4.2 Manage Business Configuration and Succession Data Model XML Fundamentals
Key Takeaways
- The Succession Data Model defines the data structure shown in the People Profile, and BCUI edits it without XML.
- Manage Business Configuration is a Provisioning opt-in feature with Employee Central (HRIS) and Employee Profile (standard) sections.
- Disabling a standard element in BCUI removes it from the Succession Data Model and from later XML exports.
- Provisioning keeps up to 100 backup versions of the Succession Data Model, but changes made in BCUI are not versioned.
- Well-formed XML has correct syntax; valid XML is well-formed and also follows the DTD.
4.2 Manage Business Configuration and Succession Data Model XML Fundamentals
Quick Answer: The Succession Data Model (SDM) is an XML file that defines employee data elements. Its standard elements feed the Employee Profile, and its HRIS elements hold Employee Central data. Manage Business Configuration (BCUI) lets administrators change it in Admin Center without editing XML. Some changes still need XML, so consultants must handle the file safely: back it up, validate it against its DTD, and version every upload.
The People Profile and the Succession Data Model
The People Profile is the presentation layer. What it can display is defined by the Succession Data Model, for example First Name, Last Name, and Customizable Fields 1–15. The SDM is named after the Succession module it was first built for, but it is now at the core of SAP SuccessFactors. Employee Central, Succession, and Performance Management all use elements defined in it.
Manage Business Configuration (BCUI)
BCUI is a Provisioning opt-in feature. Once enabled, it shows the configurable elements on the left and lets you maintain them on the right. A check mark on the left means an element is in use.
- Employee Central section: HRIS elements and their country-specific versions (Chapter 7).
- Employee Profile section: standard elements and userInfo elements used by the talent modules.
Typical changes to standard elements in BCUI:
- change labels and add translations (globe icon)
- enable fields
- attach a picklist. Select the element, open the Picklist drop-down, and save. For example, custom02 is relabeled Matrimonial Status and linked to ecMaritalStatus.
- change visibility
- make fields required
Two cautions:
- Disabling a standard element deactivates it and removes it from the SDM, so it no longer appears in any XML download or export. Test before disabling anything in production.
- Enabling a standard element does not make it visible until the matching permission is granted. Employee Profile fields are permissioned in the Employee Data category of RBP.
Why XML Still Matters
Before BCUI, every data model change needed a partner or SAP Support, because the XML files live in Provisioning. BCUI removed much of that dependency, but some changes must still be made in XML. Consultants therefore need to read and edit the SDM.
XML Vocabulary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Tree structure | XML starts with a root element and branches into parent and child elements |
| Element | Describes the data it contains; can have attributes and sub-elements |
| Attribute | A named value inside an element's tag, always in quotation marks |
| DTD (Document Type Definition) | Declares which elements and attributes are allowed and where |
| Validation | Well-formed XML has correct syntax. Valid XML is well-formed and follows the DTD. |
Well-formed XML needs a root element, closing tags, properly nested elements, quoted attribute values, and correct case, because XML is case-sensitive.
Editing Rules for the SDM
- Download the SDM from Provisioning (Succession Management > Import/Export Data Model) or export it from Admin Center with Export Succession Data Model. The export needs the Export Succession Data Model permission under Admin Center Permissions.
- Open it in an XML editor such as Oxygen, Notepad++, or XMLPad (Windows only). Change the DTD reference from SAP's internal repository path to a local DTD file in the same folder (for the SDM, sf-form.dtd), so the editor can validate.
- The SDM is a single file that overwrites on upload. Keep the original as an untouched backup and save each change as a new version (Save As, for example _V2).
- Upload through Provisioning > Succession Management > Import/Export Data Model and add a comment for the version.
Version Control
Provisioning can keep backup versions of the data models and restore a chosen version. Comments are required during import, and earlier versions can be downloaded. The system keeps up to 100 SDM versions; the oldest are deleted when the limit is reached. Version control does not record changes made in Manage Business Configuration. It covers only models loaded through Provisioning.
The Three Primary SDM Elements
- Standard elements: single-value fields shown in the Employee Profile, such as firstName, lastName, and custom01–custom15. The data model does not define their display order.
- Background elements: field mappings to the SM_Background table (multi-row talent data).
- Custom filters: turn one or more of the 15 custom fields into filters for reporting and similar tasks.
A standard element can be linked to a picklist directly in XML with a picklist tag. THR80's exercise relabels custom01 as Region with the region picklist and custom02 as Marital Status, then verifies the result in the Latest People Profile.
How This Connects to Employee Central
THR81 builds on these basics. HRIS elements are edited in BCUI or in the SDM and its country-specific version (Sections 7.2–7.3). HRIS sync maps EC fields into these standard elements so the talent modules stay current (Section 7.4).
An administrator disables a standard element in Manage Business Configuration. What is the effect?
A consultant restores the Succession Data Model to an earlier Provisioning version. Which changes are not captured by that version history?
An XML editor reports that a data model has correct syntax but uses an element not declared in its DTD. How should the file be described?