What is the disadvantages of order guide

[santhosh N]

Hi ,

Please provide at least 3 reasons of disadvantages of Order guide and impacts 

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @santhosh N 

First, we need to manage the rule when more   items a  Order Guide have. Maintenance is difficult because it is tied to the RITM, and we cannot easily change or modify the RITM since it is used only for the Order Guide purpose.

https://www.servicenow.com/community/itsm-forum/does-having-too-many-rule-bases-in-an-order-guide-af...

[Tanushree Maiti · Accepted solution]

Hi @santhosh N ,

Order Guides is used for bundling multiple catalog items into a single request, such as for onboarding a new employee.

If you need the disadvantages for Order Guide-

1.Confusing User Experience

Confusing User Experience: If Order guide is poorly designed, the "Describe Needs" phase can be confusing, forcing unnecessary scrolling which leads to bad user experience

2. High Maintenance and Technical Complexity if Rule base counts more

Reason: Order guides rely on a complex "Rule Base" to determine which items to include. As the number of included items grows, the rules become intertwined, making them difficult to manage.
Impact: Modifying or deprecating a single item within a large, complex onboarding guide can become a "nightmare". It often leads to developers having to recreate or "start fresh" with the guide

3. Performance Degradation (Slow Load Times) when Order guide associated with Large no of RITMs using rule base
Reason: When an order guide contains a large number of catalog items (e.g., 50+) and utilizes complex "cascading variables" (passing data from the guide to individual items), it can significantly slow down the user interface, particularly in the Service Portal.
Impact: Poor user experience. Users may experience slow page loads, frozen screens when submitting requests, leading to lower user satisfaction.

4. Limited Flexibility with Identical Items
Reason: A major limitation of order guides is that you cannot use the same catalog item more than once within a single order guide.
Impact: If a new hire requires two of the same item (e.g., two monitors, two training courses), the developer must create multiple, identical copies of the same catalog item with unique names to bypass this restriction, leading to excessive technical debt and maintenance duplication.

[santhosh N]

Thanks for quick response

[yashkamde]

Hello @santhosh N ,

1) End users may find Order Guides confusing if too many items are bundled or if the guide forces unnecessary selections.

2) Order guides often bundle multiple catalog items together with rules and conditions. As the catalog grows, maintaining these guides becomes cumbersome.

3) Also multiple items triggered together can complicate approvals, fulfillment, and reporting, often leading to delays or confusion.

In short : Order Guides can simplify bundled requests but often introduce maintenance challenges, reduce flexibility, and complicate fulfillment processes.

If my response helped mark as helpful and accept the solution.