4.1 Roles

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Description

This feature allows you to set up and manage default and custom roles and permissions for different user groups on your deployment. Each deployment has a default “Admin” and "Member" role, which cannot be deleted. The default “Admin” role allows for full control over ALL functionality on your deployment, while the default "Member" role only grants access to edit their own posts. "Member" role can be edited to update the permissions. "Admin" role cannot be edited to update the permissions.

Also, permissions are fully determined by Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). This means that each user can be assigned a specific role by an admin, which in turn grants them a particular set of operations within the platform. Below is a list of permissions included in the Mzima Platform;

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Permissions included in the platform

• Manage Users: This permission entails the following operations;

  • Viewing the list of users on the platform

  • Adding, Editing or Deleting Users

  • Changing the Roles of Users

• Manage Posts: This permission entails the following;

  • Viewing the Posts

  • Adding or Editing their Posts

  • Publishing Posts

  • Archiving Posts

  • Adding Posts to Collections

• Manage Settings: This permission entails managing the settings in the platform

  • Users can manage the general settings which allow the user to:

    • Change the deployment details

    • Adjust the privacy settings for the deployment

    • Adjusting the location settings. You can find more about this here.

  • Adding, Editing or Deleting data sources

  • Adding, Editing or Deleting Surveys

  • Adding, Editing or Deleting Categories

  • Users can configure the HDX API and create webhooks

• Bulk Data Import and Export: Allows users to import and export CSV files

• Edit their own posts: Allows the user to be able to edit their posts

• Manage Collections and Saved Searches: This permission entails the following:

  • Addition/Removal of posts from all saved searches and collections

  • Editing all saved searches or collections

  • Deleting all saved searches and collections

• Delete Posts: This permission allows the user to be able to delete posts from the platform

• Delete their own Posts: This permission allows the user to be able to delete the posts that they have created themselves.

The setup in this guide is demonstrated in the below video as well. You can watch and follow the guide at the same time!

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Video setup guide

Video coming soon

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Actions that need Authorization or Login to be Accessed

Users can still interact with the Mzima Platform while logged out, but their capabilities will be limited compared to those of logged-in users. Here is a breakdown:

If a user is not authenticated;

• The user can create posts on the platform although the usernames will be marked as Anonymous. Also, the user cannot edit their posts once submitted.

• The user can view statuses that are published only.

• The user can view saved filters if only the visibility of the filters is set to ‘Everyone’.

• The user can view categories if only the visibility of the categories is set to ‘Everyone’.

• The user can view collections if only the visibility of the collections is set to ‘Everyone’.

• The user can share posts.

If a user is authenticated;

• The user can access the platform settings if they have the 'Manage Settings' permission only.

• The user can create saved filters and adjust the visibility.

• The users can create posts. It is worth noting that they can only edit them if they have the 'Edit their own posts' permission.

• The user can create a collection but they will only be visible to them and the admins. If they have the ‘Manage Collections and Saved Searches’ permission in their role, they can adjust the visibility to either ‘only me’, ‘everyone’ or ‘specific roles’. Also, a user can create and delete collections but cannot edit them if they do not have this permission.

• The user can see published posts for everyone and their posts that are 'under review' or 'archived'.

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Setup Guide

To access the roles management page, on the sidebar, click on Settings

Settings button on the Ushahidi Platform sidebar.

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Then, click on Roles

Settings list page. Roles button highlighted.

You’ll be redirected to a page with a list of all existing roles - default & custom roles (created by admins if any exist).

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4.1.1 Add Role

To add a custom user role, click on the yellow Add icon

Click on the 'add role' button to add a new role.

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Add the following details

• Name: Provide a name for this new custom role

• Description: Provide a brief description of what/who this custom role has been created for

• Set your permissions. The list below shows the list of permissions included in the platform. You can view the brief breakdown of each of the permissions that can be granted to users by selecting here.

  • Manage Users:

  • Manage Posts:

  • Manage Settings:

  • Bulk Data import and Export:

  • Edit their own posts:

  • Manage collections and saved searches:

• Click on Save.

The add role page contains a role name, description, and preferred permissions.

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4.1.2 Edit Role

To edit a role, click on a role from the list provided to you.

Click on a role from the Role - "Test123 Role" highlighted

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Next:

• On redirection to the edit page, make your desired changes to the role (i.e fill out details as directed in the Add role section)

• Click on Save to update the role.

Adding details to a new role. Name, description and permission fields available.

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4.1.3 Delete Role

To delete a role, click on a role from the Roles management list page

Selecting a role "Test123 Role" in the roles list.

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Then, click on the Delete button at the bottom of the page

Click the DELETE button

A pop up box will appear on the top of the page, prompting you to confirm whether you would like to delete the custom role. If:

• You would like to proceed with deletion, click on Delete

• You would not like to proceed with deletion, click on Cancel

Delete role confirmation pop-up