title: Workflow Triggers category: Workflows & Automation tags: triggers, events, automation, conditions, scheduling priority: Normal

Workflow Triggers

Workflow Triggers determine when and why a workflow executes. Located at /access-review/workflow-triggers, the Triggers page lets administrators connect workflows to real-time events, scheduled intervals, manual actions, or policy violations so that approval processes start automatically at the right moment.

What is a Trigger?

A trigger is a rule that watches for a specific condition or event and launches a workflow when that condition is met. Without triggers, workflows are inert designs; triggers bring them to life.

Trigger Types

Manual Triggers

Manual triggers are invoked on-demand by an administrator or an end user.

Manual triggers are useful during initial rollout or for ad-hoc requests that do not follow a predictable pattern.

Scheduled Triggers

Scheduled triggers fire on a recurring cadence defined by a cron expression or a simple interval.

Common uses for scheduled triggers:

• Periodic access recertification reminders
• Weekly stale-account review workflows
• Monthly privileged access audit

Tip: Align scheduled triggers with your organization's compliance calendar. If quarterly access reviews are required by SOX, create a quarterly trigger that launches the review campaign workflow automatically.

Event-Based Triggers

Event-based triggers respond to real-time changes detected during synchronization or through direct system events.

Event triggers are the foundation of real-time identity governance. They eliminate delays between an identity change and the appropriate governance response.

Policy-Based Triggers

Policy-based triggers fire when a policy evaluation produces a violation.

Policy-based triggers bridge the gap between detection and remediation. When a policy flags a stale account, a policy-based trigger can automatically launch a workflow that notifies the manager and requests a decision.

For more on policies and violations, see Policies Overview and Lifecycle Management.

Condition-Based Filtering

Every trigger type supports optional conditions that narrow when the trigger fires. Conditions prevent irrelevant workflows from launching.

Available Condition Fields

Combining Conditions

Conditions can be combined with AND/OR logic:

Trigger: Group Membership Change
Conditions:
  - Group Name contains "Admin" AND
  - Department equals "IT"
Result: Only fires when an IT user is added to an admin group

Trigger: New Violation Detected
Conditions:
  - Severity equals "Critical" OR
  - Policy Name equals "Privileged Access Monitor"
Result: Fires for any critical violation or any violation from the privileged access policy

Template Library

IdentityCenter includes a library of pre-built trigger templates for common governance scenarios.

To use a template:

1. Navigate to Workflow Triggers
2. Click New from Template
3. Select the desired template
4. Customize conditions and the assigned workflow
5. Save and enable

Creating a Trigger

Step 1: Define the Trigger

1. Navigate to Access Reviews > Workflow Triggers
2. Click New Trigger
3. Enter a Name and Description
4. Select the Trigger Type (Manual, Scheduled, Event, Policy)

Step 2: Configure the Trigger

For Scheduled triggers, set the cron expression or select a simple interval. For Event triggers, select the event type from the dropdown. For Policy triggers, select the policy or severity threshold.

Step 3: Add Conditions (Optional)

1. Click Add Condition
2. Select the field, operator, and value
3. Add additional conditions as needed
4. Set the logical operator (AND/OR) between conditions

Step 4: Assign a Workflow

1. Select the workflow to execute from the dropdown
2. Only Active workflows appear in the list
3. If no suitable workflow exists, create one first in the Workflow Designer

Step 5: Save and Enable

1. Click Save to create the trigger in a disabled state
2. Review the configuration
3. Click Enable to activate the trigger

Testing Triggers

Before enabling a trigger in production, test it to verify correct behavior.

Test Methods

Testing Checklist

• Trigger fires for the correct events or schedule
• Conditions correctly filter out irrelevant cases
• The correct workflow is launched
• Approver resolution within the workflow works as expected
• Notifications are sent to the right recipients

Enable and Disable

Toggle a trigger's status at any time:

• Enable -- The trigger begins watching for its condition and will launch workflows
• Disable -- The trigger stops watching; in-flight workflows already launched are not affected

Disabling a trigger is useful during maintenance windows, organizational changes, or when troubleshooting unexpected workflow launches.

Best Practices

1. Start with templates -- Customize pre-built templates rather than building from scratch
2. Use conditions aggressively -- Narrow triggers to avoid launching unnecessary workflows
3. Test before enabling -- Always simulate or dry-run a trigger before going live
4. Monitor trigger frequency -- Review the audit log regularly to ensure triggers fire at the expected rate
5. Pair event triggers with scheduled triggers -- Event triggers catch real-time changes; scheduled triggers catch anything that slipped through
6. Document trigger-to-workflow mapping -- Maintain a reference of which triggers launch which workflows for the operations team

Next Steps

• Workflow Designer -- Build the workflows that triggers execute
• Approver Resolution -- How approvers are determined within workflows
• Escalation & SLA Tracking -- Timeout and escalation rules for triggered workflows
• Access Catalog Overview -- Self-service portal that generates manual triggers
• Lifecycle Management -- Policy-driven remediation workflows