4.5 Metadata Framework Enablement and Object Definition Settings

4.5 Metadata Framework Enablement and Object Definition Settings

Quick Answer: The Metadata Framework (MDF) lets consultants and customers extend SAP SuccessFactors with Generic Objects (GOs). MDF objects come with import and export, workflow, rules, reporting, OData, and RBP security. You build an object's structure in Configure Object Definitions, add logic with business rules, maintain records in Manage Data, and optionally design screens in Manage Configuration UI.

What MDF Is and Why EC Depends on It

MDF can create custom objects and maintain existing objects, link objects, and build hierarchies of objects. SAP uses it for many applications. Position Management, Time Off, and Manage Business Configuration are all built on MDF, and so are the MDF foundation objects such as Legal Entity, Business Unit, Division, Department, Cost Center, and Job Classification. Every MDF object shares the same capabilities: import and export, UI, OData API access, workflows, rules, reporting, and RBP.

Limit: administrators can create 250 custom MDF objects by default. The limit can be raised to 400 in Provisioning > Company Settings.

MDF Layers

1. Object Definition: where the object is built. Behavior, fields, associations, and security are set here.
2. Business Rules: logic to default data, set values, raise messages, and trigger actions on save or delete.
3. Data: create, import, and manage records (Manage Data, Import and Export Data, OData).
4. Configuration UI: alternative screens with different layouts, labels, text, and links (Manage Configuration UI).

Enabling MDF

In Provisioning > Company Settings:

• Enable Generic Objects (the basis of MDF and of the rules engine)
• Enable the Attachment Manager

For workflows and rules on MDF data, also enable Employee Central Foundation Objects, Effective Dated Data Platform, and Enable Business Rules for Workflow Derivation.

MDF Permissions

In Manage Permission Roles > Administrator Permissions > Metadata Framework:

Record access for individual objects is granted in Miscellaneous Permissions or another category the object is assigned to. There you choose View, Edit, Import, and Export, plus Field Level Overrides that make specific fields No Access or Read Only. Access to Non-RBP Secured Objects covers objects with Secured = No.

Record-Level Permission for Import and Export

For a secured object, you can require explicit Import or Export permission at record level. In Manage Data, create or edit the Object Configuration for the object and set Enable Record-Level Permission Check on Import and/or …on Export to Yes.

Object Details in Configure Object Definitions

Open Configure Object Definitions > Create New: Object Definition, or search an existing one and choose Take Action > Make Correction.

Do not confuse effective dating with audit. Audit (MDF Version History) can be enabled regardless of the dating option.

MDF Data Management and Auditing

• MDF data volume objects (MDF Audit Data Volume, MDF Association Data Volume, MDF Transactional Data Volume) help administrators understand data volumes and decide when to purge.
• The MDF Change History Data report under Change Audit Reports covers all root-level MDF data except configuration objects such as object definitions, picklists, and object configurations. It may first need enabling in Manage Audit Configuration.

Position Management Preview

THR79 applies these settings to the Position object. Position uses Basic effective dating, is secured in Miscellaneous Permissions, and must have Pending Data = Yes if workflows are used. SAP recommends triggering position workflows through business rules rather than Workflow Routing at object level (Section 11.4).