Customers upgrading from Maximo 7.6 to MAS 9.x expect build‑process continuity, but Manage server bundles ignore the generated *-build.xml and force customization forks in maximo-all.xml

Customers upgrading directly from Maximo 7.6 to MAS 9.x expect functional continuity in how EAR customizations are applied. 

In MAS Manage, server‑bundle build scripts continue using the static maximo-all.xml instead of the generated maximo-all-build.xml, causing product‐level customizations authored in product/custom.xml to be ignored during server bundle builds. 

This behavior diverges from legacy Maximo 7.6 functionality and forces customers to manually fork Ant build files, which contradicts the supported customization model

This is a request to restore the expected behavior and prioritize this as a product gap rather than treating it as a workaround or future enhancement.

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In Maximo 7.6 and earlier versions, the EAR build process (including server bundle builds) consumed the generated *-build.xml file created by the MaximoBuildEarTask, which incorporates updates from product customization files such as product/custom.xml.
This allowed clean, low‑maintenance extension of EAR classpaths and build targets without requiring customers to modify or carry customized Ant build files.

In MAS Manage 9.x, although MaximoBuildEarTask still generates the updated maximo-all-build.xml when a product/custom.xml is present, the server bundle build scripts (maximo-all.sh, buildmaximomea-ear.sh) continue to execute the static product build file maximo-all.xml rather than the merged/generated variant.
As a result:

• custom.xml changes are merged into maximo-all-build.xml
• But they are not consumed by the build pipeline
• So EAR builds via server bundles silently ignore the intended customizations

Current documentation instructs customers to ship third‑party JARs via customization archives that modify a copy of maximo-all.xml, but this method:

• Was never required in 7.6
• Forces customers to fork and maintain product build files
• Is opposed to the intended purpose of product/custom.xml
• Breaks the recommended upgrade‑safe customization model
• Was not clearly documented as a behavioral change or discontinuity

Customers upgrading from Maximo 7.6 to MAS 9.x expect the original behavior to continue, and there is no warning or product documentation indicating that the server bundle build pipeline no longer honors the generated build files.

The customer strongly asserts this is a regression/continuity gap, not an intentional design.