Configuring Legacy and MDF Foundation Object Definitions within SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Core

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to configure legacy and MDF foundation object definitions within SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Core

Corporate data model

The Corporate Data Model enables you to define labels for the XML-based Foundation Objects and fields and configure which are visible and required. You can also use custom fields, customize the associations, and assign business rules when necessary. The Corporate Data Model can be imported and exported from Provisioning or the Import/Export Corporate Data Model in the Admin Center.

You can change the attributes and labels and add custom fields to the Corporate Data Model to meet specific customer requirements. 

Deconstructing the Corporate Data Model

Metadata Framework (MDF) objects

In the figure, MDF, you can see the structure of the Legal Entity object and a sample of the legal entity data. The Configure Object Definition is where you can customize the object structure. The Details section is where you can further configure other attributes such as labels, visibility, etc.

Looking at Manage Data on the right, you can see how these fields are reflected.

You can better meet customer requirements by changing the attributes and labels and adding custom fields to MDF-based objects in Configure Object Definitions. This is the same you customize objects in the Corporate Data Model for XML-based objects.

Custom generic objects

Before we continue, let’s have a review of the terminologies you have learned so far.

Terminology Review

Foundation ObjectsCore structure predelivered by SAP SuccessFactors to hold company information. The structure can be XML or MDF-based.
Legacy Foundation ObjectsFoundation Objects that are XML-based. These are the HRIS-elements found in Corporate Data Model. In MDF tools, Legacy Foundation Object is simply referred to as Foundation Object.
MDF-Based Foundation ObjectsFoundation Objects that have been migrated to Metadata Framework.
Generic ObjectsAny MDF-based object or data structure regardless if it’s standard predelivered by SuccessFactors or custom.

The standard Foundation Objects predelivered by SAP SuccessFactors are customizable. However, some customer requirements may be too complex for the standard objects. This is when Metadata Framework (MDF) is used to create a custom object in Employee Central. This is only possible with MDF, not the Corporate Data Model.

These custom objects can maintain and store additional information and attributes for the company and people in the organization. For example, a customer that needs to add more hierarchy levels in the organization than SuccessFactors can deliver will create a custom object to provide an accurate representation of their organization in Employee Central.

Custom objects are configured with these common characteristics:

  • It may or may not be effectively dated.
  • It may or may not be secured.
  • It may or may not be associated with another object.
  • It may or may not be available for self-service.

Exercise: Customize Foundation Objects

Business Example

ACE Corp wants to ensure that organizational changes align with its corporate data structure. You'll be creating new fields and labels to reflect ACE’s new requirements.

Note

You must have completed Prepare an Instance (Unit 1) and Prepare the Data Models (Unit 2) exercises before completing this hands-on. This exercise activity is not required for completing succeeding hands-on exercises for this course.

Watch the video for a demo of how to make changes to the Foundation Objects.

Task 1: Customize the Location Object

Steps

  1. Export the Corporate Data Model to change the label of Standard Hours field in the Location Object to Standard Weekly Hours.

    1. Navigate to Import/Export Corporate Data Model.

      Export the Corporate data model.  Save the file in the folder containing the DTD files from the Course Files.

    2. Open the Corporate Data Model using an XML Editor. 

    3. (Optional) If you are using an XML editor that validates versus a DTD, verify that line 4 is "corporate-datamodel.dtd">

    4. Go to <hris-element id="location">  

    5. Go to <hris-field id="standardHours"

    6. Replace the label with Standard Weekly Hours.

      (Optional) If you are using an XML editor that validates versus a DTD, run validation and verify the changes validate properly.

    7. Save the data model.

    8. Go to Import/Export Corporate Data Model to upload the data model.

    9. Go to Manage Organization, Pay and Job Structures → Create New → Location to see if the label has changed.

Task 2: Create Picklists

Steps

  1. Go to the Picklist Center (alternatively, you can use Import and Export Data) to create new picklists for your MDF Foundation Objects. Use the details in the tables, Scope Picklist and Region Picklist. Just like any field, object, and record identifiers in SAP SuccessFactors, take note of the codes and external codes you'll use, as they are case and space-sensitive. If you choose to import the data, have the legacy picklist ID the same as the code.

    Scope Picklist

    FieldsValue
    CodeSCOPE 
    parentPicklistNo Selection 
    Display OrderNo Selection
    NameScope
    StatusActive
    Effective Start Date01/01/1900
    Picklist Values
    External Codeglobal
    parentPickListValueNo
    Selection LabelGlobal 
    StatusActive
    External Codelocal
    parentPickListValueNo
    Selection LabelLocal
    StatusActive 

    Region Picklist

    FieldValue
    CodeREGION 
    parentPicklistNo Selection 
    Display OrderNo Selection
    NameRegion
    StatusActive
    Effective Start Date01/01/1900
    Picklist Values
    External CodeAMER
    parentPickListValueNo Selection
    Selection LabelAmericas 
    StatusActive
    External CodeEMEA
    parentPickListValueNo Selection
    LabelEurope, Middle East and Africa
    StatusActive 
    External CodeAPAC
    parentPickListValueNo Selection
    LabelAsia and Pacific
    StatusActive

    1. Navigate to Picklist Center.

    2. Choose Create a Picklist (+). 

    3. Fill in the information provided in the tables Scope Picklist and Region Picklist. Ensure that you change your Effective Start Dates to the ones shown.

Task 3: Customize the Job Classification object

Steps

  1. Go to the Configure Object Definition to update the Job Classification object. Use the image for details. Replace the original entry with the highlighted values. Leave the other property as is.

    1. Navigate to Configure Object Definition. 

    2. Choose Search → Object Definition → Job Classification.

    3. Choose Take Action → Make Correction.

    4. Update the Job Classification Object Definition based on the requirements highlighted in gold in the figure, Job Classification.

    5. Choose Save to save the object.

      Only make the requested changes, highlighted in gold. The other fields in the object definition should be left alone.

Task 4: Customize the Legal Entity Object

Steps

  1. Go to the Configure Object Definition to update the Legal Entity object. Use the image for details. Replace the original entry with the highlighted values. New fields are created as custom fields. Leave the other property as is.

    1. Go to Configure Object Definition.

    2. Choose Search → Object Definition → Legal Entity.

    3. Choose Take Action → Make Correction.

    4. Update the Legal Entity Object Definition based on the requirements highlighted in gold in the figure, Legal Entity Data.

    5. Choose Save to save the object.

      Only make the requested changes, highlighted in gold. Leave the other fields in the object definition as they are. 

Task 5: Verify the Changes

Steps

  1. Go to Manage Data to verify the changes by selecting existing records or mock create records for Job Classification, Company, and Business Unit.

    1. Navigate to Manage Data.

    2. Select Create New → Job Classification, Company, Business Unit, to verify that the Foundation Objects meet the customer requirements in the images, Job Classification data, Legal Entity Data, and Business Unit Data.

  2. Go to Manage Organization, Pay and Job Structures to check if the Standard Hours field has been updated.

    1. Navigate to Manage Organization, Pay and Job Structures using Action Search.

    2. Select any existing location record.

    3. Verify that the Standard Hours field has been relabeled to Standard Weekly Hours.

Summary:

Here are the key takeaways from the lesson summarized in a short bulleted list:

  • The corporate data model is used for configuring XML-based Foundation Objects while the Configure Object Definition is used for MDF-Based objects.
  • Foundation Objects are legacy or XML-based Foundation Objects + MDF-based Foundation Objects
  • Generic Objects are MDF-based Foundation Objects + any other MDF-based objects

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