License types and access levels

Start with less access for users when setting up access levels.

Limit yourself to only the access levels necessary to accomplish your work goals.

Ideally, four or five access levels would capture the needs of most users in Adobe Workfront.

The access level ensures that when a Workfront object is shared with a user, the user has the rights they need to edit it, delete it, and so on. You can make access levels more general because sharing on individual items can be configured to be more specific.

In addition, having fewer access levels can make it easier to maintain a clutter-free system and implement a strategy, which also can lead to quicker onboarding for new users or when users switch departments or roles.

Copy and modify an existing access level, rather than creating a new access level.

Uncheck the “Share System-wide” box on each object in all access levels.

Sharing an object system-wide is often used as a crutch to allow certain users to see items in Workfront. This happens when the Workfront group structure is lacking or when sharing permissions aren’t fully understood. When items are shared system-wide, it means everyone can see the item that is shared. Depending on the type of information being kept in the system, this could lead to privacy issues.

For example, you may be working with several vendors inside Workfront to check progress, provide approvals, etc. If the Share System-wide box is selected or set as a default, that makes information available to all vendors.

By unchecking the option altogether, you make it so a user with the permission to share must determine the specific person or people—either through a company, group, or team—they want to share the object with.

Consider activating the “Never allow users to delete comments” setting.

Document what each access level can do in the Description box.

Be detailed with the description, listing what the settings are for each object type. This helps system administrators—present and future—know exactly what each access level does without having to dive into the access level itself to review the settings.

This also can make comparing access levels easier when looking at them in a report. The description field can be added to the view to quickly see how access levels differ and, possibly, why a different access level was created.

Assign at least two users to the global system administrator access level.

Limit the number of system administrators in favor of group administrators.

System administrators have access to everything in Workfront, including global system settings. The settings that group administrators can access are controlled by the system administrator and apply only to that specific group.

Having group administrators allows the system administrators to delegate many responsibilities, allowing them to focus on bigger picture items, rather than the day-to-day maintenance of Workfront. Group administrators can more easily keep in touch with the needs of their groups, which provides better service for users.