Think of the complex tools you use every day.
Your automobile.
Your cell phone.
Your Bluetooth-enabled Wi-Fi-connected smart refrigerator.
Most of us don't really understand
the deep inner workings of those devices.
We don't need to
and we don't want to.
We have access to a few options,
and if we need more,
or something gets weird,
we talk to a professional.
Those mass-produced systems intentionally limit what we can do.
They take away flexibility.
That’s part of their appeal.
On the other hand,
most open source software packages,
like WordPress and CiviCRM,
are designed to give you maximum flexibility
right out of the box.
That's part of their appeal.
You can literally make it do virtually anything you want.
That’s valuable, because your organization is unique.
But consider this:
Most of your staff don't need that flexibility.
And they don't want the complexity that comes with it.
That means:
Giving full administrator access to your staff is probably not advisable.
I mean, sure:
It's easy.
It doesn't require much thought.
But it transfers a burden directly to your staff users.
Complexity.
Responsibility.
Inefficiency.
Uncertainty.
And that means you'll want to think about the unique needs of your organization:
Consider staff workflows.
Design a permissions scheme.
Create a training plan.
In a large organization, that might be a big project.
In a small organization, probably not so much.
Either way:
Protecting your staff from your systems' flexibility is usually worth the effort.
All the best,
A.