Team Roles
Understanding Lead, Member, and Viewer roles in YAPL teams.
Team Roles
YAPL uses a role-based permission system within teams. Each member has exactly one role that determines their capabilities within the team and its assigned projects.
Available Roles
YAPL provides three team roles:
| Role | Description | Permission Level |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | Team administrators | Full access |
| Member | Standard participants | Edit access |
| Viewer | Read-only access | View only |
Lead Role
Team Leads are administrators responsible for team management.
Capabilities
| Capability | Lead |
|---|---|
| View team content | Yes |
| Edit team content | Yes |
| Create projects/plans | Yes |
| Delete projects/plans | Yes |
| Invite members | Yes |
| Remove members | Yes |
| Change member roles | Yes |
| Edit team settings | Yes |
| Delete team | No* |
| Assign items to team | Yes |
*Only workspace owners can delete teams, not team leads.
Use Cases
Assign Lead role to:
- Department heads
- Project managers
- Team supervisors
- Anyone needing full team control
Requirements
- Every team must have at least one Lead
- You cannot demote or remove the last Lead
- Multiple Leads are allowed
Before removing a Lead or changing their role, ensure at least one other Lead exists.
Member Role
Members are standard team participants who can contribute to work.
Capabilities
| Capability | Member |
|---|---|
| View team content | Yes |
| Edit team content | Yes |
| Create projects/plans | Yes |
| Delete projects/plans | No |
| Invite members | No |
| Remove members | No |
| Change member roles | No |
| Edit team settings | No |
| Delete team | No |
| Assign items to team | No |
Use Cases
Assign Member role to:
- Active contributors
- Team participants
- Staff who need to edit work
- Day-to-day team workers
Viewer Role
Viewers have read-only access to team content.
Capabilities
| Capability | Viewer |
|---|---|
| View team content | Yes |
| Edit team content | No |
| Create projects/plans | No |
| Delete projects/plans | No |
| Invite members | No |
| Remove members | No |
| Change member roles | No |
| Edit team settings | No |
| Delete team | No |
| Assign items to team | No |
Use Cases
Assign Viewer role to:
- Stakeholders needing visibility
- External consultants
- Auditors or reviewers
- People who need to monitor without changing
Role Comparison
Quick Comparison
| Action | Lead | Member | Viewer |
|---|---|---|---|
| View projects | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit tasks | Yes | Yes | No |
| Create tasks | Yes | Yes | No |
| Create projects | Yes | Yes | No |
| Delete projects | Yes | No | No |
| Manage team | Yes | No | No |
| Invite members | Yes | No | No |
Permission Hierarchy
Lead (Full Access)
└── Member (Edit Access)
└── Viewer (View Only)Changing Roles
Who Can Change Roles
Only Leads can modify member roles within their team.
How to Change a Role
- Open the team
- Navigate to Members tab
- Find the member
- Click role dropdown or member actions
- Select the new role
- Confirm the change
Role Change Rules
| Scenario | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Promote Viewer to Member | Yes |
| Promote Member to Lead | Yes |
| Demote Lead to Member | Yes (if other Lead exists) |
| Demote Lead to Viewer | Yes (if other Lead exists) |
| Demote last Lead | No |
Role Inheritance
Workspace Owners
Workspace owners have special access:
- Full access to all teams (via Workspace Owners team)
- Can manage any team
- Not restricted by team roles
Team Roles vs. Workspace Roles
| Role Type | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Workspace Owner | Entire workspace | Workspace settings |
| Team Lead | Within team | Team membership |
| Team Member | Within team | Team membership |
| Team Viewer | Within team | Team membership |
Default Permissions
Teams have default permissions that work with roles:
{
"projects": {
"create": true,
"view": true,
"update": true,
"delete": false
}
}These defaults can be modified by workspace administrators.
Role Assignment Best Practices
Lead Assignment
- Assign Leads who can manage the team
- Consider having 2+ Leads for coverage
- Leads should be active in the team
Member Assignment
- Default role for most contributors
- Anyone actively working on projects
- Staff who need to update tasks/plans
Viewer Assignment
- Minimize Viewer usage when possible
- Use for genuine read-only needs
- Consider if access is needed at all
Multiple Team Membership
Members can belong to multiple teams:
- Different roles in different teams
- Access combines across teams
- Most permissive role wins for shared content
Example:
- User is Lead in Team A
- User is Viewer in Team B
- User has Lead access to Team A projects, Viewer to Team B projects
Troubleshooting
Cannot Change Role
"Cannot demote last Lead"
- Promote another member to Lead first
- Every team needs at least one Lead
"You don't have permission"
- Only Leads can change roles
- Check your role in the team
Role Not Working as Expected
- Verify the role was saved
- Refresh the page
- Check if user has higher access via another team
- Check if user is workspace owner (full access)
Cannot Perform Action
- Verify your role permits the action
- Check project-level permissions
- Contact team Lead for access upgrade
Related Topics
- Creating Teams - Setting up teams
- Managing Members - Member administration
- Managing Owners - Workspace ownership
Was this page helpful?