Users and Access

Users are the people who work in the application - you, your teammates, clients, and any collaborators. Each user has an account with a profile, belongs to one or more organizations, and has different levels of access to various resources.

What are Users?

Users in the application:

Have Individual Accounts: Each person has their own login and profile
Belong to Organizations: Join one or more organization workspaces
Have Access Levels: Different permissions for different resources
Collaborate on Work: Work together on projects and deliverables
Maintain Activity History: Track what they've created and modified
Can Invite Others: Share access to projects and statements of work

User Account

Your Profile

Your user account includes:

Name: Your full name displayed to teammates
Email: Your login email and contact address
Profile Picture: Optional photo or avatar
Account Settings: Preferences and configuration
Password/Authentication: Secure login credentials
Organization Memberships: All organizations you belong to

Authentication

The application uses Clerk for secure authentication:

Sign-up Options:

Email and password
Google account
Other social providers
Magic link (passwordless)

Security Features:

Multi-factor authentication (2FA)
Password requirements and policies
Session management
Device tracking

Managing Your Account

Update your profile:

Click your profile picture or name
Select "Account Settings"
Edit your information
Save changes

Change your password:

Go to Account Settings
Select "Security"
Click "Change Password"
Follow the prompts

Enable two-factor authentication:

Go to Account Settings
Select "Security"
Enable 2FA
Follow setup instructions

Organizations and Memberships

Belonging to Organizations

Users can belong to multiple organizations:

Your organizations:

Personal workspace (your individual organization)
Company organization (your employer)
Client organizations (as external collaborator)
Partner organizations (for joint projects)

Switching organizations:

Click the organization switcher
Select the organization you want to work in
Everything updates to show that organization's data

What's separate per organization:

Clients and contacts
Projects and SOWs
Team members
Settings and preferences

What follows you across organizations:

Your user profile
Your account settings
Your activity history

Organization Roles

Within each organization, you have a role:

Admin:

Full control over the organization
Manage members and settings
Delete or modify anything
Handle billing and subscriptions

Member:

Create and edit work
Collaborate on projects
Invite others to resources
Standard working permissions

Joining Organizations

You can join an organization by:

Invitation from Admin:
- Admin sends you an invitation
- You receive an email
- Click the link to join
- Accept the invitation
Invitation to a Resource:
- Someone invites you to a project or SOW
- You get access to that resource
- May join the organization automatically
Creating Your Own:
- Create a new organization
- You become the admin
- Invite others to join

Access Levels

Different resources have different access levels that determine what you can do:

Five Access Levels

Owner (Highest Level):

Full control over the resource
Can delete the resource
Manage who has access
Edit all content
Typically the person who created it

Editor:

Can view and modify content
Add and update work items
Create criteria and tests
Cannot delete the resource
Cannot manage access

Approver:

Can review and approve work
Provide feedback and comments
Approve or reject deliverables
Cannot edit the content
Focused on review and sign-off

Viewer:

Read-only access
See all content and progress
Cannot make changes
Cannot approve work
Good for stakeholders

Follower (Lowest Level):

Receive updates and notifications
Basic visibility into status
Cannot see detailed content
Cannot make changes
Great for staying informed

Access Level Hierarchy

Access levels have a hierarchy:

Owner > Editor > Approver > Viewer > Follower

What this means:

Owner can do everything
Each level can do what the levels below it can do
You can't grant someone higher access than you have

Resource Access

How Access Works

Organization-Level Access:

All organization members can see organizational resources
Automatic editor access to organization projects and SOWs
Simplifies collaboration for teams

Resource-Level Access:

Specific access granted to individual resources
Can invite people to specific projects or SOWs
Useful for external collaborators or clients
Can set expiration dates

Inherited Access:

Access to a project automatically includes its SOWs
Children inherit from parents by default
Can be overridden for specific resources

Checking Your Access

To see what access you have:

View the resource (project, SOW, RFC)
Look for Access Settings or Sharing
See your access level
View who else has access

What you can see:

Your access level
Who granted you access
When access expires (if applicable)
Other users with access (if you're owner/admin)

Granting Access to Others

If you're an owner or admin, you can invite others:

Open the resource you want to share
Click "Share" or "Manage Access"
Enter email address or select user
Choose access level:
- Owner (for co-owners)
- Editor (for collaborators)
- Approver (for reviewers)
- Viewer (for stakeholders)
- Follower (for updates only)
Optionally set expiration date
Add a message (optional)
Send invitation

Accepting Invitations

When someone invites you to a resource:

You receive an email with the invitation
Click the link in the email
Log in (or sign up if new)
Accept the invitation
Access the resource

Invitations expire:

Typically valid for 7 days
Can be resent if expired
Declined invitations can't be reused

Collaborating with Others

Working Together

As a team member:

See what your teammates are working on
Edit the same projects and SOWs
Add comments and feedback
Track who changed what and when

As an external collaborator:

Access specific projects you're invited to
Provide input as a subject matter expert
Review and approve deliverables
Stay isolated from other work

As a client or stakeholder:

View progress on your projects
Approve statements of work
Provide feedback
Stay informed without editing

Activity Tracking

Everything you do is tracked:

Creating resources (projects, SOWs, items)
Editing content
Approving deliverables
Granting or revoking access
Commenting on work

Why this matters:

Accountability and transparency
Audit trail for compliance
Understanding who did what
Resolving disputes or questions

Mentions and Notifications

Mention other users:

Use @username in comments
They receive a notification
Draws attention to specific items
Great for questions or reviews

Notification types:

Invitations to resources
Changes to resources you follow
Mentions in comments
Approval requests
Status changes

API Tokens

What are API Tokens?

API tokens let you access the application programmatically:

Use tokens for:

Automation scripts
CI/CD pipelines
Integration with other tools
Bulk operations
Custom tooling

Token properties:

Personal to your user account
Have same permissions you have
Can have descriptions for tracking
Optional expiration dates
Track last usage

Creating an API Token

Go to Account Settings
Select "API Tokens"
Click "Create New Token"
Add description (e.g., "CI/CD Pipeline")
Optionally set expiration
Create token
Copy token immediately (shown only once)
Store securely (treat like a password)

Managing API Tokens

Best practices:

Create separate tokens for different purposes
Set expiration dates when possible
Delete unused tokens
Rotate tokens regularly
Never share tokens
Don't commit tokens to code

Revoke a token:

Go to API Tokens
Find the token
Click "Delete" or "Revoke"
Confirm deletion

If a token is compromised:

Immediately revoke the token
Review recent activity
Create a new token if needed
Update systems using the old token

Managing Your Activity

Your Dashboard

See what you're working on:

Active work:

Projects you own or follow
SOWs assigned to you
Recent activity
Pending approvals

Filters:

By organization
By project
By status
By date

Your Contributions

Track what you've created:

All projects you've started
SOWs you've written
Criteria and tests you've defined
RFCs you've proposed

See what you've changed:

Recent edits
Approvals given
Comments added
Access granted

Privacy and Security

Your Data

What's private:

Your account credentials
Your email address (unless shared)
Your activity in organizations
Resources you have access to

What's visible to teammates:

Your name and profile picture
Your role in shared organizations
Your activity on shared resources
Your comments and contributions

What's visible to admins:

Your organization memberships
Your access to resources
Your activity logs
Your API token usage (not the tokens)

Security Best Practices

Protect your account:

Use a strong, unique password
Enable two-factor authentication
Don't share your credentials
Log out on shared devices
Review active sessions regularly

Protect API tokens:

Store securely (password manager or secrets vault)
Never commit to version control
Use environment variables
Rotate regularly
Revoke immediately if compromised

Access management:

Grant minimum necessary access
Review access regularly
Revoke access when no longer needed
Use expiration dates for temporary access
Audit who has access to sensitive resources

Common Workflows

Starting as a New User

Sign up for an account
- Use email or social provider
- Verify your email
- Set up your profile
Join or create organization
- Accept invitation to existing organization
- Or create your first organization
- Set up your workspace
Connect with team
- Invite teammates if you're admin
- Accept invitations to projects
- Start collaborating