Bidirectional System Tag Sync Between Incident and Custom Table - Sync Failing After Multiple Update

[harshalpatil]

Hi expert, need your help.

I'm implementing a bidirectional sync for a "System Tag" field between the Incident table and a custom Basket table. The sync works initially but fails when the same incident is updated multiple times. I need help identifying why the synchronisation stops working after the first update.

Business Requirement

• System Tag field exists on both Incident and Basket tables (same field type, same choice values)
• Serial Number field on Incident is a reference field pointing to the Basket table
• Bidirectional sync needed:
  • When an agent updates System Tag on an Incident → sync to the linked Basket record
  • When System Tag is updated on a Basket record → sync to all linked active Incidents
• Sync should work continuously until the Incident is closed/cancelled
  
  refer this script 
  

  Business Rule 1: Incident → Basket Sync

  • Table: Incident
  • When: After Insert, After Update
  • Filter Conditions: Serial Number changes OR System Tag changes
  • Script:(current, previous) { var LOG_SOURCE = 'System Tag Sync (Inc -> Contract)'; try { // Exit if incident is inactive or closed/cancelled if (!current.active || current.state == 7 || current.state == 8) { return; } var systemTag = current.getValue('u_system_tag'); // Exit if no system tag or no serial number reference if (!systemTag || current.u_serial_number.nil()) { return; } // Get referenced contract item var contractItem = current.u_serial_number.getRefRecord(); if (!contractItem || !contractItem.isValidRecord()) { gs.info('System Tag Sync: Contract Item not found for Incident ' + current.getValue('number'), LOG_SOURCE); return; } gs.info('System Tag Sync: Incident = ' + current.getValue('number') + ', Contract Item Sys ID = ' + contractItem.getUniqueValue() + ', System Tag = ' + systemTag, LOG_SOURCE); contractItem.setValue('u_systemtag', systemTag); contractItem.setWorkflow(false); contractItem.update(); gs.info('System Tag Sync: Successfully updated Contract Item ' + contractItem.getUniqueValue() + ' with System Tag ' + systemTag, LOG_SOURCE); } catch (e) { gs.info('System Tag Sync ERROR for Incident ' + current.getValue('number') + ': ' + e.message, LOG_SOURCE); } })(current, previous);

  Business Rule 2: Basket → Incident Sync

  • Table: Basket (custom table)
  • When: After Update
  • Filter Conditions: System Tag changes
  • Script:

  (function executeRule(current, previous) {
      var contractSysid = current.getUniqueValue();
      var systemTag = current.getValue('u_systemtag');
      gs.log("Running BR - Sync System tag Contract to Incident: " + contractSysid, "SMOD");
  
      try {
          // Exit if no system tag
          if (!systemTag) {
              return;
          }
  
          // Find open incidents linked to this contract item
          var inc = new GlideRecord('incident');
          inc.addQuery('u_serial_number', contractSysid);
          inc.addActiveQuery();
          inc.addQuery('u_system_tag', '!=', systemTag);
          inc.query();
  
          var count = 0;
          while (inc.next()) {
              inc.setValue('u_system_tag', systemTag);
              inc.u_system_tag_sync_source = "System Tag is updated from Contract item";
              inc.setWorkflow(false);
              inc.update();
              count++;
          }
  
          gs.info('System Tag Sync: Contract Item ' + contractSysid + 
                  ' -> updated ' + count + ' incident(s) with System Tag ' + systemTag, "SMOD");
  
      } catch (e) {
          gs.info('System Tag Sync ERROR for Contract Item ' + contractSysid + 
                  ': ' + e.message, "SMOD");
      }
  })(current, previous)
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Scenario:

  1. Incident 1 is created and System Tag is set to "Chiku" → Basket record updates to "Chiku" ✅
  2. Incident 2 is created (linked to same Basket record) and System Tag is set to "Mango" → Basket record updates to "Mango" ✅
  3. Incident 1 System Tag is changed again (e.g., to "Banana") → Basket record updates ✅
  4. Incident 1 System Tag is changed again (e.g., to "Apple") → Basket record does NOT update ❌

  Observed Behaviour:

  • The sync works for the first update on each incident
  • Subsequent updates on the same incident fail to sync to the Basket table
  • The Business Rule appears to execute (based on logs), but the Basket record value doesn't change
  • Only one incident seems to "own" the sync after a certain point
    
    
    
    #ServiceNow #Business Rule 

[yashkamde]

Hello @harshalpatil ,

Might be BR 1 updates the Basket with setWorkflow(false), which stops BR 2 from firing. So the other linked incidents are never synced, and the Basket and incidents drift apart.

Remove setWorkflow(false) in BR 1, and add a check so each rule only updates when the value actually differs (and a flag so BR 1 ignores updates made by BR 2). That prevents the loop and keeps all three records in sync.

If my response helped mark as helpful and accept the solution.

[harshalpatil]

@yashkamde Could you please share where do i need to change exact.