Information Classification and Role Management

 In continuation of the previous post..

Approach for Implementation

 

Step 1: Assign Role Clearance Level (One-time activity)

o   Assign a single, high-level clearance to every role in the User Management screen and its purpose defines the highest sensitivity of data each role is permitted to access.

Role	Clearance Level
Admin	Secret
Finance Manager	Confidential
Lab Manager	Confidential
Lab Technician	Internal

 

Step 2: Classify Attributes (One-time activity via DACPAC)

o   Classify each attribute once, stored directly in the database via DACPAC seed scripts:

o   Attributes will appear labelled clearly with their classification levels within the Role Management UI.

Entity	Attribute Name	Classification
Account	Account Number	Secret
Account	Financial Data	Confidential
Instrument	Serial Number	Confidential
Contact	Email Address	Internal

 

Step 3: Automatic Permission (Minimal effort)

o   View Permissions:

ü  Default "View" permission granted automatically if the Role's assigned Clearance Level >= Attribute's Classification Level.

Role Clearance	Attribute Classification	Automatically Assigned View Permission
Secret	Secret, Confidential, Internal, Public	Yes
Confidential	Confidential, Internal, Public	Yes
Internal	Internal, Public	Yes

 

o   Edit Permissions:

ü  No automatic edit permission will be inherited based on clearance level.

ü  Explicitly assigned by administrators via the Role Management UI.

Note:

o   If a Role has Feature-level Edit permission, it implicitly has View permissions, and all attributes within that feature (entity) will automatically inherit Edit permission by default.

 

Step 4: Role Management (Overrides Only, Exception-based)

o   Role Management UI can override any permissions inherited by the system

·        Inherited permissions are clearly displayed by default (based on classification and role clearance).

·        Admins explicitly manage deviations only (typically minimal).

o   Planned Usability Enhancements:

·        "View All" and "Edit All" toggles for bulk actions.

  

Specific Use Case Examples

1. Use Case 1: Feature-level Edit Permission

• Granting Edit permission to a feature (entity) automatically grants View and Edit permissions to all attributes within that entity.

2. Use Case 2: Partial Edit Permissions (Attribute-level exceptions)

UI Form Behavior:

• Fields without Edit permission are read-only.
• On Save (POST/PUT), only authorized edited attributes are submitted.
• The backend explicitly validates submissions. Unauthorized edits trigger explicit authorization errors.
• Transactions succeed if no unauthorized attributes are submitted.

3. Use Case 3: Bulk Imports (CSF Import Scenario)

• A CSF import contains 4 samples; the user lacks edit permissions on 2 attributes.
• The import succeeds for samples that do not involve restricted attributes.
• The import explicitly fails or skips samples(which doesn’t have edit access to those attributes), providing clear feedback to the user:

"Some attributes weren't imported due to insufficient permissions."

4. Use Case 4: Masking Behaviour

• If a user has sufficient clearance but the View permission is disabled, the attribute appears masked in the UI (e.g., "****").
• If a user does not have sufficient clearance but the View permission is enabled, the attribute appears masked in the UI (e.g., "****").
• Both Clearance and View permissions are needed to view the attributes

Scenario	Outcome	UX benefit
Partial edit permissions	Non-editable fields disabled	Prevents confusion
No view permission	Attribute visible as masked (****)	Clearly indicates permission/clearance issue
No sufficient clearance	Attribute visible as masked (****)	Clearly indicates permission/clearance issue