Catalog Item Best Practices

[Mark Ant]

I am asking for any SME on Catalog Item regarding the best practices for catalog item creation.

My current team is working on catalog item optimization and transitioning to CSDM.

They have more than 400 catalog items and they want to limit it by creating 4 catalog items and each catalog item has 100 catalog items in it, the only categorization on that one is a selection box and variable set. Backend is like 1 flow and multiple sub flows in it. I'm not sure if this is a best practice for that. Please let me know your insights.

Kindly let me know if you have any alternative solutions.

Thank you.

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@Mark Ant 

My thoughts

-> Using 4 catalog items might lead to huge form, poor user experience and maintenance issues going forward

-> single backend flow will be a risk

-> try to use variable sets to group variables

-> 

also check below links

5 Catalog Item Best Practices to follow 

CSDM & Request Catalog - service offering and catalog item association 

Application Guide: Service Catalog Best Practices 

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[Ankur Bawiskar]

@Mark Ant 

Hope you are doing good.

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[sagnicdas]

Hi @Mark Ant ,

Please check the solution below.

While consolidating 400 catalog items into just 4 parent items sounds efficient, extreme consolidation is generally considered a "bad practice" for user experience (UX), reporting, and CSDM alignment in 2026. 

1. Why Extreme Consolidation (4 items) is Not Recommended

• Poor User Experience (UX): Users often struggle with "selection box" fatigue. Navigating 100 options in a single dropdown makes it harder to find specific services compared to a clear, searchable catalog hierarchy.
• Complexity & Risk: Building 100 different sets of logic into a single item requires massive amounts of UI Policies and complex Client Scripts to show/hide fields, which increases the risk of performance issues and makes maintenance difficult.
• Reporting Nightmares: When 100 different requests share one Catalog Item, reporting on specific services becomes difficult. You would have to filter by variable data rather than simply reporting by Catalog Item name, which is less efficient and prone to errors.
• CSDM Misalignment: CSDM 2026 principles require every Catalog Item to map to a Service Offering. Consolidating 100 offerings into one item breaks this 1:1 or 1:N relationship, making it impossible to track the actual business value or health of individual services. 

2. Alternative Strategy: "Balanced Optimization"

Instead of reducing 400 items to 4, aim for a balanced approach that uses standardization rather than just consolidation.

• Categorization over Consolidation: Use a logical hierarchy of categories and sub-categories (maximum 3 levels deep). This allows users to find what they need without scrolling through giant dropdowns.
• Leverage Variable Sets: Instead of consolidating the items, consolidate the variables. Create standard Variable Sets for common data (e.g., "Requestor Info," "Shipping Address") and share them across many separate items.
• Consolidate by "Type," Not Category: Only consolidate items that have near-identical fulfillments. For example, instead of separate items for "Request Laptop" and "Request Desktop," use one "Request Computer" item with a selection box. Do not mix unrelated services like "Reset Password" and "Order Software" in the same item.
• Modular Flows: Your team is already using sub-flows—this is a good practice. Continue using a Main Flow that triggers specific Sub-flows based on the item type to keep backend logic clean and reusable. 

3. CSDM Alignment Checklist (2026)

To ensure your catalog optimization supports CSDM:

1. Identify Service Offerings: Group your 400 items under the actual Service Offerings defined in your CSDM.
2. Map Items to Offerings: Ensure each Catalog Item clearly supports a specific Service Offering for accurate reporting and impact analysis.
3. Use Catalog Builder: Delegate maintenance to service owners using Catalog Builder, which uses templates to keep items standardized without forcing them into a single "mega-item". 

Conclusion: The goal should be Searchability and Maintainability. A catalog with 40-60 well-organized, standardized items is much better for a business in 2026 than a catalog with 4 massive, complex items.

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