[CoE Starter Kit - QUESTION] QUESTION: Need some more clarity on the Inactivity emails triggered via Governance Solution of COE Toolkit

[nileshvargaonkar]

Does this question already exist in our backlog?

• I have checked and confirm this is a new question.

What is your question?

Need some more clarity on the Inactivity emails triggered via Governance Solution of COE Toolkit

We enabled all the Inactivity flows for the unused Power Apps and Power Automate flows, however when we enabled all these flows, the 1st flow ran very well and triggered emails to everyone (App/Flows not used in last 6 months) asking for the confirmation to keep or delete the App/Flow, some of the users clicked on "Keep this App/Flow" and provided the business justification.

Now when the flow ran after a week again it triggered an email to the same user who provided the confirmation.

So, we need to understand below scenarios in this inactivity flows as a part of Governance Solution Package

1. First Instance creates entry in the Archive Approval table, then how the complete cycle works for the 1st instance and after how many days the 2nd cycle would trigger and when it triggers what happens to the existing data in the Archive Approval Table?
2. If some of the users clicked on "Keep this App/Flow" and provided the business justification on the first instance of the flow, what will happen when the flow runs for 2nd and 3rd time till the cycle completes?
3. Also, if a user is confirming on if the App/Flow needs to be kept or deleted, another cloud flow that triggers email to the manager gets triggered every week.
4. Is there any best practice or any documentation on how we need to handle these inactivity flows because in our scenario this flow triggers email every week to everyone irrespective of the confirmation the user has provided or not?

What solution are you experiencing the issue with?

Governance

What solution version are you using?

January 2026

What app or flow are you having the issue with?

No response

What method are you using to get inventory and telemetry?

None

[harini-2-y]

Hi @nileshvargaonkar ,
Thank you for your question! Here is a clear explanation of how the Inactivity Notification flows work and why some users received repeated emails even after clicking “Keep this App/Flow.”

1. How the first cycle works and what happens afterwards
In the first weekly run, the system identifies apps/flows that haven’t been used for the configured period (default 6 months) and creates an entry in the Archive Approval table. An approval email is then sent to the owner.
The Check Approval flow runs daily and is responsible for capturing the owner’s “Keep/Delete” response.
When the second weekly cycle runs, it will only send a new email if the previous response was not processed and the approval record still shows Pending.

2. If the user clicked “Keep this App/Flow”
Once the owner responds, the Check Approval flow should update the Archive Approval record.
After the response is successfully recorded, no more emails should be sent during the next cycles.
If the same user received another email the next week, it means their response was not processed (the flow may have been off, failing, or the timing overlapped the weekly run).

3. Why managers received weekly emails
Manager notifications only occur when approval requests remain ignored.
If managers still receive emails even though the owner responded, it means the system never recorded that response, and the item is still treated as “ignored.”

4. How to prevent repeated emails
Make sure all Inactivity flows are turned ON, especially the Check Approval flow, as this is the one that updates responses.
Consider moving the weekly Start Approval run to mid‑week to avoid timing conflicts (for example, when owners respond over the weekend).
Check the Archive Approval record and confirm the response is actually recorded. If it still shows “Pending,” the system will continue sending emails.
Review inactivity thresholds and exclude environments from the inactivity process if required.