SF Rules Engine AdminGuide

SuccessFactors HCM Suite August 2014 Release Document Version: 1.0 - August 22, 2014

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Administration Guide

Table of Contents 1

Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1.1

About Configuring Business Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1.2

Who configures business rules using the Rules Engine?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2

Use Cases for Configuring Business Rules Using the Rules Engine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.1

Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.2

Propagation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.3

Calculation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.4

Validation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.5

Time Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.6

Eligibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

2.7

Defaulting Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.8

Module-Specific or Feature-Specific Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3

Before Configuring Business Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3.1

Assigning Role-Based Permissions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

3.2

Creating Rule Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3.3

Setting Up Employee Central. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.4

Creating MDF Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4

General Limitations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

5

Business Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

5.1

What are business rules?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

5.2

What are base objects?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

5.3

How do you add objects that are not related to the base object?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 5.3.1

Adding MDF Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

5.3.2

Removing MDF Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

5.3.3

Adding EC Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

5.4

What are rule types?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5.5

What is effective dating?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

6

IF, THEN, and ELSE statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

6.1

What are IF statements?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

6.2

What are THEN statements?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

6.3

What are ELSE statements?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

6.4

What are ELSE IF statements?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6.5

Left Expression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6.6

Right Expression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

6.7

Comparing Left and Right Expressions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

6.8

Collection Filters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

2

© 2014 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Table of Contents

6.9

Connecting IF Conditions with AND/OR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

6.10

System Actions for THEN and ELSE Statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

7

Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

7.1

What are functions?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

7.2

Mapping of Data Types and Field Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

7.3

Input Parameters for Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

7.4

Function Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

7.5

7.4.1

Mathematical Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

7.4.2

Module-Specific or Feature-Specific Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

7.4.3

String Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

7.4.4

Time-Related and Date-Related Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

7.4.5

Other Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Functions A-Z. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 7.5.1

Add/Minus/Divide/Multiply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

7.5.2

Amount from Pay Scale Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

7.5.3

Avg FTE for Accruable Period. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

7.5.4

Avg FTE for Accruable Period based on Month. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

7.5.5

Avg FTE for Accrual Period. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

7.5.6

Avg FTE for Accrual Period based on Months. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

7.5.7

Calculate Balance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

7.5.8

Calculate FTE based on Standard Hours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

7.5.9

Cap Accrual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

7.5.10

Concatenate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

7.5.11

Convert Days To YY/MM/DD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

7.5.12

Currency from Pay Scale Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

7.5.13

Date. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

7.5.14

Date Plus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

7.5.15

Day Of Month. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

7.5.16

Day Of Week. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

7.5.17

Difference In Calendar Years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

7.5.18

Difference In Years Round Down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

7.5.19

Difference In Years Round Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

7.5.20

Divide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

7.5.21

Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

7.5.22

Format Number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

7.5.23

Frequency from Pay Scale Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

7.5.24

Generate External Code Time Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

7.5.25

Get Absence Days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

7.5.26

Get Calendar Days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

7.5.27

Get Completed Calendar Weeks Between ISO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

7.5.28

Get Completed Remaining Calendar Weeks ISO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67



3

7.5.29

Get Completed Weeks Between. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

7.5.30

Get First Day Of Month. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

7.5.31

Get Incumbent By Position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

7.5.32

Get Matrix Position Code By Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

7.5.33

Get Months From Hire Date Taking Account Of Threshold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

7.5.34

Get Months Taking Account Of Threshold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

7.5.35

Get Next Available Manager By Position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

7.5.36

Get Next Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

7.5.37

Get Number Of Child Positions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

7.5.38

Get Number Of Eligible Days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

7.5.39

Get Number Of Months From Hire Date. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

7.5.40

Get Pensionable Salary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

7.5.41

Get Pensionable Salary with Global Assignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

7.5.42

Get Work History Days ADD ALL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

7.5.43

Get Work History Days CONTINUOUS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

7.5.44

Get Work History Days CURRENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

7.5.45

Get Work History Days PREVIOUS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

7.5.46

Is Employee Full Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

7.5.47

Is Empty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

7.5.48

Is Position Below User's Position In Hierarchy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

7.5.49

Latest Date. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

7.5.50

Login User. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

7.5.51

Lookup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

7.5.52

Math Expression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

7.5.53

Minimum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

7.5.54

Minus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

7.5.55

Multiply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

7.5.56

Opposite Sign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

7.5.57

Round. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

7.5.58

Timestamp Current Time UTC plus Offset Minutes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

7.5.59

Today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

7.5.60

Treat Null As. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

7.5.61

Week Of Year ISO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

8

Creating a Rule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

8.1

Specifics to EC Object Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

8.2

4

8.1.1

Which EC base object should you choose?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

8.1.2

Graphical Overview: Rule Events in Employee Central. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

8.1.3

About Model Base Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

8.1.4

Pay Component Group Sums in Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

8.1.5

Rule Example Using EC Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Creating a Rule That Raises a Message. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111



8.2.1

Creating a MessageDefinition Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

8.2.2

Creating a Message Rule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

8.2.3

Message Severity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

8.3

Creating a Rule with Lookup Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

8.4

Creating Effective-Dated Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

8.5

Using Parent MDF Object Data in a Rule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

9

Copying Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

10

Assigning Rules to Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

10.1

Why assigning rules to objects?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

10.2

Assigning a Rule to an MDF Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

10.3

Assigning a Rule to an EC Object in Administration Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 10.3.1

Limitations for onView Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

10.3.2

Rule Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

11

Exporting and Importing Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

11.1

Exporting Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

11.2

Importing Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

12

Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

12.1

Common Errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

12.2

Tips for Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128

12.3

How to improve performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128



5

1

Overview

1.1

About Configuring Business Rules

You can configure the business rule logic for various modules and features using the Rules Engine. You can configure business rules that cover legal regulations ('The FLSA status is required for employees working in the USA'), company policies ('All employees moving to the London office get a compensation for the high cost of living'), or other requirements. These requirements vary from customer to customer, and also depend on how the customer has set up the system, so the rules cannot be delivered as 'out-of-the-box' rules, but have to be highly configurable. The Rules Engine is a tool that allows you to create such customer-specific rules. You define the business rules in the Rules Engine and the system executes these rules during runtime. Technically, the Rules Engine is based on the Metadata Framework (MDF), but uses its own user interface (UI) in the Administration Tools.

1.2

Who configures business rules using the Rules Engine?

There are two main areas that use the Rules Engine to create rules: Employee Central (EC) and the Metadata Framework (MDF). Both areas use different types of data objects, so you have to distinguish the following: ●

EC Objects These are objects that are delivered for Employee Central to set up company and employee data. They comprise person objects, employment objects, and foundation objects. Take a look at the Employee Central Implementation Handbook for a list of all these objects.

●

MDF Objects These are objects that are created in the Metadata Framework (MDF). As these can be used to define company data as well as employee data, they are also called 'generic objects' (GO). MDF objects are created by:

6

○

Customers The customer can enhance the business objects and their functionality delivered by creating customerspecific objects. For example, the customer can create customer-specific foundation objects.

○

Development Teams Development teams use MDF objects for new features like Time Off, Position Management and so on, where the rules have to be highly configurable so that customers can adapt them to their very specific requirements. It is recommended that you stick to the rule examples that are described in the corresponding handbook of the feature, as these have been tested thoroughly. You can find a list with features and modules that use rules under Module-Specific or Feature-Specific Rules.


Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Overview

2 Use Cases for Configuring Business Rules Using the Rules Engine 2.1

Workflow

You can define rules that automatically determine the right workflow when the manager or employee changes employee data. To achieve this, you create a workflow foundation object and assign it to the rule in the Rules Engine UI.

Note The use of workflows in the Rules Engine is currently only supported for MDF objects. You can find more information about workflows in the Metadata Framework Implementation Handbook, and an example in the Position Management handbook.

2.2

Propagation

You can define propagation rules to have the system automatically copy over the data from one field to another field. This way you can have the same data in several places of the system, while keeping just one data record.

Note For EC objects, you can also use the HRIS propagation XML to propagate values. However, you can only propagate values from foundation objects to employment objects. This limitation does not exist in the Rules Engine. Here are some examples for typical use cases: ●

Example 1: Update Job Codes in Employee Central IF… the job code is changed in Employee Central THEN… retrieve all the job-code-related data from the job-related foundation objects to update the data in the Employee Central

●

Example 2: Propagate FLSA Status IF… the country is USA AND the job classification is changed THEN… propagate the FLSA status to jobInfo

●

Example 3: Propagate Standard Hour IF… the legal entity is changed in Employment Info THEN…

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Use Cases for Configuring Business Rules Using the Rules Engine


7

propagate the standard hour to Employment Info ●

Example 4: Propagate Job Code to Position You can find an example of how to propagate the job code to the Position MDF object in the Position Management handbook.

2.3

Calculation

You can define rules that automatically perform calculations using the various functions the Rules Engine supports. Here are some examples for use cases. To achieve these use cases, you can make use of mathematical functions as well as time-related and date-related functions. You can find more information about the various functions available under Function Groups. ●

Example 1: Age/Year of Service To get an employee's current age, you can calculate the difference between the current date and the employee's birth date. You can find an example rule in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook under Setting up configurable rules.

●

Example 2: Time in Job You want to calculate an employee's time in the job, following the calculation: Number of years/months/days = current date - start date of the current job classification

●

Example 3: EEO Report To fulfill equals employment opportunity (EEO) requirements, you want to calculate the following: Months remaining on visa = Expire date - current date

2.4

Validation

You can use validation rules to let the system check the user's input before saving. You can set a field to mandatory, or you can trigger error messages. ●

Example 1: Setting a Field to Mandatory IF... the country is USA THEN... the FLSA status is required

●

Example 2: Displaying Error Message IF... the national ID is not entered THEN... the message 'Please enter the national ID' is displayed

8



2.5

Time Off

Time Off is a component used in Employee Central to handle all types of absence, such as vacation, sick leave, and moving house. You can update the employee’s vacation days based on the year of service, for example. You can find rule examples in the Time Off handbook.

2.6

Eligibility

You can define which employees should be included in a bonus plan or compensation planning form. To achieve this, you have to integrate the modules Variable Pay or Compensation with Employee Central. ●

Example for a Variable Pay Eligibility Rule IF... the employee was hired on or after January 1, 2008 AND belongs to the Business Unit 'Seoul-Korea' AND has either the job code 'HR Receptionist' OR the job code 'Operations Director' THEN... this employee should be eligible (for a variable pay program or bonus plan)

●

Example for a Compensation Eligibility Rule IF... the employee type does not equal Contract, Temporary or Union AND the employee is regular AND the rate type is 'Hourly' and 'Salaried' AND the hire date is after 10/01/2010 AND the rehire date is after 10/01/2010 AND the employee status is Active or STD THEN... this employee should be eligible (for a specific compensation form)

2.7

Defaulting Values

You can define default values for specific fields. Here are some typical use cases: ●

Example 1: Default National ID When the Admin adds a new employee, the national ID is filled with default values (for example, Is Primary: Yes). You can find an example rule in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook.

●

Example 2: Default Employment Details



9

If the Admin adds a new employee for the company COMP_USA, the employee is automatically eligible for stock, and the initial stock grant is set to 200. You can find an example rule in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook.

2.8

Module-Specific or Feature-Specific Rules

You can find more information about rules that are specific to modules or features in the following handbooks or guides: This handbook/guide...

Describes how to configure rules to:

Employee Central Implementation Handbook

Default values, raise messages, and send alerts and no tifications to workflow approvers. See chapters... ●

Setting up configurable rules

●

How do you set up alerts and notifications - Set up alerts and notifications using rules

...of the Employee Central Implementation Handbook. Position Management Handbook

Propagate job code fields to Position Management

Time Off Handbook

Define accrual rules and accrual eligibility

Advances Implementation Handbook

Define eligibility rules for Advances

Employee Central - Compensation Integration Hand book

Define eligibility rules for compensation plans

Employee Central - Variable Pay Integration Handbook

Define eligibility rules for variable pay programs and bonus plans

Mass Changes

Update employee fields after a reorganization in a legal entity

Note Mass Changes uses its own user interface (UI) for creating mass change rules.

10



3

Before Configuring Business Rules

There are some settings you need to make before you can configure business rules using the Rules Engine.

3.1

Assigning Role-Based Permissions

You can only create rules if you have the corresponding permissions.

Procedure Here's how you assign the corresponding permissions for creating rules: 1.

Go to Administration Tools.

2.

In the Manage Employees portlet, select

3.

On the Permission Role List page, under Permission Role, click the permission role for which you want to manage the permissions. The Permission Role Detail page opens.

4.

In the Permission settings section, click the Permission… button to specify the permission you want to assign to the role. The Permission Settings window opens.

5.

In the Administrator Permissions section, click on Metadata Framework.

6.

Select all the checkboxes on the right side of the dialog.

Set User Permissions

Manage Permission Roles .

Here's some information on what the permissions are used for:

7.

○

Configure Object Definitions You need this authorization to be able to create rule types and lookup tables.

○

Configure Business Rules This is the only permission used directly for the Rule Engine. You need this authorization to be able to access the Rules Engine UI.

○

Manage Data You need this authorization to be able to create MessageDefinitions for raising messages. You need this authorization also to be able to create Sequence objects for defining sequences. Both MessageDefinitions and Sequence objects are MDF objects.

○

Import permission on Metadata Framework You need this authorization to be able to import and export data for generic objects or business rules using the Import and Export Data link in the Administration Tools.

Save your changes.

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Before Configuring Business Rules


11

3.2

Creating Rule Types

You have to assign a rule type to every rule you create.

Procedure To create a rule type: 1.


2.

In the Company Processes & Cycles portlet, select

3.

Click Search: Picklist and select RuleType (RuleType) from the dropdown list.

4.

Click the Insert New Record button.

5.

As Effective Start Date, enter 01/01/1900.

Company Settings

Configure Object Definitions .

If you enter a later date, you have to keep in mind that effective-dated rules only work if the rule type is active on or before the date when the rule becomes effective. For example, if you change the Job Info record in the past, but the rule type is only valid as of today, the rule is not triggered. 6.

In the Values section, enter an external code for the rule type you want to create. When you create rules for the following modules or features, it is important that you stick to the spelling and capitalization of the external code of the rule type, as they have a specific function: For this module or fea ture…

…enter exactly this ex ternal code:

Here's why:

Compensation, inte grated with Employee Central

compensationEligibility

From the compensation screens for eligibility rules, the user can select only the rules assigned to this rule type.

Variable Pay, integrated with Employee Central

varpayEligibility

From the variable pay screens for eligibility rules, the user can select only the rules assigned to this rule type.

Mass Changes (in Em ployee Central)

massChange

You can create rules on the Mass Changes page.

For all other use cases, you can create your own rule types even if there is no specific behaviour defined for them yet. However, we suggest you use the rule type to sort the rules according to their purpose, for example, to differentiate Time Off rules from Position Management rules. 7.

Enter a label.

8.

Select the status Active.

9.

Save your changes.

12



3.3

Setting Up Employee Central

When you want to set up rules for Employee Central, you need to have set up the following before you can create rules for EC objects: ●

Corporate Data Model

●

Succession Data Model

●

Country-specific data models

●

Picklists

●

Foundation and employee data

●

Business Configuration UI (BCUI)

Note The Business Configuration UI allows you to assign rules to employment and person objects from the Administration Tools. See also: Assigning a Rule to an EC Object in Administration Tools. For more information, please refer to the Employee Central Implementation Handbook.

3.4

Creating MDF Objects

When you want to set up rules for MDF objects, such as for Position Management, Time Off, or for customerspecific MDF objects, you need to have set up the MDF objects for these features before you can create rules for them. For more information, please refer to the module-specific or feature-specific handbooks or guides, and the Metadata Framework Implementation Handbook.



13

4

General Limitations

Here's a list of the general limitations that apply to the Rules Engine at the moment: No localization of decimal formats Currently, there is no localization of decimal formats. That means that, irrespective of the logon language, you always have to use the US format when you enter decimal numbers in a rule (for example, 0.2 - using a dot to indicate the decimal). No test run Currently, there is no test run tool that helps you prevent or find errors that would cause the rule to fail. Refer to Common Errors for some tips and tricks on how to prevent errors.

14


Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors General Limitations

5

Business Rules

5.1

What are business rules?

Business rules are a way to add application logic to determine the outcome of a change made to particular data in the system. Rules follow the logic 'If this data is changed in a certain way, then the system reacts in this way.' Here is an example for a rule in plain language: IF… the company is SAP_USA AND the employee is eligible for stock THEN… the initial stock grant is set to 200. This is what this rule looks like in the system:

A rule consists of the following parts: ●

Information about the rule object itself (Rule ID, Rule Name, Rule Type)

●

Objects and fields that determine what can be defined in the rule (defined by Base Object, Manage Parameters)

●

IF statement You can enter only one IF statement, but you can add multiple conditions in one IF statement. You can also add ELSE IF statements (see below).

●

THEN statements You can add several THEN statements for one rule.

●

ELSE statements You can add several ELSE statements for one rule. The ELSE statement follows the THEN statement (IF THEN - ELSE).

●

ELSE IF statements You can add several ELSE IF statements for one rule. The ELSE IF statement follows the THEN statement.

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Business Rules


15

In the following chapters, you can find more information about the different parts of a rule.

5.2

What are base objects?

Base objects are the starting point for your rule. They correspond mainly to the data objects available in the system, which are either EC objects (foundation objects, employment objects, or person objects) or MDF objects. The base object defines what kind of input you can use for the rule. You can use the fields, attributes, and related data objects of the base object as input. For example, if you want to create a rule that is triggered when the employee status is changed, you choose Job Information as base object, as the employee status field is part of the Job Information EC object.

Note To find out which fields are part of which EC object (which corresponds to an HRIS element), refer to the data object tables of the Employee Central Implementation Handbook. To find out which fields are parts of which MDF object, you can look up the object in the MDF UI.

What types of base objects exist? Here's a list of the base objects you can choose from: Base object

Description

EC object (person or employ ment object)

These base objects refer to HRIS elements that are displayed as portlets on the user interface of Employee Central (EC). They correspond to the person and employment objects used in EC. The names of these base objects are de rived from the HRIS-element labels in the Succession Data Model. You can find a complete list of these HRIS elements and their standard labels in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook, under Setting up the Succes sion Data Model.

For example: ●

Compensation Information

●

Job Information

Person and employment objects are used to store employee data. Foundation object, for example: ●

Cost Center

●

Department

These base objects refer to HRIS elements that can be defined on the Manage Organization, Job and Pay Structures page. The names of these base objects are derived from the HRIS-element labels in the Corporate Data Model. You can find a complete list of these HRIS elements and their standard labels in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook, under Setting up the Cor porate Data Model. Foundation objects are used to store company data.

16



Base object

Description

Employee Information

This base object refers to the Add New Employee page. It is a composite of the different EC objects that are displayed on this page. Rules that use this base object are only triggered for changes made from the Add New Employee page.

[EC object] Model

The Model base objects are used to set field properties for EC objects (for ex ample, making a field mandatory, or hiding fields). Each EC object is defined ([person or employment object] once as a base object, and then as a Model base object. In addition, there is a Model) Model base object for changes made from the Add New Employee page (Employee Information Model). For example: ●

Compensation Information Model

●

Job Information Model

●

Personal Information Model

MDF objects, for example: ●

Position

●

Advance

●

Alternate Cost Distribution

All MDF objects existing in the system are listed here as base objects. They refer to: ●

Features that are based on the Metadata Framework, like Position Man agement, Advances, and so on

●

MDF objects created by the customer, for example, to be used as custom foundation objects

For more information about how base objects are used in rules, see Creating a Rule with EC Objects.

5.3 How do you add objects that are not related to the base object? You can create rules that span across several data objects, even when these have no relationship with the base object. This is like a cross-reference to an unrelated data object. How you add additional objects depends on whether the object you want to add is an EC object or an MDF object.

5.3.1

Adding MDF Objects

You can add MDF objects that are not related to the base object using the Manage Parameters link in the Rules Engine.

Procedure 1.




17

2.


3.

You can either:

Company Settings

○

Create a new rule by clicking Create New Rule.

○

Search for an existing rule, and edit the rule by clicking

Take Action

Configure Business Rules .

Make Correction .

4.

Click the Manage Parameters link:

5.

In the dialog box that opens, click Add New Parameter.

6.

In the Code field, enter a unique external code for the data object you are adding. For module-specific or feature-specific rules, you often have to stick exactly to the code that the development team has used in their coding. Refer to the corresponding handbooks for more information.

7.

In the Name field, enter a name or description for the data object. This does not have to be unique. For module-specific or feature-specific rules, you often have to stick exactly to the name that the development team has used in their coding. Refer to the corresponding handbooks for more information.

8.

In the Object field, select the MDF object you want to reference to. Here's an example, where you add the Alert MDF object:

9.

Click Apply.

Results The object you added now shows up in the left expression at the bottom of the dropdown list as in this example, where the MDF object Alert was added:

18



5.3.2

Removing MDF Objects

You can remove MDF objects that you have added to an unrelated base object using the Manage Parameters link. This only removes the MDF object from the dropdown lists used to navigate to the data objects and fields in the Rules Engine, it does not delete the MDF object.

Procedure 1.


2.


3.

Search for the corresponding rule, and edit the rule by clicking

4.

Click the Manage Parameters link:


Company Settings


Take Action

Make Correction .


19

5.

In the dialog box that opens, click the Remove icon next to the MDF object that has been added to the rule.

6.

Click Apply.

Results You can no longer navigate to the MDF object and its fields that are not related to the base object.

5.3.3

Adding EC Objects

You can define cross-portlet rules to determine that the change in one portlet (for example, Job Information) leads to a change in another portlet (for example, Compensation). You use the Employment Details object to navigate from the base object to an unrelated EC object. Here's an example of such a rule where the pay component is pro-rated: On the UI, the change happens in the Job Information portlet, but the update of fields is done in the Compensation portlet. In the IF or THEN statements, you select first the Employment Details object and then the corresponding EC object that is not related to the base object.

Please note the following limitations for cross-portlet rules: ●

You have to use an onSave event.

●

In the THEN condition, you can only refer to the following employment objects:

20



○

Employment Details (employmentInfo HRIS element)

○

Job Information (jobInfo HRIS element)

○

Compensation Information (compInfo HRIS element)

○

Compensation (payComponentRecurring HRIS element)

○

Spot Bonus (payComponentNonRecurring HRIS element)

○

Job Relationships (jobRelationsInfo HRIS element)

The following applies for all other event types or data objects: The THEN condition of the rule has to refer to a field that is part of the current entity, meaning the HRIS element that you assign the rule to in the data model. The IF condition can refer to data objects or fields that are not part of the current entity itself, which means it can refer to some HRIS element other than the one the rule is assigned to in the data model. Example: ●

Base Object: Employment Details

●

IF condition: JobInformation.company is equal to USA (Note that Job Information is a different HRIS element than Employment Details.)

●

THEN condition: Eligible for Stock is equal to Yes (Note that Eligible for Stock is an HRIS field of the Employment Details HRIS element. You should not select a different HRIS element, such as JobInformation.EventDate, because such a rule would not be triggered.)

5.4

What are rule types?

Rule types are a way to sort the rules into different groups. Development can then add logic for specific rule types in the coding. At the moment, rule types are used for filtering the rules that are displayed in specific modules or features. When you create rules for the following modules or features, it is important that you stick to the spelling and capitalization of the external code of the rule type, as they have a specific purpose: For this module or fea ture…

…enter exactly this exter Here's why: nal code:

Compensation, integrated with Employee Central

compensationEligibility

From the compensation screens for eligibility rules, the user can select only the rules assigned to this rule type.

Variable Pay, integrated with Employee Central

varpayEligibility

From the variable pay screens for eligibility rules, the user can select only the rules assigned to this rule type.

Mass Changes (in Em ployee Central)

massChange

You can create rules on the Mass Changes page.

For all other use cases, you can create your own rule types even if there is no specific purpose defined by development for them yet. However, we suggest you use the rule type to sort the rules according to what they are used for, for example, to differentiate Time Off rules from Position Management rules. See also Creating Rule Types for information about how to create a rule type.



21

5.5

What is effective dating?

In business rules, effective dating means entering a date from which you want the rule to take effect. You do this in the Start Date field of a rule. Here's an example:

You need to note a few things about effective dates: ●

When you create a new rule, the system defaults January 1, 1900, as the effective date.

●

If you have rules in your system from an earlier release and upgrade to a later one, a migration script runs automatically, setting the effective date in your rules to January 1, 1900.

You can overwrite the default effective date with the date that suits your requirements.

22



6

IF, THEN, and ELSE statements

6.1

What are IF statements?

IF statements are the part of the rule that describe which condition has to be met before the system actions defined in the THEN statement are executed.

Is it possible to have a rule without IF statements? It is possible to create a rule without IF statements by selecting the Always True checkbox. This removes all IF conditions. For example, if you want to default values or set field properties that are displayed to the user as soon as the user opens a page, you do not need to enter an IF statement. Here's an example:

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors IF, THEN, and ELSE statements


23

6.2

What are THEN statements?

THEN statements define how the system reacts to the conditions contained in the IF statement of the rule. For example, an error message is raised, a field is set to a specific value, or new data is created.

Is it possible to have a rule without THEN statements? It is possible to create rules that have only IF statements if the system's reaction is defined by a module or feature. For example, in eligibility rules for variable pay, you want to filter the employees that are eligible to take part in a variable pay program or bonus plan. Such a rule consists only of IF conditions as in this example: IF... the employee was hired on or after January 1, 2008 AND belongs to the Business Unit 'Seoul-Korea' AND has either the job code 'HR Receptionist' OR the job code 'Operations Director' THEN... this employee should be eligible (for a variable pay program or bonus plan) For which variable pay program or bonus plan the employee is then eligible for is defined in the variable pay module, therefore you do not enter a THEN statement in the rule itself.

6.3

What are ELSE statements?

ELSE statements define how the system reacts if the IF condition is not true. The THEN statement is then skipped and the system executes what is defined in the ELSE statement. ELSE statements allow you also to combine multiple rules in the same rule. For example, you can combine the following two rules into one using the ELSE statement: First rule: IF Country = USA THEN set EEO Category to EEO-US1 Second rule: IF Country is not equal to USA THEN set Notes = Non-USA Combined to one rule: IF Country = USA

24



THEN set EEO Category to EEO-US1 ELSE set Notes = Non-USA Here's another example, showing what a rule in Time Off might look like. It shows that employees in the USA get 12 days of a particular leave type. Employees in other locations get 25 days.

Is it possible to have a rule without ELSE statements? You only use ELSE statements if you want to define how the system should react if the IF condition is not met. If you do not define an ELSE statement, and the IF condition is not met, the rule is not executed.



25

6.4

What are ELSE IF statements?

ELSE IF statements allow you to combine several conditions in the same rule. Only the statements following the first condition that is true are executed. All other statements are skipped. Here's an example:

6.5

Left Expression

A left expression is the part of a rule statement that is compared to the right expression. In the dropdown menu of the left expression, you can select: ●

Data Related to the Base Object This can be one of the following: ○

26

Fields assigned to the base object as configured in the data model (for EC objects) or the object definition (for MDF objects)



Note You can select only fields that have been defined as visible. ○

Data objects and their fields that have one-to-one or one-to-many relationship with the base object These are indicated by a plus sign next to the data object. Example: You have selected Time Account as base object. In the left expression, you can navigate to the data object Time Account Details, as this has a one-to-many relationship with Time Account. Other related data objects are Time Account Type and User.

●

Functions Functions are used to set up more sophisticated rules that include mathematical calculations and formulas, for example. You can identify functions by the brackets that follow the function name; for example, Add(). You can find all available functions under Function Groups.

●

Additional MDF Objects MDF objects that have no relationship with the base object are listed at the bottom of the dropdown list as in this example, where you reference the Alert MDF object:



27

You have to add the data object that is not part of the base object to be able to refer to it in the rule. For information about how this is done, refer to Adding MDF Objects. ●

Current User This option is only available for EC objects. The user information is derived from the base object. For example, if the base object is Job Information, then the current user for the Job Information is passed to the Rules Engine as part of the base object. Select Context to navigate to the current user as in this example:

●

Effective Date This option is available for those EC objects that are effective dated, as well as for all MDF objects.

28



Select Context to navigate to the effective date as in this example:

6.6

Right Expression

A right expression is the part of a rule statement that is compared to the left expression. In the dropdown menu of the right expression, you can select: ●

Field Type Select the field type when you want to enter or select a specific value. In our example, you select the Date field type and then a specific date:

●

Fields assigned to the base object that have the same field type as the left expression

Note You can select only fields that have been defined as visible. ●

Functions that are available for the field type of the selected left expression Functions are used to set up more sophisticated rules that include mathematical calculations and formulas, for example. You can identify functions by the brackets that follow the function name; for example, Add(). You can find all available functions under Function Groups.

●

Additional MDF Objects MDF objects that have no relationship with the base object are listed at the bottom of the dropdown list as in this example, where you reference the Alert MDF object:



29

You have to add the data object that is not part of the base object to be able to refer to it in the rule. For information about how this is done, refer to Adding MDF Objects.

30

○

Current User This option is only available for EC objects. The user information is derived from the base object. For example, if the base object is Job Information, then the current user for the Job Information is passed to the Rules Engine as part of the base object. Select Context to navigate to the current user as in this example:

○

Effective Date This option is available for those EC objects that are effective dated, as well as for all MDF objects.



Select Context to navigate to the effective date as in this example:

●

Null Select Null as in this example when you want to set the field values back to null:

6.7

Comparing Left and Right Expressions

You can select comparative operands for a rule statement to define the relationship between the left and the right expression of a rule statement. The following comparative operands are supported: This comparative operand...

Is supported for these field types:

Is equal to

All field types

Is not equal to

All field types

Is greater than: >

Date, Number, Decimal



31

This comparative operand...

Is supported for these field types:

Is less than: <


Is greater than or equal: >=


Is less than or equal: <=


6.8

Collection Filters

Collection filters are used to get a unique value from a list of values. This is relevant when there is a parent-child relationship between data objects.

Note Understanding Collection Filters Imagine you ask for a piece of fruit. However, you do not define what kind of fruit you like, so you cannot influence what you get in the end - it could be a banana, a strawberry, an orange, and so on. But if you ask for a piece of fruit, and then define that this piece of fruit should be an apple, you will get an apple. In the following business example, Job Relationship is the child of Job Information, which is the parent object. This means you can have multiple Job Relationships for a single employment. You use a collection filter to define which Job Relationship should be used in the rule. In the Rules Engine, collection filters ask you to select a unique value (Select….where…):

Select the plus sign and make your entry:

This is an example for selecting the pay component for the recurring pay component (Compensation):

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Here's an example for selecting the posting type for Time Account:

How can you prevent errors using collection filters? If you are too unspecific using the collection filter, then it returns more than one result. The system always picks the first result from this list. Which result is defined as being the first result depends on a SQL statement, so the user cannot control which value is the first one. Therefore, when creating the rule, make sure the collection filter returns only one value as in the examples we looked at above. In the following, you can see an example of a collection filter that returns a list with many values, because you ask for any amount that is larger than 1, which probably is true for all the posted amounts and thus returns more than one result. Only the first result would be picked for the rule, and the user cannot control which result is the first result. The results following the first result will be ignored. Here's the example of how not to do it:

6.9

Connecting IF Conditions with AND/OR

If you have more than one IF condition in a rule, you can define the relationship of these conditions by adding an AND or OR logical operand. If you have just one condition in the rule, it does not require an AND or OR. You can add logical operands only for IF statements.

Procedure 1.

To add an AND or OR connection, click on the context menu of an IF statement and select Add from the dropdown list:



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2.

Select the corresponding logical operand. Here's an overview of the available options: To do this:

Select this...

3.

Expression: AND

Join IF conditions, using AND as logical operand

Expression: OR

Join IF conditions, using OR as logical operand

Expression: Insert Before

Add a new IF condition before the currently selected IF condition

Expression: Insert After

Add a new IF condition after the currently selected IF condition

Parent And

Add a parent AND logical operand

Parent Or

Add a parent OR logical operand

Add the IF condition that is connected to the IF condition from step 1.

6.10 System Actions for THEN and ELSE Statements In the THEN and ELSE statement, you define how the system should react when a certain rule condition is met. You select the system action in the output type field of the THEN or ELSE statement. Here's an overview of the available system actions: Select this action...

To do this:

Set

Change the data record for a field to a specific value. For example, you can set the manager to Carla Grant (cgrant).

Raise Message

Raise an error message that is displayed to the user. For more information, see Creating a Rule: Raising a Message.

Create

Create data on the database when the rule is triggered. For example, you can define that when the employee's location changes to London, a new pay component is created. See the Employee Central Imple mentation Handbook, under Setting up configurable rules for an example rule.

Delete

Delete data from the database when a rule is triggered. For example, you can remove a pay component when the employee moves away from London. See the Employee Central Implementation Handbook, un der Setting up configurable rules for an example rule.

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7

Functions

7.1

What are functions?

A function performs a specific task on the data object or field of a rule. Functions help you to define more complex rules that perform calculations or application-specific tasks. In the system, you can identify functions by the brackets that follow the function name; for example, Add().

7.2

Mapping of Data Types and Field Types

The field type defines which function you can select for a certain field. For EC objects, this field type differs from the EC object data type for the different HRIS elements that you can find in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook. Here is a mapping of the EC object data types to the Rule Engine field types, where the column defines the following: ●

EC Object Data Type: This is the data type that you can find in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook, in the data object tables. This is based on the database field data type.

●

Rule Engine Field Type: This is the field type that is used in the Rules Engine.

●

Manual Entry Value for Field Type: This defines what the user can enter or choose from on the Rules Engine UI.

EC Object Data Type

Rule Engine Field Type

Manual Entry Value for Field Type

String

Text

String

Boolean

Boolean

Yes/No

Date

Date

Date

Double

Decimal

Decimal

Decimal

Decimal

Decimal

Big Decimal

Decimal

Decimal

Long

Number

Integer

(Picklist)

Value

Dropdown list for user to select from

(Foundation object, for example: department, division)

Value


(Enum, for example: Gender, which has a picklist)

Enum


Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions


35

7.3

Input Parameters for Functions

While the field type of the left expression of a rule defines which function you can select, the function defines the field type of the input parameters. To find out what input parameters you can enter or select for a specific function, click the dropdown menu next to the entry field, and scroll to the very top where the field type is listed, as in this example:

In our example, the field type is Decimal. So, in general, you can either: ●

36

Select Decimal and enter a decimal:



●

Select a field of the same field type. For example, Shift Percent:

●

Select another function that is available for the field type Decimal (you might have to scroll down to see all functions listed):

For some functions, the input parameters are restricted. This is described in the input parameters of the corresponding function.



37

●

For some fields, you can select

7.4

Context

Current User

(at the bottom of the dropdown list):

Function Groups

To help you find the functions you need to create your rules, we have divided them thematically into groups: These are the function groups: ●

Mathematical functions In this group, you can find functions that help you perform mathematical operations.

●

Module-specific or feature-specific functions In this group, you can find functions that are specific to a module or feature, for example, for the Employee Central module or the Time Off feature.

Caution Please refer to the module-specific or feature-specific handbooks before using these functions. Especially the features have to be set up in a specific way so you can use these functions. ●

String functions In this group, you can find functions that create specific texts or strings.

●

Time-related and date-related functions In this group, you can find functions that help you calculate or determine dates or periods.

●

Other functions In this group, you can find those functions that do not fit in any of the other groups.

In the following, you can find the available functions sorted by group, and from A-Z within the group. The field type defines for which fields you can select the function.

7.4.1

Mathematical Functions

For fields of type...

...you can use this function:

Choose this function to:

Decimal

Add/Minus/Divide/Multiply

Add, subtract, divide, or multiply values

Math Expression

Define your custom formula

Number Decimal Number

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Decimal

Minimum

Find the smallest value in a list of values

Decimal

Opposite Sign

Get a value with the opposite sign

Decimal

Round

Define how values are rounded

Number

7.4.2

Module-Specific or Feature-Specific Functions

Note For some of these functions, you have to enable the corresponding feature in Provisioning before you can use them on the Configure Business Rules page. For fields of type...



Decimal

Amount from Pay Scale Struc ture

Get the amount from the pay scale structure

Note: Use only when you have defined pay scale structures in Employee Central Decimal

Avg FTE for Accruable Period Note: Use only with Time Off

Decimal

Avg FTE for Accruable Period based on Month

Calculate the average FTE for the accruable period based on calendar days Calculate the average FTE for the accruable period based on calendar months

Note: Use only with Time Off Decimal

Avg FTE for Accrual Period Note: Use only with Time Off

Decimal

Avg FTE for Accrual Period based on Month

Calculate the average FTE for the accrual period of the time account based on calendar days Calculate the average FTE for the accrual period based on calendar months

Note: Use only with Time Off Decimal

Calculate Balance Note: Use only with Time Off

Decimal

Calculate FTE based on Stand ard Hours

Calculate the balance for a time account on a specific date Include positions in standard hours calculation

Note: Use only with Position Management Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions


39




Decimal

Cap Accrual

Determine the accrual value within the accrual balance limit

Note: Use only with Time Off Text

Currency from Pay Scale Struc ture

Get the currency from the pay scale structure

Note: Use only when you have defined pay scale structures in Employee Central Value

Frequency from Pay Scale Structure

Get the frequency from the pay scale structure

Note: Use only when you have defined pay scale structures in Employee Central Text

Generate External Code Time Off Generate external code for Accruals in Time Off Note: Use only with Time Off

Decimal

Get Absence Days Note: Use only with Time Off

Decimal Number

Decimal Number Text

Get Completed Calendar Weeks Between ISO

Calculate how long an employee has been absent within one year Calculate the number of weeks the employee works in the accrual period

Note: Use only with Time Off Get Completed Remaining Cal endar Weeks ISO

Calculate the number of weeks the employee works in the hire period

Note: Use only with Time Off Get Incumbent By Position

Get the user ID of the incumbent of the position

Note: Use only with Position Management Text

Get Matrix Position Code By Type

Get the matrix position code

Note: Use only with Position Management Decimal Number

Decimal Number

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Get Months From Hire Date Tak Calculate the number of months the employee is work ing Account Of Threshold ing in the hire period Note: Use only with Time Off Get Months Taking Account Of Threshold

Calculate the number of months the employee is work ing in the accrual period

Note: Use only with Time Off






Text

Get Next Available Manager By Position

Get the user ID of the next available manager in the po sition hierarchy

Note: Use only with Position Management Decimal

Get Number Of Child Positions

Number

Note: Use only with Position Management

Decimal

Get Number Of Eligible Days

Get the number of child positions

Calculate the number of eligible days

Note: Use only with Time Off Decimal Number Decimal

Get Number Of Months From Hire Date Note: Use only with Time Off Get Pensionable Salary Note: Use only with Employee Central

Decimal

Calculate the number of months the employee is work ing as of the hire date

Get Pensionable Salary with Global Assignment

Calculate the pensionable salary on a certain effective date

Calculate the pensionable salary on a certain effective date, considering global assignments

Note: Use only with Employee Central and Global Assignment Decimal

Get Work History Days ADD ALL

Number

Note: Use only with Employee Central

Decimal

Get Work History Days CONTIN UOUS

Number

Decimal Number

Decimal Number

Sum up days of all employments (current and previ ous)

Sum up days of all employments back until a specified event reason

Note: Use only with Employee Central Get Work History Days CUR RENT

Sum up days of the current employment

Note: Use only with Employee Central Get Work History Days PREVI OUS

Sum up days of previous employments

Note: Use only with Employee Central



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Boolean

Is Employee Full Time

Determine whether the employee is full-time on a spe cific date

Note: Use only with Employee Central Boolean

7.4.3

Is Position Below User's Position Determine whether a position is below user's position in user's hierarchy Note: Use only with Position Management

String Functions




Text

Concatenate

Combine strings to one string

Text

Format

Combine different objects to a meaningful text

Text

Format Number

Format numbers following a custom template and se quence

7.4.4

Time-Related and Date-Related Functions




Text

Convert Days To YY/MM/DD

Convert a number of days into the format of years/ months/days

Decimal

Date

Determine the number of the week for a date (US-de fined)

Date

Date Plus

Add/subtract days or months to/from a given date

Number

Day Of Month

Determine the number of the month for a specific date

Number

Day Of Week

Determine the number of the weekday for a specific date

Date

Difference in Calendar Years

Calculate the time difference between 2 dates in calen dar years

Number

Decimal Number

42






Date

Difference In Years Round Down

Calculate the time difference between 2 dates in calen dar years, rounding down the result

Difference In Years Round Up

Calculate the time difference between 2 dates in calen dar years, rounding up the result

Get Completed Weeks Between

Calculate the number of completed weeks within a pe riod

Date

Get First Day Of Month

Get the first day of the same month of a specified date

Date

Latest Date

Get the latest date of two dates

Text

Timestamp Current Time UTC plus Offset Minutes

Create a current or future timestamp in UTC time standard

Date

Today

Get the date of today

Decimal

Week Of Year ISO

Determine the number of the week for a date (ISO-de fined)

Decimal Number Date Decimal Number Decimal Number

Number

7.4.5

Other Functions




Number

Get Next Value

Get next value from a Sequence MDF object

Boolean

Is Empty

Check if an input field is empty

Text

Login User

Get the currently logged-in user

All field types

Lookup

Get values from a lookup table (that is stored as MDF object)

Note: Use only for MDF objects Decimal

7.5

Treat Null As

Give a default value for an empty field

Functions A-Z

In the following chapters, you can find more information about the several functions; the functions are listed A-Z.



43

7.5.1

Add/Minus/Divide/Multiply

With these functions, you can perform basic calculations for adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying values. These functions do not have the limitations that the Math Expression function currently has and can therefore be used to build complex formulas.

Limitations ●

You can only use the US format for decimals (using dots, not commas).

●

When you combine several of these functions, the system goes through the calculation from top to bottom. It does not consider the convention 'multiplication and division first, then addition and subtraction'.

Use Case Use Case 1: Base Salary Calculation The Admin wants the system to automatically calculate the base salary following the formula: Amount or Percentage = 100 + (300/1.5) This is the corresponding rule:

Use Case 2: T-Rate Calculation

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The T-Rate is a benchmark figure which is calculated when the screen is loaded (as a transient field, that is, an onView rule event). The Admin wants to calculate the hourly wage derived from the base salary and the weekly hours as in this example rule:

In the above rule, the first calculation gets the annual salary by adding the relevant pay components and displaying the result in a custom field. In the second step, the annual working hours are estimated by multiplying the weekly hours with 52 weeks (the estimated amount of working weeks in a year). In the third step, the results from the first and second calculation steps are divided to get the hourly wage, which is displayed in another custom field (T Rate).



45

The calculation results are displayed in the custom fields as in this example:

You can also find a calculation example for pro-rating a pay component in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook.

7.5.2

Amount from Pay Scale Structure

This function gets the amount from the pay scale structure based on the pay scale level, pay component, and effective date. The pay scale structure is configured in the MDF object Pay Scale Level.

Limitations Use only if the Pay Scale Group and Pay Scale Level fields are included in the job information. For more information about how to set up pay scale structures, see the SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll Integration handbook.

Input Parameters For this parame ter...

Of typ e...

Pay Scale Level

Tex Required t

Select the pay scale level you want to use. This is usually the value which is entered in the job information.

Pay Component

Val ue

Select the Value field type, and select the pay component you want to search for in the pay scale structure. Usually, this is the pay component you want to create in the compensation model.

46

Which is...

Required

Make this entry:



For this parame ter...

Of typ e...

Which is...

Effective Date

Dat Required e

Make this entry:

Enter or select the effective date you want to use to read the data from the pay scale structure. Usually, this is the event date of the job informa tion.

Use Case You can create rules that automatically assign the correct pay components to an employee based on the pay scale level and pay scale group you define for that employee. Here's an example of what such a rule could look like – for the complete process of how to set up such rules, please refer to the SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll Integration Handbook:

Related Information Currency from Pay Scale Structure [page 54] Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions


47

This function gets the currency from the pay scale structure based on the pay scale level, pay component, and effective date. The pay scale structure is configured in the MDF object Pay Scale Level. Frequency from Pay Scale Structure [page 63] This function gets the frequency from the pay scale structure based on the pay scale level, pay component, and effective date. The pay scale structure is configured in the MDF object Pay Scale Level.

7.5.3

Avg FTE for Accruable Period

This function calculates the average full-time equivalent (FTE) as defined in the job information for the accruable period. The accruable period is the period the employee is allowed to get an accrual for. The average calculation is based on the amount of days within the accruable period.

Limitations Use only with Time Off.

7.5.4

Avg FTE for Accruable Period based on Month

This function calculates the average full-time equivalent (FTE) as defined in the job information for the accruable period. The accruable period is the period the employee is allowed to get an accrual for. The average calculation is based on calendar months, meaning that the average of each month within the accruable period is calculated first. The results lead to an overall average for the accruable period.


Use Case You can find a rule example in the Time Off handbook, under Notes on Rule Functions.

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7.5.5

Avg FTE for Accrual Period

This function calculates the average full-time equivalent (FTE) as defined in the job information for the accrual period of the time account. The accrual period is defined by the time account type.


7.5.6

Avg FTE for Accrual Period based on Months

This function calculates the average full-time equivalent (FTE) as defined in the job information for the accrual period of the time account. The accrual period is defined by the time account type. The average calculation is based on calendar months, meaning that the average of each month within the accrual period is calculated first. The results lead to an overall average for the accrual period.


Use Case You can find a rule example in the Time Off handbook, under Notes on Rule Functions.

7.5.7

Calculate Balance

This function calculates the account balance for a time account on a specific date.

Limitations Use only with Time Off. Please refer to the Time Off handbook before using this function. Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions


49

Input Parameters For this parameter...

Make this entry:

Date

You can either:

Time Account

●

Select Date and enter the corresponding date.

●

Select a date field.

You have to select the Time Account MDF object. Please refer to the Time Off hand book under Capping Accruals.

Use Case As this is an application-specific rule function, we recommend you stick to the use case of Time Off. Please refer to the Time Off handbook, under Capping Accruals.

7.5.8

Calculate FTE based on Standard Hours

With this function, you can extend the standard hours default cascading logic to include positions. This is used when the working standard hours differ on position level.

Limitations ●

Use only with Position Management. Please refer to the Position Management handbook before using this function.

●

The base object has to be Job Information.

Use Case As this is an application-specific function, we recommend you stick to the use case defined in the Position Management handbook.

7.5.9

Cap Accrual

This function determines which accrual value can be posted without exceeding the specified accrual balance limit. For example, you determine that the maximum number of days that can be accrued is 2, while the account balance limit of 20 should not be exceeded. If the current account balance is 19, the rule function determines that

50



the system cannot book an accrual of 2 days, but only 1 day, to guarantee that the account balance limit of 20 is not exceeded.

Limitations Use only with Time Off. Please refer to the Time Off handbook before using this function.


Make this entry:

Maximum Accrual

Enter the maximum accrual amount.

Account Balance

This is the account balance to a specific date. The account balance can be deter mined by an additional rule, Calculate Balance.

Account Balance Limit

Enter the account balance that should not be exceeded when the maximum accrual is added to the account balance.

Use Case As this is an application-specific rule function, we recommend you stick to the use case of Time Off. Please refer to the Time Off handbook, under Capping Accruals.



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7.5.10 Concatenate This function combines strings into one string. You can also add a sequenced number to the concatenated strings using the Format Number and Get Next Value functions.


Make this entry:

Substring

You can:

Substring

●

Select Text and enter a string.

●

Select a field. For example: Job Code.

●

Select the Format Number function. In the Number field of this function, select Get Next Value and select a sequence. For more information, see the Get Next Value function.

See above

Example You want the external code to follow this format: Germany1000, Germany1001, Germany1002, and so on. You set up the rule as follows, where the Sequence object defines the sequence number:

Use Case You can use this function to generate external codes automatically.

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7.5.11

Convert Days To YY/MM/DD

With this function, you can enter a number of days that is converted into a more readable format of years/ months/days. Please note the following: ●

30 days are calculated as one month.

●

360/361/362/363/364/365 (numbers greater or equal to 12 months) days are calculated as one year. For example, when you have a sum of 1090 days, the system subtracts 365 days, and again 365 days, to get the number of years. If the rest is less than 365, but still larger than 360, it is calculated as one year (because 360 days divided by 30 days per month = 12 months, which is one year).

Examples Example 1 Number of Days: 360 Result: 1/0/0 Example 2 Number of Days: 370 Result: 1/0/5 Example 3 Number of Days: 360+365=725 Result: 2/0/0 Example 4 Number of Days: 250 Result: 0/8/10

Use Case Some of the available functions return a result in days (see the examples for the Get Work History functions). An employee's length of service can easily go into the thousands of days. To have a more user-friendly format, this function can be used to convert the number of days into the number of years, months, and days, which is much easier and faster for users to read.



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7.5.12 Currency from Pay Scale Structure This function gets the currency from the pay scale structure based on the pay scale level, pay component, and effective date. The pay scale structure is configured in the MDF object Pay Scale Level.



Of typ e...

Which is...

Pay Scale Level

Tex Required t


Pay Component

Val ue


Effective Date

Dat Required e

Required

Make this entry:


Use Case You can create rules that automatically assign the correct pay components to an employee based on the pay scale level and pay scale group you define for that employee.

54



Here's an example of what such a rule could look like – for the complete process of how to set up such rules, please refer to the SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll Integration Handbook:

Related Information Amount from Pay Scale Structure [page 46] This function gets the amount from the pay scale structure based on the pay scale level, pay component, and effective date. The pay scale structure is configured in the MDF object Pay Scale Level. Frequency from Pay Scale Structure [page 63] This function gets the frequency from the pay scale structure based on the pay scale level, pay component, and effective date. The pay scale structure is configured in the MDF object Pay Scale Level.



55

7.5.13 Date This function determines the number of the week for a given date as defined by the US calendar. The US calendar defines week 1 as the week containing January 01.

Example Date: Jan 10, 2016 Result: 2 (= calendar week 2)

Related Information Week Of Year ISO [page 102] This function determines the number of the week for a given date as defined by the ISO standard. The ISO standard defines week 1 as the week containing the first Thursday of January.

7.5.14 Date Plus With this function, you add or subtract a specified number of days or months from or to a given date.


Make this entry:

Base Date

Select or enter a date that is the basis for the calculation. The number of days or months you enter in the following fields will be added to or subtracted from this date.

Number of Months

Enter the number of months that you want to add to or subtract from the base date. You can enter:

56

●

A positive value for adding months

●

A negative value for subtracting months

●

0 if the field is not applicable for calculation



For this parameter...

Make this entry:

Number of Days

Enter the number of days that you want to add to or subtract from the base date. You can enter: ●

A positive value for adding days

●

A negative value for subtracting days

●

0 if the field is not applicable for calculation

Example In this example, you add 10 days to the recruitment date:

In this example, you subtract 10 days:

Use Case You want the manager and employee to be reminded of the approaching end of a global assignment. To achieve this, you create a rule that uses the Date Plus function, which calculates the reminder date to be one month before the end of the global assignment. The end of the global assignment is represented by the end date of the Job



57

Information record. You use approval workflows in Employee Central to define who gets the alerts and notifications. This is what the rule looks like:

Note: Please refer to the Employee Central Implementation Handbook, under Setting up alerts and notifications using rules for a step-by-step description on how to set up such a rule.

7.5.15

Day Of Month

This function determines the number of the month for a given date, for example, 5 for May.

Example Day of Month: June 10, 2014 Result: 6 (=June)

58



7.5.16 Day Of Week This function determines the number of the weekday for a given date. 1 stands for Monday, 7 for Sunday.

Example Day of Week: Jan 10, 2014 Result: 5 (=Friday)

7.5.17

Difference In Calendar Years

This function calculates the difference between two dates in calendar years. The system only takes account of the calendar year in the start and end dates, not the days or months.

Example In the following two examples, the exact time difference is 1.5 years for each. However, the result shown is different as the system only takes into account the calendar years. Example 1 From Date: 12/22/2010 To Date: 01/01/2012 Result: 2 (calendar years) Explanation: The function calculates 2012-2010=2. Example 2 From Date: 01/01/2010 To Date: 09/15/2011 Result: 1 (calendar year) Explanation: The function calculates 2011-2010=1.

Use Case You can use this function to calculate seniority. You can find an example rule in the Time Off handbook, under Accruals Based on Seniority. Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions


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7.5.18 Difference In Years Round Down This function calculates the time difference between two dates in calendar years. The system also takes into account the days and month of the date for the calculation. The result is a number that is rounded down to calendar years.

Example Start Date: 12/31/2010 End Date: 1/9/2012 Result: 1 (calendar year) Explanation: The exact time difference is 1 year, 9 days. The function rounds down to 1.

Use Case You can calculate an employee's age based on the employee's birth date, rounding down the result. For an example rule, see the examples in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook, under Setting up configurable rules.

7.5.19 Difference In Years Round Up This function calculates the time difference between two dates in calendar years. The system also takes into account the days and months of the date for the calculation. The result is a number that is rounded up to calendar years.

Example From Date: 12/31/2010 To Date: 01/09/2012 Result: 2 (calendar years) Explanation: The exact time difference is 1 year, 9 days. The function rounds up to 2. If the time difference is, for example, 3 months, the function rounds up to 1.

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7.5.20 Divide This function is used to perform basic calculations. Please see Add/Minus/Divide/Multiply.

7.5.21 Format You use this function to combine different objects to a meaningful text. For example, you can use this function to combine the country code (for example, DE), business unit name (for example, SMB) and a number (for example, 111) to one text: DESMB111. Note: In comparison to the Format Number function, you can select more field types and more arguments as input.


Make this entry:

Template

You can either: ●

Select any field of the field type Text, for example: custom_field1, where you use the custom field to store a template or pattern.

●

Select the field type Text and enter a string. You can use Java variables that are replaced during runtime with the corresponding value. For example: Company %s, where %s will be replaced by what you have selected in the Argument field.

Argument

You can either: ●

Select any field of field types Date/Text/Decimal/Number, for example: Country.

●

Select any of the field types Date/Text/Decimal/Number, and enter the corre sponding date, string, decimal, or number.

●

Select a function. For example, you can select the Get Next Value function and choose a Sequence MDF Object that you have created before. See also Get Next Value for more information on how to create a Sequence MDF object.

Use Case You can generate a unique ID for an employee to exchange data with an external payroll system. The unique ID is a combination of the country code and the employee ID, and this unique ID is then stored in a custom field, for example, custom_string5. This is what the corresponding rule can look like: IF Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions


61

(Always true) THEN Set custom_field5 to be equal to Format (Template: Text '%s-%s', Argument: country_code, Argument: employee_id)

7.5.22 Format Number With this function, you can define a string template that the system uses to generate a text. For example, you can define that the system automatically assigns external codes following the format you define here.


Make this entry:

Template

You have to select Text and enter a string that should precede the number.

Number

You have to select the Get Next Value function and select a sequence.

Example You can define that job titles or positions follow a simple sequence: POS1, POS2, POS3… You do this by creating a template for the text that defines how the system should define new positions. Here's an example where you use a Java variable (%d): Template: Text POS%d %d will be replaced with a number that follows the sequence you have defined in the Sequence object you have selected for the Get Next Value function. For more information, see Get Next Value. If you want to add leading zeros, follow this format: POS%50d The result is POS000001, with 5 leading zeros before the number.

Use Case You can define that the system automatically creates external codes, for example, for foundation objects, or position codes. You can find an example in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook, under Setting up configurable rules.

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7.5.23 Frequency from Pay Scale Structure This function gets the frequency from the pay scale structure based on the pay scale level, pay component, and effective date. The pay scale structure is configured in the MDF object Pay Scale Level.



Of typ e...

Which is...

Pay Scale Level

Tex Required t


Pay Component

Val ue


Effective Date

Dat Required e

Required

Make this entry:


Use Case You can create rules that automatically assign the correct pay components to an employee based on the pay scale level and pay scale group you define for that employee.



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Here's an example of what such a rule could look like – for the complete process of how to set up such rules, please refer to the SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll Integration Handbook:

Related Information Amount from Pay Scale Structure [page 46] This function gets the amount from the pay scale structure based on the pay scale level, pay component, and effective date. The pay scale structure is configured in the MDF object Pay Scale Level. Currency from Pay Scale Structure [page 54] This function gets the currency from the pay scale structure based on the pay scale level, pay component, and effective date. The pay scale structure is configured in the MDF object Pay Scale Level.

7.5.24 Generate External Code Time Off This function generates a unique UUID which can be used as external code. The UUID is a 32-character long combination of numbers and letters. Note: The system does not check if this UUID already exists in the system, which could be the case when a user has manually created an external code.

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Limitations Use only with Time Off. Please refer to the Time Off handbook before using this function.

Use Case As this is an application-specific rule function, we recommend you stick to the use case of Time Off. Please refer to the Time Off handbook, under Account Management in Time Off.

7.5.25 Get Absence Days With this function, you can calculate how long an employee has been absent within one year for a specific time type. For example, if an employee has been sick for more than 30 days in a year, you can use this function to raise an alert to the manager. The result of this function is the accumulated absence for that employee for a specific time type – in this example, 30 days for the time type Sickness.

Limitations ●

Use only with Time Off. Please refer to the Time Off handbook before using this function.

●

Use this function only with base object Employee Time.


Make this entry:

User

Select the User field. This is the user that creates the absence request in the Time Off calendar.

Time Type External Code

Select Time Type.External Code. This defines which time type has been used for the absence request (for example, Sickness).

Use Working Days Instead of Calendar Days

Select Boolean. You can then enter the following:

Start Date

●

Yes to define that working days as defined in the working schedule should be used for calculating the absence.

●

No to use calendar days for calculating the absence.

Select Start Date. This is the start date the user has entered in the Time Off calen dar.



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Make this entry:

First Day of Year

Select Number, and enter a number to define the beginning of the calendar year you want to use to sum up an employee’s absence days. For example, 1 to start with the first day of a month.

First Month of Year

Select Number, and enter a number to define the beginning of the calendar year you want to use to sum up an employee’s absence days. For example, 1 to start with January, or 4 to start with April. The end date of the calendar year is then defined by the system accordingly (for ex ample, December 31 when the start of the calendar year has been defined as Janu ary 01).

Use Case As this is an application-specific rule function, we recommend you stick to the use case of Time Off. Please refer to the Time Off handbook for more information.

7.5.26 Get Calendar Days This function calculates the number of calendar days between the start date and the end date, including the start and end date in the calculated result.

Example Start Date: 05/10/2014 End Date: 05/15/2014 Result: 6 (calendar days)

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7.5.27 Get Completed Calendar Weeks Between ISO This function calculates the number of weeks the employee is going to work in the accrual period.


7.5.28 Get Completed Remaining Calendar Weeks ISO This function calculates the number of weeks the employee is going to work in his hire period. This function assumes that the week starts on a Monday, the year has 52 weeks (as defined by the ISO standard) and the weeks until the hire week are subtracted from those 52 weeks. If the hire date is not on a Monday, that week is also subtracted during calculation.


7.5.29 Get Completed Weeks Between This function calculates the number of completed weeks within a period. The count starts on the first week start day in the period and ends on the last week start day minus 1 day in the period.


Make this entry:

Start Date

Enter or select the start date to calculate the completed weeks. The count starts on the week start day within that week that you have defined in the Week Start Day field.

End Date

Enter or select the start date to calculate the completed weeks. The count ends one day before the week start day that you have defined in the Week Start Day field.



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Make this entry:

Week Start Day

Enter a number between 1-7 to define on which day the week starts: 1 = Monday, 7 = Sunday This defines when the count starts and ends.

Example Start Date: 05/01/2013 End Date: 12/31/2013 Week Start Day: 2 (this means the week end day is 1=Monday) In this example, 05/01/2013 is a Wednesday (=3), therefore the count starts on the next Tuesday (05/07/2013) as defined in the Week Start Day field. 12/31/2013 is a Tuesday (=2), therefore the count ends on the last Monday (12/30/2013). The number of weeks which will be returned is calculated as follows: Number of days starting at 05/07/2013 – 12/30/2013 divided by 7 = 34 weeks

7.5.30 Get First Day Of Month This function finds the first day of the same month as the month in the specified date.


Make this entry:

Date

Select a field of the field type Date (for example: Event Date). The first day of the same month as in this date is returned as result.

7.5.31 Get Incumbent By Position This function returns the user ID of the incumbent of the position. If more than one incumbent is assigned, only one is returned.

Limitations This function is only available if Position Management is activated.

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Use Case You can find a rule example in the Position Management handbook, under Rule Functions in Position Management.

7.5.32 Get Matrix Position Code By Type This function returns the code of the matrix position that is assigned by the specified type.



7.5.33 Get Months From Hire Date Taking Account Of Threshold This function calculates the number of months the employee is going to work in the hire period. The threshold indicates whether the hire month is included in the calculation.




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7.5.34 Get Months Taking Account Of Threshold This function calculates the number of months the employee is going to work in the accrual period. This function can be used for hire, termination, and normal accrual rules.


7.5.35 Get Next Available Manager By Position This function returns the user ID of the next available manager in the position hierarchy.



7.5.36 Get Next Value This function gets the next value for a number from a Sequence object. You can define where the counting for the next value starts, and the step width used to get the following value in the Sequence object. This function is generally used in combination with the Format Number or Concatenate function.

Prerequisites Sequence is an MDF object that you have to create before you can use it in a rule. To create a Sequence MDF object: 1.


2.


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Employee Files

Manage Generic Objects . Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions

3.

Enter the following: ○

externalCode: Enter an external code for the Sequence object that serves as unique identifier.

○

externalName: Enter a name or short description for the Sequence object.

○

start: Enter the first value of the sequence. For example: 1000.

○

step: Enter the step width of the sequence that is used to calculate the next sequence number. For example, if step is 5, and start is 1000, the number sequence would be 1000, 1005, 1010, 1015, and so on.

○

4.

current: This field displays the value that will be used as the next sequence number when the Sequence object is called up. For example, if the sequence with the above values has already been called up twice, this field shows the value 1005.

Save the Sequence.


Make this entry:

Sequence

Select a Sequence object.

Use Case You can define that the system automatically creates external codes, for example, for foundation objects, or position codes. You can find an example in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook, under Setting up configurable rules.

Related Information Format Number [page 62] With this function, you can define a string template that the system uses to generate a text. For example, you can define that the system automatically assigns external codes following the format you define here. Concatenate [page 52] This function combines strings into one string. You can also add a sequenced number to the concatenated strings using the Format Number and Get Next Value functions.



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7.5.37 Get Number Of Child Positions This function returns the number of child positions.



7.5.38 Get Number Of Eligible Days This function calculates the number of eligible days for getting accruals. You can define upfront in Time Off which employee status is included in eligibility.


7.5.39 Get Number Of Months From Hire Date This function calculates the number of months the employee is going to work. You can exclude the hire month from the calculation if the hire date is not on the first day of the month.


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7.5.40 Get Pensionable Salary This function calculates the pensionable salary on a certain date (effective date). It is intended to be calculated when the compensation information is saved. The result of this function is then written into the compensation information field Pensionable Salary.

Limitations Use only with Employee Central.

Input Parameters When using this function, you have to enter the following parameters: For this parameter...

Make this entry:

User

Select Context Current User to get the user for whom the pensionable salary should be calculated. This is the actual user whose compensation information is ac cessed.

Pay Component Group

Enter the external code of the pay component group that contains the pay compo nents subject to the pensionable salary calculation.

Effective Date

Select Context Effective Date to get the date for when the pensionable salary should be calculated. This is usually the effective date on which compensation changes are made.

Day of Compare Date

The compare date marks the beginning of a period (typically the fiscal year) to which the salary cap refers. For example, if the fiscal year begins on April 1, the cap refers to the salary valid on that exact date. Enter an allowed value between 1 and 28, 29, 30, 31, depending on the number of days allowed for the month entered as compare date.

Month of Compare Date

Enter an allowed value between 1 and 12 (January – December).

Cap Percentage

This is the percentage value used to restrict the increase in pensionable salary. For example, if the salary (represented by the Pay Component Group) increases from 50,000 USD on compare date to 52,500 USD on the effective date (= 5 percent more), and the cap percentage is 1.0 percent, the increase of the pensionable salary will be restricted to 500 USD.

Pay Component Group Sum

Select the field that corresponds to the name of the pay component group that you have selected in the Pay Component Group field.

Please note that the rule can fail for the following reasons: ●

At least one of the function parameters is not filled



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●

Compare day/month is not in expected value range

●

Pay component group not found

●

Job information or compensation information not found on the effective date or compare date

●

Pensionable salary not available on compare date

If the rule fails, the Pensionable Salary is set to null.

Example The user changes the compensation information for user cgrant on 08/20/2013. The external code of the relevant pay component group is AnnualizedSalary. The fiscal year ends on March 31 every year. You want to restrict the increase of the pensionable salary to, at most, 1 percent. Consequently, the rule function to calculate the pensionable salary is called with the following parameters: ●

User: cgrant

●

Pay Component Group: AnnualizedSalary

●

Effective Date: 08/20/2013

●

Day of Compare Date: 31

●

Month of Compare Date: 3

●

Cap Percentage: 1.0 percent

●

Pay Component Group Sum: AnnualizedSalary

Starting from the effective date (08/20/2013), the last fiscal year end is calculated as 03/31/2013 (= compare date). For both dates, the salary is determined for the pay component group AnnualizedSalary, for example: ●

Pensionable salary on compare date: 15,000 USD

●

Salary on compare date: 50,000 USD

●

Salary on effective date: 52,500 USD

●

Salary change: +2,500 USD (= +5 percent)

The pensionable salary is increased by the same percentage as the salary (in the above example, 5 percent of 15,000 USD = 450 USD). However, as a cap percentage of 1 percent has been defined, the pensionable salary is increased by only 1 percent = 150 USD. So in this example, as the pensionable salary on compare date was 15,000 USD, the function returns a new pensionable salary of 15,150 USD on the effective date. Please note that the employee's FTE is considered in the calculation. Let's look at this example: ●

Pensionable salary on compare date: 15,000 USD

●

Salary on compare date: 50,000 USD

●

FTE on compare date: 1.0

●

FTE on effective date: 0.5

●

Salary on effective date: 25,250 USD

●

Salary change: +250 USD (= +1 percent compared to the salary on compare date when this is calculated with FTE=0.5)

In this example, the salary and pensionable salary on compare date are calculated with FTE=0.5, resulting in a pensionable salary of 7,500 USD and a salary on compare date of 25,000 USD. The salary is changed by 250 USD (=+1 percent), so the pensionable salary is increased by 1 percent=75 USD. As a result, the new pensionable salary on the effective date is 7,575 USD.

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Limitations The customer has to enter a start value for the pensionable salary on the employee's hire date. So, if the rule is called with effective date = hire date, no new pensionable salary is calculated, but just the existing value is returned. This ensures that a manually entered start value is not overwritten during save. If the employee was not yet hired on the compare date, the hire date is used as the compare date for the calculation.

7.5.41 Get Pensionable Salary with Global Assignment This function calculates the pensionable salary on a certain date (effective date). It is intended to be calculated when the compensation information is saved. The result of this function is then written into the compensation information field Pensionable Salary. This function considers an alternative baseline to calculate the pensionable salary considering global assignments.

Limitations Use only with Employee Central and Global Assignments enabled.

Input Parameters When using this function, you have to enter the following parameters: For this parameter...

Make this entry:

User

Select Context Current User to get the user for whom the pensionable salary should be calculated. This is the actual user whose compensation information is ac cessed.

Pay Component Group

Enter the external code of the pay component group that contains the pay compo nents subject to the pensionable salary calculation.

Effective Date

Select Context Effective Date to get the date for when the pensionable salary should be calculated. This is usually the effective date on which compensation changes are made.

Day of Compare Date

The compare date marks the beginning of a period (typically the fiscal year) to which the salary cap refers. For example, if the fiscal year begins on April 1, the cap refers to the salary valid on that exact date. Enter an allowed value between 1 and 28, 29, 30, 31, depending on the number of days allowed for the month entered as compare date.

Month of Compare Date

Enter an allowed value between 1 and 12 (January – December).



75


Make this entry:

Cap Percentage

This is the percentage value used to restrict the increase in pensionable salary. For example, if the salary (represented by the Pay Component Group) increases from 50,000 USD on compare date to 52,500 USD on the effective date (= 5 percent more), and the cap percentage is 1.0 percent, the increase of the pensionable salary will be restricted to 500 USD.

Pay Component Group Sum

Select the field that corresponds to the name of the pay component group that you have selected in the Pay Component Group field.

Current FTE

Select the FTE field of the job information.

Note If the FTE has not been maintained, 1 is used as default. Alternative Baseline Event

You have two options: ●

If you want to use an alternative baseline for calculating the pensionable salary, select Value and select the corresponding event reason from the dropdown list. When the rule is triggered, the system checks if the compensation record has been changed between today and the compare date; and if yes, uses the alter native baseline to calculate the pensionable salary.

●

If you do not want to use an alternative baseline event, select Null.

Please note that the rule can fail for the following reasons: ●

At least one of the function parameters is not filled

●

Compare day/month is not in expected value range

●

Pay component group not found

●

Job information or compensation information not found on the effective date or compare date

●

Pensionable salary not available on compare date

If the rule fails, the Pensionable Salary is set to null.

Example Scenario – an employee is placed on attachment with an increase to Basic Pay or Scenario – an employee with reduced pay (London Weighting is removed)??are these current?

Limitations The customer has to enter a start value for the pensionable salary on the employee's hire date. So, if the rule is called with effective date = hire date, no new pensionable salary is calculated, but just the existing value is returned. This ensures that a manually entered start value is not overwritten during save. If the employee was not yet hired on the compare date, the hire date is used as the compare date for the calculation.

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7.5.42 Get Work History Days ADD ALL If an employee has repeatedly been employed at one company, you can sum up the days of all employments using this function. Here's an example:

Calculation: All orange arrows = 516 + 1554 + 139 + 2410 = 4619 days This function sums up the valid days of all Job Information entries where: ●

Employee is active and employee class is not excluded

●

Employee is not active and event is not Termination

The final end date for the sum calculation is the day when the function is executed. Note that this function is used to cover country-specific and industry-specific requirements for the Public Sector in the United Kingdom.

Limitations ●

Use only with Employee Central.

●

Use an onView event as the work history in days has the character of transient data and not of a persistent value.



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Make this entry:

User

Select

Context

Current User

from the dropdown list.

This gets the user ID of the user for whom the days should be counted. For example, if the Admin looks at the Job Information for Carla Grant, the validity in days for Carla Grant is calculated and displayed. Employee Class

If you want to exclude job info entries with one of these employee classes from the sum, although the employee is active, then enter the corresponding employee class here. For example, you want to exclude periods during which the employee worked as contractor. Then you have to enter the external code for contractors of the em ployee-class picklist. If you leave this field empty, all employee classes are included in the calculation.

Examples Example 1 User: 1 Employee Class: Contractor Job Info entry

Employee is:

Event

Employee class

Effective start date

No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

Employee

01/01/2013

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Unpaid Leave

Employee

06/01/2013

This happens during calculation: No. 1 counts for sum, because employee is active and employee class is not Contractor. No. 2 counts for sum, because employee is inactive, but event is not Termination. Example 2 User: 1 Employee Class: Contractor Job Info entry

Employee is:

Event

Employee class


No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

Contractor

01/01/2013

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

Contractor

06/01/2013

No. 3 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

Employee

11/01/2013

This happens during calculation: No. 1 doesn’t count for sum calculation because the employee is active but the employee class is Contractor.

78



No. 2 doesn’t count for sum calculation because the employee is inactive and the event is Termination. No. 3 counts for sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is not Contractor.

Use Case A company wants to foster loyalty of its employees by providing awards for long service and provides "Long Service Awards". To enable all managers as well as employees to monitor their service length, the function can be used to show the aggregated service length on the Employment Details portlet. Using the function to fill a customer field on loading the page provides the user always with the actual count of their service length. See also an example rule under Get Work History Days PREVIOUS.

7.5.43 Get Work History Days CONTINUOUS If an employee has repeatedly been employed at one company, you can sum up the days of all consecutive employments that were ended with a specific event reason (for example, Entitlement to Return). The function sums up all consecutive employments from today until a previous employment that was ended with a different event reason. Here's an example:

Calculation: Orange arrows (from 30/06/2001 onward) = 1554 + 139 + 2410 = 4103 days The function sums up the valid days of all Job Info entries after the latest terminated entry without the specified event reason(s) where: ●


●

Employee is not active and event is not termination

The final end date for the sum calculation is the day when the function is executed. If the user status is currently terminated or retired, or the employee class is excluded, this function returns 0. Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions


79

Note that this function is used to cover country-specific and industry-specific requirements for the Public Sector in the United Kingdom.

Limitations ●


●



Make this entry:

User

Select

Context

Current User


This gets the user ID of the user whose days should be counted. For example, if the Admin looks at the Job Information for Carla Grant, the validity in days for Carla Grant is calculated and displayed. Employee Class

If you want to exclude job info entries with one of these employee classes from the sum, although the employee is active, then enter the corresponding employee class here. For example, you want to exclude periods during which the employee worked as a contractor. Then you have to enter the external code for contractors of the employee-class picklist. If you leave this field empty, all employee classes are included in the calculation.

Event Reason 1-5

Select the exceptional event reason that does not end the count of consecutive pe riods of employment included in the calculation done by this function. You can se lect up to 5 event reasons.

Examples Example 1 User: 1 Employee Class: Contractor Event Reason: Entitlement to return Job Info entry

Employee is

Event

Event Reason

Employee class

No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

New Hire

Employee

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Unpaid Leave

Maternity

Employee

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This happens during calculation: There is no termination without this event reason. Both entries count for sum calculation. Example 2 User: 1 Employee Class: Contractor Event Reason: Entitlement to return Job Info entry

Employee is

Event

Event Reason

Employee class

No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

New Hire

Employee

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

Entitlement to return Employee

No. 3 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

New Rehire

Employee

This happens during calculation: No. 3 counts for sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is not Contractor. No. 2 is a Termination event, but with the special event reason. Therefore, the count is not stopped. No. 1 counts for sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is not Contractor. Example 3 User: 1 Employee Class: Contractor Event Reason: Entitlement to return Job Info entry

Employee is

Event

Event Reason

Employee class

No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

New Hire

Employee

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

Quit

Employee

No. 3 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

New Rehire

Employee

This happens during calculation: No. 3 counts for sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is not Contractor. No. 2 is a Termination event and does not have the special event reason. Therefore, the count will be stopped and No. 1 does not count in sum. Example 4 User: 1 Employee Class: Contractor Event Reason: Entitlement to return Job Info entry

Employee is

Event

Event Reason

Employee class

No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

New Hire

Employee



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Job Info entry

Employee is

Event

Event Reason

Employee class

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

quit

Employee

No. 3 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

New Rehire

Employee

No. 4 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

Entitlement to return Employee

No. 5 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

New Rehire

Employee

No. 6 (User 1)

Active

Data Change

Manager change

Employee

This happens during calculation: No. 6 counts for sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is not Contractor. No. 5 counts for sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is not Contractor. No. 4 doesn’t count and doesn’t stop the count because it is a Termination event with the special event reason. No. 3 counts for sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is not Contractor. No. 2 doesn’t count for sum and stops the count because the event is Termination without the special event reason. No. 1 does not count because the count has been stopped at No. 2.

Use Case In countries like the United Kingdom (UK), redundancy payments are dependent on benchmarks such as continuous service. The employers and employees alike can use such figures to calculate redundancy payments using redundancy calculators to assess the actual redundancy payments employees can expect in case of unemployment. Using this function to fill a customer field on loading the page provides users always with the actual figure of their continuous service length. See also an example rule under Get Work History Days PREVIOUS.

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7.5.44 Get Work History Days CURRENT You can sum up the days of only the current employment even if the employee has been employed at one company several times. Here's an example:

Calculation: Right orange arrow only = 05/07/2013 – 10/01/2006 = 2410 days This function sums up the valid days of all Job Info entries after the latest terminated entry where: ●


●

Employee is not active and event is not Termination

The final end date for the sum calculation is the day when the function is executed. If the user status is currently terminated or retired, or the employee class is excluded, this function returns 0. Note that this function is used to cover country-specific and industry-specific requirements for the Public Sector in the United Kingdom.

Limitations ●


●




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Make this entry:

User

Select

Context

Current User


This gets the user ID of the user for whom the days should be counted. For example, if the Admin looks at the Job Information for Carla Grant, the validity in days for Carla Grant is calculated and displayed. Employee Class



Employee is

Event

Employee class


No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

Employee

01/01/2013

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Unpaid Leave

Employee

06/01/2013

This happens during calculation: There is no termination event used, so the result is the same as for Get Work History Days ADD ALL. Example 2 User: 1 Employee Class: Contractor Job Info entry

Employee is

Event

Employee class


No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

Contractor

01/01/2013

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

Contractor

06/01/2013

No. 3 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

Employee

11/01/2013

This happens during calculation: No. 2 is the key entry with the event Termination. Only No. 3 counts for sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is not Contractor.

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Example 3 User: 1 Employee Class: Contractor Job Info entry

Employee is

Event

Employee class


No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

Contractor

01/01/2013

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

Contractor

02/01/2013

No. 3 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

Employee

04/01/2013

No. 4 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

Employee

06/01/2013

No. 5 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

Employee

08/01/2013

No. 6 (User 1)

Active

Data Change

Employee

10/01/2013

This happens during calculation: No. 4 is the key entry with termination because it is the latest one. No. 5 and No. 6 both count for sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is not Contractor.

Use Case This function might be used to show how long an employee has served in the current employment. Such a figure might be interesting context information for the employee's line manager or HR Admin. See also an example rule under Get Work History Days PREVIOUS.



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7.5.45 Get Work History Days PREVIOUS If an employee has repeatedly been employed at one company, you can sum up all previous employments excluding the current employment. Here's an example:

Calculation: All active employments – Current employment (4619 – 2410) = 2209 days The function sums up the valid days of all Job Info entries before the latest terminated entry where: ●


●

Employee is not active and event is not termination

Limitations ●


●


Input Parameters For this parameter... User

Make this entry: Select

Context

Current User


This gets the user ID of the user whose days should be counted. For example, if the Admin looks at the Job Information for Carla Grant, the validity in days for Carla Grant is calculated and displayed.

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Make this entry:

Employee Class



Employee is

Event

Employee class


No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

Employee

01/01/2013

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Unpaid Leave

Employee

06/01/2013

This happens during calculation: No Job Info entry counts because there is no termination event used. Example 2 User: 1 Employee Class: Contractor Job Info entry

Employee is

Event

Employee class


No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

Contractor

01/01/2013

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

Contractor

06/01/2013

No. 3 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

Employee

11/01/2013

This happens during calculation: No. 2 is the key entry with the Termination event. No. 1 does not count for the sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is Contractor. Example 3 User: 1 Employee Class: Contractor



87

Job Info entry

Employee is

Event

Employee class


No. 1 (User 1)

Active

Hire

Contractor

01/01/2013

No. 2 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

Contractor

02/01/2013

No. 3 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

Employee

04/01/2013

No. 4 (User 1)

Inactive

Termination

Employee

06/01/2013

No. 5 (User 1)

Active

Rehire

Employee

08/01/2013

No. 6 (User 1)

Active

Data Change

Employee

10/01/2013

This happens during calculation: No. 4 is the key entry with the Termination because it is the latest one. No. 1 does not count for sum calculation because the employee is active, but the employee class is Contractor. No. 2 does not count for sum calculation because the employee is inactive and the event is Termination. No. 3 counts for sum calculation because the employee is active and the employee class is not Contractor.

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Use Case The Admin wants to calculate the work history in days using all Get Work History functions; the result is displayed in the readable format of years/months/days in custom fields. This is the rule the Admin has created:



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The result of the calculation is displayed on these custom fields, which the customer created using the Business Configuration UI:

These fields are part of the Job Information portlet (jobInfo HRIS element). At the top, you can see the custom fields; at the bottom you can see the onView event that triggers the rule. For each work history calculation result, one custom field (of type "double") is filled with the result in days of the corresponding function. As this result is not readable when it is a high number (for example, 1245 days), the Admin has created one custom field (of type "string"), which is filled with the days reformatted into years/months/days using the Convert Days Into YY/MM/DD function. Those fields are set to "visible", whereas the double fields are kept invisible.

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7.5.46 Is Employee Full Time This function determines whether the employee is a full-time employee on a specific date. The employee is fulltime if FTE in job information has been defined as 1.

Limitation Use only with Employee Central.


Make this entry:

UserId

Select or enter the employee for whom you want to determine full-time employ ment.

Valid On Date

Select the date that is used for determining if the employee is full-time.

7.5.47 Is Empty You use this function to check if an input string is empty; for example, when the user has not made an entry in a specific field.

Input Parameters Table 1: For this parameter...

Make this entry:

Input

Select a field of field type Text (not a picklist).



91

Use Case You want to define that if the field Shift Code is empty, a default value '001' is assigned to this field. This is what this rule looks like:

7.5.48 Is Position Below User's Position In Hierarchy Indicates whether the position is in user's position hierarchy and below user's position.



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7.5.49 Latest Date This function gets the latest date of two dates. For example, if you have a date in January and one in November 2013, the result returns the November date.


Make this entry:

Date

You can:

Date

●

Select Date and enter a date.

●

Select a date field, for example: Event Date.

You can: ●

Select Date and enter a date.

●

Select a date field, for example: Event Date.

The minimum and maximum number of dates for this function is 2.

Use Case You can find a rule example in the Time Off handbook, under Period-End Processing.

7.5.50 Login User This function identifies the logged-in user and returns the user ID.

7.5.51 Lookup This function is used to look up values from a table. The table has to be an MDF object.You first create the table as an MDF object, and then assign that MDF object to the lookup function. When do you use lookup tables? You use lookup tables to define specific combinations of values. Let's have a look at this value combination example in plain language: IF Seniority From is 0 AND Seniority To is 2 Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions


93

THEN the valid accrual amount is 1.8 BUT IF Seniority From is 3 AND Seniority To is 10 THEN the accrual amount is 1.9 BUT IF … And so on. In such a case, you can define lookup tables that define the value combinations. Lookup tables can be compared to decision tables as they help the system to understand which value combinations are valid.

Note You could also define such rules by listing all valid combinations in the rule itself. However, using a lookup table helps you reduce the size and complexity of the rule. In addition, you can reuse the lookup table in several rules.

Examples Example 1: Accruals You want to define the accrual amount based on how long the employee has been employed at a company (seniority). You could define this in a decision table like this one: Conditions

Value Combination

Value Combination

Value Combination

Value Combination

If Seniority From is:

0

3

11

…

…and Seniority To is: 2

10

100

…

Then this is the valid accrual amount:

1.9

2.0

…

1.8

You can find more information in the Time Off handbook, under Account Management. Example 2: Filtering Pay Components You want to define that an employee who belongs to a specific employee subgroup can only be assigned a determined set of pay components. You could define this in a decision table like this one: Conditions

Value Combination

Value Combination

Value Combination

Value Combination

If the employee's subgroup is:

Salaried Employees (AH)

AD

AK

…

Then this pay com ponent is not al lowed:

RY, TN (Base Salary) PayComp2

PayComp3

…

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Prerequisites Before you can use a lookup table in a rule, you have to create it as an MDF object, and then define the combination of values. 1.

To create a lookup table as an MDF object: a.


b.


c.

Select Create New: Object Definition.

d.

Enter a code and label for the lookup table.

e.

Create a field for the different condition values.

Company Settings


Note You create a field for every condition (=row) of your decision table. For the example mentioned above for filtering pay components based on subgroup, you create a field for employee subgroup and one for the forbidden pay components:

2.

To specify the combination of values: a.


b.


c.

Under Create New, select the MDF object you have created in the previous step.

d.

Enter one of the value combinations of your decision table.


Employee Files

Manage Data .


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See this example:

e.

Save your changes. Repeat steps 1-5 for all value combinations defined in your decision table.

Note Under Manage Data, you create one instance for every Value Combination column of your decision table. See also an example rule under Creating a Rule with Lookup Function.

7.5.52 Math Expression With this function, you can define a custom calculation formula using typical mathematical expressions. The operators can include the following: + - * / () ...for adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, or using brackets in the formula. The operands can be either static number or decimals, or number/decimal fields.

96



Limitations ●

Collection filters cannot be used in Math Expression.

●

Other functions (like Round, Minimum, and so on) cannot be used in Math Expression.

●

Object references that are 1-to-many relationships are not supported.

●

When creating the rule, you have to make an entry in the field for defining a Math Expression function to be able to see the fields of the business object. The system uses type ahead to display the fields.

Use Case The system can automatically adjust the value of dependent fields based on new values for key fields. This can be used for: ●

Salary calculation based on FTE For example, the salary of an employee can be automatically adjusted when the FTE of the employee is changed.

●

Vacation days based on service years

●

Final Rating based on two positions

7.5.53 Minimum This function finds the smallest value in the list of values you specify. You have to enter at least 2 components.


Make this entry:

Component

You can:

Component

●

Select Decimal and enter a value.

●

Select a field, for example: FTE.

You can: ●


●


Use Case You can find an example in the Time Off handbook, under Period-End Processing - Carryover With Limit. Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions


97

7.5.54 Minus This function is used to perform basic calculations. Please see Add/Minus/Divide/Multiply.

7.5.55 Multiply This function is used to perform basic calculations. Please see Add/Minus/Divide/Multiply.

7.5.56 Opposite Sign This function gets a value with the opposite sign. For example, if the value is 5, the result of this function is -5.


Make this entry:

Value

You can: ●


●


Use Case You can find a rule example in the Time Off handbook, under Period-End Processing.

98



7.5.57 Round With this function, you can define how values are rounded by defining the degree of accuracy and as of which number a value is rounded.


Make this entry:

Value

You can:

Precision

●


●


Select Number and enter a number that defines as of which pre-decimal point posi tion or decimal place the rounding is applied. This way you define the degree of ac curacy for the rounding. For example, if the value is 123.456, the precision is 1 (=one decimal place), the re sult is 123.5 (with a threshold of 0.05). If the precision is 2 (=two decimal places), the result is 123.46. If the precision is -1 (=1 pre-decimal point position), the result is 123.

Threshold

Select Decimal and enter a rounding threshold. The threshold defines as of which number the system rounds up. You can enter 0.05 as a default value. Most commonly, the threshold is 0.05, 0.5, 5, and so on. But you can also enter other numbers. For example, if the value is 21.5, and you have a threshold of 0.6, the result is 21.

Example Here's an example of how the rounding is applied: Value

Precision

Threshold

Result

50,782.765

2

0.005

50,782.77

50,782.765

1

0.05

50,782.80

50,782.765

0

0.5

50,783

50,782.765

-1

5

50,780

50,782.765

-2

50

50,800

50,782.765

-3

500

51,000

50,782.765

-4

5000

50,000



99

Use Case In this example, the base pay is rounded, returning a result of 134.46:

7.5.58 Timestamp Current Time UTC plus Offset Minutes You use this function to create a timestamp of the current time in the time zone format UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). You can also shift the timestamp into the future, by defining how much time in minutes should be added to the current time. The result is a string that is organized according to ISO 8601, combining date and time in UTC. For example: 2014-02-19T15:42:00.000Z, where Z stands for time zone UTC.


Make this entry:

Minutes

Select the field type Number and enter the number of minutes that is added to the current time in UTC; for example: 60 . If you enter 0 , the timestamp is calculated as the current time in UTC.

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Use Case A customer that uses payroll integration with ERP can create rules to reschedule the replication of employee data according to the customer’s specific needs. You can find a rule example in the SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll Integration handbook, under Rescheduling Employee Data Replication.

7.5.59 Today This function gets the current date. There are no input parameters.

7.5.60 Treat Null As You use this function to define that if a number field is empty, it should be treated as a specific value (usually 0). For example, when the user saves the job info without entering anything in the FTE (full-time equivalent) field, you can use this function to define that this empty value is considered by the system as if it has been filled by the user with the number 0.


Make this entry:

Number

You can either: ●

Select a field of field type Decimal, for example: FTE of Job Information.

●

Select the field type Decimal and enter 0. So when the value is null, the system treats this as if the number 0 had been entered.

(Optional) Treated as Number

You have two options: ●

If the selected field (for example, FTE) should be treated as if it contains the number 0, you do not have to make an entry, as 0 is the default.

●

If the selected field should be treated as if it contains any other number, select the field type Decimal , and enter the number, for example: 1.

Use Case You want to define that if the FTE field is not filled, the system treats this field as if it contains the number 0. When FTE is 0, the vacation days are set to 12. Here's the rule: IF Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Functions


101

Treat Null As(FTE, 0) == 0 THEN Set Vacation days = 12 Here's an example of what the first part of this rule looks like in the system:

7.5.61 Week Of Year ISO This function determines the number of the week for a given date as defined by the ISO standard. The ISO standard defines week 1 as the week containing the first Thursday of January.

Example Week of Year ISO: Jan 10, 2016 Result: 1 (= calendar week 1)

Related Information Date [page 56] This function determines the number of the week for a given date as defined by the US calendar. The US calendar defines week 1 as the week containing January 01.

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8

Creating a Rule

Let's have a look at the basic steps how you create a rule.

Prerequisites You have created a rule type. For more information, see Creating Rule Types.

Procedure To create a rule: 1.


2.


3.

Click Create New Rule.

4.

Enter basic information about the rule in the following fields:

5.

Company Settings


In this field...

Enter this information:

Rule ID

Enter an external code for the rule that is unique in the system.

Rule Name

Enter a name for the rule. It does not have to be unique.

Base Object

Select an object that the rule is based on. The base object defines which fields and related objects you can select when creating the rule. For EC objects, it also affects pages and events. See the decision help: Which EC base object should you choose?

Rule Type

Select the rule type you have created beforehand. For more information, see What are rule types?

Define what user action triggers the rule in the IF conditions. ○

Shall the rule be triggered when the user makes any change to the field or object? Then select Always True.

○

Shall the rule be triggered when the user makes specific changes? Then enter one or more IF conditions.

If the fields or objects you want to refer to in the rule are not part of the base object, please refer to:

6.

○

Adding MDF Objects

○

Adding EC Objects (cross-portlet rules)

Define how the system should react by defining one or more THEN statements. For all possible options, see System Actions for THEN and ELSE Statements.

7.

Optional: If you want to define how the system reacts when the IF conditions are NOT met, you can define ELSE statements.

8.

Save your changes.

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Creating a Rule


103

Next Steps You need to assign the rule to the corresponding object. How this is done depends on whether the object is an EC object or an MDF object. You can find more information under: ●

Assigning a Rule to an MDF Object

8.1

Specifics to EC Object Rules

8.1.1

Which EC base object should you choose?

For EC objects, the base object defines what you can enter in the rule; for example, to set field properties, you have to choose a Model base object. At the same time, the base object defines what event types you can use in a later step when you assign the rule to the EC object in the data model. For example, you cannot use onView events for changes done on the Add New Employee screen. Here's an overview of how base objects, events and pages in the system belong together: When the user is on this page:

And you want to trigger the rule when the user is...

Then choose this type of base object:

Employee Files Employment Information/Personal

●

Changing a field value (see onChange event)

EC Object (Person or Employment

●

Saving a portlet or page (see onSave event)

●

Object)/[EC Object] Model

Viewing a transient field (see onView event)

Information

●

Opening a portlet or page in Edit mode (see onEdit event)

Note Currently limited to the HRIS element paymentInfo.

For example: ●

Compensation Information

●

Compensation Information Model

●

Job Information

●

Job Information Model

Note Select a Model base object to set field properties in the rule (for more information, see About Model Base Objects).

Add New Employee

●

Opening a portlet or page (see onInit event)

Employee Information/Employee Information

●


●

Model


Note Select Employee Information Model to set field properties in the rule (for more information, see About Model Base Objects).

104



When the user is on this page:

And you want to trigger the rule when the user is...

Then choose this type of base object:

Manage Organization, ● Pay and Job Structure ●

Opening a portlet or page (see onInit event)

Foundation object, for example:


●

Cost Center

●


●

Department

Related Information What are base objects? [page 16] Base objects are the starting point for your rule. They correspond mainly to the data objects available in the system, which are either EC objects (foundation objects, employment objects, or person objects) or MDF objects. Graphical Overview: Rule Events in Employee Central [page 106] Here's a graphical overview of the relationship between events and pages on the user interface. Rule Events [page 124] Rule events define which user action in the system triggers rule execution.



105

8.1.2

Graphical Overview: Rule Events in Employee Central

Here's a graphical overview of the relationship between events and pages on the user interface.

8.1.3

About Model Base Objects

For Model base objects, you can set the following properties: ●

required

●

visibility

●

previous

●

value

Here's some more information about the different properties: ●

106

required You can make a field required or not by entering true or false accordingly.



Note Fields that are required in the data model should not be set to 'not required' in the rules. This would lead to errors. Here is a list of the required fields you should not override using rules: For this HRIS element in the Succession Data Model...

...this HRIS field is always required:

compInfo

currency-code

emailInfo

email-address email-type

employmentInfo

end-date start-date

globalAssignmentInfo

company end-date assignment-type planned-end-date

imInfo

im-id

jobInfo

job-code company business-unit

jobRelationsInfo

relationship-type rel-user-id

nationalIdCard

card-type national-id isPrimary country

payComponentNonRecurring

pay-component-code value pay-date

payComponentRecurring

pay-component frequency paycompvalue



107

For this HRIS element in the Succession Data Model...

...this HRIS field is always required:

pensionPayoutsInfo

company end-date

personalInfo

first-name last-name

personRelationshipInfo

relationship-type

phoneInfo

phone-type phone-number

workPermitInfo

issue-date

(for all HRIS elements where applicable)

start-date externalCode status

●

●

visibility You can enter the following values: ○

both: Field is visible and editable.

○

view: Field is read-only.

○

none: Field is not visible on the user interface.

previous Use this property when you want to compare an old value with a new value, for example, when a rule is triggered only when a certain value is changed to a new value. You can also define that any data change to a specific field triggers the rule by setting up the rule as follows: New value is not equal to previous value For example: FTE.Value is not equal to FTE.Previous Value

Note When you use previous in the THEN condition, do not use Set as output type; it will be ignored by the system, as you cannot change a previous value using the previous property. ●

value Use this property when you want to combine setting field properties with setting default or conditional values. When you select value, you have to select the corresponding value in the dropdown menu when creating the rule.

Note Current limitations for Model base objects:

108

○

Consider if the onSave event makes sense to be used when you set field properties. For example, a field should be set to mandatory as soon as the user opens a page (then choose onInit event), or when the user makes certain changes (onChange event), but not when the user saves a change.

○

Please see also Limitations for onView Rules.



8.1.4

Pay Component Group Sums in Rules

A pay component group sum is the total amount (sum) of the pay components that are part of a specific pay component group. You can include pay component group sums in rules, for example, to perform calculations. The pay component group sum fields are listed under the Compensation Information EC object, together with the other Compensation Information fields. Only the pay component groups are shown here that are displayed on the compensation UI (that means you have defined Display on Comp UI = Yes under Manage Organization, Pay and Job Structures). In the following example, Allowances and Annual Compensation are pay component groups. If you select these pay component groups for the rule, the rule uses the pay component group sum (for example, 25,000 USD) in the rule:

8.1.5

Rule Example Using EC Objects

This is an example for a rule that uses EC objects.

Example Let's say you want to define that when a new employee is hired for the company in the USA, the employee is automatically eligible for stock, and gets an initial stock grant of 200. In plain language, the rule would look something like this: IF… The company is equal to SAP_USA Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Creating a Rule


109

AND the employee is eligible for stock THEN… The initial stock grant is 200. These are the steps involved: ●

Base object: As the rule should be triggered on the Add New Employee page, as soon as the Admin selects SAP_USA as company for the new employee, you select the base object Employee Information.

●

IF and THEN conditions: This is what the IF and THEN conditions look like in the system:

●

Assignment to EC object: This is how you associate the rule using the Business Configuration UI:

The rule is assigned to the employmentInfo object (hris-element).

Note As you want the rule to be triggered while the Admin adds a new employee, you select an onChange event. onChange events need to be assigned to the corresponding hris-field (Initial Stock Grant).

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8.2

Creating a Rule That Raises a Message

You can define a rule that raises a message when the rule is triggered. A typical use case for creating such rules is to validate the user's entries. For example, you could create a rule that displays an error message when the person's age is less than 18. Creating such a rule is a two-step process: 1.

Create a MessageDefinition object that contains the message text.

2.

Create a rule with the Raise Message action in the THEN statement, referencing the MessageDefinition object you have created before.

Related Information Creating a MessageDefinition Object [page 111] The MessageDefinition object contains the message text. Creating a Message Rule [page 112] Here you define a rule that should display a message when it is triggered.

8.2.1

Creating a MessageDefinition Object

The MessageDefinition object contains the message text.

Procedure To create a MessageDefinition Object: 1.


2.


3.

In the Create New field, select MessageDefinition.

4.

In the text field, enter the message text that should be displayed to the user. In this example, the message text that will be displayed to the user is National ID is required:


Employee Files

Manage Data .


111

5.

Enter an external code for the MessageDefinition object.

6.

Enter an external name for the MessageDefinition object.

7.

Optional: You can also define parameters. The parameters are like placeholders that are filled with dynamic values when the message is called up. Here's an example of a message with parameters:

Here's what these parameters mean: ○

dataType: Select the data type of the parameter. For example, Date for a date parameter, String for a text entry, and so on.

○

externalCode: Enter an external code for the parameter.

○

externalName: Enter an external name for the parameter. This name is displayed as the parameter's label when you assign the message to the rule in a later step.

○

status: Select Active.

Note: In this step you only define what type of parameters you want to use in this message (for example: Date). The concrete parameters are defined when you assign the message to the rule (for example: Position Entry Date). 8.

Save the message.

8.2.2

Creating a Message Rule

Here you define a rule that should display a message when it is triggered.

Prerequisites You have created a MessageDefinition object that contains the message text to be displayed. For more information, see Creating a MessageDefinition Object.

Note Limitations for Messages:

112



●

There is a known MDF issue: Rules are not triggered for composite children. Thus, if there is a rule with a message assigned to a child object, the message is not shown when the parent object is saved, deleted, or changed.

●

Do not use the initializeRules event for MDF objects to trigger rule messages. The initializeRules event is used only for setting default values, but not for validation.

●

Rule messages are triggered for the first one-to-many composite child only. For example, there are two object definitions: ParentDefinition and ChildDefinition. ParentDefinition has a field 'children' which is a one-to-many composite relationship to ChildDefinition. Also, ParentDefinition has a rule attached to Save event, this rule raises a warning message if 'children.externalCode' equals to 'warningCode'. If the user creates an instance of ParentDefinition and specifies several children, then the rule is executed for the first child only. So if the first child has 'warningCode' externalCode, then the message is raised, but if some other children have this code, then no message is shown.

Procedure To create a rule that raises a message: 1.


2.


3.

Click Create New Rule.

4.

Enter the conditions that cause the error message to pop up in the IF conditions.

5.

Enter the THEN conditions where you refer to the message. Select the following:

Company Settings


a) As Output type, select Raise Message. b) As Message, select the MessageDefinition object that you have created before. c) If you have defined parameters for the message when you created the MessageDefinition object, enter or select the concrete parameters that should be used in this rule. Here's an example, where the date is the position entry date, and the manager is derived from the supervisor field:

d) As Severity, select whether the message is an error, warning, or info message. See also Message Severity. Please note: You can define that messages with several severities are raised simultaneously for the same object. If you do this, only one dialog is shown containing all the messages, and the strictest severity is used to determine the dialog type. For example, if there is one Info and one Warning message raised at the same time, the message is shown as a Warning dialog box, containing both messages. e) In the Associate Message To field, select the field where the user action happens that triggers the message. 6.

Save the rule.



113

Next Steps You have to assign the rule to the corresponding object. For more information about how to assign rules to objects, please refer to: ●

Assigning a Rule to an EC Object in Administration Tools

●

Assigning a Rule to an MDF Object

8.2.3

Message Severity

The severity defines whether a message is an error, warning, or info message. Severity

Result

Error

The user cannot save the data changes as long as the error still exists.

Warning

The user can accept the warning and save the data changes.If the user does not accept the warning, the data change is not saved.

Info

The system displays an information dialog that automatically fades away after 5 seconds. The user can also dismiss it manually by pressing the OK button.

Note Error is the strictest severity, Info the lowest severity.

8.3

Creating a Rule with Lookup Function

Here's an example of how lookup tables can be used to filter the pay components picklist.

Prerequisites 1.

114

You have created Employee Subgroup as a customer-specific foundation object, assigned the custom field in the Succession Data Model, and assigned permissions for the custom field. See this example:



You can find more information in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook about how to create customer-specific foundation objects. 2.

You have created instances for each employee subgroup, as in this example:

3.

You have created several recurring pay components.

4.

You have assigned employee subgroups to employees in the Job Information of the system.

Context In this example, the customer uses a customer-specific field Employee Subgroup in the Job Information. This field is used to group employees according to the type of employment from a legacy SAP system. In Employee Central, the employee subgroup is supposed to determine the set of pay components that can be assigned to an employee's compensation record. So ideally the picklist of recurring pay components in the Compensation portlet should be filtered according to the employee subgroup. This can be achieved by raising an error message for every forbidden combination of employee subgroup and pay component.

Note Although associations between standard foundation objects and custom foundation objects can be used to filter picklists, such filtering is limited to picklists within one entity (for example, Job Information). In the above case, Employee Subgroup is a field in Job Information whereas Pay Component is part of another entity, Compensation.



115

Procedure Here's how you achieve the behavior mentioned above using the Lookup function: 1.

Create the lookup table. Therefore, you need to configure an MDF object for the combination of employee subgroup (ES) and pay component (PC). This is the basis for defining instances of forbidden combinations of ES and PC. Here's how you do it: a) Go to Administration Tools. b) In the Company Processes & Cycles portlet, select

Company Settings


c) Click Create New: Object Definition. d) Enter a code and label for the lookup table. e) Create a field for the different condition values, in this case, one field for the employee subgroup, and one field for pay components as in this example:

2.

Specify the combination of values (in this case, forbidden combinations): a) Go to Administration Tools. b) In the Company Processes & Cycles portlet, select

Employee Files

Manage Data .

c) Under Create New, select the MDF object you have created in the previous step (Lookup ES Paycomp). d) Enter one of the value combinations of employee subgroup with forbidden pay component. See this example:

116



e) Save your changes. f) 3.

Repeat steps 1-5 for all value combinations of employee subgroup with forbidden pay component.

Define an error message. You define an error message that is triggered by a rule for every forbidden combination of employee subgroup with pay component as in this example:

For more information on how to create a message, see Creating a Rule: Raising a Message. 4.

Create a rule that raises the error message: a) Go to Administration Tools. b) In the Company Processes & Cycles portlet, select

Company Settings


c) Click Create New Rule. d) In the IF conditions, you use the lookup function to refer to the lookup table you have created beforehand as MDF object.



117

Note that you have to use a collection filter to define your entries as in this example:

What you define here is the following: When the user selects a pay component, the system takes a look at the lookup table Lookup ES Paycomp (first two rows of the IF condition). If the pay component selected by the user is maintained in that lookup table in the following combination: ○

The selected pay component matches a pay component in the lookup table

○

The employee subgroup for that pay component in the lookup table matches the employee's subgroup maintained in the Job Information

…then this rule is triggered. e) In the THEN statement you define that the error message you have created in step 3 is displayed when the IF conditions are met.

f)

Save the rule.

g) Add the rule to the corresponding object. You can use the onChange event which triggers the rule when the user changes the pay component. However, it still allows the user to save the 'forbidden' pay component if the user clicks ok in the message popup.

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If you want to ensure that the 'forbidden' pay component is not saved, the rule can also be triggered when the user saves changes to the Compensation Information portlet. To achieve this, add the rule to the payComponentRecurring EC object using the onSave event.

8.4

Creating Effective-Dated Rules

You can create effective-dated rules, for example, for Time Off, where new accrual policies are required with the beginning of a new calendar or fiscal year. To create effective-dated rules, you select the corresponding start date when the rule should become effective. You create effective-dated rules in the following way: 1.

Create a rule with a rule ID, entering the start date as of when this rule should become effective.

2.

Insert a new record for this rule, and enter a start date that lies after the start date of the first rule version. Adjust the remaining rule details as required.

You now have a rule that changes depending on when the rule is triggered. The system takes into account the date of the object where the change happens. If a rule is triggered before the start date, the system behaves as if there was no rule assigned to the object.



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8.5

Using Parent MDF Object Data in a Rule

You can navigate to an MDF object's parent to set up a rule that requires the parent's data, for example, User or Effective Date of the parent object. When you select an MDF object as base object that has a parent MDF object assigned to it, you can navigate to this parent object by selecting it in the left or right expression. Here's an example for the MDF object Time Account Detail, whose parent object is Time Account:

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9

Copying Rules

You can copy existing rules. This will save you work when you want to create similar rules.

Procedure To copy a rule: 1.


2.


3.

In the Search: Rule dropdown, search the rule you want to copy.

4.

From the Take Action dropdown menu, select Copy Rule.

5.

In the Copy dialog box that opens, enter a rule ID and a rule name for the new rule:

6.

Click Copy.

7.

Change the rule copy as required, and save your changes.

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Copying Rules

Company Settings



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10 Assigning Rules to Objects 10.1 Why assigning rules to objects? A rule is only triggered when it is assigned to the corresponding object. The object to which you assign the rule can be an EC object (foundation object, person object, or employment object) that is defined as an HRIS element, or an MDF object that is defined using the Metadata Framework (MDF). Depending on the object type, you have to follow different ways of assigning the rule to the object.

10.2 Assigning a Rule to an MDF Object To assign the rule to an MDF object, refer to the description in the Metadata Framework Implementation Handbook, under Adding Rules.

10.3 Assigning a Rule to an EC Object in Administration Tools Here's how you assign a rule to an EC object in the Administration Tools, using the Business Configuration UI.

Context You can assign a rule to EC objects using the Business Configuration UI. Consider the following limitations: ●

You can assign rules only for person or employment objects (that is, employee data), but not foundation objects (that is, company data).

●

You can assign rules with the base objects Employee Information, or Model, but not with the base object Employee Information Model.

Procedure 1.


2.


3.

Under Employee Central, click the person or employment object that you want to assign the rule to. For example: jobInfo for Job Information.

4.

To assign the rule on object level (HRIS element level):

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Company Settings

Manage Business Configuration .

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Assigning Rules to Objects

a) Scroll down to the Trigger Rules section. b) Select the corresponding base object, event type and rule. 5.

To assign the rule on HRIS field level (for onChange event type only): a) Under HRIS fields, click the Details link next to the field to which you want to assign the rule. b) In the Details popup, scroll down to the Trigger Rules section. c) Select the corresponding base object, event type and rule. d) Click Done to close the popup.

6.

Click Save. Note: You can find more information about the Business Configuration UI in the Employee Central Implementation Handbook.

10.3.1 Limitations for onView Rules The following limitations apply to onView rules: ●

●

You cannot use onView rules for the following EC objects: ○

Home Address

○

Primary Emergency Contact

For Model base objects that represents data in rows and columns (also referred to as 'data grids'), you have to consider the following: ○

To set a column to invisible or required, create a rule without an IF condition (Always True selected) and put only visibility and required changes in the THEN statement of the rule. Do not set values here.

○

To set values for single rows or for the whole data grid: Create a rule with or without IF conditions and set the values in the THEN statement. Do not set the visible or required attributes in this rule.

Note This limitation applies to the following Model base objects: ○

Spot Bonus Model (for HRIS element payComponentNonRecurring)

○

Job Relationships Model (for HRIS element jobRelationsInfo)

○

Compensation Model (for HRIS element payComponentRecurring)

○

National ID Information Model (for HRIS element nationalIdCard)

○

Work Permit Info Model (for HRIS element workPermitInfo)

○

Email Information Model (for HRIS element emailInfo)

○

Social Accounts Information Model (for HRIS element imInfo)

○

Direct Deposit Model (for HRIS element directDeposit)

See also About Model Base Objects.



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10.3.2 Rule Events Rule events define which user action in the system triggers rule execution. Note that the base object you have selected for creating a rule limits which event you can choose; for an overview, see Creating a Rule with EC Objects. Here's an overview of the available events and when to use which event: Rule is triggered when...

Use this rule event:

Assign the rule event to:

Use this event to:

Portlet or page is loaded

onInit

HRIS element

Set field properties (for example, making fields manda tory, or hiding fields), or to default values that should be shown as soon as the user calls up a page

Portlet or page is saved

onSave

HRIS element

Validate user entries when the user wants to save the changes For example, if the user didn't make an entry in a man datory field, an error message is displayed.

Field value is changed

onChang e

HRIS field

Trigger rules as soon as the user makes a change to a field

Portlet or page with transient field is loaded

onView

HRIS element

Calculate fields that are transient (this means the re sult is not a fixed value stored on the database, but is calculated during runtime when the user calls up the page) For example, to calculate an employee's age. Note: Requires an additional onSave rule that sets the transient field back to null. Please see also Limitations for onView Rules.

Portlet or page is opened in edit mode

onEdit

HRIS element

Note onEdit is currently only supported for the paymentInfo EC object. Change to Job infor mation record is saved

124

saveAlert HRIS element


Default values for editable fields Such defaults might be derived from other fields in the user context. Please note that onEdit is different from onInit: While both are similar in use (to set defaults using rules), onInit is used on the Add New Employee page only (with a person or employment object as base object), whereas onEdit is used on all other editable pages. Send alerts and notifications for approval workflows This is an exception: This event type is only used in combination with approval workflows in Employee Cen tral. For more information, see the Employee Central Implementation Handbook, under How do you set up alerts and notifications?


11

Exporting and Importing Rules

You can use the import/export function of the Metadata Framework to copy rules from a test system to the customer's instance, for example. Please note that you first have to make sure that the objects, picklists, and fields you refer to in your rules are also available in the customer's instance and named exactly the same. Otherwise, the rules fail.

11.1

Exporting Rules

Here's how you can export rules.

Procedure To export a rule: 1.


2.


3.

Select Export Data.

4.

Select the generic object Rule.

5.

For Include dependencies, select Yes.

Employee Files

Import and Export Data .

This guarantees that all parts of a rule that are stored as separate CSV files, including IF and THEN statements, are exported. 6.

For Select all data records, you can select: ○

Yes, to export all rules available in your system.

○

No, to restrict the export to specific rules. When you choose No, you can select the rules you want to include in one export file as in this example, where 3 rules have been selected (note the number 3 in front of the file names):

7.

Click Export.

8.

Go back to Administration Tools.

9.


Employee Files

Monitor Job .

10. On the Monitor Job page, you can see the current job status. When the status is completed, click on Download Status and download the file as a ZIP file. Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Exporting and Importing Rules


125

11.2

Importing Rules

Here's how you can import rules that you have saved as a ZIP file.

Procedure To import a rule: 1.


2.


3.

Select Import Data.

4.

Select ZIP File.

5.

Browse for the file, and click Import.

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Employee Files

Import and Export Data .

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Exporting and Importing Rules

12

Troubleshooting

12.1

Common Errors

In the following, you can find some of the most common errors and how to prevent them. 1.

When defining a rule like 'set jobInfo.department.name = ABC' (base object is jobInfo), it cannot be executed. Why? There is a limitation for setting foundation objects. You can only set foundation object values if the base object is the foundation object. For example, if you redefine the rule like this, it will be triggered: Base object =Department THEN Condition: 'Set Name = ABC'

2.

When you export rules from the source instance, and try to import to another target instance. you cannot open the rules in the target system. Why? It is necessary to ensure that the base object, picklist and foundation object are the same as in the source instance. Please check the following:

3.

○

Base object and the objects used in the rule exist in the target instance

○

EC picklist and MDF picklist used in the rules are the same in the target instance

○

Foundation object values are the same in the target instance

You use the rule to generate a sequence code for Position Code, but the Position Code is updated every time you update the position data. Why? There are some tricks. The rule is triggered by the 'save' event, you can create one more rule for the initialization ('init') of the position. See the example below: ○

Init Rule: IF (always true) THEN set positionCode = 'Automatic'

○

Save Rule: IF (positionCode = 'Automatic') set positionCode = 'POS'+pos_seq

4.

You can define negative values for the sequence number in the Rules Engine UI (for example. start number and step value), but the rule is not executed. Why? The Rules Engine UI is based on the Metadata Framework (MDF) which has the limitation to validate negative numbers. So please do not use negative number in Sequence.

5.

You can define different message types (like warning, error), but you cannot see any difference on the UI when the messages are displayed. Why? EC doesn't support other message types than error messages. So, regardless of what message type you select, all messages are treated as error messages at the moment.

6.

You used EC picklist and MDF picklist in rules, and get an error during execution. Why? If the EC picklist does not have the same value of MDF picklist, there is an error during rule execution. Please ensure MDF picklists have the same value as EC picklists.

7.

You have 3 objects: A, B, C. Their association is: A is grandparent, B is parent, and C is child. A is the base object. When you try to set a value (for example, 'set A.B.C.field = 123'), the system gives an error. If B does not exist, you cannot create C.

8.

You have an HRIS element field that is defined in the Succession Data Model which is NOT visible, and then it is defined in Corporate Data Model as visible. This field is visible on the EC page, but not visible in the Rules Engine. Why? This is an example for a propagated field with different visibility. The Rules Engine only supports the Succession Data Model, and the Corporate Data Model is not taken into consideration. That is why this field is not visible (as defined in the Succession Data Model).

Configuring Business Rules in SuccessFactors Troubleshooting


127

12.2 Tips for Troubleshooting As there is currently no test run tool for rules, here are some tips for troubleshooting. ●

If a rule fails, or is not triggered, remove one statement and check if it works. If not, remove one more and so on to find out which ones work and which ones not.

●

Then for the ones that do not work, check this guide again if you find any hint. If not, redefine the statement.

12.3 How to improve performance You can improve the system performance during rule execution by following some guidelines.

Placing conditions at the top of a rule If possible, place the following conditions at the top of a rule: ●

Normal field from base object Normal fields means primitive type of field (such as string, Boolean, number, and so on), but not foundation objects or MDF objects. When you have a normal field in a long list of AND/OR conditions, then please move this to the top as it can be executed fast, and the Rules Engine checks this first. If it is false, then the rest of AND conditions don't need to be executed. If it is true, then the rest of OR conditions don't need to be executed. See the example rule below, where FTE = 1.

●

EC picklist from base object When you use an EC picklist in a long list of nested AND/OR conditions, move this condition to the top of the rule. As an EC picklist can be executed fast by the rule, it can be checked first. If it is false, then the rest of AND conditions don't need to be executed. If it is true, then the rest of OR conditions don't need to be executed. See the example rule below, where Employee Class is equal to Expatriate.

●

Comparing two MDF object fields When you compare two MDF object fields of the same base object (for example, Alert.End-Date is equal to Alert.Start-Date), move this condition to the top. It can be checked fast because the MDF object is not loaded, but instead, the system compares the internal code.

●

Right expression for MDF object contains concrete value When the left expression is an MDF object, it is faster to select a concrete value for the right expression (for example, ABC, 01/01/2012, and so on). If you select another field for the right expression, the system has to retrieve the concrete value itself, which takes more time. See the example rule below, where Position ID is equal to po04, which can be executed fast. If you select Position ID is equal to Position Name, this takes more time.

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Placing conditions at the bottom of a rule If possible, place the following conditions at the bottom of a rule: ●

ECobject.ECobject.fields When EC objects are related to other EC objects, or when you create cross-portlet rules, for example, you navigate from one EC object to another EC object to get to a specific field (as in the example below: EmploymentInformation.JobRelationsInformation.EventDate). In such a case, the EC to EC API needs more time to get data from another big table, therefore you should put such a condition to the bottom of the rule

●

Collection Filters Collection filters call the EC API to get the collection data first and then to filter the matched data according to the condition of the collection. This can be time-consuming if the collection size is big. You should put this to the bottom. Here is an example of a rule that considers the above-mentioned guidelines:

Keeping number low If possible, keep the number of the following examples low in a rule, as these slow down system performance: ●

ECobject.ECobject.fields and collection filters Because of the high amount of input for a rule engine batch call, we don't suggest to use the following in the rule definition: ○

ECobject.ECobject.field (for example, jobInfo.employmentInfo.custom_string1)

○

Collection filters

If you cannot avoid using these in a rule (for example, when you define cross-portlet rules), move them to the bottom of the rule. ●

Define a function that has an SQL execution If you call batch execution, try to avoid using the functions Lookup or Get Next Value in the rule, as they call an SQL script. According to the rule execution policy for batches, the batches are executed one by one, which means the function will be called many times.



129

●

Load many rules at the same time It decreases the performance of the underlying MDF when you call up several rules at once, so please don't load many rules in loop.

Related Information Collection Filters [page 32] Collection filters are used to get a unique value from a list of values. This is relevant when there is a parent-child relationship between data objects.

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