Roles and permissions
BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management provides two types of user permissions:
- Knowledge Management user permissions—Permissions to perform knowledge management functions by using the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management application.
KCS user permissions—Permissions introduced with Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management. The KCS framework defines user maturity roles as a Licensing Model. These user maturity roles are mapped to four permission groups in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management. With these permissions, you can assign KCS-defined license levels to knowledge users. The KCS users can perform KCS-defined functions for knowledge management by using BMC Helix ITSM: Smart IT and BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting.
These user permissions work in the following manner:
- The KCS permissions does not change the other functionality of BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management user permissions. You can continue to perform all knowledge management functions by using the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management application.
(For version 18.05 only) Before you add the Knowledge User permission for any user, make sure that the Knowledge Management Module license for the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management application is added through the Add or Remove Licenses form in the AR System Administration Console; otherwise the following error message is displayed:
- For Fixed licenses—
Unable to assign Fixed license. All Fixed license(0) for 'Knowledge Management' have been assigned.(ARERR 45041)
- For Floating licenses—
Unable to assign a Floating license. There are no Floating licenses available for 'Knowledge Management'. (ARERR 45042)
- For Fixed licenses—
- KCS user permissions and BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management user permissions, except the Knowledge Config permission, are mutually exclusive. At a given time, you can assign either BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management user permissions or KCS user permissions to users. Only the Knowledge Config permission can co-exist with any KCS permissions.
When you assign KCS user permissions to users, if the selected users do not have existing BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management user permissions, KCS user permissions are directly added. However, if the users have existing BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management user permissions, and you add KCS user permissions, then the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management user permissions are automatically removed before KCS permissions are added.
Similarly, when you assign BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management user permissions, any KCS user permissions that the users already have, are automatically removed, before BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management permissions are added.- Users with BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management user permissions cannot perform KCS-defined functions through the BMC Helix ITSM: Smart IT interface or view KCS reports in BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting. However, they can perform BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management functions by using the BMC Helix ITSM: Smart IT interface.
- If you revert user permissions from KCS user permissions to BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management user permissions, users will be unable to perform any KCS functions. They can perform only BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management functions.
- A user with KCS permissions accessing the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management application functions as a guest user.
Based on the knowledge management methods you use in your organization, you can choose to give either BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management user permissions or KCS user permissions to users.
Best practice
You can assign permissions to users by using the following methods:
- One user at a time — By using the People form. See information about configuring people in the BMC Helix ITSM Suite online documentation.
- Multiple users in bulk — By using the Accessing and navigating the BMC Helix ITSM application consoles . For more information, see Updating people information in the BMC Helix ITSM online documentation.
BMC Helix: Knowledge Management user permissions
The following user permissions are available in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management:
Permission | Description |
---|---|
Knowledge Admin | Grants full access to the application. This permission is usually assigned to the most advanced users and enables them (in addition to Knowledge User permissions) to generate reports, manage knowledge sources, and migrate data from previous installations. Users with Knowledge Admin permissions can perform the following tasks:
Best practice: Grant this permission to users who perform the role of a Knowledge Manager. Users in this role can create system news flashes and run reports. |
Knowledge User | Grants write, assign, and promote access to new and existing articles without administrative tasks. This permission is usually assigned to senior members of a support group and enables users to participate in the knowledge article lifecycle. Users with the Knowledge User permission can perform the following tasks:
Best practice: Grant this permission to advanced technical users or subject-matter experts. These users are typically involved in the content review and approval process. |
Knowledge Submitter | Grants write access to new knowledge articles only. This permission is usually assigned to junior knowledge users and trainees and enables them to create and promote articles to Draft status only. Users with Knowledge Submitter permission can perform the following tasks:
You can enable this permission for users who require access to create Knowledge articles from incidents and other requests. For more information about enabling these permissions, see Configuring application settings. Best practice: Grant this permission to standard technical users who require access to create knowledge articles from incidents or other requests. |
Knowledge Viewer | Grants view access to knowledge articles in any status without write privileges. This permission is usually assigned to support staff who only search and view articles. Users with Knowledge Viewer permission can perform the following tasks:
Best practice: Grant this permission to all users who need to view knowledge articles. |
Knowledge Config | Grants access to configuration settings. This permission enables users to configure BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementsettings. Typically, an assigned user is not a member of a support group and is not intended to create, edit, or publish articles. Users with the Knowledge Config permission can configure BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementsettings Best practice: Grant this permission to users who need to configure the component functions mentioned in the list of BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementpermissions. Typically, you grant this permission to users with the role of an Application Administrator. |
KCS user permissions
The KCS user maturity roles define different functions for knowledge users based on their experience level, training, competence, and so on, as defined by the KCS framework. These KCS roles are hierarchical, and users gain more authority as they advance from one level to the next. The level of KCS knowledge, application, and user performance defines the KCS role of a user.
Various performance evaluation techniques as defined by KCS, such as Article Quality Index (AQI) assessment, participation rate, and citation count provide a means of measuring user performance. A user who meets the KCS-defined performance standards advances to a higher KCS role, whereas a user who does not meet the performance standards might move down in the hierarchy.
Permission | Description |
---|---|
KCS Candidate | A knowledge user, primarily a support user, who creates or recognizes relevant knowledge articles and uses the articles to work with tickets. A KCS Candidate performs the following tasks:
A KCS Candidate user has the following permissions:
A KCS Candidate cannot take ownership of articles created by other users. Best practice: Grant this permission to a knowledge user who has basic knowledge about the KCS philosophy, and uses the knowledge base to work with incidents. |
KCS Contributor | A knowledge user, primarily a support user, who has a detailed understanding of the target audience, the content standard, the KCS article quality index, and KCS processes. A KCS Contributor performs the following tasks:
A KCS Contributor has the following permissions:
A KCS Contributor can take ownership of articles created by other users, can be the article assignee, and can change the assignments. Best practice: Grant this permission to advanced knowledge users who can create, modify, or review KCS articles, and can publish the articles to a specific audience, usually the internal users. |
KCS Publisher | An advanced knowledge user who demonstrates good understanding of the implications of modifying published content, defines priority information, and understands the copyright and trademark laws as defined by their organization. A KCS Publisher consistently receives a high performance evaluation score and performs the following tasks:
A KCS Publisher has the following permissions:
A KCS Publisher can take ownership of articles created by other users, can be the article assignee, and can change the assignments. Best practice: Grant this permission to advanced knowledge users who have the authority to publish articles to external users. |
KCS Coach | An advanced knowledge user who plays a significant role in the KCS adoption process in an organization. A KCS Coach performs the following tasks:
A KCS Coach has the following permissions:
A KCS coach can take ownership of articles created by other users, can be the article assignee, and can change the assignments. Best practice: Grant this permission to an advanced knowledge user who is a KCS practice expert and can be a mentor to other KCS users for development of their KCS competencies. |
BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management has the following permission groups, each each mapped to a certain role:
Role | Permission groups |
---|---|
BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementuser roles | |
Knowledge Manager | Knowledge Admin |
Knowledge Subject Matter Expert (SME) | Knowledge User |
Knowledge Application Administrator | Knowledge Config |
KCS user roles supported in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management | |
KCS Candidate | KCS Candidate |
KCS Contributor | KCS Contributor |
KCS Publisher | KCS Publisher |
KCS Coach | KCS Coach |
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