Description
This article has information about the different roles in OHIO Bobcat Insights (OBI), and their intended use.
Environment
OHIO Bobcat Insights (OBI)
Roles available in OBI
There are several standard roles used inside of OBI, and their intended use is described below.
Dashboard Users
The dashboard user role is the least privileged in OBI but is very frequently assigned by organizations. The dashboard user role provides access to view and run dashboards built by the Information Delivery team in consultation with the appropriate organization. Dashboard users may save display customizations and/or preferences specific to their account but cannot edit the dashboard.
Dashboard user roles are recommended for any individual at OHIO with a need to use the data presented on the corresponding dashboard.
Consumers
The consumer role provisions view-only access to open and run non-dashboard reports within the OBI catalog. Access to reports in the OBI catalog is typically managed through the folder structure, and consumer roles have access to specific folders. The exact names and folder structures vary by organization, but consumer roles typically give access to a folder that contains “published” reports that have been built or reviewed/validated by a distributor and are intended for broader use.
Consumer roles are recommended for staff and/or faculty members at OHIO with a need to interact with a wider variety of data and reporting than a dashboard can provide. Consumers should understand the purpose of the reports they can access and know when it is or is not appropriate to use such a report.
Authors
The author role generally provisions everything contained in the consumer role, with added privileges. Authors can create and edit OBI reports, but these can only be saved in certain folders in the OBI catalog. For most organizations, this means an author can save a report in a “work area” folder but not in more widely available folders for operational and published reports.
Author roles are recommended for staff and faculty members at OHIO with a need to build non-critical and/or non-published reports for internal or personal use. Effective authors should have at least a basic understanding of the data model and know when it is appropriate to use the data.
Distributors
The distributor role is the most powerful OBI role and an individual in such a role should be thought of as a “superuser.” In addition to inheriting the access provisioned by lower-level roles, distributors have enhanced access to create and edit agents, move and organize reports (including to folders with broader access), and manage security on certain folders and other objects in the OBI catalog.
Because distributor roles are the most powerful, organizations are encouraged to assign the distributor role as infrequently as possible. Recommended users include staff and faculty members at OHIO with both the need and the expertise to create and publish reports. Distributors should hold an advanced understanding of the data model and should generally be authorized by their organization to share data when appropriate. Most frequently, distributor roles are assigned directly to data stewards and/or their delegates.
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