What defines a permission set in Salesforce?

A permission set in Salesforce is defined as a collection of permissions that can be assigned to users. This allows for more granular control over what individual users can do within the application without having to create multiple profiles. Permission sets enable administrators to extend specific permissions to users on an as-needed basis.

For example, if a user needs additional access to a particular feature that their profile does not include, a permission set can be created that grants access to that feature. This flexibility in assigning permissions ensures that Salesforce can accommodate various business needs and user roles without complicating the overall structure of user profiles.

In contrast, some other options refer to different components of user management. While user roles involve hierarchical permissions and team structure, profiles represent a group of settings and permissions allocated universally to users in common or a job function, and system settings encompass broader Salesforce configurations rather than user-specific permissions.