We’ve talked about the importance of service catalogs — how they provide a window into the services offered by your organization, and how this is an invaluable resource that provides users with the support they need to accomplish their tasks. However, setting up a service catalog can also be overwhelming. That's why we've put together these service catalog best practices to help you.
There are so many different factors to consider — from content and design to integration and updates— and you need to align them with your own requirements.
In this guide, we'll explore each part of the service catalog, with examples and actionable tips to help you build one. Let’s start by examining what a service catalog should include and why having a well-defined structure is important.
What is a service catalog?
According to ITIL, a service catalog is a centralized record of the IT services available to users, including information such as descriptions, service levels, ownership, and how to request each service.
It gives employees a clear view of what IT provides, how to access those services, and what to expect from them. In IT Service Management (ITSM), the catalog also provides a structured way to connect user requests with the teams, processes, and resources responsible for fulfilling them.
A service portfolio covers services across their entire lifecycle, while the service catalog focuses on active services that users can request. In practice, a catalog may include:
- Service name and description: What the service provides and when to use it.
- Service owner: The team or person responsible for the service.
- SLAs: Expected response and resolution times, availability, or other service commitments.
- Pricing: Costs or chargeback information, when applicable.
- Dependencies and prerequisites: Related services, assets, approvals, or requirements.
A well-structured catalog gives users a clear starting point for getting help or requesting a service. It also gives IT a defined set of services to manage, measure, and improve.
Step by step of building your service catalog + best practices
Let’s look at the steps involved in building a service catalog effectively, including best practices to follow along the way.
1. Identify your service offerings
The first step is to catalog every service your team currently offers. Start by reviewing all IT services that directly support the business and then categorize them based on function or user group.
- Involve stakeholders early: Work with business units, IT teams, and end-users to identify the services that should be included. This collaboration ensures the catalog aligns with business goals and meets actual user needs.
- Categorize services clearly: Group services logically, whether by function (e.g., infrastructure support, application services) or by user type (e.g., services for HR, finance). Clear categories simplify navigation.
- Document dependencies: Some services may rely on others, so be sure to outline these relationships. For instance, a software installation might require specific hardware configurations or prior setup of other services.
2. Define and standardize service descriptions
Users need straightforward, consistent service descriptions to help them understand what each service entails and its benefits. Standardizing descriptions also makes it easier to scale your catalog over time.
- Keep it simple: Avoid technical jargon that may confuse end-users. Use language that anyone in your organization can understand to improve accessibility and ease of use.
- Include key details only: Each entry should have essential information, such as a brief description, eligibility requirements, and how to request the service. The goal is to inform without overwhelming.
- Establish templates: To keep information consistent across the catalog, use a template for every service entry. Templates might include fields for service name, description, owner, and SLA details.
3. Set clear Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
SLAs specify the expected performance standards and response times for each service. Including them in your catalog helps set user expectations and provides a baseline for performance monitoring.
- Collaborate on SLA expectations: Work with each service owner to define achievable response times and standards. SLAs should be realistic, based on team capacity, and aligned with user expectations.
- Categorize SLAs by service priority: Higher-priority services might have more stringent SLAs than low-priority ones. Define SLA levels according to service impact, criticality, and frequency of use.
- Provide transparency for users: Display SLAs visibly so users know the expected response times and better understand what they can expect.
4. Make it easy to navigate
This goes hand-in-hand with everything we’ve said so far: the service catalog is there to make things easier for users. Therefore, providing a friendly user experience from a design standpoint must be a priority. Make sure you give visibility to all the key items and attributes of each service offering.
- Prioritize accessibility: The catalog should be intuitive for all users, whether they’re accessing it via desktop, mobile, or through assistive technologies.
- Use simple navigation: Employ a clear and straightforward menu system that lets users search or filter services based on categories or needs.
- Provide a search function: Users often prefer to search directly for what they need, so a search bar with auto-suggest can improve user experience significantly.
5. Include a self-service option
Your service catalog is going to be a key piece of your self-service portal. A self-service option allows users to send service requests directly from the catalog. This feature can significantly reduce the number of support tickets, speed-up service delivery, and increase satisfaction by allowing users to resolve issues on their own.
- Automate requests where possible: Connect common requests (like password resets or software installs) directly to workflows that can handle them automatically.
- Provide clear instructions: Even with self-service options, users may need guidance. Ensure that instructions for submitting or tracking requests are clear and user-friendly.
- Monitor usage and feedback: Regularly review self-service data to identify common issues or improvement areas. User feedback on the self-service process can highlight which services are most in demand and where potential bottlenecks may occur.
6. Incorporate analytics and reporting
Analytics provide insights into how users interact with the service catalog, helping identify which services are most requested and uncovering areas for improvement. They will be a key part of your service catalog management practices.
Once your service catalog is up and running, monitor your KPIs (key performance indicators) to identify possible areas of improvement. This will help you identify your service catalog's main strengths and weaknesses and use that information to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.
Keep an eye out for technician productivity (measure the number of requests fulfilled by technicians or support groups within SLAs), overall service desk productivity, and the number of requests in the backlog.
- Track key metrics: Common metrics include total requests, service usage, most frequently accessed services, and user feedback. These provide a clear view of catalog performance.
- Identify trends over time: Regularly analyze data to spot trends, such as seasonal spikes in certain requests, which can inform staffing and support decisions.
- Adjust based on findings: Use the insights from analytics to refine catalog entries, update service offerings, and enhance user experience.
7. Implement regular updates and reviews
Okay, we know this last step isn’t technically about building your service catalog — but hear us out! You should consider the service catalog an evolving resource rather than a one-and-done document. To stay valuable, it needs regular updates to reflect any changes you make as a service provider: SLAs, or offerings.
- Schedule reviews periodically: Set a schedule to review and update the catalog, whether quarterly or annually, to reflect new services, updated SLAs, or retired offerings.
- Gather user feedback: Solicit feedback on a rolling basis to understand what’s working and what isn’t. Surveys or brief feedback forms on the catalog page can help gather insights.
- Involve service owners in updates: Each service owner should be responsible for updating their respective catalog entries. This decentralizes the work and ensures accuracy.
Tips to start building your service catalog
A service catalog is easier to build when its purpose, audience, and terminology are defined before the catalog structure is designed. These three considerations provide a practical starting point.
1. Set your goals
Start by defining why the organization needs a service catalog. Identify the problems it should address and what you want to improve, such as request visibility, self-service adoption, service standardization, or the user experience.
A clear objective also provides a basis for deciding which services to include and how they should be structured. The catalog does not need to be fully defined from the outset. It can be refined as usage data, feedback, and service needs become clearer.
2. Talk to your users
User input should inform how the catalog is designed. Identify the services employees request most often, how they currently ask for them, and where they encounter confusion or delays.
Avoid designing the catalog solely around IT's internal structure. A catalog based on how users look for services is more likely to support self-service than one organized around IT terminology or team boundaries.
3. Avoid "IT speak"
Service names and descriptions should reflect how users understand the service, not necessarily how IT categorizes it internally. Technical terms can make it harder to identify the right service, provide the required information, or understand what will happen after a request is submitted.
Use clear, familiar language and reserve technical terminology for information that users actually need. The goal is to make each service understandable without requiring users to know how IT delivers it.
Keeping the catalog from going stale
A catalog decays quietly. Services get renamed, teams reorganize, tools get swapped out, and the entries stop matching reality. Users tend to notice before you do: they route requests to the wrong place, drop everything into a generic "other" form, or go back to emailing IT directly. Each of those is a signal the catalog has drifted.
A few habits keep it current:
- Give every service a single owner. When one named person is accountable for an entry, updates happen as part of the job and don't pile up into a once-a-year scramble.
- Watch the request data. The services nobody requests are candidates for retirement, and the requests flooding a generic "other" category point to services you're missing. Your analytics show which entries are pulling their weight.
- Retire dead entries on purpose. A catalog full of services that no longer exist erodes trust faster than a smaller, accurate one.
- Tie catalog changes to Change Management. When a service changes, the catalog entry changes with it, as part of the same process.
- Close the loop with users. A short feedback prompt on the request form surfaces confusing wording and missing services while the experience is fresh.
In InvGate Service Management, the analytics and dashboards show request volume by request type, so unused and overloaded services stand out at a glance. Assigning an owner to each request type keeps accountability clear, and because changes are no-code, the person responsible can update a form, adjust a workflow, or retire a service without waiting on professional services hours.
Service catalog examples
Structure is easier to apply once you can see it. The examples below show what a catalog looks like in practice, starting with a single entry and then scaling up to full catalogs for IT and other departments.
Anatomy of a catalog entry
Every entry, whatever the department, tends to carry the same building blocks:
- Service name: what the user is asking for, in plain terms ("Request a new laptop," not "Endpoint hardware provisioning").
- Description: one or two lines on what the service covers and when to use it.
- Who can request it: the audience, whether that's all employees, managers only, or a specific department.
- Request form: the fields you need to fulfill it, such as model, cost center, delivery location, and more.
- What happens next: the process behind the request, including any approvals.
- SLA: the expected response and delivery time.
- Owner: the team or person accountable for the service.
IT service catalog examples
A typical IT catalog groups services into a handful of clear categories:
Hardware and devices
- Request a new laptop
- Request a monitor or peripheral
- Request a company phone
Access and accounts
- New user account
- Application access request
- VPN access
- Password reset
Software
- Software installation
- License request
- SaaS application provisioning
Onboarding and offboarding
- New hire IT setup
- Employee offboarding
Support
- Report an incident
- General IT help request
As an example, "Request a new laptop" would carry a short description, a form asking for the model tier and cost center, a manager approval step, a handoff to procurement, and a five-business-day delivery SLA.
Service catalog examples beyond IT
The same catalog can serve HR, Facilities, and Finance, which gives employees a single place to go for everything they need.
HR
- Time-off request
- Employment verification letter
- Payroll query
- New hire onboarding
- Role or department change
Facilities
- Desk or office move
- Building access badge
- Maintenance or repair request
- Meeting room setup
Finance
- Expense reimbursement
- Purchase request
- New vendor setup
How this looks in InvGate Service Management
In InvGate Service Management, the service catalog is organized into categories, subcategories, and catalog items, creating a structure for managing the work that comes in through each service.
- Behind the scenes, catalog items define how the work gets handled. Each item is connected to the appropriate help desk and support level, along with the SLA and other service rules. Simple items can follow a direct assignment path, while requests that need approvals or several steps and handovers can run through a workflow built in the no-code Workflow Builder.
- Catalog items also determine how the resulting case is classified. Each one is assigned an ITIL ticket type, so the request it opens can be classified as an incident, service request, problem, or change. If the help desk also handles HR, Finance, or other non-IT areas, custom ticket types let those cases have their own structure.
- For users, those same catalog items become requestable services. They appear in the self-service portal in plain language, organized into categories people can browse, , and they can also be requested conversationally through the Virtual Service Agent in the portal Slack, Microsoft Teams or WhatsApp. Visibility rules determine which items each user can access, so the catalog can expose the right services to different roles without exposing the underlying service desk structure.
In other words, the catalog has two connected roles: it structures service delivery for the organization and presents those services as requestable options for users. Users don't have to know who to contact, just what they need. The self-service experience is the user-facing layer; the operational structure remains behind it.
Final words
Your service catalog is more than a simple list of services. It can potentially become a very important resource that enhances user experience. When you focus on clarity, keep it updated, and make it easy to access, you can design a catalog that simplifies service requests and guides everyone in your organization.
Think of your catalog as a work in progress. Embracing feedback from both IT and end users will help you keep it relevant and responsive to your organization’s changing needs.
It's a bit of a learning curve, and we get it—crafting something that works for everyone isn’t always straightforward. But with a little patience and open communication, you can create a service catalog that becomes a reliable tool for your team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary purpose of a service catalog?
A service catalog provides a clear, organized view of the services offered by IT, allowing users to easily find and request the support or resources they need. It enhances efficiency and standardizes service delivery across the organization.
How often should the service catalog be updated?
Generally, a service catalog should be reviewed at least once a year, although quarterly updates may be more beneficial for fast-paced organizations. Regular reviews help ensure that new services, retired offerings, and updated SLAs are accurately reflected.
How can you measure the success of a service catalog?
Metrics like usage frequency, user satisfaction ratings, and the number of successful service requests can help gauge effectiveness. Additionally, tracking requests that are correctly routed on the first try can signal that the catalog is intuitive and clear.
