Event-Based Group Membership Calculator Framework
The July 2026 release expands the new Group Membership Calculator framework, shifting group membership processing from scheduled daily refreshes to continuous event-based updates. Support now extends to additional dynamic criteria and standard fields, so qualifying groups recalculate automatically whenever a relevant user or group attribute changes. The Feature Activation Preferences page is also updated to show real-time framework enablement status.
What's New
- Event-driven group membership recalculation that updates continuously instead of on a daily batch schedule
- Expanded framework support for additional standard fields including Absent, Last Hired Date, Last Name, Role, Training, and User
- Support for groups using the Exclude Absent Members toggle and Selected Custom User and OU field types
- Real-time framework enablement visibility through the updated Feature Activation Preferences page and Activation Panel
- Single-step Groups Redesign activation that enables the new UI, excluded member functionality, and framework enablement together
- Automatic, no-action framework processing for qualifying groups whose attributes are all supported
Details
Description
The Group Membership Calculator framework changes how Cornerstone calculates group membership by moving from scheduled batch refreshes to an event-based model. Whenever a relevant user or group attribute changes — such as a user attribute update, an OU assignment change, or members being added or removed — the system automatically triggers a recalculation for qualifying groups, so membership is always current when dependent workflows run.
In the July 2026 release, framework support expands to additional dynamic criteria and standard fields. Groups now qualify if they use the Exclude Absent Members toggle, standard fields such as Absent, Last Hired Date, Last Name, Role, Training, and User, and Selected Custom User and OU field types, in addition to the dynamic OU, manual member, and combo configurations already supported. Groups that contain any unsupported attribute continue to process on the portal's regular daily refresh schedule.
Business Need
Groups power critical workflows such as learning assignments and security provisioning, but the legacy model refreshes group membership only once per day. This can introduce delays of up to 24 hours before a relevant change is reflected, causing workflows to execute against stale data and creating downstream delays for administrators, managers, and end users.
By making refresh event-driven, the framework ensures membership is recalculated as soon as a qualifying change occurs, improving the reliability and timeliness of group-driven processes. Administrators get up-to-date data for dependent workflows, and managers and end users gain faster access to assignments and tasks that rely on group inclusion.
Key Features
- Group membership is recalculated on an event-driven basis, updating continuously as attributes change rather than waiting for a daily batch refresh.
- Framework support is expanded to additional standard fields, including Absent, Last Hired Date, Last Name, Role, Training, and User.
- Groups using the Exclude Absent Members toggle and Selected Custom User and OU field types are now supported by the new framework.
- The Feature Activation Preferences page and Activation Panel are updated to display real-time framework enablement status.
- Groups Redesign activation is simplified to a single step that enables the new UI, excluded member functionality, and framework enablement together.
- Qualifying groups whose attributes are all supported move to the new framework automatically, with no customer action required.
Deployment & Considerations
These enhancements are part of an early adopter, phased rollout. The framework begins updating automatically during UAT for all stage portals where Groups Redesign is already activated, with no additional action required. Following the July 2026 release, selected pilot and production portals onboard gradually, and full availability across all environments is expected by November 2026. Additional attribute support is delivered progressively between July and November based on customer usage patterns.
Framework enablement is triggered automatically when Groups Redesign is activated, and once activated it cannot be reversed; customers may opt out only by keeping Groups Redesign inactive. There are no new permissions and no additional activation steps. Note two important constraints: a qualifying group with a global constraint still processes on the new framework, but changes to the global constraint will not trigger an event-based refresh and are captured at the next scheduled calculation; and although the Certification attribute is supported in the new UI, groups containing certification criteria continue to process exclusively on the portal's daily refresh schedule. Any group containing an unsupported attribute also remains on the daily schedule until that attribute is supported.