← DictionaryAccess Control
also called permissions, user roles
Defining who can view, edit or administer a system.
Who is allowed to do what.
What It Is
Access Control sits on the Technology side of the work, in the Security area. In practice it means this: defining who can view, edit or administer a system.
It is an idea you reason with rather than a deliverable you hand over, so two teams can both hold it correctly and still apply it differently. That is the version worth keeping, because it survives contact with a real project.
How It's Used
You will usually meet Access Control in build decisions, tooling and the plumbing behind a working system. It is usually discussed together with Security, Domain Ownership and Stakeholder. The practical test is whether a decision changes because of it.
Why It Matters
Access Control is cheap to get right early and awkward to fix late. When it is unclear, small technical debts compound into a rebuild. It is worth pinning down before anyone builds on top of it.
It is a way of thinking, not a thing you can hold. Who is allowed to do what.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Practitioners use Access Control as shorthand and expect no explanation — defining who can view, edit or administer a system.
Outside the industry, most people would just say: who is allowed to do what.
The Bottom Line
Treat Access Control as a decision, not a description. Who is allowed to do what.