Optimizing Maintenance for Step-Based Request Fulfillment in a Software Store Catalog

[Community Alums]

I am developing a software store catalog where each software item is created as a separate catalog entry using the new interface. The process leverages the out-of-the-box "step-based request fulfillment" flow, which retrieves assignment and approval group details from a configuration table and processes them at runtime. Currently, this requires creating separate assignment and approval records for each catalog item. Since most software items are assigned to and approved by the same team, this setup creates significant maintenance overhead, as new configuration records must be added to the table whenever a new software catalog item is introduced. Given that using this flow is an architectural requirement.

What would be the most efficient approach to reduce maintenance efforts and streamline the process?

[Mark Manders]

Can't you put an owner/approval group on the item and just get the information form there? That way you can maintain it on the item itself. Then you don't need a config record.

Or only make config records for the exceptions and make the flow to find the config record and if no record is found, it uses a default (preferably set in system properties for maintenance).

Or automate the creation of the config records, so you only have to change them if it's an exception.

[Community Alums]

Hi @Mark Manders,

Thank you for your response.

As part of the development I am working on, I have implemented both Approvals and Catalog Tasks etc.,. Given the current setup, making the owner/approval group part of the catalog item and retrieving the information is not feasible.

You can see the Service Fulfillment Stages table image, where I have created the record "Auto Approval Check for Enterprise" for the catalog items Acrobat and Adobe Systems Acrobat DC Standard.

To replicate the same approval process for additional catalog items, I had to duplicate the configuration in the Step Table, modifying only the catalog item details,

Regarding your suggestion to automate the creation of configuration records so changes are only required for exceptions, automation is indeed possible. However, implementing such automation would require a separate effort to develop and maintain it, along with ongoing support to ensure its reliability.

[Mark Manders]

It will always need some maintenance. The only solution that would take less, is to have 'defaults' when no config record is there. That way you only have to create a config record on an exception.

[Community Alums]

I have reviewed all the tables related to the service-based request fulfillment flow, but I couldn't find any OOTB option to set a record as a default.