As your product organization grows, permissions allow you to determine which information users can view and edit within Productboard. Setting up appropriate permissions allows your product teams to collaborate while maintaining control over their most important or sensitive data.
Currently, Productboard offers permission settings at the product entity level.
Note: If you can't create New boards (grids, timelines, columns boards, or documents), your workspace uses the Legacy product access management system.
In this article:
- Product access models and levels
- Creating products from Legacy boards
- Creating products from New boards or teamspace hubs
- Changing product access from the Products page
- See also
Product access models and levels
A product access model is a set of rules that Productboard uses to determine who is allowed to see or edit a product and its subordinate entities (like components and features).
There are two access models, Legacy and New, which have different rules for how a product should behave in certain areas of Productboard.
A product can have both a Legacy and New access model simultaneously. The different access models will apply depending on which area of Productboard you're in.
If a product access model is a set of rules, then product access levels are the rules within that set. Both access models have different access levels:
- Full Access products are visible to everyone and editable by all makers and admins.
- Read Only products are visible to everyone, but only admins and certain makers can edit them.
- Restricted products are hidden from everyone except admins and individuals granted specific access from the Individuals and Teams board sharing option.
Legacy access levels apply to every member in the workspace, though a product's creator retains maximum access to their product by default and admins always have maximum access to all products.
Example: You're a maker, but not an admin. You create a product called "Zlack" in your workspace and give it Full Access from the Legacy access model. If any member of your workspace goes to a features board or roadmap, they'll be able to see the Zlack product and its subordinate items there (filters permitting). If they're a maker, they'll also be able to edit it!
If you then change Zlack's access level to Read Only, all those other makers will no longer be able to edit Zlack—now they can only view it. But you can still edit it because you created it, and your Productboard admins can still edit it because admins can always edit products.
- Everyone in the workspace: This product is visible to everyone, and editable by all makers and admins.
- Everyone in the workspace can view only: This product is visible to everyone, but editable only by admins and by makers who are members of specific teamspaces chosen by you.
- Specific teamspace(s): This product is hidden from everyone except for admins and for members of specific teamspaces chosen by you. Products with this access level can not be shared with Open teamspaces.
A product can't appear on grid, timeline, or columns boards if it doesn't have a New access model. New access levels apply to every member in the workspace, with exceptions based on teamspace membership. Admins always have maximum access to all products.
Example: You're a maker, but not an admin. You create a product called "Galaxy" in your workspace and give Everyone in the workspace access to it using the New access model. If any member of your workspace goes to a grid, timeline, or columns board, they'll be able to see the Galaxy product and its subordinate items there (filters permitting). If they're a maker, they'll also be able to edit it!
If you then change Galaxy's access level to Everyone in the workspace can view only, you'll have to specify at least one teamspace. Every maker who's a member of the teamspace(s) you choose will retain edit rights to Galaxy; all other makers will lose edit rights, but they'll still be able to see Galaxy on the boards in other teamspaces.
You'll still be able to edit Galaxy because you created it, and your Productboard admins can still edit it because admins can always edit products.
Note: If you have access to a product through either the Legacy access model OR the New access model, you'll be able to see that product across all portals, insights boards, and insights.
Initial access levels
A product's initial access level is defined as one of two things, either:
- The access level it had on or about July 1, 2024 (when the new product access management system outlined in this article was deployed), OR
- The access level you assign to it during product creation.
Initial access levels from one access model sometimes grant their products an access level from the other model, which you'll see below.
When creating a new product, your options for its initial access level will be different depending on which type of board you're creating the product from:
- Products created from Legacy boards will have Legacy access level options
- Products created from New boards or teamspace hubs will have New access level options.
Note: Even if a product can appear on certain boards, it may be blocked by pre-existing board filters.
Products with initial access levels from the Legacy model
If a product's initial access level is...
- Full Access: the product will automatically gain the Everyone in the workspace access level from the New access model, meaning it can immediately appear on both Legacy boards and New boards.
- Read Only: the product does not gain a New access model and therefore can't appear on New boards, but it can immediately appear on Legacy boards.
- Restricted: the product does not gain a New access model and therefore can't appear on New boards, but it can immediately appear on Legacy boards.
In order for Read Only and Restricted products to appear on New boards, a maker must add them to the New access model from the Products page (see below). This extra step ensures that no potentially sensitive information is shared across a wider audience than intended during the product creation phase.
Products with initial access levels from the New model
If a product's initial access level is...
-
Everyone in the workspace: the product will automatically gain Full Access from the New access model, meaning it can immediately appear on both Legacy boards and New boards.
- This is the default setting for products created inline on boards within Open teamspaces.
-
Everyone in the workspace can view only: the product will automatically gain Read Only access from the New access model, meaning it can immediately appear on both Legacy boards and New boards.
- This is the default setting for products created inline on boards within Closed teamspaces.
-
Specific teamspace(s): the product will automatically gain Restricted access from the New access model, meaning it can immediately appear on both Legacy boards and New boards.
- This is the default setting for products created inline on boards within Private teamspaces.
See New board sharing: Teamspace types and member access levels for more about teamspace types.
Changing product access from the Products page
The Products page lives in the Data section of the main menu. From here, makers can change the access levels of any products they have maximum access to. This also allows you to give New access levels to products which have only Legacy access levels, allowing them to be displayed on New boards.
Note: Product access models will not be kept in sync beyond the point of creation. For example, if you change a product's New access level from Everyone in the workspace can view only to Everyone in the workspace, it will not automatically change its Legacy access level from Read Only to Full Access.
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