Modifying Configurations in Provisioning for Succession Management

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to modify configurations in Provisioning for Succession Management

Succession Management Configuration

Succession Management is configured in both Provisioning and Admin Center. While an effort has been made to bring more and more options to Admin Center, some options can only be controlled within Provisioning. For example, Talent Flags icons visible on the Succession Org Chart come from XML code that is only accessible from Provisioning. Consultants need an XML Editor to fully configure the Succession Management module.

The following article outlines which changes can be completed by Cloud Product Support and which changes should be completed by Implementation Partners and Customers for the Succession Org Chart and Succession Data model: 2252666 - SCR Form: XML Software Change Request for Succession Org Chart and Succession Datamodel - SAP for Me.

Provisioning Settings

To configure Succession Management, several provisioning switches must be activated. Some of these switches only affect the Succession module while others may be needed by multiple modules. Additionally, some switches are optional and only used in some customer implementations. For example, Succession comes with two Matrix Grid Reports and customers may choose to enable neither, one, or both of them depending upon how they plan to use succession.

In this course, the provisioning settings have been enabled for you. The provisioning settings necessary for the individual Succession Management tools will be included in the unit that covers the tool.

Enable company settings in Provisioning.

To access Provisioning and edit the main Succession Management settings, do the following steps:

  1. Log in to Provisioning.
  2. Select your instance from the company list.
  3. Choose Company Settings to see the available features or setting options.
  4. In the first section, confirm the following options are enabled:
    • Live Profile
    • Succession Planning (enables succession plan creation features)
    • Succession Management - requires "Enable Generic Objects" and "Enable the Attachment Manager"
    • Matrix Grid Report (9-box)
    • Employee Scorecard Dashboard
    • Matrix Grid How Vs. What Report (9-Box)
    • Succession Talent Search
    • True Position Hierarchy
    • Succession Lineage Report
    • Enable the Attachment Manager
    • Enable Generic Objects — requires "Enable the Attachment Manager"
  5. Choose Save Feature, add your company ID, and choose Confirm.
  6. Succession nomination method: Confirm the Succession nomination method is set to MDF Position. Select the options "Use formless nomination approval workflow" and "New MDF Pool-based Succession Planning (requires Generic Object)." Choose Save that is contained within the same section as this feature.

Note

Search for the term "nomination method" because this particular option is in the bottom quarter of the page for Company Settings.

RBP Settings

Often when items are enabled in provisioning additional role-based permission (RBP) options become available. Using the Matrix Grid Reports example again, once those reports are enabled in provisioning then permissions options become available in Role-Based Permissions. There are permissions to allow only certain administrators to configure the reports and permissions to allow different groups of users to access those reports. This pattern repeats with other Succession tools so consultants should always be aware of new RBP permissions that are made available with the activation of provisioning switches.

All permissions required to use Succession Management have been enabled for the course. Configuring role-based permissions for Succession Management is covered in the unit titled "Succeeding as a Consultant." The permissions necessary for the individual Succession Management tools will also be included in the unit that covers the tool.

Admin Center Settings

In addition to provisioning settings and RBP settings there are several settings in Admin Center that must be configured. The options available to administrators and users depend on which items have been activated in provisioning and which of those items have had permissions granted for particular administrators. For example if the Matrix Grid Reports are enabled in provisioning and RBP permissions are set for a group of administrators then options in Admin Center will allow those administrators to configure them. Other Succession features will follow a similar pattern of activation, permission setting, and configuration. And although many Succession configuration settings are located in Admin Center under the Succession area some items will be located under other tools in Admin Center, such as Performance Management.

Combination Settings

Some of the most challenging settings require alignment of settings in Admin Center and Provisioning. One example of this is an important setting called the Readiness Rating. All succession nominations require a readiness rating to determine how far successors are from being ready to fill a prospective role. The readiness rating scale is defined in both the org chart XML (via Provisioning) and the rating scale designer (via Admin Center). The rating scale must match exactly in both locations to avoid inconsistent results in the various succession planning tools. Dependencies like this appear in various areas of the Succession module and consultants should be prepared to explain them to customers before any implementations begin.

Check Tool

To help consultants track down configuration errors that frequently happen with items like the readiness rating, SAP SuccessFactors introduced the Check Tool. The Check Tool can help customers determine if their readiness rating scale, defined in Admin Center, matches the readiness rating scale in the Succession Org Chart XML. If customers experience any issues with their Readiness Rating scale they can perform a check via the Check Tool in Admin Center. Even though customers are not able to access Provisioning, this check will let them know if the Succession Org Chart XML, sometimes called the SOC, must be modified. If a provisioning change to the SOC is required, customers can share the results of the Check Tool with SAP Support or their consulting partner and have the proper changes made.

The Check Tool can help customers determine if their readiness rating scale matches the readiness rating scale in the Succession Org Chart XML.

The following Course Files are provided for use in this course. The steps for downloading the Course Files are provided in Exercise 1.

Resource FolderDescription
DTDDocument Type Definition File (DTD). A current sf-form.dtd file is provided to validate the Succession Data Model.
Succession Data ModelA starter XML file for the Succession Data model that includes the necessary talent elements.
Succession Org ChartA starter XML file for the Succession Org Chart.

Download Course Files and Modify Succession Configurations

Business Example

Provisioning is the location accessed by SAP SuccessFactors Partners and Professional Services, which allows for admin and XML configuration specific to each customer. This document provides a walk-through of the actions necessary to access the Provisioning site for your instance and modify configurations for Succession Management to include the following: create an additional Administrator Account and upload a new Succession Data Model.

In this exercise, you’ll be downloading and extracting the Course Files required for this training.

Here is the link to the THR85 Course Files. You can download the Course Files from learning.sap.com or SAP Learning Hub. See below the steps for each of these two options.

Task 1: Access Course Files

Steps

  1. Download the Course Files from THR85 Course Files.

    1. Navigate to learning.sap.com.

    2. Search for THR85.

    3. Select the SAP SuccessFactors Succession Management Academy Learning Journey.

    4. Scroll down a bit and in Unit 1 select Go to Learning.

    5. Scroll down until you find the "Download the Course Files" exercise. Select the Course Files link.

      Result

      The THR85_Course_Files.zip downloads into your local folder.
    6. Locate the file you just downloaded and extract it into the folder of your choice using a ZIP extractor.

  2. Alternatively, download the Course Files from SAP Learning Hub

    1. Log in to the SAP Learning Hub.

    2. Search for THR85 (SAP SuccessFactors Succession Management Academy) and, under the list of options, select the E-Learning course.

    3. Choose Start Course (or Continue Course if you started the course earlier).

    4. Choose Unit 1 from the Content list on the left.

    5. Scroll down until you find the "Download the Course Files" exercise. Select the Course Files link.

      Result

      The THR85_Course_Files.zip downloads into your local folder.
    6. Locate the file you just downloaded and extract it into the folder of your choice using a ZIP extractor.

Task 2: Create an Additional Admin Account

Steps

  1. Log in to Provisioning. You can watch the following video for steps on how to create the Admin Account:

    1. Select your instance from the company list.

      Select your instance from the company list.
    2. Choose Company Settings to see the available features or setting options.

      Choose Company Settings to see the available features or setting options.
  2. Create an Additional Admin Account.

    1. Scroll down to the bottom of the Company Settings page and locate the admin creation section.

      Locate the admin creation section.

      Enter the following details:

      • Admin Username = smadmin

      • Admin Password = Password1

      • Admin First Name = your first name

      • Admin Last Name = your last name

      • Admin Email = your email address

      • Select the checkbox:

        "I confirm that the affected customer has provided approval for the creation of the super admin user account."

      • Customer Email Address = your email address
    2. Choose Create Admin, enter your company ID, and choose Confirm.

  3. Upload a new Succession Data Model.

    1. Find the document THR85_SuccessionDataModel_StarterFile.xmlfrom the Succession Data Model folder in the Course Files you downloaded earlier.

    2. Within Provisioning, select your company and scroll down to the section Succession Management. Choose Import/Export Data Model.

    3. Select the Export file radio button. Choose Submit to export the current Data Model and save the XML file in a new folder titled "Succession Data Model" or "SDM." Retitle the file "SDM v01" to indicate this is the original version (v01).

    4. From the Import/Export Data Model section, select the Import File radio button. Select the Choose File button to the right.

    5. Select the document THR85_SuccessionDataModel_StarterFile.xml that you unzipped earlier and add the following comment: "THR85 SDM Starter File Initial Upload."

    6. Choose Submit. Verify that a new version appears with today's date for the Published column.

    This concludes the exercise.

Set Up the Administrator

Business Example

After you made your Succession configurations in Provisioning, the next step is setting up your instance using the Admin Center. You need to log in to your instance as an administrator and make a few modifications for Succession Management. The following modifications must be made:

  • Gain Access to the Admin Center.

  • Grant and configure Role-Based Permission.

  • Turn on Advanced Proxy Management.

  • Populate Employee Photos.

  • Create a Rating Scale.

You can watch the following video for steps on how to use the Admin Center to set up an administrator:

Steps

  1. Access the Admin Center.

    1. Log in to your instance as the new administrator you created in the Modify Configurations for Succession Management exercise.

      Result

      You are asked to change your password.
    2. Enter your current password.

    3. Enter the new password Password123.

    4. Enter the new password again in the Repeat New Password text box.

    5. Choose Save.

      Change your password.
  2. Grant RBP Administration Access. The next step is to grant your admin user, smadmin, role-based permission (RBP) administration access.

    1. Using the Action Search, navigate to Manage Role-Based Permission Access.

      The Set User Permissions section of the screen. The button to Manage Role-Based Permission Access is highlighted.
    2. Verify that the username "admin" is already in the list of users with the permission to Role-Based Permission Admin (Edit). Locate the username "smadmin" and check the box for Role-Based Permission Admin (Edit).

      Note

      In systems with many users you can also choose the Add User button to bring up a search window that allows you to search for additional users to add as permission administrators.

      Result

      This change is saved automatically.
    3. Log out of the instance, and log back in. This allows the system to recheck your user's permissions and to allow the changes you made to take effect. Anytime a change is made to Role-Based Permissions (RBP) that impacts your user, you should log out and log in again.

  3. Add smadmin user to the group "Administrators."

    1. Navigate to Manage Permission Groups using Action Search.

    2. Select the Administrators group.

    3. In the Choose Group Member section, in the field to the right of Username, select an existing userID link (most likely the user "admin" is visible).

    4. In the search bar, enter your user name (smadmin) and choose the magnifying glass icon to search.

    5. Check the box next to your user name; your user should appear on the right in the selected items area.

    6. Choose Done to return to the first screen and then choose Done again to save the changes.

    7. Log out and log back in.

  4. Verify that Advanced Proxy Management is enabled.

    1. Using Action Search, navigate to Proxy Management.

    2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and check the boxes for the following two options:

      • Always enable proxy lookup.
      • Enable Advanced Proxy Management (Proxy Now and Proxy Import).
    3. Choose Save Proxy Settings.

      Proxy Now is enabled for the admin Emily Clark.

      Result

      The Proxy Now link is available in the dropdown menu with the user’s name.
  5. Create the Readiness Rating Scale.

    1. Using Action Search, navigate to Rating Scales.

    2. Choose Create New Rating Scale.

    3. Select the Build Your Own radio button in the left column and choose OK to continue.

    4. Enter the information from the table.

      Note

      The name "Readiness" is case-sensitive. Make sure you start with a capital "R" and the rest is lower case.
      FieldValue
      NameReadiness
      Description1-3 Rating Scale for Succession Readiness
    5. Enter the score and label and choose Add New Score for each score below:

      ScoreLabel
      13-5 years
      21-2 years
      3Ready now
    6. Choose Save to save your new rating scale.

  6. Make sure that photos are visible on the Succession Org Chart.

    1. Using the Action Search, navigate to Org Chart Configuration.

    2. Select the Succession Org Chart tab.

    3. Enable the option Display Photo.

    4. Choose Save.

      This concludes the exercise.

Log in to track your progress & complete quizzes