Stage 04 of 07 · Identity across the lifecycle
Decide is where segmentation and personalization logic actually reads the resolved profile — or doesn't. Most personalization failures aren't a targeting-rules problem; they're an identity-layer problem wearing a targeting-rules costume.
Last reviewed 27 Sept 2026
The parallel resolution
The decisioning engine runs its own identity resolution, separate from the CDP's, because it was implemented by a different team on a different timeline. It segments on a `device_id` the CDP retired eight months ago. The rules are correct; the identifier feeding them isn't.
Tell — you find out when a segment's size doesn't match the CDP's count for the same audience, and nobody can say which number is right.
What resolved looks like
Decisioning reads the CDP's resolved `profile_id` and nothing else — no parallel resolution logic. Adobe Target, Dynamic Yield and in-house decisioning engines all support this; it has to be enforced at integration time, not assumed.
Systems that read this stage — Adobe Target · Dynamic Yield · decisioning engines
profile_idsegment_id