diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 33e46b4cdcbd528674a7a809d8039f660abbd474..2bea443f5a1510c5bb48b6a1925a72b365b1d68a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ Default configuration follows [this Python project structure](https://docs.pytho
 The Python template supports [Poetry](https://python-poetry.org/) as packaging and dependency management tool.
 
 If a `pyproject.toml` and `poetry.lock` file is detected at the root of your project structure, requirements will automatically be generated from Poetry.
-Poetry support is disabled  if `PYTHON_POETRY_DISABLED` has a value.
+Poetry support is disabled  if `PYTHON_POETRY_DISABLED` is set to `true`.
 
 :warning: as stated in [Poetry documentation](https://python-poetry.org/docs/basic-usage/#commit-your-poetrylock-file-to-version-control), _You should commit the `poetry.lock` file to your project repo so that all people working on the project are locked to the same versions of dependencies_.
 
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ It uses the following variables:
 #### `py-pylint` job
 
 This job is **disabled by default** and performs code analysis based on [pylint](http://pylint.pycqa.org/en/latest/) Python lib.
-It is activated by setting `$PYLINT_ENABLED`.
+It is activated by setting `$PYLINT_ENABLED` to `true`.
 
 It is bound to the `build` stage, and uses the following variables:
 
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ The Python template features four alternative test jobs:
 #### `py-unittest` job
 
 This job is **disabled by default** and performs tests based on [unittest](https://docs.python.org/3/library/unittest.html) Python lib.
-It is activated by setting `$UNITTEST_ENABLED`.
+It is activated by setting `$UNITTEST_ENABLED` to `true`.
 
 In order to produce JUnit test reports, the tests are executed with the [xmlrunner](https://github.com/xmlrunner/unittest-xml-reporting) module.
 
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ source =
 #### `py-pytest` job
 
 This job is **disabled by default** and performs tests based on [pytest](https://docs.pytest.org/en/latest/) Python lib.
-It is activated by setting `$PYTEST_ENABLED`.
+It is activated by setting `$PYTEST_ENABLED` to `true`.
 
 It is bound to the `build` stage, and uses the following variables:
 
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ source =
 #### `py-nosetest` job
 
 This job is **disabled by default** and performs tests based on [nose](https://nose.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) Python lib.
-It is activated by setting `$NOSETESTS_ENABLED`.
+It is activated by setting `$NOSETESTS_ENABLED` to `true`.
 
 It is bound to the `build` stage, and uses the following variables:
 
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ It is bound to the `test` stage, and uses the following variables:
 
 | Name             | description                                                            | default value     |
 | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- |
-| `BANDIT_ENABLED` | Variable to enable Bandit analysis                                     | _none_ (disabled) |
+| `BANDIT_ENABLED` | Set to `true` to enable Bandit analysis                                     | _none_ (disabled) |
 | `BANDIT_ARGS`    | Additional [Bandit CLI options](https://github.com/PyCQA/bandit#usage) | `--recursive .`   |
 
 This job outputs a **textual report** in the console, and in case of failure also exports a JSON report in the `reports/`
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ It is bound to the `test` stage, and uses the following variables:
 
 | Name             | description                                                             | default value     |
 | ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- |
-| `SAFETY_ENABLED` | Variable to enable Safety job                                           | _none_ (disabled) |
+| `SAFETY_ENABLED` | Set to `true` to enable Safety job                                           | _none_ (disabled) |
 | `SAFETY_ARGS`    | Additional [Safety CLI options](https://github.com/pyupio/safety#usage) | `--full-report`   |
 
 This job outputs a **textual report** in the console, and in case of failure also exports a JSON report in the `reports/`
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ It is bound to the `publish` stage, applies only on tags and uses the following
 
 | Name                     | description                                                                            | default value                     |
 | ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
-| `DOCS_ENABLED`           | Variable to enable pages job                                                           | _none_ (disabled)                 |
+| `DOCS_ENABLED`           | Set to `true` to enable pages job                                                           | _none_ (disabled)                 |
 | `DOCS_REQUIREMENTS_FILE` | Python dependencies for documentation generation _(relative to `$PYTHON_PROJECT_DIR`)_ | `docs-requirements.txt`           |
 | `DOCS_DIRECTORY`         | Directory containing docs source                                                       | `docs`                            |
 | `DOCS_BUILD_DIR`         | Output build directory for documentation                                               | `public`                          |
diff --git a/templates/gitlab-ci-python.yml b/templates/gitlab-ci-python.yml
index 8830cd8b3be1307fc2646c6c69deecda1b196bdc..006b96106568e3f3ea06d0e5c3dbb3634fe9e344 100644
--- a/templates/gitlab-ci-python.yml
+++ b/templates/gitlab-ci-python.yml
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ variables:
   }
 
   function install_test_requirements() {
-    if [[ -f "pyproject.toml" ]] && [[ -z "${PYTHON_POETRY_DISABLED}" ]]; then
+    if [[ -f "pyproject.toml" ]] && [[ "${PYTHON_POETRY_DISABLED}" != "true" ]]; then
       if  [[ ! -f "poetry.lock" ]]; then 
         log_error "Poetry detected but \\e[33;1mpoetry.lock\\e[0m file not found: you shall commit it with your project files"
         exit 1 
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ variables:
     fi
   }
 
-  if [[ -z "$TEMPLATE_CHECK_UPDATE_DISABLED" ]]; then check_for_update python "1.3.0"; fi
+  if [[ "$TEMPLATE_CHECK_UPDATE_DISABLED" != "true" ]]; then check_for_update python "1.3.0"; fi
   unscope_variables
 
   # ENDSCRIPT
@@ -373,11 +373,11 @@ py-lint:
     - if: $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_ID
       when: never
     # on production branch(es): if $PYLINT_ENABLED is set
-    - if: '$PYLINT_ENABLED && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $PROD_REF'
+    - if: '$PYLINT_ENABLED == "true" && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $PROD_REF'
     # on integration branch(es): if $PYLINT_ENABLED is set
-    - if: '$PYLINT_ENABLED && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $INTEG_REF'
+    - if: '$PYLINT_ENABLED == "true" && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $INTEG_REF'
     # on non-production, non-integration branches, with $PYLINT_ENABLED set: auto & non-blocking
-    - if: '$PYLINT_ENABLED'
+    - if: '$PYLINT_ENABLED == "true"'
       allow_failure: true
 
 py-compile:
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ py-compile:
     - if: $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_ID
       when: never
     # on any branch: only when none of supported unit test framework is enabled
-    - if: '$UNITTEST_ENABLED == null && $PYTEST_ENABLED == null && $NOSETESTS_ENABLED == null'
+    - if: '$UNITTEST_ENABLED != "true" && $PYTEST_ENABLED != "true" && $NOSETESTS_ENABLED != "true"'
 
 ###############################################################################################
 #                                      test stage                                             #
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ py-unittest:
     - if: $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_ID
       when: never
     # on any branch: when $UNITTEST_ENABLED is set
-    - if: $UNITTEST_ENABLED
+    - if: '$UNITTEST_ENABLED == "true"'
 
 py-pytest:
   extends: .python-base
@@ -455,7 +455,7 @@ py-pytest:
     - if: $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_ID
       when: never
     # on any branch: when $PYTEST_ENABLED is set
-    - if: $PYTEST_ENABLED
+    - if: '$PYTEST_ENABLED == "true"'
 
 py-nosetests:
   extends: .python-base
@@ -482,7 +482,7 @@ py-nosetests:
     - if: $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_ID
       when: never
     # on any branch: when $NOSETESTS_ENABLED is set
-    - if: $NOSETESTS_ENABLED
+    - if: '$NOSETESTS_ENABLED == "true"'
 
 # Bandit (SAST)
 py-bandit:
@@ -512,11 +512,11 @@ py-bandit:
     - if: $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_ID
       when: never
     # on production branch(es): if $BANDIT_ENABLED is set
-    - if: '$BANDIT_ENABLED && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $PROD_REF'
+    - if: '$BANDIT_ENABLED == "true" && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $PROD_REF'
     # on integration branch(es): if $BANDIT_ENABLED is set
-    - if: '$BANDIT_ENABLED && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $INTEG_REF'
+    - if: '$BANDIT_ENABLED == "true" && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $INTEG_REF'
     # on non-production, non-integration branches, with $BANDIT_ENABLED set: manual & non-blocking
-    - if: '$BANDIT_ENABLED'
+    - if: '$BANDIT_ENABLED == "true"'
       when: manual
       allow_failure: true
 
@@ -549,11 +549,11 @@ py-safety:
     - if: $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_ID
       when: never
     # on production branch(es): if $SAFETY_ENABLED is set
-    - if: '$SAFETY_ENABLED && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $PROD_REF'
+    - if: '$SAFETY_ENABLED == "true" && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $PROD_REF'
     # on integration branch(es): if $SAFETY_ENABLED is set
-    - if: '$SAFETY_ENABLED && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $INTEG_REF'
+    - if: '$SAFETY_ENABLED == "true" && $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ $INTEG_REF'
     # on non-production, non-integration branches, with $SAFETY_ENABLED set: manual & non-blocking
-    - if: '$SAFETY_ENABLED'
+    - if: '$SAFETY_ENABLED == "true"'
       when: manual
       allow_failure: true
 
@@ -593,7 +593,7 @@ py-docs:
       - $DOCS_BUILD_DIR
   rules:
     # on tags with $DOCS_ENABLED set
-    - if: '$DOCS_ENABLED && $CI_COMMIT_TAG'
+    - if: '$DOCS_ENABLED == "true" && $CI_COMMIT_TAG'
 
 # (manual from master branch): triggers a release (tag creation)
 py-release: