Report and dashboard access: sharing insight deliberately

Operational access and analytical access are related but different. A person may need to review a performance report without editing the transactions behind it. Another person may prepare transactions while having no need for a broad financial dashboard.

The purpose of access design is to give people the information and actions their work requires, with a clear reason for broader visibility.

Resource permissions in DNA

DNA's role editor includes report and dashboard-widget grants. These are stored in the same permission map as other permissions, using resource-specific entries whose View value represents access. The editor provides individual and bulk changes to these grants, subject to the administrator's add or edit authority.

The report viewer applies access checks for standard reports and saved versions. Versions have additional access handling depending on the server capability and their relationship to a base report. A saved customised view should therefore not be assumed to grant access independently in every environment.

Presentation is not permission

Removing a distracting column can improve a report, but temporarily hiding it is not the same thing as restricting access to it. Likewise, placing a widget on a dashboard does not justify sharing its information with every role.

Emily might need a customer collection summary, while Daniel needs installation tasks. Their useful information differs even if they work on the same project. A broad “all reports” grant should be a deliberate decision rather than a convenience default.

Review the actual result

Check that the intended user can open the needed report and that unrelated information is not exposed through the chosen sharing method. Public report links have their own access mechanism and should be reviewed separately from normal role grants.

A good access design connects each analytical resource to a responsibility. It also accounts for saved versions, exported files and shared links, because those can outlive the immediate screen view.