Manage Process HQ User Access

This page applies to developers, data governors, data stewards, and system administrators. It describes user roles in Process HQ and how to assign them.

Overview

Process HQ users in different roles work together to explore enterprise data and analyze business processes. This page describes the user roles and permissions required for Process HQ.

To configure user roles and workspace access:

• Review user roles and permissions to understand what actions users can perform based on their roles.
• Grant access to Process HQ so users can access the Process HQ workspace and Process HQ pages in Appian Sites.
• Add users as report creators so users can build reports and dashboards.
• Add users as data governors who can manage record type access in Process HQ.
• Assign data stewards to record types so they can add processes.

After users are assigned the appropriate permissions and roles, developers, system admins, data governors, and data stewards can secure data for report creators and process analysts.

User roles in Process HQ

Process HQ users with different user roles work together to perform tasks, and each user role has its own purpose and level of access to Process HQ. First, let's review what role each user plays in Process HQ.

Scroll or drag to pan · ⌘+/⌘− to zoom · Esc to close

Developers

Low-code developers prepare and secure data for Process HQ. These users are familiar with the data and applications that make up their business, and use that knowledge to:

• Connect to process data and prepare that data for process analysis.
• Prepare and secure data for data fabric insights.
• Assign data stewards to record types so they can add processes.
• Create reports and dashboards, if needed, to act as starting points for business users.
• Deploy supporting objects to Process HQ.

System administrators

Only system administrators can assign users to the appropriate groups, so those users can:

• Access Process HQ.
• Create reports and dashboards.
• Control who can add processes.

System administrators can also:

• Prepare and secure data for Process HQ like developers.
• Manage reports and dashboards like report creators.

Data governors

Data governors help accelerate process and data exploration by managing record type access directly in Process HQ. They can:

• Control who can add processes.
• Select which record types are available as datasets.
• Monitor access to your data with the Data Governance page.

Data governors who can manage record type access in production eliminate the need to wait for a developer to update and redeploy record types. Instead, with just a few clicks, data governors can enable the appropriate users to immediately start adding processes or building reports.

You should choose at least one data governor to monitor record type access and ensure data stewards have access to the record types they need.

Data stewards

Data stewards are trusted users who have a strong understanding of the business process and how the data is modeled across applications. They can easily discern what data is relevant or sensitive for process exploration, which helps them configure and secure data for business users.

In Process HQ, data stewards can:

• Add, edit, and secure processes.
• Specify which case and event record data should be analyzed.
• Filter process data.
• Add custom attributes to processes.
• Share processes with analysts and other stakeholders.

Business users

Process HQ is tailor-made for business users, ranging from analysts to executives. These users are typically familiar with the data and processes that make up their organization, but do not have experience developing in Appian. With Process HQ, business users don’t need developer experience. Instead, they can explore processes, build reports and dashboards, and collaborate with other users all in one place.

These users can have the following permissions in Process HQ:

• Process Analysts explore processes and drill down on aggregated process data, applying their knowledge of your business to identify the root cause of inefficiencies in your processes.
• Process Viewers collaborate with analysts by viewing and commenting on insights.
• Report Creators can build reports and dashboards.

Permissions by user role

Based on their user role, users can perform the following tasks in Process HQ.

Process HQ access, data preparation, and data security

Action	System Admin	Developer	Data Governor	Data Steward	Process Analyst	Process Viewer	Report Creator
Grant access to Process HQ	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Assign data governors	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Assign report creators	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Connect to process data	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Prepare data for process analysis	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Prepare data for reports	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Manage which record types are available as datasets	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Secure record types for report creators	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Assign data stewards to record types	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Deploy record types for Process HQ access	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No

Process security

Action	System Admin	Developer *	Data Governor	Data Steward **	Process Analyst	Process Viewer	Report Creator
Add, edit, or delete a process	No	No	Yes*	Yes**	No	No	No
Grant access to processes	No	No	Yes*	Yes**	No	No	No
Update process data	No	No	Yes*	Yes**	No	No	No
Add, edit, or delete a process view	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Add, edit, or delete a KPI	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
View a process view	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Drill down to insights	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Save an insight	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
View a saved insight	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Comment on a saved insight	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Define the expected activity order or activity costs	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No

^* Developer access to processes varies by permission level.
^** Data stewards must also have access to the business process object.

Reports and dashboards security

Action	System Admin	Developer	Data Governor	Data Steward	Process Analyst	Process Viewer	Report Creator
View the data catalog	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Build reports and dashboards	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Share reports and dashboards	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Chat with AI Copilot for reports and data fabric	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Deploy reports and dashboards for Process HQ access	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No

Grant access to Process HQ

To access the Process HQ workspace, users need to be members of the Process HQ Users system group. By default, all users are members of this group, but system administrators can restrict access as needed.

Users will need additional permissions to access data governance, analyze processes, and build reports and dashboards.

Users can access Process HQ in either of the following ways:

• Navigate to the workspace by selecting Process HQ in the navigation menu.
• Use a Process HQ page in your Appian Site, if configured.

Add users as report creators

To access data fabric insights, users need to be members of the Data Fabric Report Creators system group. The Process HQ Users system group inherits members from the Data Fabric Report Creators system group, so report creators will automatically have access to the Process HQ workspace.

Assign data governors

System administrators can assign data governors by adding users to the Data Governors system group. You should always have at least one user in this group.

The Process HQ Users system group inherits members from the Data Governors system group, so data governors will automatically have access to the Process HQ workspace.

Assign data stewards

To add processes, data stewards need access to the following record types:

• The case record type, which stores details about specific instances of a business process.
• The event history record type, which stores the details of your events.
• Any related record types that contain information relevant to the case or its events.

There are two ways to assign users data steward access to a record type.

In Appian Designer (developers)

Developers can assign data steward permissions directly within the record type security settings.

To assign data stewards from Appian Designer:

1. In the record type, click the gear icon and select Security.
2. Click Add Users or Groups.
3. For User or Group, enter the name of the group or user you want to assign as a data steward.
4. For Permission Level, select Data Steward.
5. Click SAVE CHANGES.

You can also assign data steward permissions on multiple record types using the security summary. Other types of record security are not applied in process insights.

In Process HQ (data governors)

Data governors can manage access across multiple record types from the Data Governance page of Process HQ.

To assign data stewards from Process HQ:

1. In Process HQ, go to Data Governance.
2. Select the checkbox next to one or more record types.
3. Click MANAGE DATA STEWARDS.

Choosing an assignment method

You will likely want to use a combination of these methods to assign data stewards.

For example, if a developer is creating a new case record type, they can conveniently assign users Data Steward permissions while configuring the record type object security. Later, data governors can assign additional users as data stewards to these record types so they don't have to wait for future deployment cycles.

You can use any combination of these methods to manage data steward access without accidentally overwriting permissions. For example, a data governor cannot use the Data Governance page to remove a data steward who was assigned via the record type object.

Feedback