Platform access level: Org Admins, Managers, and Distributors (anyone who delivers courses).
An automation enrolls learners for you. Instead of watching for every new hire, course completion, or roster change, you set a rule once, and Arist triggers enrollment from the event so learners join the moment they qualify.
Every automation pairs a trigger, the condition that must be met, with an action, what happens when it fires. You build both on one screen.
1. Create the automation
Select Automations in the left sidebar.
Select Create new.
Name the automation for what it does, like "Enroll new managers in leadership course".
The create screen walks you through two numbered steps, Identify trigger and Determine action. Once both are filled in, Preview automation spells out in plain language what the rule will do, so you can read it back before you select Save.
2. Identify the trigger
Under Identify trigger, pick a Source, where the trigger originates, and an Event, the condition that must be met. The source is either Arist itself (platform events) or data from a file upload (learner metadata).
The Arist app events you can trigger on:
Event | Fires when |
User created | A new user is added to your organization |
Course completed | A user finishes the course, through the schedule you pick as the trigger's Value |
User added to cohort | A user is added to a specific cohort |
Survey question answered | A user answers a specific survey question |
External course IDs matched | A user's external course IDs match your conditions |
The Survey question answered trigger asks you to pick the survey first and then the question. Only multiple choice questions that accept a single answer can trigger an automation, and each question can drive one automation. Routing learners based on how they answer, like sending each learner the course in their own language, is worked through end to end in Building Surveys.
The metadata trigger, User data matched, fires when a learner's metadata matches conditions you set: equal to, not equal to, contains, starts with, or ends with. The Data from file upload source appears once your organization has learner metadata on file. For metadata and external course ID triggers, check Include all existing users with matching data to apply the automation to learners who already qualify, not just future ones. That sweep of existing learners runs once, when you first turn the automation on; after that, the automation watches for new and updated data.
3. Determine the action
Under Determine action, pick what happens when the trigger fires.
Enroll user: The automation enrolls the learner in the schedule you pick, and it works with every trigger type. Enrolling always goes through a schedule, so the course needs one before an automation can point at it. The Value dropdown lists the schedules you can enroll learners into, and reads No schedules available until the course has one. See Scheduling and Delivering Courses.
Enroll manager: This one enrolls the learner's manager instead, using the manager information in your uploaded learner data. If you don't see this option, manager enrollment isn't enabled for your organization.
Update user's timezone, preferred delivery method, or language: These three actions update the learner's profile instead of enrolling anyone, and they appear only when the trigger is Survey question answered.
With a survey trigger, you set the action per answer option. Each row reads "If the user selects" followed by the answer, and you assign a schedule or a value to at least one of them. Answers you leave blank do nothing when chosen.
Enrollment can wait before it fires. Enter a number in the Number of days after trigger criteria is met field, up to 365, or set it to 0 to enroll immediately. A delay keeps rolling enrollment consistent, like enrolling every learner in a follow-up course exactly 7 days after they complete the first one, no matter when each learner started.
4. Save and turn it on
Select Save. The Automations page lists every automation with its trigger, action, and status.
Turn the automation on with the toggle at the end of its row. Its status flips from Disabled to Active, and a confirmation dialog summarizes what will happen before the change takes effect. Nothing fires while an automation is Disabled, so you can build one ahead of time and activate it when the campaign starts.
Try it: Build one rule end to end: trigger on User added to cohort with a test cohort, point the action at a test schedule, save, and turn it on. Then add yourself to that cohort and watch the enrollment appear.
5. Manage existing automations
The Automations page is where you keep rules current as campaigns change.
Turn one off or on: Use the toggle next to the automation, and confirm in the dialog that appears.
Edit one: Select Edit from the menu at the end of the automation's row. The automation must be turned off first; while it is Active, editing is disabled.
Retire one: Disable the automation and it stops firing. Automations stay on the Automations page rather than being deleted, so you can turn one back on whenever you need it.
Important: An automation never enrolls the same learner twice through the same schedule. Once it has enrolled someone, it will not enroll them again even if the trigger fires more than once. To deliver a course to that learner again, point an automation at a different schedule.
6. Common automation patterns
These patterns cover most enrollment jobs, and each one is a single trigger paired with a single action.
Goal | Trigger | Action |
Territory training | Country contains "USA" | Enroll in US-specific training |
Role training | Role equals "Manager" | Enroll in leadership course |
Course progression | Course completed | Enroll in the advanced course |
Department training | Department starts with "Sales" | Enroll in sales course |
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Note: Need help at any point? Reach out to your Arist Customer Success contact, or email [email protected].