Configuring Scheduled Jobs for Succession Data Model components

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Explore the scheduled jobs relevant to Succession Data Model.
  • Use Scheduled Job Manager to audit on BCUI changes.
  • Describe how to display, export and upload multiple profile photos.

Scheduled Jobs for Succession Data Model

Some of the available scheduled jobs related to data from the Succession Data Model are:

  • Bulk Export Profile Photos. To export all the profile pictures of the employees in a ZIP file to an FTP/SFTP location.
  • Bulk Upload Profile Photos. To upload multiple profile pictures using a ZIP file stored in an FTP/SFTP location.
  • Business Configuration Audit Job. To audit on changes done by an administrator in Manage Business Configuration tool, as an alternative to the version control available for the Succession Data Model XML and track the changes done from the tool directly.
  • Export Background Information. To export data from the background elements (Work Experience, Languages, Education...) as a recurring or an ad hoc job. The data can be exported into an FTP/SFTP location, and the administrator creating this job can decide on which background information to be exported, include attachments and other.
  • Import Background Information. To import background information data as a recurring or an ad hoc job, from a file available in an FTP/SFTP location. Attachments can be included.
  • Synchronize Business Configuration. Changes in the Succession Data Model XML will update Manage Business Configuration and the other way around. This job runs whenever the SDM is uploaded to sync BCUI, but it can be also run on an ad-hoc basis to troubleshoot possible inconsistencies between both.
  • Sync HRIS Data. Only relevant for Employee Central, to sync the data from EC (hris-fields) into the User Tables (standard-elements and userinfo-elements). This is typically scheduled in the backend as a daily job, but it can be run on an ad-hoc basis.
  • Sync HRIS Data for Specific Users. To sync the data between EC and User Tables for some users. It is required to have a csv file with the user information in an FTP/SFTP location so the scheduled job knows which users to sync data.

Business Configuration Audit Job in Scheduled Job Manager

You can create, manage, and monitor scheduled jobs for Business Configuration Audit Job by using Scheduled Job Manager in the Admin Center. This job is used to fetch audit logs for changes made in Manage Business Configuration for the past 90 days from the given date.

You can use the Job Scheduler tab in the Scheduled Job Manager admin tool to create and manage job requests. The Job Monitor tab is used to monitor the progress and check the results of scheduled job results.

The maximum times that the job can run per day is once a day. For example, if you choose Job Type as the Business Configuration Audit Job, Object Type as the Localized HRIS Element, and Audit Period End Date as 11/11/2024, and if you’ve exceeded the daily threshold, you can’t use the same combination of entries on that day.

The form has two main sections: Job Definition and Job Occurrence.

The available Object Types for the Audit Job are:

Object Types

Object Type from BCUIObject Type from BCUI
HRIS ElementsUserinfo Elements
Localized HRIS ElementField Display Format
Person Element ConfigurationFormat Group
Localized Person ConfigurationNumber Format
HRIS ActionSection
Background ElementsTab Elements
View TemplateCustom Filters
Standard ElementDynamic Group Filters

Submit a Scheduled Job for Business Configuration Audit Changes

Business Example

You'll be create, submit, and run a Scheduled Job to review the logged changes for Background Elements that were completed in a previous exercise.

Steps

  1. Create and submit a Business Configuration Audit Job to review the past 90 days changes for Background Elements by using the BCUI tool.

    1. Navigate to Scheduled Job Manager by using action search.

    2. Select the Job Scheduler tab.

    3. Select Create Job Request and add the following details:

      • Job Name: BCUI Audit Job.
      • Job Type: Business Configuration Audit Job.
      • Job Owner: HR Coordinator.
      • In Job Parameters, add the following details:
        • Object Type: Background Elements.
        • Audit Period End Date: Leave blank. The current date will be taken as the Audit Period End Date and the audit log will generate from the past 90 days.
        • Job Occurrence: One-Time.
        • Start: Set tomorrow's date.

    4. Select Submit to submit the Scheduled Job. It will now be visible in the Job Scheduler tab.

  2. Run Scheduled Job to confirm BCUI Audit logged the last changes for Background Elements.

    1. In the Job Scheduler tab, locate the BCUI Audit Job you created previously.

    2. On the Actions column, select Run it Now.

    3. In the Job Monitor tab, you can see that the job is set to run immediately. If necessary, refresh the page to see the Completed status of the BCUI Audit Job.

    4. Select Download Status and download a CSV file to your local computer.

    5. Open it and review the changes that were logged. Verify how the changes from the previous exercises (adding Background Elements from Succession Data Model and creating a custom background element) are logged.

Photo in the Profile

For you to control who can see the photo and for which person in Role-Based Permissions, the photo standard element must exist in the Succession Data Model.

The XML code defines a standard-element with an id attribute set to photo, a required attribute set to false, a matrix-filter attribute set to false.

You can decide whether to hide or show the employee profile photo in the header of the People Profile. The profile photo is treated like any other employee data field in the header, such as the employee's job title or location.

As with other data fields, you can control visibility of the profile photo in the header in two ways:

  • If you want to remove the photo from the header entirely for all users, deselect the Photo checkbox in the Configure Header Fields dialog box.

    SAP SuccessFactors, where users can select and deselect fields to include in a profile header.

  • If you want the photo to be visible to some users of your system, but not to others, select the Photo checkbox in the Configure Header Fields dialog box, and then control the visibility of the photo with Role-Based Permissions.

    The Employee Data category is highlighted, indicating that the user is currently configuring the permissions for this category.

Bulk Upload and Bulk Export Profile Photos

You can upload and export the employees' Profile photos by scheduling the following jobs:

  • Bulk Export Profile Photos
  • Bulk Upload Profile Photos

Both jobs can be created from Scheduled Job Manager → Job Scheduler → Create Job Request, and then submit and run them as preferred. These tasks can be also completed from Provisioning.

The prerequisites to complete these actions are:

  • Permissions granted in RBP.
    • Admin Center Permissions → Monitor Scheduled Jobs
    • Admin Center Permissions → Manage Scheduled Jobs
    • Manage User → Bulk Export Profile Photos
    • Manage User → Bulk Upload Profile Photos
  • Access to an FTP or SFTP account to export profile photos, as well as to select the file to upload profile photos in the instance.

Note

Every customer is entitled to have two SFTP accounts for HCM suite: One for Test/Preview and one for Production. To request an SFTP account creation, check the following resources:

2278826 - SAP SuccessFactors SFTP Account Details

2187183 - SFTP Account Standards for SAP SuccessFactors

Requirements for Bulk Upload Profile Photos

The Batch Upload includes the following considerations in regards of the photo formatting, the CSV files, and the ZIP files (if uploading multiple CSVs):

Photos. The photos must conform to the following guidelines:

  • Maximum file size: 2 MB. The recommended size is 100KB.

  • File format: JPG. If photos are in other formats, they must be converted into JPG format.

  • Aspect Ratio: 3 wide by 4 high (3:4) preferred for optimal display results.

  • Dimension in pixels: The recommended dimension is 180 x 240 pixels (width x height).

  • Photo names should not contain spaces. Use dash ( - ) or underscore ( _ ) instead.

CSV File. The following requirements should be met for the CSV File.

  • The photos must be uploaded to a directory on the FTP site configured by SAP SuccessFactors operations for use with your instance. It will typically be/photos.

  • As well, a CSV file must accompany the photos to map the photo filenames to the username of the employee to which they correspond.

    Load the CSV file into the same /photos folder as the images. The CSV file should be named instanceID_photos_yymmdd.csv, where instance ID is the company instance name, and yymmdd is the year, month, and day that the file is loaded.

    The CSV file must include a header of Username followed by Filename. The following figure shows an example.

    The image is a table with two columns, Username and Filename. Each row contains a username and a corresponding filename.
  • The maximum number of photo entries in a single CSV file is 5000. If you have more than 5000 photos to upload, split them into multiple CSV files (but make sure to avoid adding the same username in more than one file) and schedule an upload job for each file. For optimal performance, we recommend that you split the photos into batches of similar sizes.

ZIP File. You can upload employee photos in ZIP files. This option is off by default. The ZIP files must meet the following requirements:

  • The photo names must follow the character encoding specified for the job.
  • To upload a single ZIP file in a job, the ZIP file and CSV file must have the same name.
  • To upload multiple ZIP files in a job, the ZIP file names must follow the pattern: <CSV filename>_<sequence number>, like photos_1.zip, photos_2.zip, photos_3.zip, etc.
  • Don't include the date in the file name for ZIP files.
  • There is also an option to delete each photo file from the FTP site immediately after it is imported, including ZIP files. Always select this option if you are using an SAP SuccessFactors FTP server.

Caution

Uploading Profile Photos hosted at an external URL is not supported.

Hint

For more information about requirements, you can check the Configuring People Profile guide:

File Requirements

Bulk Export Profile Photos

With the export, the exported files include a CSV file with two columns the username and the file name and the related employee photos.The exported files are stored on an FTP server according to the job configuration.

To create and submit the job, it is required to include the FTP/SFTP account details, as well as the destination folder, character encoding, and file name. Once the job is completed, two entries are displayed in the Job Monitor.

  1. A job named Triggered by the Job Request <Your Job Request ID> of the job type Bulk Export Profile Photos: this is a job in Provisioning triggered by your job request.
  2. The job request that you created.

Note

If the user doesn't have a photo, it won't be included in the exported files. The exported files could be reused for batch with the Bulk Upload Profile Photos job.

Bulk Export Profile Photos with Scheduled Job Manager

Steps

  1. Create a new job to export profile photos

    1. Navigate to Scheduled Job Manager using Action Search.

    2. Select the Job Scheduler tab, and choose the option Create Job Request.

    3. Select the Job Type Bulk Export Profile Photos.

      In this example, the Job type, Job Name and Job Owner are defined. Additionally, there's a Character Encoding option that can be selected.

    4. Add the FTP/SFTP configuration details. Make sure to choose Test Connection to confirm the job request can validate the FTP/SFTP account credentials.

    5. Add the File Path where the file will be exported, like /photos, and the File Name, with the format companyID_photos_yymmdd.csv.

      In this example, the SFTP account credentials and the file access are set up

    6. Scroll down and choose the Date and Time to run this job, on the Job Occurrence section.

    7. Choose Submit.

  2. Confirm the results of the job are successful and access the SFTP location to download the file.

    1. Within the Scheduler Job Manager tool, select the Job Monitor tab.

    2. Two jobs will run: The Bulk Export Profile Photos and another one triggered by this job which is a Batch Export Employee Photos job type.

      In this example, the results of both jobs are confirmed in the Job Monitor tab

    3. If the results are successful, navigate to your SFTP location and download the ZIP file.

      This example shows the SFTP location where the exported file can be downloaded.

Result

You have successfully created, submitted and exported the results of the Bulk Export Profile Photos job request.

Bulk Upload Profile Photos with Scheduled Job Manager

Steps

  1. Create a new job to upload profile photos

    1. Navigate to Scheduled Job Manager using Action Search.

    2. Select the Job Scheduler tab, and choose the option Create Job Request.

    3. Select the Job Type Bulk Upload Profile Photos.

    4. On the Job Definition, select the Job Owner as well as a Job Name. You can choose Upload Zipped Photos to upload the photos in ZIP files.

    5. Select as an optional set Delete All Photos from the FTP Server After Upload to delete the uploaded photos once it is uploaded. If you use an SAP SuccessFactors hosted SFTP server, you must select this option.

      In this example, the Job type, Job Name and Job Owner are defined. Additionally, there's a Character Encoding option that can be selected, and whether the photos are uploaded on a ZIP file and these can be removed from the FTP server once they are uploaded.

    6. Add the FTP/SFTP configuration details. Make sure to choose Test Connection to confirm the job request can validate the FTP/SFTP account credentials.

    7. Add the File Path where the file will be exported, like /photos, and the File Name, with the format companyID_photos_yymmdd.csv.

    8. Scroll down and choose the Date and Time to run this job, on the Job Occurrence section.

    9. Choose Submit.

  2. Confirm the results of the job are successful and access the SFTP location to download the file.

    1. Within the Scheduler Job Manager tool, select the Job Monitor tab.

    2. Two jobs will run: The Bulk Upload Profile Photos and another one triggered by this job which is a Batch Upload Employee Photos job type.

    3. You can confirm on the results if the jobs were successful.

Result

You have successfully created, submitted and confirmed the results of the Bulk Upload Profile Photos job request.

Log in to track your progress & complete quizzes

Learning

SAP FacebookSAP YoutubeSAP LinkedIn