Your Service Catalog drives self-service capability by giving your users everything needed to request products or services and receive streamlined request fulfillment - all from a user-friendly interface. As a new administrator, you may ask, "What is the difference between a catalog item and a record producer? They both make a record!" I know I did, and this question seems to come up often in the community from those new to the environment, but the answers are often just what is on the documentation.
The purpose of writing this article is to hopefully explain the difference in an analogy that we all should be familiar with, and in turn, make it easier to translate for new administrators who have read the documentation but still aren't comfortable with their definitions.
First and Foremost
Your service catalog will consist of numerous items that have been determined as necessary or beneficial to your non-ITIL user base, these include:
- Catalog items
- Record producers
- Order guides
- Content Items
You may be asking now, "Hold up! What are order guides and content items and why are they not covered here?" Well, that is because they do not have the same confusion as Catalog Items and Record Producers. Order guides are a collection of catalog items that the user submits via one single request - think about the New Hire order guide OOTB. Content items are only informational (meaning they only present content) and would often be found in a catalog header to alert users of important updates.
It's important to remember that everything involved should be value-adding to the organization. Don't start creating an item for every little thing - it doesn't need to be there. Successful ITSM practices are defined by the value their users, customers, and stakeholders receive. Establish a well-defined procedure for evaluating potential Service Catalog items, reviewing expected return on investment once implemented, and understanding the alignment of said item to the overall mission and goals of the organization.
Note: Value is a perceived benefit of something and is subjective. Think like your target consumer, and you will achieve a higher value in the outcome(s) making everyone happier in the end.
The When & Why
So, the burning question you have and are grinding your teeth to get an answer to - what's the difference?
Think about your online shopping habits for a moment. When browsing products online in a catalog, you're looking at the items you can purchase (request). You add what you want to your cart, checkout, and in a few days, you have that product (fulfillment). This translates into the ServiceNow ecosystem 1:1. Your users browse your catalog for services you offer, submit their requests, and you fulfill that request as the Service Provider.
Catalog Items are the services and products you as a Service Provider are offering; A new laptop, software installation, systems access, things your users need to request. Once requested, a workflow and business processes (the packing and shipping times in the Amazon analogy) control delivery to the user.
Now, imagine you have an issue with your delivery. The size is wrong, the color isn't what you expected, etc., so you fill out a contact form and open a ticket (a record) in {insert whatever ticketing system the company uses}. Record producers provide an intake form to enter information (called variables) to create a corresponding ticket you can take action on.
When you should use a record producer over a catalog item or vice versa is not absolute by any means, and you must do what is the most beneficial in achieving the business requirement(s) and makes the most sense from an implementation perspective. Simply put:
- If you're offering end-users the ability to request a service where you need to control approvals and fulfillment, you will use a catalog item.
- If you're just looking to gather information or need to gather open-ended feedback/suggestions from your users, you will use a record producer.
Thanks for reading, have a great day!
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