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Mary_MR
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
 

The SAP SuccessFactors Release 2H 2020 & 1H 2021 Release brings with it the Deprecation of the Event Reason XML in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Product:

  • 2H 2020: ECT-133348 – Event Reason XML Deprecation

  • 1H 2021: ECT‑161692 – Event Reason XML Deprecation


This blog post, written by the SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Support team for which I am a member and is aimed to provide an overview of this feature. As well as answering any questions you may have on the XML Deprecation and provide you with the best starting platform for using Event Reason Derivation effectively post 2H 2020 Preview Release.

The Deprecation of the Event Reason XML will be done via the release. In the 2H 2020 release version the XML-based approach for Event Reason Derivation is no longer supported. From now on, business rules must be used for deriving an event reason, Enable Business Rules for Event Reason Derivation.

Special Update: 

After receiving feedback from customers, the following change will occur, the Event Reason Derivation XML Deprecation and  Migration to Business Rules for the Production environment will now be Opt-In via the Upgrade Center with the Second Half 2020 (2H 2020) Release. This will allow for more testing to be completed with the migrations that occurred in the Preview environment already.

All migrated Preview environments in 2H 2020 Release will remain migrated. For all Production environments the Depreciation and Migration will now be optional via the Upgrade Center.

Please note, the Upgrade Center will only display the information relevant to this upgrade in the English language. If a user is using a language other than English in the UI, the text of this upgrade will be displayed in English.

In the 1H 2021 the universal migration of all remaining non-migrated Production environments (Production environments which have not completed the Opt-In migration). We highly suggest you upgrade your Production environment instances on your own via the Upgrade Center prior to the First Half 2021 Release.

The below information is relevant to all 2H 2020 Preview environments and all Production environments which complete the Opt-In Migration.

This change has been introduced to give the administrators more flexibility in the system. The requirement to make any adjustments to Event Reason Derivation via restricted access in Provisioning is no longer needed. This change enables a self-serve approach via Admin Centre in order to keep up to date with your business need in real time.

For any instances which are using the XML-based approach for Event Reason Derivation, a migration to Business Rules for Event Reason Derivation will be provided to all Preview environments and as an Opt-in for Production environments via Upgrade Center.

Please Note: For an instance to be using the XML-based approach the Enable youCalc rules engine for HRIS setting is be enabled in Provisioning.  For these environments only the migration will be applicable.

The migration script ensures that the required settings are changed, and existing rules in XML are translated into onSave business rules.

Previous to the 2H 2020 release in order to use Enable Business Rules for Event Reason Derivation in an instance the was prerequisite of Enable Business Rules for Workflow Derivation.
With the 2H 2020 release this dependency is being removed, meaning Enable Business Rules for Event Reason Derivation will no longer have a prerequisite for Enable Business Rules for Workflow Derivation.

The following changes in Provisioning will occur in the 2H 2020 release relative to this Depreciation that include:

  • The removal of the legacy Enable youCalc rules engine for HRIS switch.

  • Decoupling of two switches, Enable Business Rules for Workflow Derivation and Enable Business Rules for Event Reason Derivation. The behaviour of these two switches is as follows:

    • If Enable Business Rules for Workflow Derivation is enabled, workflows are derived using business rules. Otherwise, workflow derivation happens from the XML model.

    • If Enable Business Rules for Event Reason Derivation is enabled, event reasons are derived using business rules. Otherwise, event reason derivation is disabled, and event reason must be manually selected in the Manager Self Service (MSS) Take Action UI.



  • For all Depreciated and Migrated environments, the Import/Export Rules XML for Event Reason Derivation option will still be available via provisioning, but the Import option will be disabled. Through this page you will be able to only export the last version of the Event Reason Derivation XML which was in use before the migration.


Example Provisioning Settings prior to the 2H 2020 release changes.


 

Example Provisioning Settings after the 2H 2020 release changes.


 

Example “Import/Export Rules XML for Event Reason Derivation”
Settings after the Depreciation and Migration.


 

As part of the migration which will be applied to the instances which are using the XML-based approach for Event Reason Derivation, all rules in the XML will be converted into onSave business rules for Event Reason Derivation.

Two rules will be created as part of the migration:

  • One for Job Information Event Reason Derivation. This rule will contain all event reason derivation rules for Job Information from the XML.

  • One for Compensation Information Event Reason Derivation. This rule will contain all event reason derivation rules for Compensation Information from the XML.


Both rules will be triggered as onSave business rules on the relevant HRIS Element and will be visible in both Manage Business Configuration UI and the Success Data Model as triggered rules.

To help identify the rules from other rules in your instance, the migrated rules will include the postfix 'ERD_migrated_rule' to make it easier for you to review and edit the rule. For example:

  • jobInfoModel_ERD_migrated_rule_1582621769177

  • compInfoModel_ERD_migrated_rule_1582621769177



Example of migrated rule for Job Information.


 

A list of use cases for migrated rules can be reviewed in the SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central - Employee Central Master: Event Reason Derivation from XML documentation. Here under the section “Use Cases” a detailed example of XML rules and what the migrated rule would look like are provided. This can help provide a better understand of the logic used in the creation of the migrated rules.

To help enable you to use business rules for Event Reason Derivation there's a new rule scenario to support onSave rules in Job Information and Compensation Information for event reason derivation, being introduced in the 2H 2020 release. This rule scenario should be used when creating new Event Reason Derivation rules for Job and Compensation Information if needed so after the release. This will enable you to adjust to your business need with the correct rule configuration.


Example of new Scenario in Configure Business Rules UI.


 

To fully understand the new logic applied when using Business Rules for Event Reason Derivation, it is recommended to review the following page of the documentation: SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central - Employee Central Master: Event Reason Derivation Business Rule....
The logic used is very similar to that of the Event Reason XML but with one notable change. This is with regards to the logic used when changing both Job and Compensation Information in the same transaction.


Change Job and compensation Information in the same transaction.


 

While the XML used a top down approach, meaning the first matching rule would set the Event Reason used, regardless of weather it was a Job Information or Compensation Information rule. The Business Rules for Event Reason Derivation uses the following logic:

  1. The system tries to get the event reason set on the Job Information entity first. If it is set on the Job Information entity, then the event reason is used.

  2. If no event reason is set on Job Information, the system tries to derive the event reason set on the Compensation Information entity. If it’s set, then the event reason is used.

  3. If the system encounters a case where the event reason is neither set on the Job Information nor on the Compensation Information entity, it raises an error message, and this is displayed on the screen.


Due to this logic, there may be a scenario when you must adjust the migrated rules in order to receive the desired Event Reason. For this reason, it is recommended to carry out post release testing on this feature.

 

Post Release Testing:

Post the migration you may wish to carry out some testing or sanity checks on the newly created rules. May I suggest the below as some scenarios to include in your testing:

  • Review Manage Business Configuration UI or the Succession Data Model to see the newly created rule triggers. These rules will have the postfix 'ERD_migrated_rule' for example: jobInfoModel_ERD_migrated_rule_1582621769177.
    These rules should have an onSave trigger event.

  • Open both rules to review the configuration.

  • Run Check Tools > Employee Central Core > Rules. These checks will not only validate the newly created rules but also all other rules triggered in your system:
                                    Check Tools for Employee Central Core Rules.

  • Carry out Manager Self Service (MSS) Take Action Based on your daily business processes, carry out a series of Job Information and Compensation Information checks to validate the Event Reason Derivation of the business rules. It is important to test creating Job and Compensation Information records from different scenarios, especially the scenario of creating a Job and Compensations Information change in the same transaction.

  • If you would like to understand how the rule are working in more detail, creating a “Business Rule Execution Log” (Rule Trace) may help. The Rule trace can be created for the two migrated rules to review the execution and the Event Reason Derivation. More information on using Rule Traces can be found in the following KBA:
    2257064 - Business Rule Execution Log FAQ - EC & RCM


Additional Resources:

To provide some clarity regarding frequently asked questions we’ve listed the top questions/answers below:

Question:  How do I know if an instance will be impacted by this depreciation in the 2H 2020 Preview release?
Answer:  The instances which are using XML-based approach will have “Enable youCalc rules engine for HRIS” setting is be enabled in Provisioning.  For these instances only the migration will take place.

Question:  How can I apply the Depreciation and Migration to a 2H 2020 Production environment?
Answer:  The Event Reason Derivation XML Depreciation and Migration to Business Rules for the Production environments is an Opt-In via the Upgrade Center with the Second Half 2020 (2H 2020) Release

Question:  If an instance is to be migrated, how can I check if it was successful in Preview environments?
Answer:  In order to check the migration was success you review Manage Business Configuration for the migrated rules. If they are present the migration was successfully completed. 

Question:  How can I check if the Opt-In Depreciation and Migration was successful in Production environments?
Answer:  In Upgrade Center, the status of the Depreciation and Migration will be displayed. Once completed, you review Manage Business Configuration for the migrated rules.

Question:   How will I know which rule is the migrated rule?
Answer:    The migrated rules will include the postfix 'ERD_migrated_rule' to make it easier for you to highlight them, for example: jobInfoModel_ERD_migrated_rule_1582621769177

Question:  What happens if an instance is not migrated after the Preview release weekend?
Answer:   If an instance is actively using the Event Reason XML, they will be scheduled for migration over the release weekend. If an issue is found with the migration an instance can be skipped by the migration and the migration will be carried out at a later date. This will be done via a follow up migration script to resolve any issues found, this does not need to be requested, it will be done automatically. 

Question:  There are less if/else if conditions in the rules than there were in the XML, why is this?
Answer:  The migration will only convert the correctly configured rules from the XML. This means if any rules in the XML had configuration issues such as referencing a field which is no longer enabled or comparing two fields of non-matching data types, these rules will not be converted in the business rules. These rules would not have be processed in the XML due to the configuration issue and therefor there will be no change in logic by these rules not being converted by the migration.

Question:  Is there an option to review the old XML?
Answer:  The “Import/Export Rules XML for Event Reason Derivation” option will still be available via provisioning, but the Import option will be disabled. Through this page you will be able to only export the last version of the Event Reason Derivation XML which was in use before the migration.

Question:  Do I need to test the rules after the release?
Answer:   It is recommended that post release testing is carried out to ensure the Event Reason Derivation is working correctly in your instance.

I hope this blog post has answered any questions or concerns you may have had about this depreciation and the resulting migration. You should now have all the information required to continue with your post migration testing and to continue with your business process for Event Reason Derivation with the new business rules. If you have questions or feedback regarding my blog post, please feel free to leave a comment. For further questions, please view all questions in SAP Community here or ask your own question here.

For those looking for further content on the release please review the following information:

Other Release specific recommended information:

 

 
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