Teams usually do not fail at finding waste. They fail at routing and execution. This guide fixes that exact gap in one practical run.

If you are evaluating cloud governance tools, this page helps you validate real day-to-day usability: account setup, proxy routing, notification ownership, scan result execution, and report export quality.

Treat this as a hands-on benchmark: finish one full cycle, then decide whether your team can run it weekly without extra process overhead.

Cloud Waste Scanner dashboard showing cost breakdown, monitor trend, governance trend, and failure mix.
Target state: dashboard trends are visible and your daily workflow can move from detection to execution.

1) Create at least one working notification channel first

Open Settings → Notifications, click Add Channel, and pick the method that your team already checks every day. Cloud Waste Scanner currently supports:

  • Slack Webhook
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Discord Webhook
  • Telegram Bot
  • WhatsApp (Meta API)
  • Email Report
  • Generic Webhook

Use Send Test Notification before saving. A saved channel without a successful test is usually where weekly follow-up breaks.

Notification method selector listing Slack, Teams, Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, Email, and Generic Webhook.
Configure and test one channel first, then add others without interrupting your scan cadence.

2) Add account routing with both proxy and owner channels

Go to Settings → Cloud Accounts → Add Account. Fill credentials, then set:

  • Account Proxy: Direct, default policy, or a named proxy profile.
  • Account Notification Channel: all active channels or a multi-select list of specific channels.

Click Test Connection, then Save. This verification step does not consume scan quota.

Add Account panel showing provider, account proxy, and account notification channel multi-select.
Bind routing and ownership while creating the account so findings are delivered to the right people from the first scan.

3) Run scan from Dashboard and handle findings in Scan Result

  1. Open Dashboard and click Start Cloud Scan.
  2. Select one or two accounts in the scan wizard for the first run.
  3. After scan completion, the app navigates to Scan Result automatically.

On Scan Result, filter by provider, multi-select findings, and split work into:

  • Ignore for items already handled outside the app.
  • Generate Plan for actions that need explicit execution and traceability.
Scan wizard target step selecting accounts for the next scan.
Keep first-run scope tight so you can validate quality and ownership quickly.
Scan Result table with selected findings and action bar for Ignore and Generate Plan.
Select high-impact findings first and convert them into an execution plan.
Execution Plan Review modal showing planned actions and Execute via API button.
Review planned actions, download for approval if needed, then execute through API.

4) Export practical evidence in both CSV and PDF

Export from Scan Result, Resources, History, or Governance depending on the audience. For most teams:

  • CSV goes to engineering and FinOps for bulk tracking.
  • PDF goes to review meetings and approval flows.

In PDF export options, enable Add checklist columns so ownership and custom actions can be recorded in the same artifact. This is where daily operations become a reliable review loop instead of ad hoc screenshots.

Export Report Configuration modal with Add checklist columns option.
Enable checklist columns when the report will be used for execution tracking.
Exported PDF report table including recommended action and custom checklist columns.
The exported checklist format keeps suggested actions and custom actions in one review file.

5) Keep a weekly loop with Monitor and Governance windows

Use the same time window across pages so weekly decisions stay comparable. The practical baseline is to review 7d, 30d, and 90d in both Monitor and Governance.

  • Monitor answers resource behavior and account health over time.
  • Governance answers whether findings are being processed with stable execution quality.
Infrastructure Monitor page with 7d, 30d, 90d controls and provider trend charts.
Monitor keeps resource-level behavior and account status visible across rolling windows.
Governance page with savings trend, throughput, provider breakdown, and account coverage tables.
Governance confirms whether scan findings are turning into measurable execution outcomes.

Next in the series

Continue with Part 9: how to read Dashboard, Scan Result, Governance, and Monitor after a scan. It shows the reading order that helps a new teammate get useful work done without bouncing between pages.

If your team is comparing multiple products, run this exact sequence on each one and compare execution friction, not only dashboard appearance.

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Confirm account, proxy, and notification behavior before you invite more owners into the workflow.