Track Permission Changes with Permissions Assistant

Other Posts In This Series

• Introducing Tython Permissions Assistant
• Analyzing Users with Tython Permissions Assistant
• Hone in on Pesky Permissions with Permission Search

Conquer Complexity

Recently we here at Tython have been thinking a lot about the challenges and complexities of managing permissions in a large Salesforce org. We thought about it enough to create Permissions Assistant (PA from here on out for brevity), an on-platform application that aims to smooth away common permission pain points. Past blog posts have focused on key features in PA that enable powerful overview and comparison analysis between different permission sets and users. In this post, let’s look at another useful mode of comparison: Permissions History.

Know the Past, Understand the Present

When modifying a permission set or profile, there are times where it would be useful to track what was changed since the previous update. For the sake of security or compliance goals, perhaps changes need to be recorded or even reversed. PA’s “Permission History” mode grants admins this level of visibility in a straightforward interface. Find out at a glance what field-level security settings have changed, or what important system-level permissions have been granted since the last update.

How It Works

To keep track of changes, Permissions Assistant takes “snapshots” to capture a permission set at a certain point in time. These snapshots are generated when viewing a permission set or profile within the PA app (automating daily snapshots is on the road map!).

Queuing up a comparison can be done in as little as two steps:

1. Select the permission set or profile to analyze
2. Click the “compare” button to auto-select the two most recent snapshots

Specific timestamped snapshots can also be manually selected. This allows an admin to view how the permissions granted by a permission set has changed over a longer period of time. The app currently saves all past snapshots for a given permission set (subject to change depending on storage limits).

On-Platform Compliance

Permissions Assistant strives to emphasize data security. There are similar solutions out there that house data on third party storage solutions. While that is fine for some organizations, that is a red flag for others. With Permissions History, all snapshot data is stored on-platform. No browser extensions involved, no third party storage. Company metadata stays under company control.

Achieve Victory

Winston Churchill once famously said “History is written by the victors”. Permissions Assistant is all about helping Admins achieve victory in their battles with org management.

PA, and its powerful features like Permissions History, is currently in beta. Official launch on the App Exchange is close! At the moment there is still time to request beta access and help shape how these features develop. If you are intrigued, we would love to hear from you!

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