admin>Settings>Portfolio right levels for Resource Delete)
• Right is applied to a Resource Node

RESOURCE ADMINISTRATOR (R3)

Various system level configurations refer to this right and will grant access to the feature/functionality accordingly. These configurations include:

• Admin>Settings>Portfolio configurations
• Admin>System>Fields settings that grant Hide and/or Lock rights to a particular field

Said differently, this right provides a way to configure the system to behave differently for users who have various Right levels. For instance, a User with R2 may not be able to see something, but with R3 they could see and possibly edit a field or execute a certain function (such as deleting resources). Certain functions can be restricted to either R3 users, Admins, or other levels.

Inherently, the Resource Administrator (R3) right has:

• A higher hierarchical position over the R0, R1, and R2 rights. In other words, if a capability is restricted for R0 or R1 or R2, the R3 right is un-restricted.
• The ability to create a new Resource on the Resource>Data page.
• Note: To create a new User on the Admin>Users & Rights>User page requires the Administrator right.

System level configurations that allow setting special privileges for the Resource Administrator (R3) right include:

• On the Admin>Settings>Portfolio page (see the article Administration Settings for more details):
  • Project Initiation Approval right
  • Project Add right
  • Project Delete right
  • Resource Delete right
  • Assignment Delete right
• On the Admin>System>Fields page for each of the object types  (Resource / Project / Assignment, etc.):
  • Hide Under Right
  • Lock Under Rights
• Right is applied to a Resource Node

PROJECT READ ONLY (P0)

• Enables view-only of projects.
• Enables creating assignments if also granted Resource Data (R1) or higher resource rights level.
• Right is applied to a Project Node

PROJECT MANAGER (P1)

Note: The user must have at least Project Read Only (P0) to the project node in addition to the P1 right. P1 does not automatically inherit P0 rights.

• Enables editing of project information.
• Enables creation of project events (e.g., risks, issues, etc.). Most companies configure Risks and Issues, Change Requests, and possibly other project related events in this area.
• Enable contributions in the project’s Discussion threads.
• Enables submission of project status information. Note: Project status submissions are done by pressing the “Submit Status” icon on the upper right of one of the Project Info forms (see screenshot below).

• Right is applied to individual projects.

Note – Assigning Project Managers: If a user’s name is placed directly into the Manager field when in a project view page or a project form, this user will inherit Project Manager P1 rights, even if they have not been specifically granted P1 rights.

Navigation when granting Project Manager (P1) rights:

1. In the Users section, select the User(s) to receive the rights.
2. Select the Project Manager (P1) right
3. Next:

• Option 1: In the Project OBS section, navigate to and select the appropriate OBS Node. The resulting projects displayed in the Projects section will reflect those projects in the selected OBS Node. Only one OBS Node can be selected at a time, so repeat this step for additional OBS Nodes. This approach enables the User to grant Project Manager (P1) permissions to all existing projects plus future projects added to the OBS Node(s) selected.

• Option 2: The check box Filter based on Project Data is used when you need to grant this right based on a specific subset of projects that you have already selected on the Project Data page. In other words, you will have used either the master funnel filter located at the top of the screen (on the User Settings toolbar) and/or applied column filters (on the Project Data page). The resulting projects displayed in the Projects section on the Rights screen will reflect those projects that appear on the filtered Project Data page. Select the project(s) for which the right needs to be granted.

• Option 3: If selecting only one or a few projects is desired from the filter result set created by Options 1 and/or 2, go directly to the Projects section on the Rights page and select the project(s) for which the right needs to be granted.

4. Once the projects are identified, press the right arrow to move the Rights over from the Right Types to the Assigned Rights section. The left arrow can be used to remove rights.

PROJECT EDIT (P2)

• Enables the creation of a project, deletion of a project, or to begin a project initiation instance (depending on the access settings in Admin>Settings>Portfolio, which determines whether P2, P3, or Admin rights are needed for these functions).
• Enables editing of project attributes.
• Right is applied to a Project OBS Node

Note: To assign resources to a project, the User also needs Resource node rights greater than zero.

PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR (P3)

Various system level configurations refer to this right and will grant access to the feature/functionality. These configurations include:

• Admin>Settings>Portfolio configurations
• Admin>System>Fields settings that grant Hide and/or Lock rights to a particular field

Said differently, this right provides a way to configure the system to behave differently for users who have various Right levels. For instance, a User with P1 may not be able to see something, but with P3 they could see and possibly edit a field or perform other functions, such as delete a project. Via the Admin>Settings>Portfolio page, certain functions can be restricted to either P2 users, P3 users, or Admins.

Inherently, the Project Administrator (P3) right has a higher hierarchical position over the P0, P1, P2 rights. In other words, if a capability is restricted for P0 or P1 or P2, the P3 right is un-restricted.

System level configurations that reference the Project Administrator (P3) right include:

• Found on the Admin>Settings>Portfolio page:
  • Granting the Project Initiation Approval right
  • Granting the Project Add right
  • Granting the Project Delete right
  • Granting the Resource Delete right
  • Granting the Assignment Delete right
• Found on the Admin>System>Fields page on each of the View types, Resource/Project/Assignment for field level security:
  • Hide Under Right
  • Lock Under Right
• Right is applied to a Project OBS Node

BASELINE

Enables the User to submit a baseline of the resource and financial forecasts for projects they have rights to.

Note: At a minimum, to save a baseline, the user needs P1 rights to the project, or P2 or above on the project node, and R1 or higher on the resource node.

PARTITION ADMIN

• A Partition Administrator of a partition is enabled with the rights to share various settings, views, filters, and other attributes with members of their partition.
• A partition member will find the shared items as options to select for their use.
• A User can only be a member in one partition.
• To create a Partition Administrator: The ResourceFirst Admin creates the partition names on the Admin>System>Partitions page. 2) Next, the ResourceFirst Admin goes to Admin>Users & Rights>Users to the partitions column and selects the newly created partition value for the User(s) who will be that partition’s administrator(s).
• To create a partition member: The ResourceFirst Admin goes to Admin>Users & Rights>Users>Partition column and selects the newly created partition value for the User(s) who will be members of that partition.

For more on partitions, see Using Partitions.

FINANCIAL READ ONLY (F0)

• Enables viewing of all financial records in the OBS Node to which you have F0 rights.
• Right is applied to a Resource OBS Node or Project OBS Node depending upon your business practice. (Note: A setting in your License Key determines which OBS appears below the Rights pane, and therefore which OBS is used for granting Financial Rights). See License Keys and Codes – Appended Letters for more.

FINANCIAL PROJECT MANAGER (F1)

• Enables edit of financial data and deletion of financial assignments on the specific projects identified when granting this right.
• Right applies to individual projects.

Navigation when granting Financial Project Manager rights:

1. In the Users section, select the User(s) to receive the specific Financial Project Manager rights you are granting.
2. Select the Financial Project Manager (F1) right
3. Next:

• Option 1: In the Project OBS section, navigate to and select the appropriate OBS Node. The resulting projects displayed in the Projects section will reflect those projects in the selected OBS Node. Only one OBS Node can be selected at a time, so repeat this step for additional OBS Nodes. This approach enables the User to grant Financial Project Manager (F1) permissions to all existing projects plus future projects added to the OBS Node(s) selected.
• Option 2: The check box Filter based on Project Data is used when you need to grant this right based on a specific subset of projects that you have already selected on the Project Data page. In other words, you will have used either the master funnel filter located at the top of the screen (on the User Settings toolbar) and/or applied column filters (on the Project Data page). The resulting projects displayed in the Projects section on the Rights screen will reflect those projects that appear on the filtered Project Data page. Select the project(s) for which the right needs to be granted.
• Option 3: If selecting only one or a few projects is desired from the filter result set created by Options 1 and/or 2, go directly to the Projects section and select the project(s) for which the right needs to be granted.

4. Once the projects are identified, press the right arrow to move the Rights over to the Rights section.

FINANCIAL EDIT (F2)

• Enables edit of financial data on the specific OBS Nodes identified when granting this right. This right can be applied against either the Project OBS or the Resource OBS.
• Enables executing the Post Labor Costs on the project workspace>Financials page.
• Right is applied to a Resource OBS Node or Project OBS Node depending upon your business practice. (Note: A setting in your License Key determines which OBS appears below the Rights pane, and therefore which OBS is used for granting Financial Rights). See License Keys and Codes – Appended Letters for more.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR (F3)

• The Financial Administrator right grants all the functionality of Financial Edit, plus additional privileges that can be configured by your System Administrator.
• Right is applied to a Resource OBS Node or Project OBS Node depending upon your business practice. (Note: A setting in your License Key determines which OBS appears below the Rights pane, and therefore which OBS is used for granting Financial Rights). See License Keys and Codes – Appended Letters for more.

RATE READ ONLY (FR0)

• Enables view only of the Cost Rate field/column. Applies to the data columns in the project/resource/financial views.
• Right is applied to a Resource OBS Node

RATE EDIT (FR2)

• Enables view and edit of the User Rate field/column via the Edit Rates option under Administration. This option only appears if the user also has R3 rights.
• Right is applied to a Resource OBS Node

TIMESHEET APPROVAL (T0)

• Enables the user to approve timesheets for individual resources.
• Note: The User being granted this right needs to also be set up as a resource on the Resource Data page, with the “Key ID” field containing their User ID. This associates the Resource to its equivalent User, so that when the user logs in, he or she will see a Timesheet Actuals (Track) icon.  Only Resources will see that icon, which is where timesheets are entered, approved, and managed. Thus, anyone entering a timesheet must also have a Resource associated with their User ID.
• Right applies to individual resources

TIMESHEET APPROVAL (T1)

• This right identifies the OBS Node level for timesheet approval (this is essentially the same as T0, except at the node level instead of individual resources). The resource will then be able to approve direct reports up to their OBS Node. The same rules as stated for T0 apply.
• Right is applied to a Resource OBS Node

TIMESHEET AUTO (T2)

• This right enables timesheet auto-approval on behalf of the User (Approver) being given this right.  This Right applies to specifically named resources. For example: Either the generic User, Admin, or an assigned super user is granted the Timesheet Auto (T2) right and then specifically named resources are selected in the Resource section. The timesheets for those specific resources will be automatically approved by the system on behalf of the User with the T2 rights over those Resources.
• Recommendation: Select either the generic User, Admin, or an assigned “Super User” to grant this right to.
• Right applies to individual resources.

TIMESHEET AUTO (T3)

• This right enables timesheet auto-approval on behalf of the User (Approver) being given this right. This is essentially the same as T2, except this applies to an OBS Node. For example: OBS Node Quality Assurance Dept is selected. The result is all resources associated with the Quality Assurance Dept will have their timesheets auto-approved by the system on behalf of the User with T3 rights to that Node.
• Recommendation: Select either the generic User, Admin, or an assigned super user to grant this right to.
• Right is applied to a Resource OBS Node

Admin>Settings that Reference Rights

A collection of System Settings references a user’s rights level as one method for granting access to various features/capabilities. This is in Admin>Settings>Portfolio.

Admin>Settings>Portfolio Page

A combination of user rights and Portfolio Settings defines some of the features a user can access.

Important note: The configuration settings seen in the screen shot above are for illustrative purposes only. Your company’s configurations may vary.

There is a two-step administration configuration process to enable these features/functionality of object records:

• Step 1: On the Portfolio Settings page, configure the following rights levels to the User:
  • For deleting project records: P2 or P3 or Admin
  • For deleting resource records: R2 or R3 or Admin
  • For deleting assignment records: R2 or R3 or Admin
• Step 2: Navigate to Admin>Users & Rights>Rights. Next, grant the appropriate Rights to the Users based on your organization’s business practices.

Field specific Rights – Hide and Edit

Access this page from Admin>System>Fields.

These settings respect the OBS node rights while further restricting the view and/or edit capabilities of various features/functions, but this time at the field level.
Note: there are three View Types in which these permissions can be set at the field level: Resource, Project, and Financial.

Field specific Rights are enabled through a two-step process:

• Step 1: Configure the access permissions on the Admin>System>Fields page

1. 1. When you land on the Admin>System>Fields page, first select which object’s fields you will configure: Resource or Project or Assignment.
   2. Next, in the Hide Under Right and/or Lock Under Right columns, select the appropriate field to support your business processes.
   3. Press Save!

• Step 2: Grant Users the permissions that act as a key to enable the field specific rights configurations
• Note: The next time the User logs in the permissions will take effect.

Hide Under Right

If blank, a User has access to this field as long as the User’s rights grant them access to the object.
If a right level is identified, Users with the minimum of that right level will have access to the field. For example, if the right P1 (Project Manager) is identified for the Status field, then Users with P1, P2, and P3 will have access to this field where Users with P0 will not.

Lock Under Right

If blank, a User can edit this field as long as the User’s rights grant them access to the object and the right enables general editing.
If a right level is identified, Users with the minimum of that right level will have ability to edit the field. For example, if the right P3 (Project Administrator) is identified for the Status field, then Users with P3 will have edit capabilities to this field where Users with P0, P1, and P2 will not.

Allow Resource Managers to Assign Rights to their Resources

ResourceFirst has the capability for a User to assign the same level of rights or lesser as they have to others in their OBS node.

Two coordinated configurations are required to enable this feature:

1. In Admin>Settings>Portfolio, select Allow Managers to Assign Rights to their Users. IMPORTANT: After placing the check into the box, save your update by clicking Save button at the bottom of the Settings page.

2. The person who needs this capability must have Resource Administrator (R3) rights. that are associated with the OBS node(s) where the people who would be granted these rights are located.

When the Resource Manager would like to Grant Rights to Others

To grant the permissions, navigate to the drop down list to the right of your profile picture in the upper right of the page. Select the Assign Rights in the drop down (see screen shot below.) This link takes you to the Rights page. You will only see users in node(s) you’re authorized to see. You can assign rights up to the level of rights you have. If you don’t have P3 rights, for example, you can’t grant someone P3 rights. For assistance on how to grant rights, refer to the section: Steps to Grant and Rescind Rights