Managing Groups on the Platform
On the platform, a group is any collection of individuals with a common interest or purpose. The platform includes several different types of groups; there are similarities between all group types in the way they work, with some important differences between them, not only in purpose but also in mechanics. The group types are:
- API Administrator (Admin) Group
- API Scope Group
- App Team
- Independent Group
- Site Administrator Group
- Business Administrator Group
API Administrator (Admin) Group
When a user creates an API, that user automatically becomes the first Admin for the API. An API Admin can invite additional users to the API Admin group. All API Admins have the same rights. They can:
- Invite additional users to the Admin group.
- Remove members from the team.
- Manage tickets associated with the API, including opening, modifying, closing, and deleting tickets and changing ticket status.
- Manage discussions relating to the API.
- Upload, modify, and delete API documentation.
- Upload legal agreements for the API.
- Manage an API Scope Group (see below), including creating the group, inviting one or more members, changing a member's role, and modifying or deleting the group.
- Invite independent groups to connect with the API.
- Manage API access requests including granting an app's request for API access and suspending or cancelling API access.
- Make changes to the API including modifying the API, adding, modifying, or deleting API versions, or deleting the API.
- Monitor API performance including monitoring volume and looking at the messages being processed.
- Change policies that are applied to the API.
- Modify the API, including changing the endpoint, operations, and other details associated with the API.
Note: API Administrator and API Admin are the same role.
API Scope Group
An API Admin of a Private API can create a user group for that API, called an API Scope Group. The API Admin can invite members to the group. Each user can have one of three group member roles, and there can be multiple users for each role. The roles are:
- Administrator. An Administrator can invite additional members to the group, change another member's status (from any one of the three roles to any other) remove a member from the group, or resend an invitation.
- Leader. A leader can invite additional members to the group, change another member's status (from member to leader or vice versa) or remove a member from the group. A leader can also add another leader, but cannot create or delete group administrators and cannot create, modify, or delete the group itself.
- Member. An API Scope Group member has access to all information relating to the API and the group, including reviews, tickets and discussions. Members cannot invite additional members or change the status of other members. A member can be promoted to leader status or removed from the group by an API Admin or by a leader.
App Team
When a user creates an app, that user automatically becomes the first app team member. An app team member can invite other users to the team. All app team members have the same rights. They can:
- Invite additional users to the team.
- Remove members from the team.
- Manage tickets associated with the app, including opening, modifying, closing, and deleting tickets and changing ticket status.
- Manage API access requests including requesting API access, cancelling an API access request, or resubmitting a request.
- Activate the app so that it goes into live production mode.
- Make changes to the app including modifying the app, adding, modifying, or deleting app versions, or deleting the app.
Independent Group
Any user can create a group that isn't specifically tied to an app or API. When a user creates an Independent Group, that user automatically becomes the first Admin for the group. The Admin can invite members to the group. Each user can have one of three group member roles, and there can be multiple users for each role. All roles can view information relating to the group, including reviews, tickets, and discussions. The roles are:
- Administrator: An independent group Administrator has full control over the group. The Administrator can:
- Create, modify, or delete the group
- Invite or remove additional members.
- Change member status between any of the three roles, Administrator, Member, and Leader.
- Delete group members.
- Leader. A leader can invite additional members to the group, change another member's status (from member to leader or vice versa) or remove a member from the group. A leader can also add another leader, but cannot create or delete group administrators and cannot create, modify, or delete the group itself.
- Member. Members cannot invite additional members or change the status of other members. A member can be promoted to leader status or removed from the group by the Administrator or by a leader.
Site Administrator Group
A Site Administrator has Admin control over many parts of the platform. There are parts of the user interface that require Site Administrator rights and are closed to other users. Site Admins essentially control the look and feel, and general configuration, of the portal.
The Site Admin manages the following functions on the platform:
- Agreements—Manage the platform signup legal agreement.
- Challenges (2020.1.0 and later)—Manage security challenge questions.
- Config (versions prior to 2020.1.0)—Manage site look and feel, including managing default settings for APIs, apps, and groups, managing custom styles and resources, and setting up and managing login domains.
- Country Codes (2020.1.0 and later)—Manage telephone country codes, needed for support of telephone numbers.
- Customization (2020.1.0 and later)—Manage site look and feel, including uploading and downloading site styles and resources.
- File Manager (2020.1.0 and later)—Upload and manage Community Manager developer portal content and customization resource files through the File Manager.
- Logins (2020.1.0 and later)—Manage login domains.
- Settings—Configure settings for resources on the platform such as alerts, apps, APIs, connections, comments, discussions, groups, tickets, users, reviews, and business security.
- Site—Configure basic site settings such as site URL, contact email address, and themes.
- Site Admins—Manage site admins on the platform, including inviting and removing site admins.
- Users—Manage users on the platform, including activating and deleting users. However, some operations are unique to an individual user, such as changing a password, and cannot be run by a Site Administrator.
- Workflows—View, add, change, and delete custom and default workflows for platform resources such as tickets and API contracts.
Business Administrator Group
In a federated environment, where a specific tenant has its own instance of the platform, the Business Administrator has some rights that are senior to those of the Site Administrator. There are parts of the user interface, and API operations, that require Business Administrator rights and are closed to other users. For example, Business Administrators can make certain choices that determine options that are available or not available on the platform.
The Business Administrator has Administrator rights for all APIs and apps in the business.
In the platform user interface, there is an Administration section available only to Site Admins and Business Admins. The table below shows which functions each type of administrator has access to, and for what purpose.
| Menu Option | Function | Site Admin? | Business Admin? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agreements | Manage the platform signup legal agreement. | Yes | -- |
| API Gateways | Manage API Gateways on the platform. | -- | Yes |
| Business Admins | Manage the Business Admin group (invite, resend invite, remove) | -- | Yes |
| Challenges | Manage security challenge questions. | Yes | -- |
| Country Codes | Manage telephone country codes, needed for support of telephone numbers. | Yes | -- |
| Customization | Manage site look and feel, including managing custom styles and resources. | Yes | -- |
| Deployment Zones | Manage deployment zones on the platform. | -- | Yes |
| Domains | Add, configure, modify, and delete domains | -- | Yes |
| File Manager | Upload and manage Community Manager developer portal content and customization resource files through the File Manager. | Yes | -- |
| Forum | Manage forum entries, including approving forum entries for publication. | -- | Yes |
| Licenses | Manage license definitions. | -- | Yes |
| Logins | Managing login domains. | Yes | -- |
| Model Categories |
Adding, modifying, and deleting categories for model objects. Note: Model objects themselves are managed for the specific business organization. |
-- | Yes |
| Scopes | Manage resources. | -- | Yes |
| Settings | Configure settings for resources on the platform such as alerts, apps, APIs, connections, comments, discussions, groups, tickets, users, reviews, and business security. | Yes | -- |
| Site | Configure basic site settings such as site URL, contact email address, and themes. | Yes | -- |
| Site Admins | Manage the Site Admin group (invite, resend invite, remove) | Yes | -- |
| Users | Manage users, including activating new users and enabling or disabling existing users | Yes | -- |
| Workflows | View, add, change, and delete custom and default workflows for platform resources such as tickets and API contracts. | Yes | -- |
Essentially, the site admin cannot make decisions with regard to the resources on the site, but configures the site and empowers the business admin. The business admin is a superuser for the resources within the business such as apps and APIs.
In addition to the above functions for the entire Community Manager developer portal, the Business Admin has functions for a specific business organization (More > Organizations > All Organizations, choose organization). The Business Admin can:
- Add, modify, or delete an app or app version.
- Add, modify, or delete an API or API version.
- Add or remove members of the various types of groups: API administrators, API Scope Groups, app teams, independent groups, and the site administrator group. Where applicable, the Business Admin can also change a group member's status.
- Revoke a user's access to the platform.
- Revoke an app's access tokens for one or more APIs.
