Permission for backlog iteration?

I have a Scrum Project using the new Simple Scrum template that was initially configured to have Iterations such as:

Main Development
Release 1
Sprint 1
Sprint 2
Backlog

It seems that I can edit the team configuration to allow a particular role, say Product Owner, to be the only role that can save a plan at any of the iteration levels, Main Development, Release 1, Sprint 1 and it works as I would expect. Only the Product Owner can save the plan. However, when I configure same for the Backlog Iteration, everyone can save the plan. Is there something special about the plan type Product Backlog that I am missing?

I tried the Saving Plan Permission and it should work:
1. I don't know how you configured the Backlog Iteration and your current iteration.
2. You mentioned that everyone can save the plan,what roles are assigned to them?

One thing that should be noticed is that the permission for Saving Plan is governed by the current iteration, even if the plan is created upon other iterations. e.g, You have Sprint 1,Sprint 2, and you have Sprint 1 as the current iteration, whether you can create a plan upon sprint2 is governed by the permission configuration for Sprint1.

I have a Scrum Project using the new Simple Scrum template that was initially configured to have Iterations such as:

Main Development
Release 1
Sprint 1
Sprint 2
Backlog

It seems that I can edit the team configuration to allow a particular role, say Product Owner, to be the only role that can save a plan at any of the iteration levels, Main Development, Release 1, Sprint 1 and it works as I would expect. Only the Product Owner can save the plan. However, when I configure same for the Backlog Iteration, everyone can save the plan. Is there something special about the plan type Product Backlog that I am missing?

I tried the Saving Plan Permission and it should work:
1. I don't know how you configured the Backlog Iteration and your current iteration.

The scrum template configures the backlog iteration automatically as part of project setup. Backlog Iteration is created under Main Development at the same level as Release 1. Sprint 1 is the current iteration.

2. You mentioned that everyone can save the plan,what roles are assigned to them?

I should have said, anyone regardless of role. For example, Scrum Master, Team Member can all save the backlog, when permission is set to only Product Owner.

One thing that should be noticed is that the permission for Saving Plan is governed by the current iteration, even if the plan is created upon other iterations. e.g, You have Sprint 1,Sprint 2, and you have Sprint 1 as the current iteration, whether you can create a plan upon sprint2 is governed by the permission configuration for Sprint1.

While I understand your comment. That logic seems restrictive in practice.

This is what I have found. Each role in a team can be granted to either have the ability to save a plan, or not have the ability to save a plan. In RTC 2, there is no ability to restrict by role which *type* of plan can be saved. It's an all or nothing thing. Unfortunately, this does not completely support Scrum because a Product Owner should have the ability to prioritize the backlog but not change a release plan or iteration plan. I checked RTC 3 RC3 Scrum template and it appears this problem is also present there.

Of course, if there was a certain amount of trust of your product owner, which is essential in an agile team, this permission issue would be a moot point :)

Can anyone else suggest a way of configuring which *type* of plan a role can save?

Ben,

If this is really an issue, your best bet is add a Team Advisor on the Save Plan operation to check type and respond accordingly.

-Sean