Hierarchies organise the users on a Cirrus tenant. They are a tree of groups: a root level, sub-levels under it, and so on. Hierarchies control who can see whom, who can schedule for whom, and which groups inherit settings such as themes. Use this article to design, create, and maintain hierarchies.
What hierarchies are for
A hierarchy lets you:
- Limit visibility: a user only sees other users within their hierarchies.
- Group for scheduling: schedule an exam for everyone in a hierarchy at once.
- Inherit settings: themes, regional defaults, and other group-level settings propagate down the tree.
- Filter and search: narrow large user lists by hierarchy.
A hierarchy reflects the customer's organisation. There is no one right tree: it should match how your customer-facing processes are organised.
Set up a hierarchy
Open Admin > Hierarchies.
- Select + on the level under which you want to add a new node.
- The detail panel opens on the right.
- Fill in the fields and select Save.
Fields
- Title: the visible name of the group.
- Root level: tick Define this hierarchy as a new root level to start a separate cluster. See Root levels and sub-domains below.
- Synchronisation key (optional): used when integrations or APIs synchronise the hierarchy tree. Leave blank for manual hierarchies.
- Organisation ID (optional): used by some integrations. Leave blank for manual hierarchies.
- Allow relationship with scheduled assessments: tick when users in this hierarchy should be selectable when scheduling exams.
After saving, drag and drop hierarchies in the tree to reposition them.
Long trees are easier to read folded. Select the - next to a node to collapse it (it becomes +). Drag and drop can also be done in stages, parking nodes at intermediate levels as you move.
Example tree
CeA
CeA \ Test centre 1
CeA \ Test centre 1 \ Cohort A
CeA \ Test centre 1 \ Cohort B
Larger implementations
For tenants with thousands of users, manage the hierarchy through an integration rather than the UI. The integration creates the tree from your source-of-truth system (an LMS, an HR system) and keeps it in sync.
Cirrus consultants can help design the hierarchy alongside your processes. Picking the right tree shape up front saves rework later.
You can create sub-hierarchies on the fly by importing users with a Sub-hierarchy column set. The import creates the sublevels as part of the user creation. See Import users via Excel.
Root levels and sub-domains
A root level marks the start of a cluster that does not share visibility with the rest of the tree. Use root levels when you need strict separation between parts of your organisation, for example a holding company that operates several brands, or a university with multiple faculties that should not see each other's users.
A domain (or sub-domain) is the slice of the tree below a root level. Within a sub-domain, normal visibility rules apply: parents see children. Across sub-domains, users do not see each other unless explicitly granted by a System Admin.
Settings that follow the hierarchy
Several settings propagate down the hierarchy tree:
- Theme attached to a hierarchy applies to every schedule under it. See Themes.
- Available for scheduling on an assessment controls which hierarchies can schedule it. See Step 1: Create a new assessment.
- User management is gated by Administrator checkboxes on the user's hierarchies, defining which sub-trees the user can manage. See Access levels.