Anonymous Users

Anonymous Users (AU) are placeholders for real people not yet available in the system. They allow planning for future hires or unassigned roles during the training planning cycle.

Use case example: A manager knows a new employee will join the team next year and wants to assign training needs in advance.

Anonymous Users can later be reconciled with real users once they’re available in the system.

Who Can Create and Access Anonymous Users?

Permissions are managed in each Task Plan. To enable Unknown Courses:

  1. Go to the Task Plan list.

  2. Edit the relevant plan.

  3. In the General tab, check Use Anonymous Users.

Access rules:

  • Managers can access AUs they created or AUs managed by them, even if created by higher-level users.

  • Custom Relations can access AUs they created.

  • L&D users can access AUs created by anyone at a lower level in their segment.

⚠️ It’s not possible to create two Anonymous Users with the same name.

Accessing the Anonymous User Panel

Accessible from the ··· menu, on the top right hamburger menu of the dashboard.

This menu is available to all users except target users.

When a Manager creates an Anonymous User, it’s automatically added as their direct subordinate.

Clicking the option opens the Anonymous User form on the left side of the screen.

Creating Anonymous Users

You can create three types of Anonymous Users:

Single Anonymous User

To create a single user:

  1. Click Create New User

  2. Choose Single User

Fill in the form with the following fields:

  • First Name (required)

  • Last Name (required)

  • ID (required; must be unique)

  • Division

  • Cost Center

  • Location

  • Position

  • Manager

    • For Managers: Can choose themselves or their subordinates

    • For Custom Relations: Can choose related users and their managers

    • For L&D: Can choose target users and managers in their segment

  • Segment (required): Limited to the segments the user is a contributor in

  • Custom Relations: Only editable by L&D; options depend on segment settings

Most fields (except First/Last Name, Segment, and Custom Relations) can be configured in:
Preferences > Task Plans Global Configurations > Manage Anonymous Users Fields

Once created, the user can:

  • Reconcile the AU

  • View and edit details

  • Delete the AU (if no needs are assigned)

  • Access the audit log

When viewing or editing, the AU ID is displayed—this can be used to assign needs via Excel import.

Bulk Anonymous Users

To create multiple users at once:

  1. Click Create New User

  2. Choose Bulk Users

Provide:

  • Number of users to create

  • Starting number

  • Prefix

Example: Prefix = “AU_”, Starting at 1, Count = 3
Will generate: AU_1, AU_2, AU_3

After creation, a report is generated showing:

  • Created users

  • Active OUs at creation time

The report appears under the Reports column with the name:
Bulk Anonymous Users Creation – Count_X

Anonymous User Groups

To create a group:

  1. Click Create New User

  2. Choose Users Group

Group creation allows contributions (needs) to be made collectively.

Once needs are assigned to the group, its size can no longer be changed.

Contributing to Anonymous User Groups

When assigning training needs to a group:

  • The default quantity equals the number of users in the group

  • You can adjust this number manually

Any contribution (assignment, approval, denial, replacement) applies to the selected number of users from the group.

For example, editing a custom field on the selected group with 17 users updates all 17 selected members.

Reconciling Anonymous Users

You can reconcile:

  • Individual AUs

  • Entire AU groups

Click the Reconcile and either select the user(s) to replace the anonymous user(s) or import a file.

Who Can Reconcile?

  • Managers: AUs they created or manage

  • Custom Relations: AUs they created

  • L&D: AUs created by lower-level users in their segment

Reconciliation is available during planning and execution phases.

Reconciliation Options

For Single AUs

A form appears to select a real user. Click Select User, then Reconcile User.

For Groups

The form displays all assigned needs (only approved or pending review). You can reconcile users using one of the following methods:

  1. Select multiple users manually

  2. Choose by Organizational Unit (OU)

  3. Import from XLSX file

Only one method can be used per reconciliation.

Manual Selection

  • Click to add users

  • Remove any using the ❌ icon

OU-Based Selection

  • Only users who are targets of the plan will be considered

  • Expand the OU to view and refine the list

Import via Excel

  • Upload file with valid users

  • System checks which users can be reconciled and reports any issues

  • Template is available for download

Reconciliation Rules

  • Selecting a need is optional, unless all group members share that need

  • If some group members have a need and others do not, that need becomes unavailable

  • If the selected user already has the same need:

    • A warning appears

    • The need will be merged, keeping the highest approval status
      (Approved > Pending Review)

Once reconciliation is complete:

  • The Anonymous User (or group) disappears from the list

  • A report is generated with reconciliation details and (if applicable) the import file

Reconciliation Warnings

Two potential warnings may appear:

  • User information mismatch: When the AU and selected user differ in key data

  • Need already exists: Confirms that a training need will be merged with an existing one

Deleting Anonymous Users

Anonymous Users can only be deleted if:

  • No training needs are assigned

Deletion is permanent. AUs are only visible in the segments they were created in.

Audit Logs

Each AU keeps a log of:

  • Creator

  • Editors

  • Reconciliation actions

This helps track changes and ensure accountability.