Jive places: spaces, groups, and projects
A place in Jive is essentially a container that houses all the collaborative content for a certain subject or team. There are three types of places: Spaces, Groups, and Projects. The differences between them can sometimes be confusing, so here're the basics of each one.
Spaces
Spaces are built in a hierarchy, with the ability to have a network of multi-level sub-spaces underneath them. They also use permissions, set by community administrators, to define who can see and do different things in the space. Permissions get inherited by any sub-spaces unless they are customized for that space, so if a user can do something in one space, this user can do it in the sub-spaces as well (unless the permissions have been customized). Any type of content can be created in a space, unless it has been turned off for a particular space by community administrators. Due to their hierarchical nature, spaces are typically used to represent organizations and departments within a company, and other concepts that require a network of places linked together.
Social groups
Groups, or social groups, are isolated containers within a community; they have no ties to other places and cannot have sub-groups. Permissions are managed on a per-group basis by the original group creator or the admins selected for the group, or both. Groups can also house any type of content unless one or more is turned off by community administrators. Because they are a freely created containers, groups get used most often for topic-specific collaboration, rather than something general to a team. They also get used for collaboration between specific teams or different departments that often work together closely and rely on each other.
For more information, see Using content and Types of groups.
Projects
Projects can only reside within a space or a group; they cannot stand alone. However, they can still house any type of content unless one or more is turned off by community administrators. Permissions get inherited from the place in which the project was created. Projects also get created with a Start Date and an End Date and come with additional titles on their pages that display the progress being made in the project (if the project administrator keeps them up to date). Projects are generally used for short-term projects, which users need to collaborate on and house the content for in a single area.
For more information, see Using projects and tasks.
Comparison of place properties
| Spaces | Groups | Projects | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hierarchical? | Yes | No | No |
| Can be private? | Yes, via permissions | Yes, via group settings. | Depends on parent place |
| Access permissions | Defined in the Admin Console. Inherited by sub-spaces | Defined in group settings. No inheritance | Inherited from containing place. Not customizable |
| Create permissions | Defined in the Admin Console. Inherited by sub-spaces | Any user | Inherited from containing place. Not customizable |
| Content allowed | Any; may be customized or restricted, or both by community administrators | Any; may be customized or restricted, or both, by community administrators | Any; may be customized or restricted, or both, by community administrators |
| Best uses | Large-scale collaborative needs with sub-space ability, such as those of an entire department or office, or an expansive topic | Smaller-scale collaborative needs either by a specific audience or a more specialized topic | Short term area to collaborate on a finite topic |