Who Does What? An Overview of Power BI Workspace Roles

A Power BI Workspace is a collaborative environment within Microsoft Power BI where users can create, manage, and share Power BI content such as reports, dashboards, datasets, and dataflows. Think of it as a container that holds all the essential elements related to a specific project or department. A Power BI Workspace is a collaborative environment within Microsoft Power BI where users can create, manage, and share Power BI content such as reports, dashboards, datasets, and dataflows. Think of it as a container that holds all the essential elements related to a specific project or department.

Why is a Power BI Workspace Important?

• Content Management: Manage datasets, reports, dashboards, and dataflows.
• Collaboration: Work together with your team on shared content.
• Role-Based Security: Assign Admin, Member, Contributor, or Viewer roles.
• Integration: Integrate with other Microsoft tools like Teams, Excel, and Azure.
• Data Refresh: Schedule automatic updates to ensure data is always current.

In this blog, we will explore workspace security focusing on the concept of role-based security. A role in this context represents a set of permissions or access rights assigned to a group of users. It defines the actions a user can perform and the resources they can access within a system or application.

"To be secure on the internet is to be aware, prepared, and vigilant."  — Unknown

In Power BI, a workspace is a collaborative environment where you can create, manage, and share content like reports, dashboards, datasets, and dataflows. To manage access and responsibilities, Power BI uses role-based permissions within each workspace.

Here are the four main workspace roles in Power BI:

Admin Role (Full Access) ( 🔑 )

The Admin role has the highest level of permissions in a workspace.

Permissions:

•  Create, view, edit, and delete content (reports, dashboards, datasets).
•  Manage workspace settings (security, access, integrations).
•  Add, update, and remove workspace members.
•  Publish, share, and distribute content to other users.
•  Manage workspace permissions for other users.
•  View and configure data sources and refresh schedules.
•  Ability to take over ownership of datasets.
•  Manage deployment pipelines and content endorsement.
•  Assign roles to other users.

Ideal For:

 Team leads, managers, and BI administrators who need full control.

Member Role (High-Level Permissions) ( 📝 )

The Member role has permissions slightly lower than Admin but still substantial.

Permissions:

•  Create, view, edit, and delete content within the workspace.
•  Publish and update reports and datasets.
•  Share dashboards and reports with other users.
•  View, build, and edit Power BI apps created from the workspace.
•  Schedule data refreshes and create reports.
•  Cannot change workspace settings or manage members.
•  Cannot delete the workspace.

Ideal For:

 BI developers and analysts responsible for content creation and maintenance.

Contributor Role (Moderate Permissions) (✏️)

The Contributor role is mainly for users who need to upload and update content but not manage the workspace.

Permissions:

•  Create, view, and edit reports, dashboards, and datasets.
•  Upload files and create new content in the workspace.
•  Can edit existing reports and update data connections.
•  Cannot share content or manage permissions.
•  Cannot delete the workspace or change workspace settings.
•  Limited ability to publish apps.

Ideal For:

 Team members who actively contribute data and reports but do not manage the workspace.

Viewer Role (Read-Only Permissions) (👁️)

The Viewer role is intended for users who only need to view and consume reports.

Permissions:

•  View dashboards and reports shared with them.
•  Cannot edit, create, or delete any content.
•  Can interact with reports (filtering, drilling down, etc.) if permissions are granted.
•  Cannot upload files, publish reports, or refresh datasets.
•  No ability to share content with others.

Ideal For:

 Stakeholders, managers, and end users who need to consume data but not modify it.

Summary:

• Assign roles based on function, not individual preference.
• Use groups for better scalability and management.
• Limit Admin access and perform regular audits.
• Educate users and monitor changes to maintain a secure and organized workspace.

Managing workspace roles effectively in Power BI ensures secure, organized, and collaborative environments. Here are some best practices to follow when assigning and managing workspace roles: