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Permissions

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Overview

Permissions control user access levels. Higher access levels, like project owners, have more rights than lower levels, like developers. Permissions help assign appropriate access based on a user's role in a project or organization.

Permissions define what a user can do within the system or specific projects. There is a hierarchy, with Administrators having the highest level of control.

In Birdview, permissions are divided into five groups:

  1. Global permissions,
  2. Space permissions,
  3. Portfolio permissions,
  4. Project member permissions,
  5. Non-project member permissions.

Note

If you lack certain permissions, ask your Portfolio manager or Project owner to review and adjust them.

Global permissions

Global permissions in Birdview can be viewed and edited in the Access levels screen.

To access and edit global permissions:

  1. Go to Company settings > Access levels.
  2. Click on the name of an existing access level, like Administrator, or click + Add access level to create a new one. This will take you to the Access level details screen.
  3. The global permissions section is in the top right-hand corner.

Global permissions apply system-wide. Here's a summary of global permissions (listed alphabetically):

Permission Description
Access all projects (not in portfolios) This permission grants access to any project unless it is part of a portfolio. Access to projects within portfolios is controlled by individual portfolio permissions or the global permission "Manage all portfolios."
Typically, this broad permission is assigned to the CEO or senior administrative staff. When combined with non-project member permissions, "Access all projects" provides the user with rights to view activities, time logs, assignee lists, and more.
Access billing information Allows you to view billing details, as appear on the Project details page, Activity center.
By default, Project owner-, and Administrator-access level users have this permission enabled.
Access BI dashboards Allows you to use Business Intelligence reports.
Access common reports Unlocks access to such reports as Billing report.
Access report generator Allows you to use Report generator.
By default, Project owner- and Administrator-access level users have this permission enabled.
Access resource planning Allows you to use resource reports: Planning, Workload, Simulation.
Add custom forms Allows you to add custom forms.
Add portfolios Allows you to add portfolios, to appear in the Project details section, Activity center, etc.
By default, Project owner- and Administrator-access level users have this permission enabled.
Add projects Enables you to add projects to the system. The right to add projects would normally be granted to team members acting as project managers. Accordingly, Project owner access level (built-in access level) user has this permission enabled by default.
Add spaces Allows the user to create spaces. The creator of a space is automatically assigned the administrator access permission within the space.
Invite users* This permission allows the user to invite users while in the assignee or project member management dialog box.
Manage all custom forms Allows you to manage custom forms, both your own and other people's.
Manage all portfolios Allows you to view and edit portfolios and their projects and activities.
By default, Project owner- and Administrator-access level users have this permission enabled.
Manage customers Allows you to manage customers: adding, editing, deleting them.
Manage hard allocations Allows you to manage hard allocations in resource planning.
Manage job roles Allows you to manage job roles: adding, editing, deleting them.
Manage other people vacations Allows you to view and edit vacations of other people, as appear on Vacations calendar.
Manage own vacations Allows you to view and edit own vacations, as appear on Vacations calendar.
By default, all both predefined and built-in access levels have this permission enabled.
Manage system settings** The most powerful of all permissions in Birdview, as it gives user access to administration controls (User menu, primarily) that allow you to create (invite) users, access levels, customers, edit system lists, or add custom fields to projects or activities.
An Administrator-access level (built-in access level) user has this permission enabled and indelible by default.
Manage workflows Allows you to access workflows, create new ones, and edit existing ones. 
*
The user's access level must allow for viewing AND managing assignees/project members for the global permission to be usable.
**
This permission is required for managing users, access levels, system lists and other administrative actions.

 

Warning

Even though the "Invite user" permission does not give access to the user management section (Company settings > Users), it makes available the invite user command in the activity assignment editor.

 

Tip

If you can't perform an action in Birdview due to lack of permissions, and your global permissions don't apply (because you're assigned to a project or a project within a portfolio), consult your Portfolio manager or Project owner to review and adjust your permissions.

 

Space permissions

Permissions that constitute the access level assigned to a space member are called space permissions. They apply strictly within the particular space playing a similar part to global permissions which apply to the account as a whole. So, if a user has an Administrator space access level, s/he can manage projects and members only within that space. To learn more about space access levels, see Spaces - Settings - Members.

  

Default permissions for portfolios

Every global access level in Birdview includes one of four portfolio access levels. When creating or editing an access level, you must choose a default portfolio access level. Each portfolio access level has a fixed, non-editable set of permissions. The portfolio access levels are:

  • Portfolio manager,
  • Portfolio editor,
  • Portfolio viewer,
  • Portfolio participant.

See the table below for details on the permissions for each portfolio access level.

  Portfolio access level
Permissions Manager Editor Viewer Participant
View portfolio Yes Yes Yes Yes
Edit portfolio (w/o Managing members) Yes Yes No No
Delete portfolio Yes Yes No No
Manage portfolio members Yes No No No
View all activities in portfolio Yes Yes Yes No
Add activities to portfolio projects Yes No No No
Edit all activities in portfolio Yes Yes No No
Delete all activities from portfolio Yes Yes No No
View all time entries in portfolio Yes Yes Yes No
Add time entries for someone else Yes No No No
Edit all time entries in portfolio Yes Yes No No
Delete all time entries in portfolio Yes Yes No No
View projects in portfolio Yes Yes Yes No
Edit projects in portfolio Yes Yes No No
Delete projects from portfolio Yes Yes No No
View members and assignees Yes Yes Yes No
Manage members and assignees Yes No No No
Log expenses Yes Yes No No
Edit actual expenses Yes Yes No No
Edit planned expenses Yes Yes No No

Default project permissions

These permissions apply specifically to projects a user is a member of. They ensure a normal workflow, with members having different access levels. The default project access level applies to any new or existing project a member is assigned to. These default permissions can be edited to meet specific project needs.

By default, users with the Project owner access level cannot edit access levels or add new users. This capability is reserved for users with the Administrator access level or those with the "Manage system settings" global permission.

The permissions vary widely and are summarized as follows:

Permission Description
Activities
  1. View all
  2. Add
  3. Edit all
  4. Delete all
  5. Edit assigned
 These permissions allow the user to:
  1. View any activity on the project.
  2. Add activities of any type to the project.
  3. Edit any activity on the project.
  4. Delete any activity on the project.
  5. Edit activities assigned to the user.
Time entries
  1. View all
  2. Add for someone else
  3. Edit all
  4. Delete all
  5. Add own
 These permissions allow the user to:
  1. View any time entry on a project.
  2. Add time entries for activity assignees.
  3. Edit time entries.
  4. Delete any time entry.
  5. Add the user's own time entries.
Project
  1. Edit
  2. Delete/Archive
 These permissions allow the user to:
  1. Edit the project.
  2. Delete or archive the project.
Members and assignees
  1. View all
  2. Manage members and allocations*
  3. Manage assignees**
  4. Manage permissions***
 These permissions allow the user to:
  1. View project members or activity assignees on the project.
  2. Manage project members, including assigning from the total pool of users.
  3. Manage project allocations.
  4. Manage activity assignees. 
  5. Manage the access level and permissions of the project members.
Expenses
  1. Log expenses
  2. Edit actual expenses
  3. Edit planned expenses
 These permissions allow the user to:
  • Add and edit project expenses.
*
This permission refers to managing project members. The permission is a key one for a project manager of the project as it gives the right to add users from the overall list of users, as opposed to managing assignees (see a footnote below). The permission also allows managing allocations on the project.
**
This permission refers to activity assignees. It allows the holder of the permission to assign only project members to the project activities.
***
This project-level permission unlocks full managerial powers as a user with this permission can edit members' permissions within the project. It can only be enabled together with the Manage members & allocations permission (see a footnote above).

 

When you save changes to an access level, they do not affect existing projects where the access level is used, only future projects. To apply the updated access level to all current projects, use the "Apply default permissions in all existing projects" checkbox. This will update all projects using that access level to reflect the changes in default permissions.

Use this option with caution, as it will reassign the access level to all members in those projects, overriding any customized permissions (marked with *).

Non-project members default permissions

These permissions apply to projects the user is not a member of, allowing them to track project progress as their permissions allow. For example, a Supervisor can view activities, add or delete issues, and make requests.

To access and edit these permissions:

  1. Go to Company settings > Access levels.
  2. Click on the name of an existing access level, like Administrator, or click + Add access level to create a new one. This will take you to the Access level details screen.
  3. The section for permissions in projects where the user is not a member is on the right, beneath Global permissions.

These permissions are only visible if the "Access all projects" global permission is enabled in the user’s access level. Permissions to add, edit, or delete items require the corresponding view permission to be enabled.

 

Warning

Portfolio permissions for projects within a portfolio will override these permissions.

 

This type of permission includes the following:

Permission Description
Activities
  1. View all
  2. Add
  3. Edit all
  4. Delete all
 These permissions allow the user to:
  1. View any activity on any project.
  2. Add activities of any type to projects.
  3. Edit any activity.
  4. Delete any activity.
Time entries
  1. View all
  2. Add for someone else
  3. Edit all
  4. Delete all
 These permissions allow the user to:
  1. View any time entry on any project.
  2. Add time entries of any type to projects.
  3. Edit any time entry.
  4. Delete any time entry.
Project
  1. Edit
  2. Delete/Archive
 These permissions allow the user to:
  1. Edit any project.
  2. Delete any project.
  3. Archive any project.
Members* and assignees**
  1. View and manage
 These permissions allow the user to:
  1. View and manage project members or activity assignees of any project.
Expenses***
  1. Log expenses
  2. Edit actual expenses
  3. Edit planned expenses
 These permissions allow the user to:
  1. Log expenses.
  2. Edit expenses listed on the Actual tab in Expenses screen.
  3. Edit expenses listed on the Planned tab in Expenses screen.
*
This permission refers to managing project members. The permission is the key one for a project manager of the project. It gives a PM the right to add users from the overall list of users.
**
This permission refers to activity assignees. It allows the holder of the permission to assign only project members to the project activities.
***
These permissions are independent of the "Access to billing information" global permission.

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