Design an effective organizational structure for your Enterprise deployment
This guide is designed for Enterprise customers planning their Relevance AI deployment. These best practices help you scale efficiently and maintain governance as your AI workforce grows.
A well-planned organizational structure is critical for Enterprise success with Relevance AI. The right structure makes it easier to manage permissions, track usage, maintain governance, and scale your AI workforce as your team grows.
Relevance AI uses a three-level hierarchy for organizing resources:
Organization
The top-level container for your entire company. All users, projects, and assets belong to one organization.Key characteristics:
One organization per company
Organization-level billing and credits
Organization-level SSO and security settings
Organization-level admins manage everything
Projects
Containers for related agents, tools, knowledge bases, and workforces. Projects are the primary way to organize work and control access.Key characteristics:
Multiple projects per organization
Project-level permissions and access control
Project-level usage tracking and limits
Project-level integrations and API keys
Assets
Individual agents, tools, knowledge bases, and workforces. Assets are the building blocks of your AI workforce.Key characteristics:
Assets belong to one project
Asset-level permissions for granular control
Assets can be shared across projects (with proper permissions)
Assets can be organized into folders within projects
Organize projects around your organizational structure (teams, departments, or business units).Best for: Companies with distinct teams that work independentlyExample structure:
Key recommendations:Start simple with 2-3 projects. Use folders within projects to organize assets. Assign most users as Project Members or Editors. Use asset-level permissions for sensitive agents. Focus on getting value quickly, not perfect structure.
Common mistakes to avoid:
Creating too many projects too early
Over-engineering permissions
Spending too much time on structure instead of building
Owner role:Assign to 1-2 people maximum (CEO, CTO, or Head of Operations). These users have full control including billing.Admin role:Assign to IT leads, platform team, or workspace admins. Typically 2-5 people depending on company size. These users manage projects, users, and security.Member role:Default role for most users. Can create their own projects and assets. Good for power users and builders.Viewer role:For external collaborators or users in onboarding. Cannot create anything until assigned to a project. Good for stakeholders who need visibility only.
Project-level roles
Admin role:Assign to project owners (1-2 per project). These users manage project permissions and settings.Editor role:Assign to core contributors and builders. Can create and edit all assets in the project. Typically 20-40% of project users.Member role:Default role for most project users. Can create their own assets but donβt see othersβ by default. Good for independent contributors.Chat role:For users who only need to interact with agents via Chat. Cannot access the web app. Perfect for end users and external users.Viewer role:For stakeholders who need visibility only. Cannot run or edit anything. Add only to specific assets they need to see.
Asset-level permissions
Default approach: Let project-level permissions handle most access control.When to use asset-level permissions:
Sensitive agents with confidential data
Agents that should only be run by specific users
Shared agents that need different permissions than project default
Agents used by external collaborators
Best practice: Start with project-level permissions and add asset-level permissions only when needed. Over-complicating permissions makes administration harder and can cause confusion.
Why this works:The CoE model ensures consistency and quality across the organization. A centralized team becomes experts in the platform, creates reusable resources, and maintains governance standards. Teams benefit from professionally-built shared resources without needing deep platform expertise.
Federated Model
Each team manages their own projects with light central governance.Structure:
Why this works:The federated model empowers teams to move quickly and innovate independently. Each team controls their own destiny while a lightweight shared resources project prevents complete duplication. This works well for organizations that value team autonomy over centralized control.
Hybrid Model (Recommended)
Combines centralized shared resources with team autonomy.Structure:
Copy
Organization: Acme Corpβββ Project: Platform - Shared Agents (centrally managed)βββ Project: Platform - Shared Tools (centrally managed)βββ Project: Platform - Knowledge Libraries (centrally managed)βββ Project: Marketing - Production (team-managed)βββ Project: Marketing - Development (team-managed)βββ Project: Sales - Production (team-managed)βββ Project: Sales - Development (team-managed)βββ Project: Innovation Sandbox (open to all)
Best for:
Most Enterprise organizations
Companies wanting balance between governance and autonomy
Organizations with both shared and team-specific use cases
Why this works:The hybrid model combines the best of both worlds. Teams get autonomy for their specific needs while benefiting from centrally-managed shared resources. This prevents duplication, maintains quality standards, and still allows teams to innovate. Itβs the most scalable and flexible approach for growing organizations.
Start with 3-5 projects and add more as needed. Most organizations have 5-15 projects. If you have more than 20 projects, consider consolidating.
Can I move assets between projects?
Yes, but this requires proper permissions. Contact support for assistance with bulk asset moves.
Should I create separate projects for production and development?
For Enterprise deployments, yes. This provides safer testing and better governance. For smaller teams, you can use folders within a single project.
How do I handle shared resources across teams?
Create a βShared Resourcesβ or βPlatformβ project that all teams can access. Use asset-level permissions to control who can edit vs. use shared resources.
What's the best way to organize a project with 50+ agents?
Use folders extensively to organize by use case, status, or team. Consider splitting into multiple projects if agents serve very different purposes.
Can users be in multiple projects?
Yes, users can be members of multiple projects with different roles in each project.
How do I prevent project sprawl?
Require approval for new projects, conduct regular audits, and establish clear criteria for when a new project is needed vs. using an existing one.
Should I use asset-level permissions or project-level permissions?
Start with project-level permissions for simplicity. Add asset-level permissions only for sensitive or special-case assets.