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Configure Conditional Owners on a Workflow Phase

This article provides step-by-step instructions on setting conditional rules for workflow phase ownership

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  Estimated Read Time: 3 minutes

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For background on workflow owners, see Configure Workflow Phase Access and Ownership.

What are Conditional Owners?

Conditional owners allow you to assign different owners to a workflow phase depending on form field values, rather than using a single fixed owner. For example, you may need to assign specific approvers based on the contract category. You could assign the IT team to approve contracts categorised as Software Licences, while contracts in the Recruitment category are routed to the HR team instead.

Configure Conditional Ownership Rules

  1. Click the phase you want to configure ownership for to edit it.edit phase-1
  2. Navigate to the Form Access section and select the Conditional radio button next to Card Owners.
    conditional owners
  3. To start creating the conditional rules, click Add New Owners.add new owners
  4. Select the relevant owner using the radio buttons, then click Save: 

    1. Users: select one or more specific users to own the phase.

    2. Workflow Groups: select one or more workflow groups. These are custom groups of users used across workflow configuration, ideal for when ownership doesn’t align with a team but you want to avoid assigning users individually.

    3. Form Fields: assigns ownership based on a user or workflow group selected in a form field. You can select which form field will determine ownership.

  5. Once the Conditional Owner is added, you can add any number of conditions. If those conditions are met when a card enters the phase, the specified owner will be assigned. To do this, click Edit Conditions.

    edit conditions

  6. Click Add, then select the required values from the dropdown lists. For example:

    1. Field = Contract Category
    2. Operator = one of
    3. Data = Training, Recruitment
  7. Click Create, then repeat Step 6 if additional conditions are required.

  8. If needed, you can add more conditional owners by repeating Steps 3–7. Gatekeeper will evaluate all rules and assign all owners whose conditions are met.

Note: You can manage form visibility separately for each group of owners. For more detail, see Set Up a Form Within a Workflow.

FAQs

What happens if a card enters the phase and none of the conditions match?

If none of the conditional rules match the data on a card, no owners will be assigned and the card. A Workflow Administrator or Local Workflow Administrator can assign an owner manually, or action the card directly.

What if the form field used to determine ownership is empty when the card reaches the phase?

If the field is blank, the rule can't be evaluated and no owner will be assigned. To avoid this, consider making the relevant field mandatory on an earlier phase so it's always populated before the card arrives.

Can I use custom data fields as conditions?

Yes, you can use core and custom fields from a predefined vendor/contract section, or use workflow-only fields to build rules.

If multiple rules match, do all the corresponding owners get assigned?

Yes. Gatekeeper evaluates all rules when a card enters the phase and assigns every owner whose conditions are met. This means a card could have multiple owners simultaneously if more than one rule applies.

Can I update the conditional ownership rules once a workflow is live?

You can edit the ownership rules, but these will not apply to cards that are already in the phase. To apply updated settings to an individual card, open the card and click Re-enter current phase from the Controls tab. If users are added to or removed from workflow groups, this updates immediately. The card does not need to leave and re-enter the phase.

Are owners notified when cards are assigned to them?

Yes, but only if notifications have been enabled for card owners on the phase. See Configure Workflow Notifications for further details.