Multiple Catalogs Workflow Playbook

Complete all Decision Gates in Best Practices & First Principles: Multiple Catalogs before starting Phase 1. At minimum, you should be able to answer:

• How many Catalogs are needed and what distinct audience does each serve?
• What certified status, element type, Category, Folder, and Tag combinations will scope each Catalog's content?
• Which Groups or Users will be assigned to each Catalog, and should any Catalog be their Start Catalog?
• Does any Brand need a Catalog as its default start page, requiring the native Homepage to be disabled?
• Should any Catalogs show different Announcements from the default?

Who: Content Owner / Category Manager (planning) + MI Administrator (execution)

Catalog constraints rely entirely on the quality of your content taxonomy. Before creating any Catalog, verify that your content is correctly categorized, foldered, and tagged in Metric Insights. Content Owners identify the intended scope; the MI Administrator corrects any mis-assignments.

1.1 Review Category Structure

1. Navigate to Admin > Categories and review the current Category hierarchy.
2. Identify which Categories (and their sub-Categories) should scope each planned Catalog.
3. Ensure that Elements intended for each Catalog are assigned to the correct Categories. Bulk Changes can help correct mis-assignments at scale.

1.2 Review Folder Assignments

1. Navigate to Admin > Folders and identify which Folders are relevant to each Catalog's audience.
2. Verify that Elements are correctly placed in the expected Folders.

1.3 Review Tag Assignments

1. Review existing Tags applied to Elements and identify which Tags, if any, will be used as Catalog constraints.
2. If Tag-based filtering is part of your Catalog design, ensure all relevant Elements carry the appropriate Tags before proceeding.

1.4 Confirm Element Type and Certification Scope

1. Identify whether each Catalog should be limited to specific element types (e.g., External Reports only, or Metrics and Reports only).
2. Identify whether any Catalog should be restricted to certified content only.

Phase 1 Checklist:

• Categories, Folders, and Tags are correctly applied to all Elements intended for each Catalog.
• Element type and certification scope is defined for each Catalog.
• The intersection of planned constraints for each Catalog is non-empty and contains only the intended content.
• Bulk changes (if needed) have been applied and verified.

Who: MI Administrator

The Catalogs list page is accessible to Administrators only via Content > Apps > Catalogs. All steps in this phase are performed by the MI Administrator.

2.1 Create the Catalog

1. Navigate to Content > Apps > Catalogs.
2. Click [+ Catalog].
3. Enter a Catalog Name (descriptive, audience-facing) and a Name used in URL (URL-friendly, no spaces). The URL slug determines the Catalog's address — e.g., /catalog/<slug> — and also appears in breadcrumb navigation when users open Elements from within this Catalog.
4. Click [Save] to open the full Catalog editor.

2.2 Configure Display and Icon

1. Click [Select Icon] to choose an icon that visually identifies this Catalog in the navigation bar.
2. The icon and Catalog name will appear as a tab in the top navigation bar for users assigned to this Catalog.

2.3 Set Content Constraints

1. Enable the Certified toggle if this Catalog should only surface certified content.
2. Use the Element Type selector to restrict the Catalog to specific element types, or select All to include every type.
3. Use [+ Category] to add the Categories whose content should appear. Remove unwanted Categories using the × control.
4. Use [+ Folder] to restrict the Catalog to content from specific Folders.
5. Use [+ Tag] to include only Elements that carry at least one of the specified Tags.

2.4 Configure Default Display Settings

1. Set Group by to define how items are grouped when users first open this Catalog (e.g., Group By Folders).
2. Set Filter to define the default filter state (e.g., No Filter, or a content-type filter appropriate to the Catalog's audience).
3. Set Tag to define which Tags are active by default when users open the Catalog.

Important: Default Filter and Tag settings must honor the Catalog's content constraints. Only options that are valid within the Catalog's scope will produce meaningful results.

4. Click [Save].

2.5 Reorder Catalogs (If Needed)

The Catalogs list page supports drag-and-drop reordering. The order set here determines the order in which Catalog tabs appear in the navigation bar for users who have access to multiple Catalogs. Set the order before rolling out to users.

2.6 Repeat for Each Catalog

Repeat steps 2.1–2.4 for each Catalog defined in your plan. The default Catalog (named "Catalog," created automatically at environment setup) does not need to be re-created but can be modified by an Administrator to set its own constraints and display defaults.

Phase 2 Checklist:

• Each planned Catalog has been created with a name and URL slug.
• Icons are assigned to each Catalog.
• Content constraints (certified status, element type, Category, Folder, Tag) have been configured and validated.
• Default display settings (Group By, Filter, Tag) are configured for each Catalog.
• Catalog order has been set via drag-and-drop on the list page.
• Catalog content has been spot-checked to confirm the expected Elements appear.

Who: MI Administrator (with input from Access & Permissions Owner)

Sharing determines which Groups and Users can see each Catalog. The Start Catalog setting determines which Catalog a Group or User lands on when they first navigate to the Catalog area. All sharing configuration is done by the MI Administrator from within the Catalog editor's Sharing tab.

3.1 Add Groups and Users to Each Catalog

1. In the Catalog editor, navigate to the Sharing tab.
2. Click [+ Group] to add a Group, or [+ User] to add an individual user.
3. In the selection dialog, search for and select the appropriate Group(s) or User(s).

3.2 Set the Start Catalog

1. For each Group or User added, toggle Start Catalog on if this Catalog should be their default entry point when they open the Catalog area.
2. Click [Save].

3.3 Validate Permissions

Before proceeding, confirm with your Access & Permissions Owner that:

• All Groups and Users assigned to each Catalog have the underlying Element-level permissions needed to see the scoped content.
• No content will appear in a Catalog for a user who does not have permission to view it — Catalog scoping and element-level access controls are independent layers.

Phase 3 Checklist:

• Groups and Users are assigned to each Catalog.
• Start Catalog is set correctly for all intended Groups and Users.
• Permissions have been verified: assigned users can access the content that appears in their Catalog.

Who: MI Administrator

This phase applies only if any Brand in your environment needs a custom Catalog as its default start page, replacing the native Homepage. All Brand Editor changes are made by the MI Administrator.

4.1 Update the Brand Editor

1. Navigate to Admin > System > Branding > [Brand name].
2. Locate the Native Catalog/Homepage is Available toggle and disable it. This hides the native Homepage for users under this Brand and allows a Catalog or Custom App to serve as the start page.
3. In the Default Start Page field, select the Catalog to use as the default entry point for this Brand.
4. Click [Save].

4.2 Validate Brand Behavior

1. Log in as a non-admin user belonging to this Brand's target audience.
2. Confirm that the native Homepage is no longer visible and that the selected Catalog is presented as the entry point.
3. Confirm the Catalog tab appears in the top navigation bar with the correct name and icon.

Phase 4 Checklist:

• Native Catalog/Homepage is Available is disabled for the relevant Brand(s).
• Default Start Page is set to the correct Catalog for each Brand.
• Navigation bar displays the correct Catalog tab with name and icon.
• Behavior confirmed via a non-admin user login.

Who: MI Administrator

This phase applies if different Catalogs should surface different Announcements to their audiences. By default, all Announcements are scoped to All Catalogs.

5.1 Scope Announcements to Specific Catalogs

1. Navigate to the Announcement editor for each Announcement you want to scope.
2. Change the Catalog scope from All Catalogs to Selected Catalogs.
3. Select the Catalog(s) this Announcement should appear in.
4. Save the Announcement.

5.2 Validate Announcement Visibility

1. Log in as a non-admin user with access to each relevant Catalog.
2. Confirm that the correct Announcements appear in each Catalog and that Announcements scoped to other Catalogs are not visible.

Phase 5 Checklist:

• Announcements that should be Catalog-specific have been identified.
• Catalog scope has been set to Selected Catalogs for those Announcements.
• Announcement visibility has been verified for each Catalog via a non-admin user login.

Who: MI Administrator

Individual External Reports can be assigned to a specific Catalog by an Administrator. When assigned, the Catalog name appears in the breadcrumb trail instead of the Category when a user views that report, reflecting the /catalog/<slug> path the user navigated from.

6.1 Assign a Default Catalog to External Reports

1. For an existing External Report, navigate to Content > Elements > [External Report name].
2. On the Info tab, locate the Default Catalog field and select the appropriate Catalog.
3. Click [Save].

For new External Reports, the Default Catalog field is available during creation via +New > External Report.

6.2 Decide on Assignment Strategy

This step is optional and context-dependent. Consider assigning a Default Catalog to an External Report when:

• The report is exclusively relevant to one Catalog's audience and you want the breadcrumb to reflect that context.
• Users access the report primarily from within a specific Catalog, and you want a consistent navigation experience.

Phase 6 Checklist:

• External Reports that warrant Catalog assignment have been identified.
• Default Catalog has been set on the relevant External Reports.
• Breadcrumb display has been verified by viewing the report as a non-admin user.

Who: MI Administrator

Before rolling out to production users, the MI Administrator should validate the full experience for each intended audience using non-admin test accounts with equivalent Group membership.

7.1 Per-Persona Validation

For each Catalog, log in as a representative non-admin user and confirm:

• The correct Catalog tab appears in the navigation bar.
• The Start Catalog (if set) is the Catalog the user lands on by default.
• Only content within the defined constraints appears — no out-of-scope Elements are visible.
• The default display settings (Group By, Filter, Tag) are applied as configured.
• The Certified and element type constraints are enforced, if enabled.
• The user cannot see Catalogs they were not assigned to.
• If the native Homepage was disabled for a Brand, it is not accessible for users under that Brand.
• The correct Announcements appear within each Catalog.
• Element breadcrumbs reflect the correct Catalog name when navigating from within a Catalog.

7.2 Admin and Fallback Validation

• Log in as an Administrator and confirm the Catalogs list page is accessible at Content > Apps > Catalogs.
• Confirm that the Catalogs list page shows all configured Catalogs in the intended order.
• Confirm that users not assigned to any custom Catalog fall back to the default Catalog correctly.
• If multiple Brands exist, validate each Brand's Catalog and homepage behavior independently.
• Confirm that any Brand with the native Homepage disabled has a valid Default Start Page set — if not, users will fall back to the Search Page.

Phase 7 Checklist:

• Each Catalog has been tested with a representative non-admin user.
• Start Catalog behavior is correct for all Groups and Users.
• Content scoping is correct: no out-of-scope Elements visible.
• Default display settings apply correctly on first open.
• Announcements are visible in the correct Catalogs only.
• Element breadcrumbs reflect the correct Catalog.
• Fallback behavior (default Catalog for unassigned users) is working.
• Brand-level homepage/Catalog behavior has been verified for all relevant Brands.
• No Brand has the native Homepage disabled without a configured Default Start Page.

• Configure Multiple Catalogs — step-by-step UI reference for each configuration setting
• Best Practices & First Principles: Multiple Catalogs — strategic guidance and decision gates
• Use Themes to Customize Metric Insights — Brand Editor configuration
• Making Bulk Changes to Elements — correct Category, Folder, or Tag assignments at scale
• Controlling Access within Metric Insights — Groups and element-level permissions
• Start Page Priority Rules — how start page precedence is resolved across Groups, Users, and Brands