Who sees which knowledge

Status, visibility scope, department and role together decide who may read a knowledge entry.

Executive managementEmployeeHead of departmentIT & data protection

Purpose

Not all knowledge is meant for everyone. Universe Memory checks in the database itself, on every read access, whether a person may see an entry. List, search, overview, situation report and drafts therefore follow the same rules.

How it works

WorkspaceKnowledgeNew entryWho may see it?

When capturing, choose the visibility scope under “Who may see it?”.
Choose a “Department” if the entry belongs to a department.
After approval, the line below the title shows the visibility scope, the department, the source and the date.
If in doubt, choose the narrower scope; “Entire company” opens the entry to all members.

KnowledgeIllustration

Recording

“For rush orders I first ask production, then the approval office.”

New entry

Approving rush orders

Source: Conversation with purchasing
Who may see it?: Department

DraftIn reviewApproved

Reviewed by a second person

Reviewed knowledge

Fig. 1 A spoken sentence becomes a knowledge entry with source and visibility scope. After review by a second person it is approved and appears in reviewed knowledge.

Who always sees an entry

The author, in every status.
“Owner” and “Administration”, in every status and every visibility scope.

Entries in review

An entry “In review” is additionally seen by “Executive management” and by whoever heads the assigned department.

Approved entries by visibility scope

“Entire company”: all members of the organization.
“Department”: the members of the assigned department and “Executive management”.
“Restricted”: only whoever heads the assigned department. “Executive management” also sees it only if it heads this department.

The owner, administration and the author see it in any case.

The rule applies everywhere

The same check applies to the “Reviewed knowledge” list, to search, to the numbers in the overview, to the selection of knowledge in a situation report and to the knowledge a draft is based on. A situation report or a draft therefore never contains knowledge that the person creating it may not read.

Tips

HR-related or confidential content belongs in “Restricted” with the appropriate department.

For “Heads this department” to take effect, the person must be assigned to the department under “Team” with this checkbox ticked.

Frequently asked questions

Does executive management see everything?

No. It sees entries for the entire company, all department entries and everything in review. It sees restricted entries only in departments it heads itself.

Who really sees everything?

The owner and administration. They can read every entry of the organization.

Can one department see the entries of another department?

Only if they are approved for the entire company. Entries with the visibility scope “Department” stay in the assigned department.

Related features

Capture a knowledge entryUnder “New entry”, record what you know, with title, explanation, source, department and visibility scope.Roles and rightsFive roles: owner, administration, executive management, head of department and employee, each with clearly defined rights.DepartmentsCreate departments, assign people and determine who heads a department.Tenant separationEvery organization is strictly separated from all others in the database; the database itself checks every access.

As of: 23/10/2026 · Concept & lead: Alexander Holtermann