Creating record producers - best practice?

[joseph_yamoah]

When creating service catalogs - the record producers, I usually create the variables. Most often than not I don’t map them to any field. All the information from the different variables are copied directly into the description field.

Is it better to create a field/list and map the various variables to them or copying everything to the description field? I am curious to know which way is better and why.

Thank you!!!

[Allen Andreas · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Any field you create on the record producer should be evaluated to see if it basically helps the end result, which is the record.

So you're able to ask questions in a more "customer friendly" way...in a record producer(specifically) to allow for different labels and presentation. If those fields relate to a field on the actual end result (the record), you definitely SHOULD be mapping them to respective fields.

Dumping them all in to the description field is not an elegant solution and could cause double-work. Now the technician working the record has to fill in fields from the description and that increases human error and just doesn't make sense. What is the point of the record producer then? If you want to just dump all the data in a description field, then just have the user use a giant text box and type it all in there. You ask the questions field by field, because it's easier to understand, right? So pass on that organization to the record by mapping those fields.

There are times where a record producer field is asked simply because it's used for some other purpose: not displayed on the record for whatever other reason. Those can then be evaluated for posting in a description type box, as a work note, not at all unless 'x' selection, etc.

Point blank...help the entire life cycle by mapping the fields if there is an eligible field to map it too.

Ultimately, your process manager or someone should help decide that.

Please mark reply as Helpful/Correct, if applicable. Thanks!

[Allen Andreas]

Thanks for marking my reply as helpful Joseph.

If my reply helped guide you correctly, please also mark it as Correct.

Thanks!

[Allen Andreas]

Hi Joseph,

In terms of best practice and your question around mapping the variables versus placing them all in a description box, I believe I covered that pretty well.

I don't think you're looking for an explanation of what a record producer is or how to create one, your question(s) was around best practice in using it in regard to mapping fields or not. So an overall process question.

As I mentioned above, it is definitely best practice to map all fields appropriately, if possible.

If my above post helped guide you correctly, please mark it as Correct as well.

Thank you!

[joseph_yamoah]

Hi Allen, 

Thank you for the information - you are right I am looking at how best to approach this.