what role is required to admin dashboard and reports without granding the Admin role

[MThomas1]

Hello,

we have dashboard ( inherited - different owner), what are the minimum role required to manage the dashboard and the associated widgets in the dashboard ( reports, KPIs etc) ?

Is it possible to change the ownership of the dashboard?

Thank you.

[Naveen20]

To manage a dashboard you don't own (inherited/shared), the key roles are:

• pa_admin — This is the most relevant role. It grants full control over Performance Analytics dashboards, including editing, adding/removing widgets (reports, KPIs, indicators), and modifying layout regardless of ownership.
• admin — Obviously has full control, but is overkill for just dashboard management.
• pa_power_user — Can create and edit their own dashboards and widgets, but cannot modify dashboards owned by others unless explicitly shared with edit access.

For the widgets themselves (reports, KPIs, indicators, breakdowns):

• pa_admin can manage all PA content (indicators, breakdowns, KPIs, widgets).
• report_admin is needed if the dashboard contains standard reports (not PA-based). This role lets you edit any report regardless of owner.
• If widgets reference specific module data (e.g., sn_risk_risk, GRC profiles), the user also needs the appropriate domain/module roles (like sn_grc.manager) to see and interact with that data.

Changing Dashboard Ownership

Yes, it's possible. There are a couple of approaches:

1. Direct record update — Navigate to pa_dashboards.list, find the dashboard record, and update the User field to the new owner. You'll need pa_admin or admin to do this.

2. "Clone" approach — If you don't have admin access, the new intended owner can create a copy of the dashboard (using the "Copy Dashboard" option if available), which makes them the owner of the clone. The original can then be retired.

3. Via script — A quick background script or fix script if you need to bulk-reassign:

   var gr = new GlideRecord('pa_dashboards');
   gr.addQuery('sys_id', '<dashboard_sys_id>');
   gr.query();
   if (gr.next()) {
       gr.setValue('user', '<new_owner_sys_id>');
       gr.update();
   }
   

One thing to watch out for: changing ownership doesn't automatically transfer ownership of the individual widgets/reports embedded in the dashboard. Those are separate records with their own owners. If the new dashboard owner needs to edit those too, you'd need to either update ownership on each widget/report or ensure the new owner has pa_admin or report_admin.

[Tanushree Maiti]

Hi @MThomas1 

To manage a ServiceNow dashboard that you inherited or don’t own, you need at least the

pa_admin role for Performance Analytics dashboards

or

the dashboard_admin role for Core UI dashboards.

These roles allow you to edit the dashboard and add or remove widgets.

Dashboard ownership can also be reassigned by users with the dashboard_admin or admin roles, or by using a background script.

Note: report_admin is required to edit the underlying reports if not explicitly shared with editing rights.

All Roles:

Dashboard roles:

• pa_dashboard_admin→ Provides complete control over dashboards, including creating, editing, deleting, and sharing
• pa_dashboards_editor(often the minimum required)→ Allows editing dashboards and modifying widgets

Reporting and widget roles (based on widget type)

For Reports

• report_admin→ Grants full control over report creation and modification
• report_user→ Allows basic interaction and limited editing of reports

For Performance Analytics (KPIs, widgets)

• pa_admin→ Offers full access to manage KPIs, indicators, and analytics widgets
• pa_power_user→ for configuring and editing PA widgets, typically sufficient for most use cases

[Purvi Kotadiya]

For Reports

• report_admin → Create, edit, delete, share, and schedule reports

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For Dashboards (Platform Analytics only)

• pa_viewer → View Platform Analytics dashboards

• pa_admin → Full administration of Platform Analytics dashboards and data visualizations

  (create, edit, share, certify, delete)

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Optional (ownership & governance)

• dashboard_admin → Manage dashboard ownership and sharing (legacy/classic dashboards)