Editing a Goal Plan Template

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to edit general settings, categories, and fields in a goal plan template.

General Settings

The sections of the goal plan template are where you define what the end user sees when creating new goals. As an administrator, you can select which categories of goals the end user can choose from (e.g., Financial, Learning and Growth, Customer, etc.) or which fields they see (e.g., Start date, % complete, milestones, status, etc.).

The General Settings section is where the foundational pieces of the template are defined. You can edit the name of the template that will display in a drop-down menu of options, change the language of the template, add instructions to the end users, and change the default start and end dates of newly added goals.

This screenshot shows the General Settings section and the options available to set in a goal plan template.

How to Edit Categories and Fields Sections

The Edit Categories section allows you to edit and order categories to sort goals. End users will see and choose from these categories when creating a new goal from this template. Edit Categories also allows you to add new categories, delete existing categories, and change the default language.

A default category element can be used to define the default or catch-all category. Any objective not matching one of the explicitly defined categories is placed in this category.

The order of the categories defined in the goal plan template is significant: it defines the order of the sections in the goal plan for the end users and the order of the categories when users create and edit goals. You may change the order of categories in the goal plan by dragging and dropping the category within the list. The position of the default category must always be after the last regular category.

Note

The default or catch-all category must be defined in the back end by a certified SAP SuccessFactors consultant. If defined, you may notice that this category is last on the list, locked, and not aligned with the other categories above. In the example shown in the next screenshot, the default category is Other. You cannot drag and drop any category below the default category from Manage Templates.

Sample categories include:

  • Financial
  • Customer
  • Internal Business Processes
  • Learning and Growth
  • Other
This screenshot shows the Edit categories section and the options available to set in a goal plan template.

Edit Fields Section

The Edit Fields section allows you to edit and add fields to the goal plan template and mark fields as required. You may change the order of fields in the goal plan by dragging and dropping the field within the list. The order of the fields in the goal plan template dictates the order in which they will be displayed when users create or edit goals. You may also personalize elements of each field. Users will see the names of these fields when adding a new goal to the plan.

This screenshot shows the Edit Fields section and the options available to set in a goal plan template.

Common Goal Plan Fields

Some of the most common fields in the goal plan are included in the following table:

Standard Goal Fields

FieldIDDescription
Goal NamenameThe name of the goal sometimes relabeled as the goal description. This is the only mandatory field in a goal plan. Typically, a text or textarea field type. It always appears first, regardless of the order of fields defined in the template. A maximum of 500 characters is allowed for the Goal Name.
MetricmetricDescribes how a goal is measured, in other words, success criteria. Typically, a textarea field type.
DescriptiondescTo describe the goal, particularly useful when goal names should be concise and not too long. It is typically a textarea field type.
Start DatestartThe start date of the goal. This field is auto-populated with the start date defined in the Goal Plan template.
Due DatedueThe due date of the goal. This field is auto-populated with the due date defined in the Goal Plan template.
WeightweightThe value in this field is used to auto-populate the goal weight when the goal is added to a Performance Management form. Typically, a percent field type.
StatusstateUsed to determine the status of the goal (on track, completed, behind...). Typically presented as a dropdown list of values with colors to report the goal state or status.

The last dropdown option in the status field is recommended to be Completed; that way, when users select the last status, it will complete the goal in the system and clear out possible engagement cards displayed in the Home Page to call for an action to complete a goal or goals. However, a different status can be set to trigger the completion of the goal, not necessarily the last one. A Trigger Completion option is available in Manage Templates when configuring the status.

Note

If a change of status to trigger completion is done in Manage Templates, an option to Refresh the goal plan configuration should be completed afterward. By completing this action, the system will refresh the logic for Goals considered completed based on the new status and update possible engagement cards displayed to users as not completed. More information: Important Notes About Goal Management on the Home Page.
MilestonesmilestonesA table of individual milestones towards achieving the goal. It is a type of table field.
Achievement Lookupmetric-lookup-tableThis type of table field needs to be configured in the back end by an SAP Consultant. Metric Lookup Tables or Achievement Lookup tables are used when a goal rating should be generated based on the achievement (e.g., sales revenue) that the employee met. It is common among Sales teams.

Edit the Goal Plan Template

Business Example

In this exercise, you will make some changes in the Goal Plan template, change the default start and due dates for new goals, rearrange categories, modify the Status dropdown options, make % Completion a required field, and add a new field to the plan to track Milestones.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Steps

  1. Edit the General Settings section of the Goal Plan template.

    1. Navigate to Manage Templates using Action Search.

    2. Select the Goal Plan tab, and locate the Goal Plan template you copied based on an existing template in a previous exercise.

    3. Choose General Settings.

    4. Change the End Date to 12/31/20xx (this calendar year).

    5. Change the Start Date to 01/01/20xx (next calendar year).

    6. Select Save to save the changes.

    Caution

    You must change the End Date before you change the Start Date. If not, you will receive the following error message: Start Date cannot be greater than End Date. 

  2. Make changes on the Edit Categories section.

    1. Expand the Edit Categories section to display the categories.

    2. Hover over the categories. An icon will display on the left side, and you can select and drag and drop to rearrange the categories. Select one of your choice and place it in a different order.

    3. Select Save to save the changes.

  3. Make changes on the Edit Fields section.

    1. Expand the Edit Fields section to display the fields.

    2. Select the % Complete field. Locate the Required Field checkbox and select it to make this field required.

    3. Select the Status field, and make sure the following dropdown options are set in this order. Set these colors (select the underlined A option, to choose the color, and add the codes for each color from the list below in the # field. You can use this image as a reference.

      Example on how to update the colors for the status field.
      • Not Started (0D2A9F)
      • On Track (08869A)
      • Behind (515A1C)
      • Postponed (EE1B1B)
      • Cancelled (BD10D0)
      • Completed (0D6E28)

    4. You can leave the Trigger Completion blank, it is not needed, since the last status Completed is the one that should trigger the completion of the goal.

    5. Select Save to save all changes.

  4. Add a new field on the Edit Fields section.

    1. Expand the Edit Fields section to display the fields.

    2. Select the Add a New Field option.

    3. Select BizX Probability of Success from the dropdown options.

    4. Add the following details:

      • Label: Probability of Success
      • Dropdown Options:
        • Not Possible
        • Maybe (set the color to #000000 to make it visible.)
        • No Problem (set the color to #000000 to make it visible.)

      Caution

      The goal plan template being configured includes goal plan states configuration on the back-end, which means that an SAP Consultant would need to include this new field on the permissions. Ask your instructor to assist on getting this step completed, if you are on a classroom training.

    5. Place this field below the Status field.

    6. Select Save to save all changes.

Summary

  • The General Settings section defines the template's foundational elements (template name, language, instructions, start and end dates, etc.).
  • The Edit Categories section allows you to add, edit, delete, and order categories to sort goals. End users will see and choose from these categories when creating a new goal from this template.
  • The Edit Fields section allows you to edit and add fields to the goal plan template and mark fields as required. Users will see the names of these fields when adding a new goal to the plan.

Learning

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