Configuring the Goal Plan Fields

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to create and manage standard and custom fields in a goal plan template

Goal Plan Fields

The Goal Field configuration requires the following steps:

  • Define the field (Field Definition).

  • Grant permission to the field (Field Permission).

Field Definitions

The <field-definition>element defines each of the fields in a goal. You must define all fields that are to be used in the plan in this section

All goal plan templates come pre-populated with a number of configured fields. You can make additions to, remove, or edit these standard fields and define customer specific fields to meet their requirements.

Field Permissions

The <field-permission> section determine who can read (view) and write (edit) a particular field. For particular employee roles, fields can be hidden altogether none (no access).

Standard and Custom Fields

Standard fields are available in Manage Templates as a dropdown list. When you add a field to the goal plan in Manage Templates, the system automatically assigns it a field ID and a field type.

The following table Standard Fields displays the fields available to the goal plan and the type of data they accept.

Note

The Data type in italic is the recommended / most common option for each standard field. Those data types marked with an asterisk (*) are not recommended and should be used with caution.

Standard Fields

LabelField IDData TypeUsage and Characteristics
Goal Namename
  • text
  • textarea
  • enum
The name of the goal, sometimes relabeled as the goal description. This is the only mandatory field in a goal plan. The maximum number of characters allowed for the Goal Name is 500, regardless of the data type.
Metricmetric
  • text
  • textarea
  • enum
The <metric> field is used to hold success criteria, that is, how a goal is measured. The maximum number of characters allowed is 4000.
Descriptiondesc
  • text
  • textarea
  • enum
The <desc> field is used for a detailed goal description if the <name> field is being used for a short description. The maximum number of characters allowed is 4000.
Start DatestartdateThe <start> field shows the start date of the goal. The field is auto-populated with the date defined in <obj-plan-start>. The start date must be between the obj-plan-start element value and the obj-plan-due element value in the goal plan template.
Due DateduedateThe <due> field shows the end or due date of the goal. The field is auto-populated with the date defined in <obj-plan-due>. The due date must be between the obj-plan-start element value and the obj-plan-due element value in the goal plan template
Statusstate
  • enum
  • text*
  • textarea*
The <state> field shows the status of the goal, where the user is in the process. The state is typically presented as a dropdown list of values with colors to represent the status, and is used in dashboard reports. There is a 128–character limit for this field.
% CompletedonepercentThis <done> field shows the percentage progress on the goal to date, as updated by the user. It is displayed as a whole number, with a graphical progress bar.
Weightweight
  • enum
  • percent
  • text*
  • textarea*
The <weight> field shows the weight of the goal in the goal plan. The value in this field is also used to populate the objective weight in the Performance Management (PM) form. If this field is configured as enum, the value (not the label) is used in the form. If the field is configured as text, the text value is used verbatim.
MilestonesmilestonestableThe <milestones> field is a table of individual milestones on the way to achieving the goal.
CommentscommentscommentThe <comments> field configures the layout and permission for public comments. The field includes the name, owner and date-stamp of comment entry.

Note

The comments field cannot be added from Manage Templates.

Note

You can find additional information in the Implementing and Managing Goal Management guide, available in the SAP Help Portal https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_SUCCESSFACTORS_PERFORMANCE_AND_GOALS

Custom Fields

It is possible to define and report on custom fields that are not initially defined in the goal plan template. These goal field types are not listed in the DTD, but they can be defined in the same way as any of the standard fields.

A custom field can be one of the following types:

  • text
  • textarea
  • enum
  • date
  • percent
  • number

When you add custom fields, they appear alongside other fields in the goal plan.

In Manage Templates, you can create a field, define the label, ID, and type, and you can indicate whether it is a required field when the goal is created. More extensive configuration needs to be done using XML

Goal Plan Fields Configuration

The following list shows you important points to keep in mind when configuring goal fields

  • The goal name will always be the first field to display in the Create Performance Goal menu, followed by the Visibility and the Category.
  • The order of the other fields in the goal edit window of the goal plan, follows the order set in Manage Templates and/or XML.
  • The addition or remove of fields from Manage Templates will be automatically mirrored by the system in the XML

Configuration in Manage Templates

Manage Templates allows the following configurations for the field definitions:

  • Add and change label (default and localized)

  • Set a field as required

  • Show field in People Profile Block

There are some additional configurations available for the state field, which sets the Goal Status.

  • Add, delete and reorder dropdown options.
  • Change text colour for the goal statuses.
  • Set a specific dropdown option as the status to Trigger Completion of the goal.

There are some additional configurations available for the milestones table field.

  • Enable/disable table columns.
  • Reorder table columns.
  • Add and change label (default and localized) for the table columns.

Note

When a field is added from Manage Templates, the following steps are set automatically.

  • New field ID is referenced in all existing field-permission blocks in the goal plan template (except when template has goal plan states. In this case, new field is not permissioned automatically and it needs to be configured in the XML).
  • New column is added to the plan-layout. For table field types (milestones, tasks, etc), the field ID is referenced in the existing first column. The plan layout does not have any effect in latest version of Goal Management but this step will be done in the background.

Any additional configurations must be done from the XML.

Watch the video below to learn how to configure Goal Plan fields in Manage Templates.

Configuration in XML

The addition or removal of fields from the goal plan template XML will require you to work on these sections:

  • <field-definition>
  • <field-permission>

Fields in the goal plan are controlled by <field-definition> elements in XML.

Each field has its own unique field definition, and this in turn may have the following sub-elements:

  • <id>When defining a field, you start with a unique field ID. There are a fixed number of available field IDs from which you can choose. Once you have chosen one, you can proceed to configure the field to look and behave as you require.
  • <type> Every field ID has one or several ‘types’. The type defines the kind of data associated with the field. For example, the code in figure Field ID Code specifies that a field called Due be included in the goal plan. Furthermore, the field ID is ‘due’, and it accepts data of type ‘date’ only.
  • <field-label> .The <field-label> is the field label that is displayed in the goal plan template, appearing next to the field in the instance. You can configure the field label to display whatever term the customer wants. If the customer has purchased and enabled language packs, you can configure additional field labels in multiple languages.
  • <field-description>. You can use the <field-description> element to enter an internal comment. It does not display in the UI. These comments may be helpful to you or other developers working on the same field at a later date. You should always complete the description field so that Professional Services, Customer Success, or anyone else accessing your XML can easily understand the field information.

Note

There is an exception to the <field-description> for the milestones and metric-lookup-table fields. In these cases, you can use the <field-description> to provide information to be used as a tooltip for the end users.
  • <default-value>.You can use the <default-value> element when a customer wants a field to be prepopulated with a specific default value. For example, the customer may want a default goal weight value of 10%. In the Create Performance Goal window, this value is then prepopulated, but can still be changed by the user.

Field Attributes

In addition to the sub-elements we have looked at, you can also configure attributes (properties) for a <field-definition> element. Please note that, any other attributes not listed below, are not applicable to the latest version of Goal Management.

Attributes of the <field-definition> Element

AttributeValid ValuesDefault ValueDescription
required

true

false

falseIf true, a red asterisk (*) appears next to the field, and the user is required to complete the field. If false, the user can leave the field blank.
reportablefieldXn/a

Only custom fields will need this attribute. Standard fields in Goal Plan are already reportable by default.

XML reads as reportable="fieldX" where "fieldX" is the ID of the field. For example, if the customer wants a custom field to be reportable, you could add reportable="field02" in the <field-definition>. You can designate up to 20 fields as reportable.

cascade-update

push-down

regular

push-downThis is only applicable for team goals. Set attribute as "regular" to make a field editable by members assigned to the team goal (assignees).

Watch the video below to learn how to configure Goal Plan fields in XML.

Organization of Fields in the Goal Plan

The goal information is organized in the following way:

  • Goal Cards: Display the most relevant details that the end user can directly see when opening the goal plan. Including:
    • Goal Name
    • Type of Goal (Personal, Team)
    • Due Date
    • % Completion
    • Status
  • Goal Details: You can drill down to navigate into more details of the goal, selecting the goal card. Additional details might include:
    1. Summary: Goal Name, Visibility, Last Update, Due Date/Overdue, Status and % Completion.
    2. Milestones: If the milestones field is defined on the goal plan, a Manage Milestones menu allows to create, edit and delete milestones to track the completion of the goal.
    3. More Info: Additional fields not displayed in the main Goal Card, such as metric, weight, start date or custom fields, will be shown in this section.
    4. Linked Activities: This section will display any activity from Continuous Performance Management linked to this specific goal. Activities can be also created from the + Create Activity option.
    5. Goal Alignment: If the goal has been cascaded from a manager, or cascaded to other reports, this section will show the employee pictures, and you can select them to navigate to their goal details.
    6. Comments: Any public comments, typically between the employee and manager, will be posted and displayed in this section. Once a comment is posted, a notification will be sent to inform the other user.

Configure Fields

Business Example

Managers in your company want to repurpose some of the existing standard fields, and report on metrics not defined in the goal plan template or DTD. To allow this, you must re-define some standard fields, and add a custom field.

Additionally, you will be setting up the status colors since the converted template was using background colors for the goal statuses, no longer applicable to the latest version.

Learn how to configure standard and custom fields in the Goal Plan from Manage Templates and XML.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Steps

  1. Delete the standard fields Sub-Goals.

    1. Log into the instance and navigate to Manage Templates using Action Search.

    2. Choose the Goal Plan tab, and select the template you have been working on the previous exercises.

    3. Expand Edit Fields.

    4. Delete the following field: Sub-Goals. You can select the bin icon and confirm the action by choosing Delete button on the pop-up dialog.

    5. Choose Save to confirm changes.

  2. Modify the Status field.

    1. Expand Edit Fields and select the Status field.

    2. Notice that the Dropdown Options do not show all the labels for the 6 statuses. You need to set the status colors using the icon available beside each. Use the following example using HEX color codes:

      • Not Started: #6C5D05
      • On Track: #7110CC
      • Behind: #D71C1C
      • Completed: #01803A
      • Postponed: #08869A
      • Cancelled: #838A0A

      You can use this image as a reference on how to set the colors for this step.

    3. Save changes and select again the Edit Fields to expand it.

    4. Select the Status field to continue editing it.

    5. Rename the dropdown option Not Started to On Hold.

    6. Rename the dropdown option Behind to Delayed

    7. Use the arrows to place the On Hold dropdown option below Delayed

    8. Use the arrows to place the Completed status in the last position.

    9. Delete the Postponed status

    10. Save to confirm changes.

  3. Add a custom field from Manage Templates.

    1. Expand the Edit Fields and select Add a New Field.

    2. Select Custom Field from the available dropdown options.

    3. Add the following parameters:

      • Field ID: discussed
      • Field Label: Discussed with Manager
      • Field Type: enum

    4. The enum field should have two dropdown options: Yes/No

    5. Change the label of the dropdown option from 1 to Yes.

    6. Select Add a New Value

    7. Enter Status Name: No.

    8. Choose Save to save your changes.

  4. Edit the custom field and create a Comments field from the XML template.

    1. Navigate to Provisioning → Import/Export/Update Objective Plan Template, and export the latest version of your goal plan.

    2. Open the goal plan XML template with your XML editor.

    3. Locate the <field-definition id="discussed"> code, located in the field definition elements section of the XML, to make the following changes on the <enum-value value="x" for each of the options (Yes/No), so the values show yes and no. You can use the following code as an example:

      Code Snippet
      Copy code
      Switch to dark mode
      1234567891011
      <field-definition id="discussed" type="enum" required="false" detail="false" 
            viewdefault="off" showlabel="true" field-show-coaching-advisor="false" cascade-update="push-down">
             <field-label>Discussed with Manager</field-label>
             <field-description>Discussed with Manager</field-description>
             <enum-value value="yes" style="background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000">
              <enum-label>Yes</enum-label>
             </enum-value>
             <enum-value value="no" style="background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000">
              <enum-label>No</enum-label>
             </enum-value>
           </field-definition>

    4. Validate the XML and continue to the next step.

    5. Locate the <field-definition> elements, and add the comments field in the last position. You can copy the code-block and paste it in the XML.

      Code Snippet
      Copy code
      Switch to dark mode
      1234
      <field-definition id="comments" type="comment" required="false" detail="false" viewdefault="off" showlabel="true" field-show-coaching-advisor="false" cascade-update="push-down">
    <field-label>Comments </field-label>
    <field-description>Comments </field-description>
  </field-definition>

    6. When finished configuring the XML template, validate, save as a new version, but do not upload to provisioning yet. You will be setting up field permissions in the next exercise.

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