Unable to receive notifications for targets and thresholds

[KetakiA]

We created many indicators for business purpose and have setup targets and thresholds for required ones. However I want to receive some alerts or notifications about reaching the target, nearing the threshold etc. I have added a few users in "Responsible Users" list for the target. The schedule of the "Check PA Target" notification is set to Daily and the time is also setup. The Notification "PA Targets Notification" looks to be active. I followed the same steps as mentioned in the documentation for Targets and Notifications for ServiceNow Zurich instance but still cannot see any email in my inbox or in ServiceNow Outbound Outbox. I even tried to setup "Responsible User" field in the "Whom to Receive" section in the notification but no luck.

What am I doing wrong?

[Itallo Brandão]

Hi @KetakiA ,

This is a very common issue with Performance Analytics notifications. The process relies on a specific chain of events, and if one link fails, the email is never generated.

Here is the step-by-step troubleshooting guide to find the missing link:

Step 1: Check the Event Log (The "Smoking Gun") We need to know if the system realized the target was met.

1. Navigate to System Policy > Events > Event Log.

2. Search for Name starts with pa.target. (Specifically pa.target.met or pa.threshold.reached).

3. Filter Created on "Today".

• Scenario A: The Event EXISTS.

  • The PA engine is working, but the Notification record is failing to pick it up.

  • Fix: Check the Notification "Send to event creator". Since the "Check PA Targets" job runs as "System" or a specific Admin user, if that user is also in the recipient list (or testing it), ServiceNow suppresses the email unless this box is checked.

  • Fix: Ensure the "Responsible User" has a valid email and Notification Preferences enabled.

• Scenario B: The Event DOES NOT EXIST. (This is 90% of cases)

  • The issue is upstream. The system checked for the target, but didn't see the data yet.

Step 2: Check the Job Timing (The #1 Cause) PA Notifications depend on fresh data.

• The Problem: You likely have your Data Collection Job running at the same time (or after) your Check PA Targets job.

• Example:

  • Data Collection runs at 06:00 AM (Takes 10 mins to finish).

  • Check PA Targets runs at 06:00 AM.

  • Result: The Check job runs against yesterday's data (or incomplete data) because the new scores haven't been written yet. It finds no match, fires no event.

• The Fix: Ensure the "Check PA Targets" scheduled job is set to run at least 1 hour after your Data Collection job finishes.

Step 3: Verify Target Configuration If the timing is correct:

1. Open the Target record.

2. Ensure it is Active.

3. Ensure the "Global" checkbox is checked (if it is a personal target, global jobs might ignore it depending on scope).

Summary: First check the Event Log. If it's empty, adjust your Scheduled Job times to ensure Data Collection finishes completely before the Target Check begins.

If this response helps you solve the issue, please mark it as Accepted Solution.

Best regards,
Brandão.

[KetakiA]

Thank you @Itallo Brandão for the detailed response. I checked the Event log and see that my job is a Monthly job whereas the Check PA Target is set to Daily. I am not sure what to do here because I cannot change my monthly job at this moment. Could you please guide? 

[Itallo Brandão]

Hi @KetakiA ,

Thank you for the update. That is a great finding!

The good news is: You do not need to change your Monthly Job. It is perfectly fine to have a Daily "Check PA Targets" job monitoring a Monthly Data Collection.

• How it works: The Daily check will run every day. For 29 days, it will simply find nothing and finish silently. On the 1 day that your Monthly data arrives, it will process it.

The Fix: Adjust the "Time", not the "Recurrence" The issue is almost certainly occurring on that one specific day of the month when the data is collected.

• Scenario:

  • Monthly Collection: Runs on the 1st at 08:00 AM.

  • Daily Check: Runs every day at 07:00 AM.

  • Result: On the 1st, the Check runs too early (before the data exists). It finds nothing.

The Solution: Since you cannot move the Monthly job, you simply need to move the Check PA Targets job to the end of the day to play it safe.

1. Navigate to System Definition > Scheduled Jobs.

2. Open "Check PA Targets".

3. Change the Time to 23:00:00 (11:00 PM).

4. Save.

Why this works: By setting it to 11 PM, you guarantee that all data collections (whether they ran at 8 AM, 12 PM, or 5 PM) are finished before the system checks for targets. This single change covers your Monthly indicators without breaking any Daily indicators you might add in the future.

If this response helps you solve the issue, please mark it as Accepted Solution.
Best regards,
Brandão.

[KetakiA]

Hi @Itallo Brandão , Thanks for the input. I changed my Check PA Target schedule to execute at 11 pm as you suggested. Is there any way that I can test this before the scheduled time?