Writing your first ten service catalog items

A service catalog turns free-text tickets into structured requests. For a team without an admin, it is also the best way to reduce the back-and-forth that eats agent time. You do not need a large catalog to start; ten good items usually cover most routine volume.

How do you pick the ten?

Export last quarter's tickets and group them by what was asked for. The top groups are almost always the same: access to a system, a new laptop or peripheral, software installation, password or account problems, onboarding a new starter, offboarding a leaver, a shared mailbox or distribution list, a VPN or network issue, a printer or meeting room device, and general "how do I" questions. Pick the ten largest groups that end in a clear deliverable.

What should each item's form ask?

Write the form from the fulfiller's side. Ask what they need to complete the task without replying to the requester: which system and which role for access, which model and delivery address for equipment, start date and manager for onboarding. Leave out anything they never use. Every extra field lowers completion and adds a reason to bypass the catalog.

Keep field names in plain language. Requesters do not know your category tree; they know they want "access to the finance system".

Who owns each item, and who approves it?

Give every item a named owner group and decide whether it needs approval. Access to sensitive systems and purchases usually do; password help and how-to questions do not. Keep approval chains short: one approver, with a fallback when that person is away.

Where does the catalog live, and what does it cost to have one?

Check the plan before you design around a portal. Plans differ in when a catalog or portal appears and how many people can use it:

• monday service includes a customer portal on every plan, for up to 10 users on Standard, 100 on Pro and unlimited on Enterprise, with intake through email and WorkForms on Standard.
• Zendesk starts its service catalog and self-service employee portal on Suite Growth.
• Freshservice adds service catalog and SLA management on Growth.
• Jira Service Management includes a customer portal, forms and queues on its Free plan.

Portal user caps matter if the whole company will raise requests through the portal.

How do you know the catalog is working?

Track two numbers for each item after launch: the share of requests that arrive through the item rather than free text, and the share that need a follow-up question before work starts. If the second number is high, the form is missing a field. Revise the form, not the requester.