What does each role mean?

[Scott Barney]

This question is in reference to Atlassian Documentation: Managing project roles

Is there a way to view what is "behind" a project role? When I access my Users and Roles page, I only see the role names. As I am only a project administrator -- not a JIRA administrator – I do not have access to the Project Role Browser. 

[Joe Pitt]

The role names should be self explanatory. What really backs them up is the permission scheme, notification scheme applied to the project, and any workflow conditions checking the user role. I give the roles the same permission and notifications in all projects. It should be easy for the admin to create a table showing that info. While all projects see all the roles they may not use them. For instance my project for DBAs to track their requests for work doesn't need to use the Developer role.