5.2: Service Catalog

Question 1

The Service Catalog

Answer 1

is a robust ordering system for services and products offered by various departments for users:
* Categories organize catalog items
* “One stop shopping” offered to users
* Access to the Service Desk
* Help and Training Portal
* Multiple catalogs are supported

Question 2

Service Catalog and Request Management

Answer 2

**SC - The user browses the catalog for items they wish to order or request
*Shopping Cart
All of the catalog items the user is
choosing to order
*Catalog Item
-The item offered to the user in the Catalog e.g. iPhone
-The item offered to the user in the Catalog e.g. Executive Desktop
ORDER
**RM - Once the order has been placed the request needs to be tracked and fulfilled
*Request
The record the end user tracks once they order from the catalog
*Requested Item
-The individual catalog item requested e.g. iPhone
-The individual catalog item requested e.g. Executive Desktop
*Catalog Task
Task required to fulfill/deliver
the requested item

After placing an order, the request management process begins. For each catalog item , workflows facilitate the approval process as well as the fulfillment tasks.

Question 3

Service Catalog Major Components

Answer 3

*Items are the building blocks of the Service Catalog: *Hardware *Software *Services
Items once selected and submitted, result in Requests or other Records like Incidents
*Variables provide questions to help the requester specify what item, option, or service to order.
*Variable Sets are a collection of variables that can be shared between catalog items.
*Record Producers are a form that produces a task record. Record Producers are a type of Catalog Item.
*Flows run behind the scenes and communicate the stages of the approval process to the requester and drive the request fulfillment.

Question 3

Items

Answer 3

Users locat e a cat ego ry fo r an i t em o r serv ice t hey w ant t o o rder, and t hen click t he subcat egory link. Use t he Cat alog Builder t o creat e or edi t a cat alog i t em (or record producer t ype) using a v i sual and guided experience along w i t h specified rest rict ions. You can creat e a t emplat e t hat can be used t o creat e cat alog i t em s and specify rest rict ions for t hose i t em s.

Question 4

Record Producer

Answer 4

An int erface used as an al t ernat ive t o li st s and form s. Each Record Producer focuses on a specific process or t ask and can be used anyw here in t he Serv iceNow platform. In t he Serv ice Cat alog, Record Producers are present ed in cat egories along w ith cat alog i t ems. Serv ice Cat alog can be used as a complet e front -end UI.

Question 5

Variables

Answer 5

Quest ions t hat define i t em options can be added t o ask t he end user ordering t he cat alog i t em. Variables can affect t he order price. Serv ice Cat alog v ariables are flagged as “Global “ by defaul t and w il l di splay in al l t he execut ion t asks of a request ed i t em . A v ariable i s defined once and can be used in mul t iple places. The Serv ice Cat alog allows you t o at t ach indiv idual v ariables t o a cat alog i t em, or multiple v ariables collected in a Var i able Set.

Question 6

Var i able Sets

Answer 6

Associating v ariables indi vidually per Cat alog It em i s repet i t ive, t ime-consum ing, and error-prone. Also , t o make a single change t o mul t iple cat alog item s inv olves manually changing each i t em . Using Variable Set s sav es t ime because you do not hav e t o creat e t he same Variables indiv idually for many Cat alog It em s. Also, w hen Variables requi re updat ing, you can modify t he Variable Set and t he changes are reflect ed across al l t he associat ed Cat alog It ems.

Question 7

Flows

Answer 7

When you creat e a new serv ice cat alog i t em , you can creat e a new co rresponding flow at t he same t ime. Thi s flow i s used t o driv e complex ful fi llment processes and can send not i fications t o defined users or groups. All fut ure inv estment w ill be done in Flow Designer.
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Question 8

Service Catalog Items and Variables

Answer 8

To create a new item or modify an existing item, navigate to All > Service Catalog > Catalog Definitions > Maintain Items
*Once an item is published to the Service Catalog, users will be able to order it.
**Variables
* Global by default
* Define the questions to ask the end user ordering the catalog item
* Question choices can define the available options and might affect the order price
**Examples:
* Which monitor size?
* Who is the hiring manager?
* What is the budget code?
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Question 9

Service Catalog variables

Answer 9

*are global by default and prov ide opt ions t o tailor a catalog item to the customer’ s needs. For example, a computer might be available with different operating systems.
*help define the structure of a catalog item form that is displayed to the customer. For example, you can define variables as Hardware Type, Color, or Price, et c.

Question 10

Common Variable Types

Answer 10

• Multiple Choice: Creates radio but tons for user -defined quest ion choices
• Select Box: Creat es a cho ice li st o f user-defined quest ion choices
• Single Line T ext: Creat es a single-line text input field
• Reference: Specifies a record in another table, similar to a reference field
• Check box: Creates a check box which may be select ed o r cleared

Question 11

Variable Set

Answer 11

is just a container, so it has only two fields: Name and Description. After you save the variable set , you will get a Related List at the bottom where you can add as many variables as you want.
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Question 12

Record Producers

Answer 12

appear as simplified forms, allowing users to provide information that is translated into task-based records being added or modified in the database.
* When employees use the Service Catalog on the HR Service Portal to submit a request for Direct Deposit setup, a record producer transfers the request into an HR case
* Incident management might use a record producer for users who need to open an incident easily via the web
* Facilities management uses a record producer for users to open requests for printer service
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Question 13

NOTE: Use a record producer to create task -based records only.

Answer 13

To ensure that standard service catalog processes are followed, such as initiating flows as expected, do not create requested item records from record producers. Instead, create requested item using catalog items. 243

Question 14

Order Guide

Answer 14

Define an Order Guide to assist customers in ordering a complete set of needed items and to help users see item relationships.
Questions can be used to present item options to users with only relevant questions and choices at the appropriate time in the ordering process. 244

Question 15

Order Guide

Answer 15

Items are the building blocks of the Service Catalog. Once you have built a complete item with variables and a delivery flow , you can do a few things with it , such as add it to an Order Guide.
Order Guides provide the ability to order multiple, related items as one request . Remember that variables are presented by the Order field number. Use an Order Guide to assist users in determining what items they need. 244

Question 16

Service Catalog Item Request Output

Answer 16

*Request-Summary of order, Request State
*RITM-Item Ordered, Quantity, Stage
*SCTASK-What to do, Assignment Group, Assigned to, Task State, Work Notes

For Catalog items, a request is created. A request can have one or more items associated with it . An item can have one or more tasks associated with it. Each output is stored in the appropriate corresponding table. 245

Question 17

REQ# Request [sc_request] t able

Answer 17

A request number generated to keep track of an order. Records on this table begin with REQ and behave like containers. They organize the order from the top level regardless of how many items are requested. Think of an REQ record as the shopping cart . It can contain one or many items. 245

Question 18

RITM# Requested Item [sc_req_item] table

Answer 18

Records on this table begin with RITM and manage the delivery of each individual item in the request. Within a request generated from a catalog order, each discrete item ordered is given a specific “Request ed Item Number” know n as an RITM (number).

Question 19

SCTASK# Catalog Task [sc_task] table

Answer 19

Records on this table begin with SCTASK and are the assigned tasks needed to complete the delivery of each Request item from start to finish. Some of the more important fields are the Assignment group, the Due date, Work start , and Work end dates. In t he Catalog Tasks section for an ordered item , the different tasks display for what needs to be done to get the item ready for delivery to the user.

Question 20

Progress Stages for a Requested Item

Answer 20

*Approvals
*Fulfillment
While viewing the requested item, you can expand the flow stages which provide summary-level feedback about the progress or state of an item in the delivery process.

Question 21

Flow stages

Answer 21

attached to an item indicate the progress or state of an item in the delivery process with one of the following stages:
* Waiting for approval (In Progress)
* Appr oved
* Pending (has not started)
* Fulfillment (In Progress)
* Deployment/Delivery
* Completed 246

Question 22

Catalog Security: User Criteria for Items and Categories

Answer 22

Catalog Security: User Criteria for Items and Categories

User Criteria defines conditions that are evaluated against users to determine which users can access Service Catalog items.

You can apply several User Criteria records to a single catalog item or category.

Apply a user criteria record to items and categories either from the item, category, or user criteria form. The example shown here illustrates adding user criteria to a category. Check out the different forms to see the various ways you can apply user criteria to catalog items and categories. 247

Question 23

Catalog Builder

Answer 23

Create or edit a catalog item or record producer using a visual and guided experience along with specified restrictions. The catalog builder experience enables you to delegate the creation and maintenance of the catalog. Users can also create a template that can be used to create catalog items. While creating the template, you can specify values or restrictions for items created using the template, for example, restrictions to catalogs, categories, variable types, and portal settings. From the home page of the catalog builder, you can do the following:
* Create a catalog item
* Create a catalog item template
* View the available catalog items
* View the available catalog items templates
* View catalog items that are recently updated
* View the configured content that describes the catalog building process in your organization.
NOTE: Catalog builder is designed to support common and simple use cases for business users. There are some limitations to catalog builder that can be accommodated by catalog administrators through the traditional platform. 248

Question 24

Arrow next to an application

Answer 24

Note: When you see an arrow next to an application or module name, the item will open in a new window. The Catalog Builder is one example. If the system is slow to respond, refresh your browser. 252