SAP Learning Journey

Describing the Principles and Tools of Performance Management

Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Explain the basic principles, components, and historical evolution of Performance Management form templates

Basic Principles of a Performance Form

For most customers, the implementation of Performance Management follows Goal Management. Like Goal Management, Performance Management is a template-based module. In the instance, individual forms are created for individual employees from a configured template.

Note

Even though the terms form and template are often used interchangeably, it is important to remember this distinction. You create specific forms on the basis of generic templates.

It is best to explicitly refer to "form templates" when talking about performance form configurations.

Roles for Performance Management

Permissions for Performance Management, as with Goal Management, are based on the relationship of the viewer of the form to the subject of the form (the employee being reviewed).

Note
Role Based Permissions do not control permissions within a Performance Management form.

The Document Type Definition (DTD)

The DTD used for all versions of the Performance Management form is the sf-form.dtd. In order to validate your XML with your XML Editor, you must change the first few lines of the XML code as shown in the figure titled Working with the DTD.  

When you are making changes to the XML, remember to save and validate the document after every single change, and fix errors as needed. It is always quicker to validate the XML against a downloaded version of the DTD placed in the same folder as the XML. 

Note

Regarding the sf-form.dtd:

  1. There are features in the DTD that have never been supported in all versions of SAP SuccessFactors Performance Management.
  2. There are features in the DTD that are not supported in the Performance Form Template XML.
  3. Just because something is in the DTD does not mean it is thoroughly tested every release. Always follow this rule: If it is not found in the implementation guide with thorough documentation, then think twice about using it. If you use something new, always test it thoroughly, document the change, and verify with SAP Support that your configuration change is officially supported by the product.
  4. The DTD is updated when features are added or changed, but it is not maintained beyond those scenarios.

Evolution from PMv11 to PMv12 Acceleration

PMv11 is the original format for performance forms that was available for over a decade. Several years after its release PMv12 was introduced with a new look and feel. However PMv12 (also known as Old PMv12) did not support all of the functionality offered in PMv11. To bridge the gap, PMv12 Acceleration (or PMv12A) was introduced and is now the supported version for creating and maintaining performance forms.

PMv11 and Old PMv12 have been retired, and forms based on those versions can no longer be launched. However, older form templates created in PMv11 and Old PMv12 can still be upgraded to PMv12A.

To Convert PMv11 Forms to PMv12 Acceleration

Steps

  1. Log into the Instance and navigate to Manage Templates from the Action Search bar.

  2. On the Manage Templates screen, select the Performance Review tab, and select the title of the performance template you want to convert.

    Result

    A yellow triangle appears alongside any older performance form version.

  3. Select Validate and Approve for PMv12 Acceleration, and read the information on the screen that appears.

  4. On the left-hand side of the screen, select the Edit Fields and Sections tab.

  5. Select each of the form sections that appear under the Edit Fields and Sections tab, and note which features are no longer compatible with PMv12 Acceleration in each section. This information appears on the right-hand side of the screen.

  6. Select the Print list of changes button at the top of the screen.

    Some template changes can be made in Manage Templates, and some changes can only be made in the XML file. There is an automated process that clones the PMv11 form and converts it into a PMv12 Acceleration form, but this option provides you with copies of both XML files to ensure that all customer specifications are taken into account with the new form.

  7. On the Validate and Approve for PMv12 Acceleration tab, select the Update and Edit button at the bottom of the screen, and select OK in the dialog box that appears.

    The automated conversion will clone your PMv11 form and convert it into a compliant PMv12 Acceleration form.

    Result

    The new PMv12 Acceleration form opens. You can now see the differences between the two versions on the Preview page in Manage Templates.

  8. Select Approve for Launch. The Approve for Launch window appears.

  9. Verify that you want to approve the form for launch in role-based permissions, then launch the new PMv12 Acceleration form by selecting OK.

Log in to track your progress & complete quizzes