Author (user profile)
Author elements represent user profiles of actual people on a project, with contact details (such as phone and email address), and credentials such as a position within a company or organisation.
An Author element is always bound to the unique Login User who created that author element.
A single user may create more than one author element within a given project or across different projects for carrying different user profile information over the lifetime of a project.
For example, a single user may have two different positions during the 'design' phase of a project, and may have other positions during the 'as-built' or 'commissioning' phases of a project. Having different Author elements means a single person can "sign-off" on different Submission Credits at different times with the author profile (and job description) they had at the time of credit submission.
You should usually create at least one Author element with some basic contact and profile information. The system will prompt you to create one when you first use the credit submission system.
To see how to work through an entire Submission Credit and "sign off" on a Credit Submission Form with an Author (user profile) please watch this full tutorial video.
- A Login User is created by the web application administrator so you can login to the system with a unique username and password. Your Login User will have one or more assigned User Roles, which determine your access level and the features available to you.
- An Author is a model element for carrying user-profile data, and belongs to a single Login User. It is used for signing off on Submission Credits.
- An Actor represents a role on a real-world project, such as 'Project Manager' or 'Contractor'. It may also be used to represent a group of people, such as 'The Design Team'. Activity (task) items that help earn points towards credits may be allocated to actors for project tracking and team management. Actor model elements may also by involved in relationships to other model elements (such as Credits and Activities or building Blocks), but need not be allocated to carry out tasks. For example, a 'Cyclist' actor may be related to credits about facilities for cyclists.
For a full explanation please watch this mini tutorial: Video: Mini-tutorial: Terminology: Login User vs. Author (user profile) vs. Actor (human resource role)