What Is a Record Producer in ServiceNow?

A record producer is a form that users fill out to create new records in a table in ServiceNow. Catalog items, on the other hand, are pre-defined sets of goods or services that can be requested by users through the service catalog interface.

A lot of confusion exists around the use of record producers versus catalog items, so we’ll discuss what they are and how you can determine which is right for your needs.

What is a Record Producer?

A Record Producer oversees the recording of an album or single, ensuring that the final product meets the artist’s creative vision. They play a key role in selecting songs, musicians and recording studios as well as shaping the sound of the recordings through techniques such as mixing and mastering.

As a Record Producer, you must have a musical ear and a strong understanding of how audio can be shaped to create a high-quality record. You also need to be able to communicate effectively with the artists, musicians and record studio employees. You are also responsible for managing the recording budget, so you must have an excellent understanding of financial constraints.

What is the Difference Between a Record Producer and a Catalog Item?

Record producers are a type of catalog item that allows end-users to create task-based records from the service catalog. They are similar to catalog items in feel and look, but generate task-based records such as incident or change instead of a requested item.

In contrast, Catalog Items are used to publish items such as a new executive desktop, a Dell server or a laptop to users for approval and fulfillment. They are stored in the sc_cat_item table and can be referenced by workflows to control their approval and fulfillment.

The business logic associated with Catalog Items can often be very similar, so it is easy to duplicate a script and associate it to multiple Catalog Items without a proper analysis or design. This can lead to a number of problems, including bugs which are hard to identify and fix, and less than optimal user experience. Using UI Scripts to encapsulate common code across related Catalog Items can avoid this issue.

What is the Difference Between a Record Producer and a Request Item?

If you are an admin or a developer, you have likely encountered the confusion between a Record Producer and a Request Item. These are both forms that people can fill out to create records in ServiceNow, but the difference is what type of record they create when submitted.

Catalog Items: Using a catalog item, you can offer your end users the ability to request services and goods. Often this includes things like new laptops, software installations, system access, etc.

They can also be used to gather information or provide open-ended feedback/suggestions from your users. They can also be configured to trigger workflows or other automated processes when a user submits a record.

A record producer is a specific type of catalog item that allows end users to create task-based records, such as incident records, from the service catalog. They are similar to catalog items, but record producers don’t require requests.

What is the Difference Between a Record Producer and a Knowledge Article?

A Record Producer is a service catalog item that describes the services or products offered to users. These can include new laptops, software installation, systems access, and a wide variety of other items that users need to request.

The difference between a Knowledge Article and a Record Producer is that a Knowledge Article is a content resource that you can publish to a customer service portal in ServiceNow. For example, a Knowledge Article could be a page that provides information about parental leave in your company.

This record could contain articles about the eligibility criteria for paid parental leave, links to the proper leave request forms, and other related resources. The content page could also display different information based on the user’s selected search term.

You can use the IncrementKnowledgeArticleViewCountRequest message to increment the view count of a knowledge article for a given day in the KnowledgeArticleViews entity, and you can use Update messages to perform specialized operations on knowledge articles.