User Management

What Is User Management in V-Portal

User Management prevents unauthorised access, reduces operational risk, and provides a structured way to manage users as teams grow and change.

Feature Overview

User Management enables administrators to control who can access V-Portal, what actions they are allowed to perform, and how access is maintained throughout a user’s lifecycle. It ensures that the right people have the right level of access at the right time, supporting both operational safety and security compliance.

Who is this for:

• Administrators
• Platform owners
• Security and operations teams

Where This Feature Fits

User Management is a foundational feature of V-Portal, underpinning platform security, access control across all features, and auditability and compliance. Most other capabilities in V‑Portal rely on it to determine who can view specific areas, who can configure settings, and who is allowed to perform sensitive actions. When users and roles are not properly configured, access to the platform is intentionally restricted to protect the system and its data.

Key Concepts & Capabilities

Role Hierarchy

Roles are hierarchical. Higher roles automatically inherit permissions from lower roles.

Example: An Integrator automatically has all Operator and Maintenance permissions

What to Expect

User Management allows administrators to:

• Create and manage user accounts
• Assign roles with permissions
• Control access to platform features
• Enable or revoke access as users join or leave
• Maintain a clear access structure across teams

Access & Visibility Rules

Who Can Access User Management?

Only users with Maintenance level or higher can access the User Management area.

From there, they can:

• View users at or below their role level
• Create users at or below their role level
• Update user details at or below their role level
• Activate or deactivate users at or below their role level
• Reset passwords for users at or below their role level

🚫 Users can never manage users at a higher role level.

Common Scenarios

Onboarding a New Team Member

An administrator creates a new user and assigns a role matching the user’s responsibilities.

1. A temporary password must be generated
2. The user is flagged as “password change required”
3. A default profile image is assigned
4. Credentials are shared securely

🔐 The user cannot access the system until the password is changed.

First Login & Password Reset

On first login:

• User logs in with the temporary password
• System immediately prompts for a new password
• No old password is required

For future password changes:

• Old password is required
• Password strength rules are enforced

💢 Password strength rules apply to every password change.

Changing Responsibilities

A user’s role is updated to reflect a new level of access without creating a new account.

When a user’s role is changed:

• All sessions are invalidated immediately
• User is logged out across devices
• Any further requests are rejected

🔑 This helps to secure data and ensure that authorization rules are preserved.

Offboarding

A user account is deactivated to immediately revoke access while preserving audit history.

When a user is deactivated:

• All sessions are invalidated immediately
• User is logged out across devices
• Any further request is rejected

ℹ️ This preserves audit history while removing access instantly.

User Workflows

This section describes how common tasks are performed.

Workflow: New User Creation

Actors: Admin / Maintenance / Integrator

1. Open User Management
2. Click Create User
3. Enter username, first name, last name, email and role
4. Force Password Reset is enabled
5. Add a temporary password for the user
6. Save user
7. Share temporary password securely

Outcome: User is created and forced to change password on first login.

Workflow: User First Login

Actors: Any new user

1. Enter username and temporary password
2. System detects forced password change
3. User sets a new password
4. User logs in

Outcome: User gains access to V-Portal based on assigned role

Workflow: Change User Role

Actors: Maintenance / Integrator / Admin

1. Select a user below your role level
2. Change role
3. Save changes

System behaviour:

• User sessions are invalidated
• User is notified
• New permissions apply immediately

Workflow: Deactivate a User

Actors: Maintenance / Integrator / Admin

1. Navigate to User Accounts
2. Click Update on the user
3. Toggle Deactivate (Active Status)
4. Confirm by clicking Update

Outcome: User is logged out instantly and cannot re-enter until reactivated.

Workflow: View User Details

Actors: Maintenance / Integrator / Admin

1. Navigate to User Accounts
2. Click Info on the user

Outcome: User Information window loads.

Usage Notes

This section highlights important rules, edge cases, and best practices.

Role Hierarchy — Dos/Don’ts

• Manage only users at or below your role
• Never promote someone above your level
• Peers may modify peers at the same role

Example: A Maintenance Lead may update another Maintenance Lead.

Admin Safety — Guardrails

• No self-lockout for Admins
• Admins cannot change role or deactivate other Admins
• Admins may edit profile details (name, email, avatar, password)
• At least one Admin must remain active

Passwords

• Never log passwords
• Support forced resets
• Enforce strength rules consistently

🔒 Password Rules

Username Constraints

Name Constraints

Why We Deactivate (Not Delete) Users

Users are deactivated instead of deleted to:

• Preserve audit trails
• Maintain historical data
• Avoid accidental data loss

Troubleshooting

Access and Permissions Troubleshooting

• If a user cannot access a feature, verify that the correct role is assigned.
• Ensure the user account is active and not disabled.
• Changes to permissions require no restart, but users may need to refresh their session.

❗ Cannot Deactivate Admin

Expected Behaviour: System prevents deactivation of last Admin.

❗ 403 Forbidden on User Update

Possible Causes:

• Acting user role insufficient.
• Attempting to modify same/higher role.
• Promotion rule violation.

❗ Password Reset Not Working

Check:

• Force password change is enabled.
• Old password required (except first login).
• Password policy validation.

❗ Session Invalidation Delay

Confirm:

• Network connectivity.
• User role change.
• User deactivation.

Best Practices

• Assign minimum permissions required for a user to perform their role.
• Review user access regularly especially for temporary and external users.
• Deactivate users who no longer require access instead of leaving account unused.
• Avoid sharing accounts; each user should have an individual login for traceability.

Limitations & Constraints

• User permissions are role-based and cannot be customised at an individual action level.
• System roles are fixed and cannot be altered.
• Historical audit data may still reference users who have been deactivated.
• User deletion will be restricted where audit or compliance requirements apply.

Related Documentation

• Data Fields
• HMI Pages
• Widgets