Why are the records of sc_item_option maintained even after the cart is submitted/the RITM is archived? - Support and Troubleshooting

Why are the records of sc_item_option maintained even after the cart is submitted/the RITM is archived? Issue  Out-of-box (OOB) in the base system:

Navigate to Self-Service > Service Catalog > Hardware Select Developer Laptop(Mac) Add optional Software to the order Click 'Add to Cart' Open [sc_item_option] table i.e sc_item_option.list Note the records in the table ' Cart Item ' field has values like sys_ids Open [sc_item_option_mtom] table i.e sc_item_option_mtom.list Note the table has the details of the Parent Item as RITM number and the Dependent Items Navigate back to the Cart Click ' Order Now ' or ' Proceed to Checkout ' In the [sc_item_option] table i.e sc_item_option.list ' Cart Item ' field values are gone and are now empty but there is still data in the [sc_item_option] related to the above transaction Open [sc_item_option_mtom] table i.e sc_item_option_mtom.list The table still has the records seen earlier Set State to ' Closed Complete ' on the Catalog Tasks, RITMs, and REQ records generated from the above tests Check the [sc_item_option] table i.e sc_item_option.list There is still data in the [sc_item_option] related to the above-order transaction Open [sc_item_option_mtom] table i.e sc_item_option_mtom.list The table still has the records related to RITM number and Dependent Items seen earlier Release Jakarta, Kingston... Utah

Cause This is the expected behavior. The functionality is working as designed.

Resolution This is the designed functionality.

Values in [sc_item_option] are never deleted and it is not recommended to do so.

The reason is that RITM can be reopened anytime and these variables have to be displayed on these RITMs in such cases.

NOTE - For Vancouver and Higher release refer to https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB1585754