User

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Discussion

A User is a person, Organization, or system that interacts with or uses a system, service, or resource to achieve a purpose.

A User can interact through:

A user interfaceAn application programming interfaceAn EndpointA command-line interfaceAn automation interfaceA service requestA messageA delegated processAnother supported interaction mechanismA User can identify:

Its identityIts nameIts typeIts associated OrganizationIts assigned RolesIts permissionsIts credentialsIts applicable authentication methodIts applicable authorizationIts applicable Governance DomainsIts applicable PoliciesIts applicable Governance PoliciesIts ProvenanceIts TraceabilityA User can act in one or more Roles. The assigned Role establishes the responsibilities, permissions, and expected behaviors applicable to a particular interaction.

Definition

person, Organization, or system that interacts with or uses a system, service, or Resource to achieve a purpose

Source

Adapted from:

DIDO Reference ArchitectureDIDO Reference Implementation Conceptual ModelDIDO-TE draft Requirements Register

Note

A User does not need to be a human. An Organization or automated system can act as a User when it interacts with or uses another system, service, or Resource.

A User differs from a Role:

A User identifies the person, Organization, or system that interacts with or uses a capabilityA Role identifies the responsibilities, permissions, and expected behaviors assigned to that UserA User can act in multiple Roles. Multiple Users can act in the same Role.

A User differs from an Organization:

An Organization is an identifiable body structured to pursue defined purposes and exercise assigned responsibilitiesA User is an interacting or using partyAn Organization becomes a User in a particular context when the Organization interacts with or uses the applicable system, service, or Resource.

A User differs from a Node:

A User uses or interacts with a system, service, or ResourceA Node is an identifiable participant that performs one or more assigned Roles in a distributed systemThe same system can act as both a User and a Node when it satisfies both definitions.

A User identity does not by itself establish permission to perform an action. The applicable Role, authorization, and Governance Policy determine the permitted actions.

Example

A person uses DIDO-TE to initiate a Test Run.

The person is the User. The person acts in the Test Operator Role.

The Test Operator Role permits the User to:

Select an approved Test DefinitionSelect an approved Test EnvironmentSupply permitted Test Argument ValuesInitiate Test ExecutionMonitor the Test RunView the resulting Test ResultsThe User cannot approve the resulting Validation Decision unless the applicable Governance Policy also assigns the required approval Role.

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