docs: add ADR for overall strategy for implementing AuthZ for Course Authoring #208

rodmgwgu · 2026-01-30T22:46:41Z

This PR adds an ADR specifying the overall implementation strategy for AuthZ for Course Authoring, including:

Documentation on known technical debt that affects this effort
Decision on not tackling that technical debt at this stage, but keep track of it for future efforts
How and where the new permissions will be implemented
How the feature will be enabled via a feature flag
How data migration between the authz systems will be handled
A note on the compatibility layer to be implemented

Further details on the feature flags and migration process will be defined in additional ADRs.

Related issue: #184

Merge checklist:
Check off if complete or not applicable:

Version bumped
Changelog record added
Documentation updated (not only docstrings)
Fixup commits are squashed away
Unit tests added/updated
Manual testing instructions provided
Noted any: Concerns, dependencies, migration issues, deadlines, tickets

openedx-webhooks · 2026-01-30T22:46:51Z

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…Authoring docs: add ADR for overall strategy for implementing AuthZ for Course Authoring

bmtcril · 2026-02-03T20:57:33Z

docs/decisions/0009-authz-for-course-authoring.rst

+  the same approach used for Libraries.
+* Course authoring permission enforcement using the new system will be optionally enabled via a
+  feature flag.
+* The feature flag can be enabled instance-wide or for specific courses.


Are we not doing an org-wide flag for this phase? I'm not opposed, just want it to be explicit one way or the other.

Yes, this has been specified here: #212

bmtcril · 2026-02-03T20:59:43Z

docs/decisions/0009-authz-for-course-authoring.rst

+This phase focuses on migrating course authoring permissions while maintaining current
+functionality.
+
+* **Migration Script**: Transform existing role assignments into the new authorization model


Are we going to support a version of this that works based on changes in the Django admin? That interface is available for people to add waffle flags, so if that make that change without using the script we would be in a place of trying to us RBAC without the permissions being migrated.

This is further specified here: #213

bmtcril

Just a couple of questions for clarity

dwong2708 · 2026-02-04T02:34:14Z

docs/decisions/0009-authz-for-course-authoring.rst

+
+A rollback migration process will also be provided to revert from openedx-authz roles back to
+legacy roles if the feature flag is disabled. The rollback will only support roles with exact
+equivalences between systems; non-equivalent roles will be ignored with warnings logged to the


What is the expected behavior in this scenario?

When the feature flag is enabled, a migration script is expected to run, and when it is disabled, a rollback is expected to be executed. Is this correct?

If the feature flag is enabled again later by an authorized user, will the migration scripts run again?

This is to clarify whether this behavior should be documented here or covered in separate migration or operational documentation.

Also, is it worth mentioning that operators are the ones who can enable or disable this flag?

Thanks for the feedback, I added those details in this other ADR: #212

the flag will be managed either from the Django Admin (superusers), or via a management commant (operators)

Thanks @rodmgwgu

sarina

Broadly I think this looks great. I'm wondering if we'd want to have specific release dates/timelines in here (ie what we're targeting for Verawood, that the deprecation is aimed for Xylon, etc)

wgu-taylor-payne

Overall this looks good to me. I don't have any unique feedback to add.

dwong2708

Looks good to me. Thanks!

bmtcril

I think my questions were answered in the other ADR 👍

openedx-webhooks added open-source-contribution PR author is not from Axim or 2U core contributor PR author is a Core Contributor (who may or may not have write access to this repo). labels Jan 30, 2026

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…Authoring docs: add ADR for overall strategy for implementing AuthZ for Course Authoring

rodmgwgu force-pushed the rod/adr-phase2 branch from 8942ac3 to 7cf19e6 Compare February 3, 2026 20:37

rodmgwgu marked this pull request as ready for review February 3, 2026 20:39

rodmgwgu requested review from dwong2708 and wgu-taylor-payne February 3, 2026 20:53

bmtcril reviewed Feb 3, 2026

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mphilbrick211 added the mao-onboarding Reviewing this will help onboard devs from an Axim mission-aligned organization (MAO). label Feb 3, 2026

mphilbrick211 moved this from Needs Triage to Ready for Review in Contributions Feb 3, 2026

mphilbrick211 moved this from Ready for Review to In Eng Review in Contributions Feb 3, 2026

dwong2708 reviewed Feb 4, 2026

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dwong2708 approved these changes Feb 4, 2026

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bmtcril approved these changes Feb 4, 2026

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rodmgwgu merged commit 805008d into openedx:main Feb 5, 2026
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github-project-automation bot moved this from In Eng Review to Done in Contributions Feb 5, 2026

rodmgwgu deleted the rod/adr-phase2 branch February 5, 2026 16:02

docs: add ADR for overall strategy for implementing AuthZ for Course Authoring #208

docs: add ADR for overall strategy for implementing AuthZ for Course Authoring #208

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rodmgwgu commented Jan 30, 2026 •

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