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What does each of the conditional operators do?

Learn what each of the conditional operators mean, and when you'd use them.

The following conditional logic operators are available as part of the conditional logic configuration within the CRT application:

  • Equals – Use when you need to confirm that the response exactly matches a specific value.

  • Not Equals – Use when you need to confirm that the response does not match a specific value.

  • Null – Use when you need to confirm that no value has been entered in the response field.

  • Not Null – Use when you need to confirm that some value has been entered in the response field.

  • Contains – Use when you need to confirm that the response includes a specified value.

  • Not Contains – Use when you need to confirm that the response does not include a specified value.

  • In – Use when you need to confirm that the response value appears within a defined list of values.

  • Not In – Use when you need to confirm that the response value does not appear within a defined list of values.

Because the platform supports multi-select responses, the distinction between “contains/not contains” and “in/not in” is important. Use the following guidance:

  • Contains / Not Contains – Best suited for multi-select, checkbox, or fields that can hold multiple response values.

  • In / Not In – Best suited for a single response value that is evaluated against a list.

 

Examples:

If the response is:

  • Department = Human Resources (single select)

  • Allowed Values = Legal, Human Resources, Security, Finance, Marketing, IT

Then:

  • In evaluates whether the single response value ('Human Resources') is present anywhere in the allowed values list ('[Legal, Human Resources, Finance, Marketing, IT]').

  • In this case, 'Human Resources' is in the list, so the condition evaluates to true.

  • If the Department were `Engineering`, the In condition would evaluate to false, because `Engineering` is not included in the allowed values list.

  • This operator is typically used when you want to branch logic or display follow‑up questions only when the selected value is part of an approved or targeted set (for example, show additional IT security questions only when 'Department In [IT, Security]').

If the response is:

  • Selected Domains = [AC - Access Control, PL - Planning, MA - Maintenance] (multi-select)

  • Allowed Values = AC - Access Control, AU - Audit and Accountability, AT - Awareness and Training, CM - Configuration Management, CP - Contingency Planning, IA - Identification and Authentication, IR - Incident Response, MA - Maintenance, MP - Media Protection, PS - Personnel Security, PE - Physical and Environmental Protection, PL - Planning, PM - Program Management, RA - Risk Assessment,  CA - Security Assessment and Authorization,  SC - System and Communications Protection, SI - System and Information Integrity, SA - System and Services Acquisition

Then:

  • Contains evaluates whether at least one of the values in the multi-select response matches the specified condition value or values.

  • For example, a condition of 'Contains = PL - Planning' would return true, because 'PL - Planning' is one of the selected controls.

  • A condition of 'Contains = MP - Media Protection' would return false, because that value is not present in the response list.

  • When used with multiple target values, such as `Contains any of [AC - Access Control, MA - Maintenance]`, the condition will evaluate to true if at least one of those target values appears in the selected responses list.

In practice:

  • Use In when you are comparing a single response value (such as a dropdown or radio button selection) against a predefined list of acceptable or target values.

  • Use Contains when you are working with a multi-select or checkbox field where the response can include several values, and you need to confirm whether one or more specific values are present within that set.

These patterns are especially useful when building conditional flows in CRT, such as:

  • Showing additional qualifying controls only when 'Department In [IT, Security, Operations]'.

  • Triggering enhanced control questions when 'Selected Controls Contains Encryption'.

  • Directing respondents to different follow-up sections based on whether key controls or functions have already been selected.

 

Understanding and applying this distinction ensures that conditions behave as intended and makes the configuration significantly more effective for you and your users.