Admin PortalJourneys
UJ-A-005: Impersonate User for Support
Platform admin impersonates a user to troubleshoot issues
Journey Overview
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Journey ID | UJ-A-005 |
| Actor | Platform Admin |
| Goal | View platform as a specific user to diagnose issues |
| Trigger | Support request requires seeing user's perspective |
| Outcome | Admin views platform as user, diagnoses issue |
Preconditions
- Admin has ROLE_PLATFORM_ADMIN permission
- Target user exists in the system
- Impersonation feature enabled
Journey Flow
flowchart TD
A[Access Admin Portal] --> B[Navigate to Users]
B --> C[Search for user]
C --> D[Select user]
D --> E[Click Impersonate]
E --> F[Confirm impersonation]
F --> G[Session switched to user]
G --> H[View as user]
H --> I[Diagnose issue]
I --> J[End impersonation]
J --> K[Return to admin session]Detailed Steps
- Access User Management
Navigate to user management:
- Admin Portal → Users
- Or search user directly from dashboard
- Find User
Search for target user:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ User Management │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ [🔍 Search by name, email, ID... ] │ │ │ │ Filters: │ │ Tenant: [All Tenants ▼] Role: [All Roles ▼] │ │ Status: [All ▼] │ │ │ │ Results: │ │ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ John Smith │ │ │ │ john@company.com • Acme Association │ │ │ │ Role: Member • Status: Active │ │ │ │ [View] [Edit] [🎭 Impersonate] │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ - Initiate Impersonation
Click "Impersonate" button:
Confirmation dialog:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ⚠️ Confirm Impersonation │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ You are about to impersonate: │ │ │ │ User: John Smith │ │ Email: john@company.com │ │ Tenant: Acme Association │ │ Role: Member │ │ │ │ This will: │ │ • Switch your view to the user's perspective │ │ • Allow you to see what they see │ │ • Log all actions taken during impersonation │ │ │ │ Reason for impersonation (required): │ │ [Support ticket #12345 - login issue ] │ │ │ │ [Cancel] [Start Impersonation] │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ - Impersonation Session
Session switched:
Visual Indicators:
- Banner: "You are impersonating John Smith [End]"
- Different color scheme/border
- Watermark (optional)
Capabilities:
- View all screens as user
- Navigate as user would
- See user's data and permissions
Restrictions:
- Cannot change password
- Cannot delete account
- Cannot access other user data
- All actions logged
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ⚠️ IMPERSONATING: John Smith (john@company.com) [End] │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ [Normal Member Portal View] │ │ │ │ Dashboard │ │ Welcome, John │ │ │ │ Your Membership: Professional │ │ ... │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ - Diagnose Issue
Admin investigates:
- View user's dashboard
- Check membership status
- Review event registrations
- Test feature access
- Reproduce reported issue
- End Impersonation
Click "End" or "End Impersonation":
- Session returns to admin
- Impersonation logged with duration
- Admin back in Admin Portal
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ✅ Impersonation Ended │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ Session Summary: │ │ User: John Smith │ │ Duration: 5 minutes 32 seconds │ │ Pages Viewed: 12 │ │ Actions Taken: 0 (view only) │ │ │ │ [View Audit Log] [Back to Users] │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Audit Logging
All impersonation activity is logged:
| Event | Logged Data |
|---|---|
| Start | Admin ID, User ID, Reason, Timestamp |
| Navigation | Pages visited |
| Actions | Any changes made |
| End | Duration, Summary |
Security Considerations
- Requires explicit permission
- Reason must be provided
- Session time-limited (30 min default)
- Cannot be used on other admins
- Audit trail maintained
- User may be notified (configurable)
Related Entities
Related Journeys
Acceptance Criteria
Frontend
- Impersonate button on user records
- Confirmation dialog with reason input
- Impersonation banner visible at all times
- End impersonation button
- Session summary on end
- Visual differentiation during impersonation
Backend
-
POST /api/admin/impersonate/{userId}- Start -
POST /api/admin/impersonate/end- End - Session token with impersonation context
- Comprehensive audit logging
- Action restrictions during impersonation
Permissions
- Only ROLE_PLATFORM_ADMIN can impersonate
- Cannot impersonate other admins
- Tenant boundaries respected
Business Rules
- Reason required for audit
- Session timeout enforced
- Certain actions blocked
- Full audit trail
Error Handling
- User not found handling
- Session timeout notification
- Graceful end on browser close