Working with Succession Data Model in SAP SuccessFactors

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to explore the Succession Data Model elements to make changes in SAP SuccessFactors.

Succession Data Model in SAP SuccessFactors

Data Models describe how data elements are structured in a database. They also define the properties that these elements possess and their relationships to each other.

SAP SuccessFactors defines its data by using several data models. These data elements have impact on all the modules of the application as well as on the company and employee data stored in the system. Initial setup of the data models is done through Provisioning.

Caution

Remember that any concepts that refer on this learning journey as Provisioning, are actions that customers cannot complete themselves, and need to engage with an SAP Consultant.

SAP SuccessFactors defines this data by using the following data models, which are XML based templates.

  • Corporate Data Model
  • Country Specific Corporate Data Model
  • Succession Data Model
  • Country Specific Succession Data Model

Hint

The Corporate Data Model, CSF Corporate Data Model (Country Specific) and CSF Succession Data Model, are only relevant for customers implementing Employee Central. You can check the learning journey Configuring SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Core for an overview.

You can download these XML files from Provisioning or Admin Center. You then work with the files in an XML editor of your choice and edit them offline. You upload these modified files back to the company instance that you are working with in Provisioning or Admin Center, with the exception of the Succession Data Model and CSF Succession Data Model.

Note

Some resources to explore this topic in more detail are the following guides in the SAP Help Portal (log in with your SAP Universal ID is required to access these guides as this content is gated):
  • This guide provides information about each of the four data models in SAP SuccessFactors HCM suite, including Succession Data Model.SAP SuccessFactors Data Model Reference Guide
  • This guide provides detailed information about the standard and custom fields, attributes, and other behavior for foundation objects (FO), such as XML and MDF-based foundation objects. Also, it includes information on Person and Employment Objects (HRIS Elements and HRIS fields), which are defined in the Succession Data Model if the instance has Employee Central enabled.Data Model Field Information for Employee Central

Succession Data Model

The Succession Data Model (SDM) is named because it was first created to support the succession module. It was used to display data related to an employee including data needed for Succession planning.

This data model is now at the core of SAP SuccessFactors. All modules that use people-related data elements in the application are touched by the SDM in one way or another. The elements defined here are used or referenced in People Profile, Employee Central, Matrix Grid reports, Succession Org Chart, Employee Directory, and Employee Scorecard. These elements are also used in Performance Management, Compensation, Recruiting, and for user management in a company instance.

The Succession Data Model has the field definitions of elements that pertain to a person of the employee. You can then display these fields in the People Profile based on the field level and role-based permissions.

The fields are grouped on the People Profile as blocks. You need to have the fields associated with these blocks declared in the data model as a prerequisite. It's possible that you then need to make additional configuration and permission changes to these elements to get the block to work.

Note

Most of the configurations for the Succession Data Model XML can be achieved by using the Manage Business Configuration tool, available in Admin Center. More information: Operations Supported in BCUI

Import and Export of Succession Data Model

All SAP SuccessFactors instances are created as clones of a source instance and have basic data models. The data model can be downloaded and modified with an XML editor.

Caution

Even if you have already downloaded a file from an instance, before beginning to work on a data model XML file, always download a new version of the file. It is possible that there have been changes to the file since you last worked on it, especially if other consultants work for the same customer or if the customer uses Manage Business Configuration (BCUI).

To import or export the Succession Data Model, follow these steps:

  1. Log into Provisioning.
  2. Select your company in Provisioning.
  3. Scroll down to the Succession Management section.
  4. Select Import/Export Data Model.
  5. Choose the appropriate option for the action that you want to perform:
    • To export the Succession Data Model XML file, use the radio button Export file (Select 'Save' not 'Open'), and choose Submit.
    • To import, use the radio button Import File, and use the Choose File button to locate the file on your local computer.
    • On the comment field, it is mandatory to add a comment about the new version of the data model being imported, such as a brief description of your changes done on this version. The comments are visible on the Backup Versions and are helpful for other consultants working with the company as well as for your own reference. When ready, select Submit to import the data model.
The main feature highlighted is the Import/Export Data Model, which allows for the import and export of succession data models.

Data Model Version Control in Provisioning

It is possible to back up multiple versions of the Succession Data Model in Provisioning and restore a version for the instance. This feature helps protect the configuration and track data model changes. In case any issues occur, the backup can speed up the instance recovery.

Because comments are mandatory during the import, it is easy to identify which changes a certain version to download has. The system keeps up to 100 versions of the data model in the Backup Versions, and earlier versions are deleted once the limit is reached.

The import and export capabilities for the Succession Data Model within the SuccessFactors Business Execution Suite.

Note

The version control does not record changes made from BCUI, but only pertains to the data model loaded via Provisioning. However, the Manage Business Configuration tool has an Audit Job that can be used to fetch audit logs for changes made for the past 90 days from a given date. More information, including an exercise, will be discussed later in this course.

Elements in Succession Data Model

Different kinds of elements can be defined in Succession Data Model (SDM):

Components of Succession Data Model

IDDescriptionExample
standard-element

Standard Elements in the Succession Data Model define the fields that are seen in People Profile in SAP SuccessFactors. These are fields where there is a one-to-one relationship between the field and the data.

Defining these fields in the XML allows the users to modify their default behavior such as making it a picklist or modifying its label. Some of the Standard Elements are also those where data can be imported or exported via the User Data File.

There are several predefined fields. It is possible to modify the label and use a field for a purpose other than that intended by SAP SuccessFactors. However, it is not recommended, so do it only after careful consideration. The length or type of the field may be restricted and may not suit its new purpose. Also, while the use case may seem to work now, it can have consequences downstream that may not be correctable. There are 15 custom Standard Elements available to you besides the predefined ones and those should suffice for most requirements.

Code Snippet
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<standard-element id="location" max-length="128" required="false" matrix-filter="true">
    <label>Location</label>
    <label xml:lang="en-US">Location</label>
    <label xml:lang="de-DE">Standort</label>
  </standard-element>
userinfo-elementDefine custom fields as well as fields used to integrate with SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting. Each userinfo-element can have more than one value.
Code Snippet
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<userinfo-element id="reloWilling" type="varchar" required="false">
    <label>Willing to Relocate</label>
    <label xml:lang="en-US">Willing to Relocate</label>
    <label xml:lang="de-DE">Umzugsbereitschaft</label>
    <picklist id="relo"></picklist>
  </userinfo-element>
background-elementElement where a one to many relationships exists between the field and the data it can store. There are two kinds of background elements - data field based (like Education or Work Experience) and rating field based (like Overall Objective Ratings or Overall Performance Ratings).
Code Snippet
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<background-element id="outsideWorkExperience" type-id="4">
    <label>Previous Employment</label>
    <label xml:lang="de-DE">Berufliche Erfahrung</label>
    <data-field id="startDate" field-name="startDate" required="true" max-length="999" max-file-size-KB="1000">
      <label>Start Date</label>
      <label xml:lang="de-DE">Anfangsdatum</label>
      </data-field>
    <data-field id="endDate" field-name="endDate" required="true" max-length="999" max-file-size-KB="1000">
      <label>End Date</label>
      <label xml:lang="de-DE">Enddatum</label>
     </data-field>
    <data-field id="employer" field-name="vfld6" required="true" max-length="4000" max-file-size-KB="1000">
      <label>Company Name</label>
      <label xml:lang="de-DE">Name der Firma</label>
    </data-field>
    <data-field id="businessType" field-name="vfld2" max-length="4000" max-file-size-KB="1000">
      <label>Type of Business</label>
      <label xml:lang="de-DE">Branche</label>
     <picklist id="industry"></picklist>
    </data-field>
    <data-field id="startTitle" field-name="vfld3" required="true" max-length="4000" max-file-size-KB="1000">
      <label>Title</label>
      <label xml:lang="de-DE">Titel</label>
    </data-field>
    <data-field id="presentEmployer" field-name="ifld1" max-length="10" max-file-size-KB="1000">
      <label>Present Employer?</label>
      <picklist id="yesnomaybe"></picklist>
    </data-field>
  </background-element>
tab-elementDefine the Employee Central (EC) tabs available within the main Profile section. It needs to be defined in the Succession Data Model to navigate to the relevant functionality, such as Pending Requests, Employment Information or Payroll Time Sheet.
Code Snippet
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<tab-element id="employmentInfoTab">
    <label>Employment Information</label>
    <label xml:lang="es-ES">Información de empleo</label>
    <label xml:lang="fr-FR">Informations professionnelles</label>
    <label xml:lang="de-DE">Anstellungsinformationen</label>
  </tab-element>
hris-elementHRIS Elements in the Succession Data Model determine which fields appear in the application as far as data related to the employee is concerned. These elements defined the Employee Central HR Data structure, including the employee's Home Address, Biographical Information, Job Information, National ID information and more.
Code Snippet
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<hris-element id="personInfo">
    <label>Biographical Information</label>
     <hris-field id="person-id-external" max-length="32" visibility="both">
      <label>Person Id</label>
     </hris-field>
    <hris-field id="date-of-birth" visibility="both">
      <label>Date Of Birth</label>
     </hris-field>
    <hris-field id="birth-name" max-length="128" visibility="both">
      <label>Birth Name</label>
      </hris-field>
    <hris-field id="country-of-birth" max-length="100" visibility="both">
      <label>Country Of Birth</label>
          </hris-field>
    <hris-field id="place-of-birth" max-length="100" visibility="both">
      <label>Place Of Birth</label>
     </hris-field>
   </hris-element>
view-templateedit-template

view-template and its attribute edit-template are used to define the fields that can display in certain areas of the application.

There are predefined view-template ids that exist in your Succession Data Model. These can be edited to refer to the standard and background elements in your data model

Note

For a list of the standard view templates and edit templates, check Standard View Templates and Edit Templates in the Succession Data Model
Code Snippet
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<view-template id="talentSearch" visibility="none" pdf-printing-enabled="true">
    <label>Talent Search</label>
	<description>Talent Search Fields</description>
	 <edit-template id="personalInformation">
	 <description>Personal Information</description>
	  <standard-element-ref refid="title"/>
      <standard-element-ref refid="jobCode"/>
      <standard-element-ref refid="division"/>
      <standard-element-ref refid="department"/>
      <standard-element-ref refid="location"/>
      <standard-element-ref refid="minority"/>
      <standard-element-ref refid="hireDate"/>
    </edit-template>
	<edit-template id="insideWorkExperience">
      <label>Work Experience Within Company</label>
      <description>Work Experience Within Allied Building Products Corp.</description>
      <background-element-ref refid="insideWorkExperience"/>
    </edit-template>
</view-template>
custom-filters

Custom filters can be defined in this section, from the following standard-elements (custom01-custom15) to be used as filters for search screens across the SAP SuccessFactors HCM suite, for example when mass creating forms.

By default the search screens in SAP SuccessFactors HCM suite have some standard elements available as filters, such as Department, Division, Location, or Username.

Code Snippet
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<custom-filters>
    <filter-module id="default">
      <standard-element-ref refid="custom01"/>
      <standard-element-ref refid="custom02"/>
    </filter-module>
    <filter-module id="calibration">
      <standard-element-ref refid="custom06"/>
    </filter-module>
  </custom-filters>
dg-filtersThis code enables the fields to be available for dynamic groups, for example, filter fields when setting up permission groups for role-based permissions (<permission-group-filter>, or employee groups (<my-filter>.
Code Snippet
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<dg-filters>
	<my-filter>
	<standard-element-ref refid="custom01"/>
	</my-filter>
	<permission-group-filter>
	  <standard-element-ref refid="custom01"/>
      <hris-element-ref refid="compInfo">
        <hris-field-ref refid="pay-group"/>
      </hris-element-ref>
      </permission-group-filter>
    </dg-filters>

Hint

For additional information, you can check this resource (log in required): Components of Succession Data Model XML

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