Flow Designer Issue - Catalog Variable Retrieval Failure

[dbowens]

I'm experiencing a Flow Designer issue where catalog variables are not being retrieved or populated correctly. The flow execution halts at the "Get Catalog Variables" step and fails to complete the full workflow. Consequently, variables that should auto-populate and fields requiring automatic assignment upon form submission remain unset.

Trouble shooting attempts include:

-Flow debugging and execution log analysis

-Deactivating and reactivating the flow

-Verifying flow configuration and trigger conditions

-Testing with different user contexts.

The flow was previously functioning correctly and the only updates to the catalog item were simple wording changes and filtering. What potential root causes could explain this regression and are there any recommended workarounds or alternative approaches to resolve this issue?

[dbowens]

Yes, I've tried this and still the variables aren't mapping to the correct fields on the RITM or REQ records.

[dbowens]

Attached is the flow I'm referencing. It's fairly simple, however even when trying to re-map the variables or delay the get catalog variable, the data is mapping to the fields upon submission. When I tested in flow designer, it then will populate the variables after the fact.

[Brad Bowman]

The flow without the details of each activity, particularly step 1 if that's where it is failing doesn't show anything helpful.  Is it still halting at the first activity?  What does that look like with full reporting enabled when testing in Flow Designer or executing on a new request?  

Your statements "...data is mapping to the fields upon submission. When I tested in flow designer, it then will populate the variables after the fact." are confusing.  The variables populated on a request form are populated on the RITM and any Catalog Tasks variables without any Flow activity.  If they are populating fields on the RITM and/or REQ records, then either your Flow is working, or you have another Flow or Business Rule doing the same thing.

[nityabans27]

Hi @dbowens,

• Likely cause → A variable name was changed (not just label), variable set was altered, or RITM no longer stores variables — so “Get Catalog Variables” has nothing to fetch. Cache/metadata issues or flow context misalignment can also break it.

• Fixes →

  1. Check that variable names and storage on RITM are intact.

  2. Delete/re-add the Get Catalog Variables step to refresh metadata.

  3. Confirm flow trigger passes the right RITM/Request record.

  4. If still failing, use a Run Script step with GlideappVariablePoolQuestionSet to fetch variables directly.

Most regressions like this happen because the variable name or storage config changed during your edits.

[dbowens · Accepted solution]

I was able to resolve the issue. It had to do with the approval engine on the sc_request table not being turned on, so it wasn't actually triggering the workflow. Once that was set, the flow kicked off as intended. Thanks all for the many suggestions!