Service Catalog Best Practices

Overview

A service description written in technical language is a barrier to adoption. When customers encounter jargon, acronyms, and technical concepts they do not understand, they lose confidence in their ability to find and request the right service. They may submit the wrong request, give up entirely, or route their request informally — defeating the purpose of the catalog.

Best Practice

Write every customer-facing service description as if it were being read by someone with no technical background. Use the language of the business outcome, not the language of the technology that delivers it. Test every description with a sample of actual customers before publishing — if they can read it and immediately understand what the service is and how to request it, the description is ready.

Benefit(s)

Plain-language service descriptions are one of the highest-leverage improvements an organization can make to its Service Catalog. They reduce misdirected requests, increase self-service adoption, and build customer confidence. Customers who understand what they are looking at are far more likely to complete a request successfully on the first attempt.