Permission-Based Routing
January 23, 2019
Davis Johnson
Blog, Resources
In this article we’re going to discuss permission-based routing with Cartogram. What is permission-based routing? It’s Cartogram’s ability to give different people in your building different content, routes, and landmarks based on their permission level. The janitors can have routes for taking large bins around the building, the patients can avoid the maintenance- and staff-only areas, and staff can easily find the fastest way to their destination.
We’ll cover these topics:
- The 4 permission levels
- Your building’s routes
- Your building’s content
The 4 Permission Levels
A permission level tells the system who can see what information. Cartogram comes with four permission levels:
- Owner – This level can see everything in Cartogram. This is usually the person or team who has responsibility over the maps.
- Leader – Typically facilities leadership or management
- Member – Typically for staff
- Patient – Everyone can see all patient-level content, so typically this is public-facing (lobbies, artworks, departments like radiology, etc.). Map content is set to this level by default.
You can see by this list that the Patient-level permission set is the default. Everyone can see map items by default, which is helpful when setting up the map initially.
Your building’s routes
Cartogram builds routes in a grid-editing mode that looks like a Lite Brite full of red dots. This is the grid. Here’s a picture of what the grid editor looks like:
In this screenshot, the clear, or white areas of the map indicate where paths along the routes will be traced. The red dots are blocked out – no one using this route will be navigated there. Want to learn more about Cartogram’s grid editing system? Read this blog post.
There can be more than one route for each permission level. How does that work?
You’ll want the janitors only using predetermined paths in your building to wheel those large carts around, right? They want to only use doorways, hallways, and elevators that are large enough for their carts, and want to avoid places like the cafeteria. The maintenance workers on the other hand will want to get around the building as fast as possible in order to deal with maintenance emergencies.
Since every building is unique, you can set up your permission levels for the different roles and needs within your organization, however it makes the most sense.
Your building’s Content
Content on your Cartogram map comes in two forms: images and text. What is map content? It can be any number of things depending on your unique building. Here are some typical uses of image-type content:
- Bathroom icons
- Pictures of physical wayfinding landmarks like murals
- Elevator entrances
- Building entrances
- Photos of people, like doctors, or specialty clinic logos
Typical text-type content can also come in many forms:
- Room numbers
- Department names
- Hours of business
- Menus
- Special directions
- Artwork descriptions
For our example of the janitor from the previous section, they would see all the content that patients see, AND the would see content specific to their permission level, which might include map items like dumpsters and utility closets.
When the janitor selects the Janitor route, they will see all those additional content items and will only be directed to use the routes that have been cleared on that route. That way, they won’t accidentally push their large cart or bin through the cafeteria or get stuck halfway down a too-small hallway.
Summary
The four levels of permissions within Cartogram are:
- Owner – sees everything
- Leader – sees everything at Leader, Member, and Patient levels
- Member – sees everything at Member and Patient levels
- Patient – see the least, is default
These levels are assigned to map content and map routes.
Routes give unique access to the building depending on the viewer’s permission level and use case.
For example, a patient can use the public-facing Patient Route, and see only patient-level content. They will not be guided into restricted areas. A janitor will see additional content like utility closets, and will use a member-level Janitor route to avoid obstacles and public-facing areas when needed. Facilities or operations will see all content on the map, and be able to choose any route on the map.
Questions?
We’re really proud of how we’ve built Cartogram and could talk about it all day!
If you aren’t quite clear on how routes and content work on Cartogram maps, or have questions about your specific use cases, we want to talk with you! If you prefer to talk on the phone or set up a full demo (we like to schedule an hour for those), You can directly schedule a call with one of us by clicking on this link, or you can fill out our contact form here with any questions.
