Objective
An item is an entity that can be assigned and tracked. It can be a learning activity or a non-learning activity. While items are commonly referred to as "courses," they can encompass any task or activity that requires assignment and monitoring.
Examples of non-learning activities include:
Reading a standard operating procedure (SOP)
Obtaining a commercial driver’s license
Completing an annual physical
Attending a mandatory all-hands meeting
When adding a new item to the system, it is important to ensure accuracy and avoid duplicates. It is recommended to search for the item by title to make sure that it doesn't already exist in the system. By doing this, administrators can prevent the creation of duplicate items and maintain a clean database.
Once it has been confirmed that the item is not already in the system, the next step is to create the item in Learning Activities → Items → Add New
On the New Item screen, the Administrator is responsible for completing the fields related to the new item. Although only the fields marked with an asterisk are required for creating an item entity, it is advisable to provide information for as many fields as possible. The information you add to the entity broadens searchability.
Once all the necessary fields have been entered, the item can be saved. During the saving process, the system automatically generates an Item Key.
Important fields for newly created items include the following: Item Classification, Item Type, Item ID and Item Key.
The Item Classification helps categorize the item. There are four standard classifications available in the system and they determine what kind of an item you are creating.
Instructor-led training (ILT): Refers to training sessions conducted by an instructor and scheduled for a specific date and time. This can include various types of training, such as classroom-based sessions, lectures, on-site labs, virtual sessions, or teleconferencing. When setting up ILT sessions, it is necessary to create at least one time slot. By default, the time slot is set for 8 hours on a single day. The time slot represents the duration of the training, whether it is for a full day or a portion of a day. It is recommended to have at least one time slot per day, but multiple time slots can be used to indicate skipped mealtimes or changes in location, topic, or instructor. For instance, if you want to schedule a training session that spans three full days, you would create three one-day time slots, each lasting eight hours.
Online: An online item contains content that may be launched at any time (asynchronous). There is no instructor or facilitator and there are no registrations or classes. The content is available entirely online.
Examples of online items include:
An online assessment (such as an exam or a quiz).
An e-learning or web-based training course (purchased from a vendor or built in-house).
A link to a website.
A document that users must read and review (for example, HR handbook, new standard operating procedures, and so on).
Further information may be found in the Online Content Management and Online Content Management and Assessments (Exams and Quizzes) training guides.
Instructor-led with online content: These items, also referred to as Blended, are a combination of content that is launched online as well as scheduled training with an instructor (a class). An example may be an instructor-led course that includes one or more online exams, such as a pretest and a final.
Other: Refers to items that are not scheduled or available online in our system. However, these items are still important activities that we aim to assign to users and track in their learning history to demonstrate completion. Items classified as Other must not have any online content or designated time slots.
Examples of other items include:
A course taken at a local university
CPR certification
Attendance at a user conference
A checklist of observable tasks
A library book or periodical
Note
Item Classifications cannot be edited. However, the default classification that appears for new items is set globally in
System Administration → Configuration → Global Application Settings → General SettingsThe Item Type refers to the categorization of learning content. It represents the format or nature of the learning material, such as a course, document, video, assessment, or web-based training. By using item types, learning events can be organized, tracked, and delivered more efficiently. Additionally, the Item Type is directly linked to the completion status recorded in the learner's history, making it easy to determine their progress.
Item ID is a unique identifier for each item within the SAP SuccessFactors Learning database. It is recommended that a standard ID naming convention be applied to items and all entities in the system. You can also configure the system to auto-generate Item IDs.
An Item Key is automatically generated after populating the required fields and saving the item. The Item Key is a unique identifier for the item and consists of three parts: Item Type, Item ID, and a revision date/time stamp. The revision date/time stamp is set to the current date and time by default, and the format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.
The revision date/time stamp indicates the last time the item was modified. It is automatically updated whenever changes are made to the item. This information is useful for tracking the history of modifications and ensuring that the most recent version of the item is being used.
An example of an item key is:
COURSE FOODSAFE (Rev 1 - 3/5/2023 12:00 AM America/New York)
Watch this video to learn how to create an instructor-led item.
The video explains the process of creating an item, and specifically demonstrates the process of creating an instructor-led item. Instructor-led items are designed for live courses with an instructor.
To create an instructor-led item, go to the Learning Administration page, select Items, and select Add New. In the Item Creation form, select instructor-led from the Item Classification dropdown menu and Web Based Training from the Item Type dropdown menu. Fill in the required fields, such as Item ID and Title, and save the item. The Agenda Template tab automatically fills in the days and hours based on the course duration, and additional information can be added in the other available tabs.
In this exercise, add a new Instructor-Led item with the following details:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Item Classification | Instructor-Led |
| Item Type | Course |
| Item ID | ###-Item1 (Note: replace ### with your initials) |
| Item Title | Safety course - ### |
| Description | Enter a description for your item |
| Security Domain | Select the Security Domain (For example: CORP) |
Navigate to Learning Activities → Items.
To avoid creating a duplicate item, use the search criteria to search for it by title or ID. If you are sure that the item does not already exist, continue with these steps.
Choose Add New.
Select Instructor-Led from the Item Classification drop-down.
Select the Item Type from the dropdown menu.
Enter the Item ID.
Enter the Item Title.
Enter a Description for the item.
Select the Security Domain for the item.
Enter values in the other fields as needed.
Confirm that all of the fields have been entered correctly, including the default values for Number of Days and Hours per Day (which will become the time slots).
Choose Save.
Note
The Item ID and Item Type cannot be changed once the item has been created.
Log in to track your progress & complete quizzes