Observer & external collaborators
When you run a workspace for a client you’ll usually want to bring them in - but how far in depends on the moment. dembrane gives you two outside-the-organisation roles for it:
- observer - free, read-only. The client can watch, but can’t touch. Use it when they should see findings as they land without changing anything, and you don’t want to charge a seat. It’s the default for the data owner on every external-client workspace.
- external - a paid collaborator. The client, or an outside consultant, can edit projects, read conversations, chat and generate reports. Use it when they need to roll up their sleeves.
Both render grey in member lists, and both really come into their own inside external-client workspaces. Inviting people and changing roles needs workspace owner or admin rights. The canonical breakdown is in roles & permissions.
At a glance#
| observer | external | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | free - no seat | paid - takes a seat |
| Read projects | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edit projects | ✗ | ✓ |
| Create / delete projects | ✗ | ✗ |
| Read conversations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Use chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| View reports | ✓ | ✓ |
| Generate reports | ✗ | ✓ |
| Publish reports | ✗ | ✗ |
| Invite / manage members | ✗ | ✗ |
| Where it exists | external-client workspaces only | any workspace |
The free observer is the floor of the role hierarchy: read everything, change nothing. An external collaborator joins an existing project to work in it - they edit, chat and generate, but don’t create or delete projects, record, invite, manage settings, or publish reports. They run nothing; they contribute.
Upgrading an observer to external#
There’s a clean path from watching to contributing: a workspace admin changes the person’s role from observer to external. From that moment they can edit, chat and generate - and they start consuming a paid seat.
Tip
Start clients as observers. It costs nothing, reassures them their data is theirs, and upgrading to external is a one-step role change the moment they need to do more.
Going further - turning an external collaborator into a full member of your organisation - is deliberately not one click, because it brings them into your org. That cross-table move is described in roles & permissions.
Choosing the right role#
- The client should just watch, at no cost - observer.
- The client or an outside consultant should edit, chat or generate - external.
- Someone is really part of your organisation now - bring them in as a member (see roles & permissions).
Related#
- Roles & permissions - the full capability matrix.
- External-client workspaces - where observer and external live, and the auto-invited observer.
- Data ownership & handoff - the data owner is your first observer.
- Tiers & billing - seats, and what external costs.
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