We are very pleased to announce that the Electric Imp IDE now allows Electric Imp account holders to invite other developers and colleagues to contribute to their connected products. Which tools and features the collaborator can access on the shared account is managed easily and exclusively through the roles assigned to collaborators by the account’s owner or administrator.
Collaborators are granted access through a new invitation mechanism. An invitation email is sent to collaborators, who need to accept the invitation in order to gain access to the shared account. Once the invitation is accepted, collaborators can switch to any accounts to which they have been granted access and begin contributing to shared models and manage shared devices. Collaborators must be Electric Imp account holders, but those who don’t yet have an account will be prompted to create one during the invitation process.
Multi-User Collaboration Controls update instantly and assure security
There are a number of roles pre-defined, starting with Owner. This is the account holder, and is not a role that can be given to other collaborators. Just like the Administrator, this role provides access to all of the IDE’s functionality. However, owners have the ability to manage the account; the Administrator does not.
One or more of the following roles can be assigned to a contributor:
- Administrator Has access to all IDE functionality, including both development and production tools, as well the collaborator management system.
- Developer Can work on software models and run code on test devices.
- Operations Manager Oversees the deployment of new and updated software to production devices in the field. This role is not available to accounts which lack production privileges.
Figure 1: Collaborator roles
An account can have any number of collaborators, who can take any role and, if you wish, more than one role at once. For example, a contributor who you wish to have access to both development and operations functionality but not to be able to manage collaborators can be assigned the Developer and Operations Manager roles jointly. A contributor’s role can be changed, or their access revoked, at any time. In each case, the collaborator, the account owner and administrators will be notified by email.
Figure 2: Collaborator dashboard
This multi-user feature opens up new opportunities for collaboration on the development and deployment of connected products. For example:
- Customers who have hired a third-party contractor to handle software development.
- Designers who help create the device’s look and feel.
- Customers with separate teams for software development and factory management, each of which require different access rights.
- Developers who need to provide access to established experts who can then review code before it is deployed or made available for testing.
As always, we welcome your feedback on this new feature. Whether you have comments or questions, please let us know on the Electric Imp forums.
Kenny Lee
Product Manager
Electric Imp