Start a flow when a Service Catalog item is requested to automate the fulfillment process.

Before you begin

Role required: flow_designer or admin

About this task

Unlike a record trigger which runs on all records in a table, the Service Catalog trigger runs on all catalog item requests for a specific item when the catalog item is configured to run a specific flow. For example, you can define a flow that runs every time there is a request for a tablet. The requested item becomes the flow trigger record.

Procedure

  1. If not already created, create the catalog item to associate with the flow.
    1. Navigate to Service Catalog > Catalog Definition > Maintain Items.
      The Catalog Items [sc_cat_item] table opens.
    2. Click New.
    3. Complete the fields.
      For a detailed description of catalog item fields, see Create or edit a catalog item.
      Note: If you plan to add stages to your flow, verify that there is not an existing workflow associated with the item that also has stages. Clear the values of the Workflow and Execution Plan fields to prevent conflicting stages from reporting to the requested item stage field.
  2. Create the flow to associate with the catalog item.
    When triggered, this flow processes the catalog item request.
    1. Navigate to Process Automation > Flow Designer.
    2. Click + New > New Flow.
    3. Define the flow properties.
      For more information, see Create a flow in Workflow Studio.
    4. In the Trigger section, add a trigger and select Service Catalog.
      Note: Service Catalog triggers do not support catalog variables as part of the trigger condition. Instead, get or create catalog variables in the main body of the flow.
    5. (Optional) Create flow-specific catalog variables available only to flow actions.
      See Create flow Service Catalog variables.
    6. Add actions, subflows, and flow logic to the flow.
      Some actions enable you to manage catalog items. For example, the Create Catalog Task action generates a task for the requested item, and the Get Catalog Variables action enables you to access catalog variables as data pills in the flow. See Create Catalog Task action and Get Catalog Variables action.
    7. (Optional) Add stages to the flow to report progress to the requester.
      See Flow and subflow stages.
    8. Test the flow.
      Once behaving as desired, activate the flow. For more information, see Test a flow and Activate a flow.
      Note: You can't activate a flow if it references catalog variables that are inactive or don't exist.
  3. Add the flow to the Flow field of the catalog item you created.
    1. Navigate to the catalog item.
    2. In the Flow field, select the flow you created.
      Note: The Flow field only displays flows with a Service Catalog trigger.
    3. Click Update.

Result

When the catalog item is requested, the associated flow triggers and runs the actions.

What to do next

Create and deploy catalog item records to your instances.
Note: Service Catalog records are created in the global scope. They are not part of the source control or application repository transfer, and they are not part of the default Workflow Studio update set.