Pendo User Management | OpsBlu Docs

Pendo User Management

Manage user roles, permissions, and team access in Pendo — step-by-step admin guide.

User Management Overview

Pendo's user management system provides granular control over team access to product analytics, in-app guides, feedback, and roadmap features. As a product experience platform, Pendo enables product teams, designers, marketers, and executives to collaborate on understanding user behavior and improving product experiences.

Understanding Pendo User Management

Platform Overview

Pendo is designed for product-led growth and user experience optimization, offering:

  • Product analytics and user behavior tracking
  • In-app guidance and onboarding flows
  • User feedback and sentiment analysis
  • Product roadmap planning and prioritization
  • Mobile app analytics
  • Resource center management

User management in Pendo ensures that team members have appropriate access to create guides, analyze data, and manage product experiences while maintaining security and compliance.

Account Structure

Pendo uses a subscription-based access model where:

  • Each Pendo subscription includes a specific number of user seats
  • Users are added at the subscription level and have access to all apps within the subscription
  • Admins can control which apps users can access if multiple applications are tracked
  • Access levels determine what users can view, create, and modify
  • Users can belong to multiple user groups for organized access control

Available User Roles

Pendo offers several role levels with distinct capabilities:

Admin

Full administrative access to all Pendo features:

  • Complete access to all analytics, guides, and settings
  • Can manage user accounts and permissions
  • Can configure subscription settings and integrations
  • Can create, edit, and publish in-app guides
  • Can access all apps within the subscription
  • Can manage segment definitions and data governance
  • Can configure resource centers and mobile experiences
  • Full access to feedback and roadmap features
  • Can manage API access and developer settings

User (Standard)

Standard product team member access:

  • Can view analytics dashboards and reports
  • Can create and edit in-app guides (but may need approval to publish)
  • Can access visitor and account data
  • Can create segments and funnels
  • Can view and respond to feedback
  • Can contribute to roadmap planning
  • Cannot manage subscription settings or billing
  • Cannot add or remove other users
  • May have limited access to certain apps

Read Only

View-only access for stakeholders and executives:

  • Can view dashboards, reports, and analytics
  • Can see published guides and resource centers
  • Can view feedback and roadmap items
  • Cannot create or edit guides
  • Cannot modify settings or configurations
  • Cannot create segments or funnels
  • Ideal for executives, investors, or stakeholders who need visibility

Limited User (Enterprise Plans)

Restricted access for specific use cases:

  • Access can be customized to specific features
  • May only access certain apps or segments
  • Often used for external partners or contractors
  • Permissions are highly granular and customizable
  • Available on Enterprise plans only

App-Level Permissions

In addition to roles, Pendo allows app-level access control:

  • Users can be granted access to specific applications within a subscription
  • Different users can have different access to different apps
  • Useful for agencies managing multiple client products
  • Helps maintain data segregation for multi-product companies
  • App access is configured per user in the user management interface

Common Use Cases

Product Team Collaboration

For product managers and product designers:

  • Grant Admin access to product managers who create guides and analyze behavior
  • Provide User access to product designers contributing to guide design
  • Give Read Only access to product leadership for oversight
  • Enable cross-functional collaboration with appropriate permissions

Typical structure:

  • Chief Product Officer: Admin or Read Only
  • Product Managers: Admin
  • Product Designers: User
  • UX Researchers: User
  • Product Analysts: Admin

Marketing and Growth Teams

For marketing teams using Pendo for user onboarding:

  • Admin access for growth product managers creating activation guides
  • User access for content creators developing in-app messaging
  • Read Only access for marketing leadership monitoring engagement
  • Limited access for external agencies working on specific campaigns

Customer Success Teams

For CS teams leveraging Pendo for user adoption:

  • Admin access for CS operations managing onboarding flows
  • User access for CSMs viewing customer health and usage
  • Read Only access for CS leadership monitoring adoption metrics
  • Access to feedback features for customer insights

Executive and Stakeholder Access

For leaders needing product insights:

  • Read Only access for C-suite executives
  • Read Only access for board members and investors
  • Limited access to specific reports for department heads
  • Custom dashboards for different stakeholder groups

Agency and Partner Management

For agencies managing client Pendo accounts:

  • Admin access for agency account managers
  • User access for agency analysts and designers
  • Limited access for specific client teams
  • App-level permissions to segregate client data

Best Practices for User Management

Access Control and Security

  1. Principle of Least Privilege: Grant minimum necessary access for each role
  2. Regular Audits: Review user list quarterly to remove inactive accounts
  3. App Segmentation: Use app-level permissions to maintain data boundaries
  4. Role Definitions: Document which roles should have which access levels
  5. SSO Integration: Implement single sign-on for enterprise security (available on higher-tier plans)

Team Organization

  1. User Groups: Organize users into groups for easier management (Enterprise feature)
  2. Clear Responsibilities: Define who creates guides vs. who publishes them
  3. Approval Workflows: Implement guide approval processes for quality control
  4. Naming Conventions: Use consistent naming for user accounts and roles
  5. Documentation: Maintain records of who has access and why

Onboarding and Training

  1. New User Training: Provide Pendo training for new Admin users
  2. Resource Library: Share Pendo's documentation and Academy courses
  3. Internal Guidelines: Create company-specific best practices for Pendo usage
  4. Permissions Overview: Explain what each role can and cannot do
  5. Support Contacts: Identify internal Pendo experts for questions

Data Governance

  1. Segment Permissions: Control who can modify important segments
  2. Guide Publishing: Implement approval workflows for production guides
  3. Data Access: Limit PII access to users who need it
  4. Feedback Management: Assign owners for feedback triage and response
  5. Roadmap Visibility: Control who can contribute to roadmap planning

Subscription and Seat Management

Understanding Seat Limits

  • Pendo subscriptions include a specific number of user seats
  • Adding users beyond your limit requires additional seat purchases
  • Read Only users may or may not count against seat limits (plan-dependent)
  • Contact your Pendo account manager to add seats

Managing Seat Allocation

Best practices for seat management:

  1. Track Usage: Monitor how many seats are in use vs. available
  2. Remove Inactive Users: Free up seats by removing users who have left
  3. Role Optimization: Use Read Only for stakeholders to save seats
  4. Contractor Management: Remove contractor access when projects end
  5. Seat Planning: Request additional seats before onboarding waves

Troubleshooting Common Issues

User Cannot Access Specific App

If a user can't see an application they should access:

  1. Verify they have been granted app-level access in user settings
  2. Check that the app is properly integrated and tracking data
  3. Confirm the user is logging into the correct Pendo subscription
  4. Ensure the app hasn't been archived or disabled
  5. Contact Pendo support if the issue persists

Cannot Add More Users (Seat Limit Reached)

When you've reached your subscription's user limit:

  1. Review current users and remove any inactive accounts
  2. Check if any users can be downgraded to Read Only (may not count toward limit)
  3. Contact your Pendo Customer Success Manager to purchase additional seats
  4. Consider upgrading to a higher-tier plan with more seats
  5. Prioritize which team members truly need access

User Missing Expected Permissions

If a user can't access features they should have:

  1. Verify their role assignment (Admin, User, or Read Only)
  2. Check app-level permissions if using multiple apps
  3. Confirm they're not in a custom user group with restricted access (Enterprise)
  4. Have them log out and log back in to refresh permissions
  5. Check if guide publishing requires approval workflows in your account

SSO Login Issues

For organizations using single sign-on:

  1. Verify the user exists in both your identity provider and Pendo
  2. Check that SSO is properly configured for your Pendo subscription
  3. Confirm the user's email matches between systems
  4. Test SSO configuration with a test user
  5. Contact Pendo support for SSO troubleshooting assistance

Pending Invitations Not Received

If invited users don't receive emails:

  1. Check spam/junk folders for Pendo invitation emails
  2. Verify the email address was entered correctly
  3. Ensure corporate email filters aren't blocking Pendo emails
  4. Whitelist emails from pendo.io domain
  5. Resend the invitation from user management settings

Guide Publishing Permissions

If a User cannot publish guides:

  1. Check if your account has guide approval workflows enabled
  2. Verify they have User or Admin role (Read Only cannot publish)
  3. Confirm they have access to the specific app for the guide
  4. Check if they're trying to publish vs. save as draft
  5. Contact an Admin to review guide approval settings

Data Discrepancies Between Users

When different users see different data:

  1. Verify all users are viewing the same date range
  2. Check if users have different app access permissions
  3. Confirm all users are in the same Pendo subscription
  4. Review if custom segments are applied differently
  5. Ensure data governance rules aren't filtering data for some users

Integration with Other Tools

SSO and Identity Management

Pendo supports integration with:

  • Okta
  • Azure Active Directory
  • OneLogin
  • Other SAML 2.0 identity providers

Benefits of SSO:

  • Centralized user provisioning and deprovisioning
  • Enhanced security with multi-factor authentication
  • Simplified user onboarding
  • Automated access removal when employees leave

SCIM Provisioning (Enterprise)

For enterprise customers:

  • Automatic user provisioning from your identity provider
  • Automatic user deprovisioning when accounts are disabled
  • Group-based access management
  • Reduced manual user management overhead

Additional Resources

Pendo user management is configured at Settings > User Management in the Pendo dashboard. For SSO/SAML configuration or custom role definitions, these require an Enterprise plan and are configured during onboarding.

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