What are Permission Set Groups?
Permission Set Groups
We first introduced Permission Sets in the blog "Users and Profiles Explained!". In that first blog, we talked about what they are (optional add-ons that help expand accessibility and functionality) and how we can set them up.
But what happens if an Admin is required to assign a whole bunch of different Permission Sets to a more than one person at time? What if you have a group of people who all need the same Permission Sets? Assigning each Permission Set individually to each User in that group may be time consuming and inefficient.
So, is there an easier way to accomplish this task?
Luckily, Salesforce has already visioned this need; introducing Permission Set Groups. A Permission Set Group is a bundle of different Permission Sets. When a Permission Set Group is assigned to a group of Users, they will gain the combined accessibility and functionality defined in those Permission Sets inside the Permission Set Group. Below is an example:
20 users within the Sales and Marketing team require the following additional accessibility:
- Create, edit, and delete Surveys
- Create, edit, and delete Opportunities
There are already two Permission Sets that will grant the necessary permissions to meet those two requirements.
What if some permissions need to be disabled?
Now, let’s say these 20 Users no longer need the permission to delete opportunities. How do we meet this requirement given that the Permission Set (Standard Application) is also assigned to other Users from other teams?
In this case, you might consider creating a new Permission Set and then adding it to the Permission Set Group. It may not, however, be as efficient as using the Muting Permission Set function.
The Delete Opportunites permission can be muted by creating a Muting Permission Set, and thus those 20 users will no longer be able to delete Opportunites! Other users with the Standard Application Permission Set are unaffected because they are not part of the group.
Instead of assigning both Permission Sets to each user individually, a Permission Set Group can be created that grants these 20 Users both required accessibilities.
This newly created Permission Set Group (named as Sales and Marketing team) can be assigned to those 20 users at once who will then be able to manage Surveys and Opportunities!
To avoid confusion, the muting mechanism will automatically mute the broader permissions. If you want to mute the Read Opportunities permission, Salesforce will automatically choose to mute all other permissions. Another thing to keep in mind is that, while a Permission Set Group can have up to 100 Permission Sets, Salesforce only allows one Muting Permission Set per Permission Set Group.
Permission Set Groups come in handy when assigning different Permission Sets to groups of Users. Keep a look out for places where Permission Set Groups can you be used in your own Salesforce org and save yourself some time!