Where is catalog builder designed to run?

[William Busby]

We've been having an internal debate on where to build catalog items with catalog builder. From looking at the way the publishing works it seems clear it's designed to be run in the production instance. SNOW support threw a monkey in the works by telling one of our devs that catalog builder was designed to be run in a lower environment and then items should be promoted to test/prod using update sets or scoped apps.

So, we're polling the SNOW devs what the planned deployment is or at least asking the people who have deployed it. What instance is Catalog Builder designed to run in?

[Community Alums]

Hi @William Busby ,

Actually it's true both the ways !! As Catalog Builder can be used both by the Developers and the actual end users who has right role and access in prod. When i say it's for developers they should follow the normal cadence which is run in a lower environment and then items should be promoted to test/prod using update sets. Also, it can be run in the prod to build a catalog without using any programming.

Refer to this Blog as well , it should explain you the actual need of Catalog Builder: :https://community.servicenow.com/community?id=community_blog&sys_id=a7a99029db56f490904fa9fb139619f9

Mark my answer correct & Helpful, if Applicable.

Thanks,

Sandeep

[Community Alums]

Hi @William Busby ,

Glad to see my answer helped You. 
Kindly mark the answer as Correct & Helpful both such that others can get help.

Thanks,
Sandeep

[Ethan Davies]

Hey @William Busby,

Catalog Builder is designed for non-technical users to create and update catalog items quickly and I have seen it used in production with success. This removes the reliance on development cycles to make changes to either the behaviour (form or fulfilment) to be able to make changes to an item.

ServiceNow are right in suggesting that the best practice option would be to create in sub-prod and promote, but it's not your only option. If you want to do this directly in production you can and as I mentioned, I have seen it done successfully but it does require a solid process and governance behind it (i.e a developer is a part of the approval process for an item or something).

Your users need to be familiar with the builder and trained on Catalog Item building ahead of you rolling it out. If you just let them lose without prior training you're going to get shoddy items being published to your catalog.

What is really important to building a good Catalog Builder process in your organisation is to make sure that the Catalog Templates that you have available are set up and meet your organisations needs and challenges, whilst also considering the skill level of your users. Typically, these Catalog Templates would be set up by a developer or in conjunction with a developer to understand what a Catalog Builder user should and shouldn't be able to utilise. The takeaway from the Catalog Templates is that as much of the process and building should be pre-defined and re-usable in these templates. This ensures that the Catalog Builder experience is appropriate for the users building the items and helps minimise any issues that may occur.

Another important aspect is that as you empower your users to create and update items in production using Catalog Builder you will begin to have differences in item behaviour between your ServiceNow instances. With this is in mind it is recommended that your developers backfill the sub-prod instances with the changes or maintain a regular cloning schedule, the later being the recommended option.

Summary

You could implement a production only Catalog Builder process, but it requires your users to be trained, backed by a solid process and governance steps implemented. Even if you decide to use Catalog Builder in sub-production, your time to deployment will be increased because you will eliminate the reliance on out and out developers to create the items. Remember good Catalog Templates are key.

My suggestion would be to trial Catalog Builder in your sub-prod instances first. Create your Catalog Templates. Build and refine your process and get it working like a well oiled machine. Once you have done this, over time, you may feel like your organisation is mature enough to make the next step in using Catalog Builder in production.

Hope this helps.

Please mark this answer as correct or useful if it aids in solving your issue.

[peterlindmark]

Thanks for sharing your experience of Catalog Builder. We have the same questions and have hesitated a while now.