Problem

When an incident or notification is launched from an automated process, administrators may see an Everbridge employee listed as the sender or see a name that does not match the person who actually tapped a safety button in the Everbridge 360 app. In these situations, the notification can display the template creator or message sender instead of the contact who initiated the incident from the mobile app.

Root Cause

Notifications can be launched automatically by Everbridge automations rather than by a manual user action. When a template created by an Everbridge employee is tied to an automated trigger, the system sends the notification and may display the template creator as the sender. The message header can show the name associated with the account used to send the notification, such as the template creator, even though the actual event was initiated by a system trigger or an internal contact who pressed a safety button.

The Message Sender variable displays the name associated with the account used to send the notification. This variable does not specifically identify the person who tapped the custom button in the Everbridge 360 app. As a result, the sender shown in the notification may differ from the individual who actually initiated the incident.

In contrast, the _Initiator Name system variable is designed to identify the individual who clicked the custom button in the Everbridge 360 app. If an incident template uses the Message Sender variable instead of the _Initiator Name variable, the notification will list the message sender rather than the actual initiator.

Solution

The recommended solution is to configure incident templates to display the contact who initiated the incident from the Everbridge 360 app instead of the message sender or template creator.

To identify the real initiator and ensure future notifications show the correct person:

• Check which template was used for the notification and identify the creator of that template if the notification lists an Everbridge employee as the sender. This often indicates the message was sent by an automated process using a template created by Everbridge staff.
• Check the message template used for the SOS activation or other safety button activation. Verify which variable is being used to display the person who initiated the SOS.
• If the template is using a message sender variable to show who initiated the SOS, replace that variable with the _Initiator Name system variable. The _Initiator Name variable automatically pulls the name of the person who actually pressed the custom button in the Everbridge 360 app.

To change the name displayed as the reporter or initiator in an incident template:

• Modify the variable used for the “Reported By” or similar field.
• Instead of using the Message Sender variable, use the _Initiator Name system variable so that the correct person is listed as the reporter.

To expose additional details about the initiator, add system variables that report the initiating contact:

• Add _Initiator ID to show the contact’s External ID.
• Add _Initiator Name to show the contact’s name.

Including one or both of these variables in the incident notification template will display which contact tapped the safety button to trigger the incident. The _Initiator Name variable specifically identifies the individual who clicked the custom button in the Everbridge 360 app, providing more accurate reporting of who initiated the incident.

If preferred, Everbridge can demonstrate how to update the incident communication, for example by providing a walkthrough to show how to add and use the _Initiator ID and _Initiator Name system variables in the incident template.

Workaround

When the template has not yet been updated to use the _Initiator ID and _Initiator Name variables, the following options can help identify the initiator:

• Review the event logs associated with the notification to identify the initiating contact’s details.
• Review the incident metadata in the visual command or incident console, such as which account opened the incident and the “sent via” field, to confirm whether the alert came via the API or via a Safety Message Alert source.

These approaches can help determine the real initiator when the notification still shows an Everbridge employee or another account as the sender and the _Initiator variables have not yet been configured in the template.