Developing a Visual Tool for Rule Definition in Role Based Access Control System for Social Networks

Abstract

This thesis presents the design and evaluation of a user interface for role-based access control for any resources that can be used in social networking applications, called Lava. Lava has been designed to give end-users the ability to set permissions on user’s resources based on pre-defined roles using easy and simple interfaces. Then to generate JSON files that contain the definitions of resources and role permissions schema that user sets on his resources. For that goal, a user-centered design approach was utilized to facilitate an optimal user experience and to emphasize the end-user. The main goal of the Lava system is to make users aware of role-based access control and let them set permissions to their own resources through interactive user interfaces in online social networks. These interfaces also let the user be a participant while designing the prototype. The result of the research is a high-fidelity user interface prototype which has all the functionalities that enable users to set the permissions for their resources. Then based on the user interaction with the interface, a JSON file will be generated. This JSON file will be used by another system (being developed by another team partner) called ETQAN which will generate an application programming interface (API) to be used in social networks.