The difference between user roles and groups

What is a User Role?

Every site has multiple kinds of users who use the site in different ways. Some use it just for information, for example, or to submit work orders. Others use it to assign tasks to a team. Still others use it to manage processes and people. 

A user role has specific permissions attached to it--that is, what a user can and can't do on the site, what tasks a user can perform, resources a user is allowed to use, etc. 

Lower-level roles have fewer permissions than top-level roles. A top-level role may be able to change all settings across the site, whereas a lower-level role won't be able to change any settings (and won't even be able to access the panels where settings are changed). 

What is a User Group?

A user group is set up for organizational purposes. A user group is a collection of users linked by a common element (for example, a common location or community).  The purpose of the user group is related to functions and hierarchy within the website. 

System administrators use groups to set access or permissions levels for applications available on the network. 

Some sites in this network utilize community user groups (i.e. Solivita). Solivita residents belong to the Solivita user group, as do vendors who serve Solivita, and property managers who oversee Solivita. 

Each user has their own permissions within the user group. For example, Solivita resident Jane Doe may see only her work order submitted on the website. A vendor who is a member of the Solivita user group will be able to see Jane Doe's work order, as well as work orders posted by other residents of Solivita.  If the vendor provides service for two communities, he or she will be a member of both of those community user groups.