Customizing Notifications in App Engine Management Center

[Marc Mouries]

Use case

In App Engine Management Center, out-of-the-box (OOTB) notifications are useful to keep users informed about key actions and events, such as the success or failure of deployment requests. These notifications ensure that those initiating a deployment are promptly updated, keeping everyone in the loop to accelerate the apps deployment process. 

As a customer, you may want to tailor these notifications to better fit your organization’s needs, such as adding specific branding, customizing messaging, or adjusting triggers to align with your workflows. These adjustments could help create a more personalized and branded user experience.

Current Challenge (As of Washington/Xanadu Releases, November 2024)

Currently, many OOTB components in App Engine, including notifications and flows, are set to “read-only” by default. This restriction prevents direct modification, which can be limiting for users who want to make adjustments without duplicating or recreating components from scratch.

Reason

The read-only policy is in place to protect custom configurations from being overwritten during ServiceNow’s platform updates. Direct edits to these flows could lead to compatibility issues with future releases, risking the loss of customizations and possibly impacting system stability.

Options for Customization

To work around the read-only limitations, consider the following options:

1. Submit a Support Case: If needed, you can submit a support case to obtain “maint” credentials, allowing you to deactivate certain notifications or flows directly.
2. Copy and Modify: Duplicate the OOTB flow you want to adjust, then make changes to the copied version. This allows full customization while keeping the original flow intact.
3. Use Sub-Flows: Set up custom sub-flows that can be triggered under specific conditions in the pipeline, adding targeted functionality without altering core processes.

On the Roadmap

The App Engine team is planning to address this limitation in future releases. Upcoming improvements will use the Process Automation Designer (PAD) to create a more modular pipeline, with each component as a smaller, replaceable part. This will allow users to swap in custom sub-flows without impacting the main pipeline, significantly expanding customization options.

Until these updates are available, using sub-flows and duplicating flows where necessary provides a balanced solution for customization. This approach allows flexibility while maintaining stability, preparing your systems for a smoother transition as the platform continues to evolve.