# Understanding Conditions and Transformers

Lifecycle Management automates identity provisioning across your applications. When an employee joins, changes roles, or leaves, workflows answer two questions: **Should** this person get access? And **what** should their account look like?

This document explains the building blocks: conditions that control when things happen, and transformers that control what values are set.

## Terminology

These terms are used throughout Lifecycle Management documentation.

| Term            | Definition                                                                  | Example                                                                  |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Condition**   | A SCIM filter expression that evaluates to true/false                       | `department eq "Engineering"`                                            |
| **Transformer** | A complete attribute mapping configuration                                  | Maps `email` to target, with formatter `{first_name}.{last_name}@co.com` |
| **Formatter**   | The template string within a transformer that constructs the value          | `{first_name}.{last_name}@company.com`                                   |
| **Then Apply**  | A transformation applied within a formatter using the pipe (`\|`) character | `UPPER`, `LOWER`, `SUBSTRING`                                            |

{% hint style="info" %}
**Key relationship:** A **Transformer** CONTAINS a **Formatter**. The transformer is the complete configuration (which attribute to set, the formatter template, sync options). The formatter is just the template string that defines how to construct the value.
{% endhint %}

## Quick Reference

| When You Need To...                            | Use This System                                            | Syntax Type          | Output                |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- | --------------------- |
| Decide **IF** a workflow runs                  | [Workflow Trigger Condition](#workflow-trigger-conditions) | SCIM filter          | Boolean               |
| Decide **IF** a subsequent action runs         | [Condition on Success](#conditions-on-success)             | SCIM filter          | Boolean               |
| Decide **WHAT** value an attribute should have | [Attribute Transformer](#attribute-transformers)           | Formatter (template) | String                |
| Decide **WHICH** Access Profile to assign      | [Dynamic Access Profile](#dynamic-access-profiles)         | Formatter (template) | String (profile name) |

## The Four Systems

### Workflow Trigger Conditions

**Purpose:** Determine whether a workflow should execute based on identity attributes.

**Syntax:** SCIM filter expressions that evaluate to true or false.

**Example:**

```txt
is_active eq true and department eq "Engineering"
```

**When to use:** Gate workflow execution based on identity state, department, location, employment type, or other attributes.

See [Trigger Conditions Reference](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/policies-workflows/actions/trigger-conditions-reference.md) for complete syntax documentation.

***

### Conditions on Success

**Purpose:** After a workflow trigger matches, determine whether subsequent actions should run.

**Syntax:** Same SCIM filter syntax as workflow triggers.

**Example:**

```txt
job_level ge 5 and location sw "US-"
```

**When to use:** Create branching logic within a workflow where different actions apply to different identity subsets.

See [Conditions and Actions](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/policies-workflows/actions.md) for configuration details.

***

### Attribute Transformers

**Purpose:** Construct attribute values when syncing identities to target systems.

**Syntax:** Formatter templates with optional pipeline functions.

**Examples:**

```txt
{first_name}.{last_name}@company.com
```

```txt
{first_name | LOWER}.{last_name | LOWER | SUBSTRING, 0, 10}
```

**When to use:** Transform source attributes into the format required by target systems (usernames, email addresses, distinguished names, etc.).

Transformers also support IF/ELSE conditional logic to select different values based on identity attributes. See [Attribute Sync and Transformers](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/transformers.md) for complete documentation.

***

### Dynamic Access Profiles

**Purpose:** Dynamically determine which Access Profile to assign based on identity attributes.

**Syntax:** Formatter templates (same as attribute transformers) that resolve to Access Profile names.

**Example:**

```txt
dept-{department | LOWER}
```

If user's department is "Engineering", this resolves to the Access Profile named `dept-engineering`.

**When to use:** Assign Access Profiles based on department, location, role, or other attributes without creating separate workflow conditions for each combination.

{% hint style="info" %}
Dynamic Access Profiles answer "**which** profile?" not "**should** we assign a profile?" They use formatter syntax, not SCIM conditions.
{% endhint %}

See [Dynamic Access Profiles](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/profiles/dynamic-access-profiles.md) for complete documentation.

***

## Combining Conditions and Transformers

Conditions and transformers can work together. Workflow trigger conditions can embed transformer syntax for dynamic value comparisons.

### Example: Time-Windowed Leaver Trigger

This condition triggers a leaver workflow when an employee's last day falls within a 2-day window around today:

```txt
is_active eq true
and customprop_lastdayofwork le "{| NOW | UTC_TO_TIME_ZONE, \"-05:00\" | DATE_ADJUST_DAY, 0 | DATE_FORMAT, \"DateOnly\"}"
and customprop_lastdayofwork gt "{| NOW | UTC_TO_TIME_ZONE, \"-05:00\" | DATE_ADJUST_DAY, -2 | DATE_FORMAT, \"DateOnly\"}"
```

**Breaking it down:**

| Component                                       | Layer                | Purpose                             |
| ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `is_active eq true`                             | SCIM condition       | Check if employee is active         |
| `customprop_lastdayofwork le ...`               | SCIM condition       | Compare last day to threshold       |
| `{\| NOW \| UTC_TO_TIME_ZONE, "-05:00" \| ...}` | Embedded transformer | Generate "today in EST" dynamically |

**The syntax `{\| FUNCTION \| ...}`** (pipe immediately after opening brace) indicates a transformer with no source attribute—it starts directly with a function like `NOW`.

See [Dynamic Value Comparisons](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/policies-workflows/actions/trigger-conditions-reference.md#dynamic-value-comparisons-with-embedded-transformers) for more examples.

***

## Summary

| Feature                    | Workflow Conditions                   | Attribute Transformers    |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| **Purpose**                | Gate execution                        | Construct values          |
| **Output**                 | Boolean (yes/no)                      | String (the value)        |
| **Base syntax**            | SCIM filter (`eq`, `le`, `and`, `or`) | Template (`{attribute}`)  |
| **Supports IF/ELSE**       | No (use nested conditions)            | Yes                       |
| **Can embed transformers** | Yes, for dynamic values               | N/A (is the transformer)  |
| **Then Apply**             | Only within embedded values           | Yes (`\| UPPER \| LOWER`) |

***

## Related Topics

* [Trigger Conditions Reference](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/policies-workflows/actions/trigger-conditions-reference.md) - Complete SCIM syntax for workflow triggers
* [Attribute Sync and Transformers](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/transformers.md) - Formatter syntax and pipeline functions
* [Transformer Reference](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/transformers/transformer-reference.md) - All available transformation functions
* [Dynamic Access Profiles](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/profiles/dynamic-access-profiles.md) - Formatter-based profile assignment
* [System Attributes](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/transformers/system-attributes.md) - Computed attributes like `sys_attr__is_mover`
* [Policies](/4yItIzMvkpAvMVFAamTf/features/lifecycle-management/policies-workflows/policies.md) - Creating and configuring Lifecycle Management policies


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