Since you mentionned "true" is a string, try this : "true".equals(input_row.actual)

If "input_row.actual" contains Null values, your job will throw a NullPointerException

Also check if input_row.actual equals "TRUE" or "True" because equals is case sensitive

If it still doesnt work add a tJavaRow component and try to log the value with System.out.println("Value of row: " + input_row.actual);