for(Answer ans : assessmentResult.getAnswersAsList()) { //originally stored in a table //AnswerStatus stat = ans.getStatus(); if (ans.getStatus() == AnswerStatus.NOT_ASSESSED) { assessed = false; } } ... if (AnswerStatus.NOT_ASSESSED == ans.getStatus()) ... if (AnswerStatus.NOT_ASSESSED.equals(ans.getStatus())) if (ans.getStatus().equals(AnswerStatus.NOT_ASSESSED))