Using the Service Catalog
The Service Catalog in ServiceNow is often the backbone of an IT portal. It makes it easy for end users to submit requests to fulfillers by providing a one-stop shop for ordering new equipment, creating tasks, and monitoring their progress with a simple and straightforward interface. It is designed to reduce distraction and be similar to systems that they are already familiar with.
Tip
Chapter 11, Making ServiceNow Beautiful with Service Portal and Custom Interfaces, builds a self-service interface with the Service Portal. It makes the Service Catalog much more beautiful and easy to use.
The Service Catalog is split into two main parts: a shopping-style interface (with a cart, items to order, and a more graphical interface than we've seen so far) and a fulfillment backend that uses workflows to control how the orders are processed. Often, the two are conflated, even though they are aimed at two different audiences and achieve very different purposes.
