Service Catalog Best Practices - Glossary of Terms and Phrases

Service Catalog Best Practices

Glossary of Terms and Phrases

Overview

The following glossary defines terms and phrases used throughout this document. Terms are listed in alphabetical order. Where a term has a commonly used abbreviation or acronym, it is noted in the second column. All definitions are specific to the context of Service Catalog design, delivery, and management as described in this document.

Terms and Definitions

Term or Phrase	Abbreviation or Acronym	Definition
Approval Workflow		A defined sequence of review and authorization steps that a service request must pass through before fulfillment begins. Approval workflows ensure that requests are reviewed by the appropriate stakeholders before resources are committed.
Business Service Catalog	BSC	The customer-facing view of the Service Catalog. It describes available services in plain, non-technical language focused on what the service does and how to request it. It is designed for end users and business stakeholders rather than for technical teams.
Catalog Manager		The individual or team responsible for the overall governance, accuracy, and maintenance of the Service Catalog. The Catalog Manager ensures that service entries are current, consistent, and aligned with organizational standards.
Catch-All Service		A service entry designed to capture requests that do not fit into any specific service category. A catch-all service ensures that no customer reaches a dead end when they cannot find the specific service they need. See also: Other Service.
Enterprise Service Catalog	ESC	A Service Catalog that spans the entire organization — covering services offered by all business units and all technology teams in a single, unified catalog. An ESC replaces fragmented, departmental catalogs with one centralized source of truth.
Fulfillment		The process of delivering a service to a customer after their request has been submitted and approved. Fulfillment includes all activities required to provision, configure, and deliver the requested service.
Other Service		A specific type of catch-all service entry that acts as a general-purpose request option within a defined service domain. An Other service allows customers to submit requests for services that are not explicitly listed, routing them to the appropriate team for handling.
Request Fulfillment		The end-to-end process of receiving, reviewing, approving, and delivering a service request. Request fulfillment encompasses the full lifecycle of a service request from submission to closure.
Service		A defined capability or offering that an organization provides to its customers to help them accomplish a specific goal or outcome. A service has defined boundaries, a named owner, a description, and a mechanism for requesting it.
Service Bundle		A pre-packaged combination of two or more related services offered as a single catalog entry. Service bundles simplify the request process for customers who commonly need multiple services together, such as a new employee onboarding bundle that includes equipment provisioning, system access, and orientation scheduling.
Service Catalog	SC	A centralized, organized collection of all services that an organization offers to its customers. The Service Catalog serves as the single authoritative source of information about available services, including what they are, how to request them, who owns them, and what customers can expect.
Service Consumer		Any individual, team, or system that requests or uses a service offered through the Service Catalog. Service consumers include employees, contractors, business units, and in some cases external customers.
Service Description		A written explanation of a service that tells customers what the service is, what it does, who it is for, and how to request it. A well-written service description uses plain, business-friendly language accessible to all customers regardless of technical background.
Service Domain		A logical grouping of related services within the Service Catalog. Service domains organize the catalog into navigable sections making it easier for customers to find the services they need.
Service Lifecycle		The defined stages that a service passes through from initial proposal to retirement. A service lifecycle typically includes stages such as Proposed, Active, Deprecated, and Retired, each with defined criteria and transition processes.
Service Operator		The individual or team responsible for fulfilling service requests. Service operators receive approved requests and carry out the work required to deliver the requested service to the customer.
Service Owner		The individual accountable for the definition, quality, performance, and lifecycle of a specific service. The Service Owner is the authoritative point of contact for all questions, issues, and decisions related to their service.
Service Portfolio		The complete collection of all services that an organization manages, including services that are currently active and available in the Service Catalog, services that are under development or proposed, and services that have been retired. The Service Portfolio is broader than the Service Catalog, which contains only active, requestable services.
Service Request		A formal submission from a customer asking for access to, delivery of, or information about a specific service. A service request is a planned, expected interaction — not an unplanned disruption or problem.
Service Taxonomy		A hierarchical classification system that organizes services within the catalog into logical categories and subcategories. A well-designed service taxonomy helps customers navigate the catalog efficiently and supports consistent indexing, searching, and reporting.
Service Level Agreement	SLA	A documented commitment between a service provider and a service consumer that defines the expected level of service, including response times, fulfillment timelines, availability, and quality standards. An SLA sets clear expectations for both parties and provides a baseline for measuring service performance.
Technical Service Catalog	TSC	The internal view of the Service Catalog designed for service operators, technical teams, and support staff. The Technical Service Catalog contains all of the information in the Business Service Catalog plus additional technical details needed to fulfill and support each service.

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