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Ishita Datta
November 10, 2022 | 6 minute read

MDF Objects in SAP

SuccessFactors
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In the SAP world, SuccessFactors is an integral cloud-based solution

 Like for managing various HR functions. To elaborate just a little more on
what is SuccessFactors — casually known as SF or SFSF,
SuccessFactors is an HR tool that provides cloud-based software for
 RSS Feed human capital management (HCM), using the software-as-a-service
(SaaS) model.

SAP SuccessFactors de"nes its data by using a number of preformed

data models. Each data model describes how its data elements are
structured within a database. In the Metadata Framework (MDF) ,
objects are used to provide a structured approach to programming. By
de"ning a dataset as a custom object, a developer can easily create
multiple similar objects and modify existing objects within a program.
These objects also provide “encapsulation,” meaning the data within an
object is protected from being modi"ed or destroyed by
other functions or methods unless explicitly allowed.
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 Understanding Metadata framework

The Metadata Framework is used with the modules like Recruiting

Management to build the application. So enabling MDF is a prerequisite
for such applications. Some of the new applications are typically
deployed through Upgrade Center, where it is possible to enable MDF.

MDF provides a set of features that enable you to build end-to-end

applications. Using MDF, you can also add objects to the MDF data
model or modify the behavior of existing objects to suit your client’s
needs.

An object de"nition contains information about "elds (properties of

an object), associations (relationship to other objects), work#ows,
business rules, and security con"guration for an object. Using the
Con"gure Object De"nitions interface, you can create new objects or
customize your applications by modifying existing object de"nitions to
suit your need.

Let’s break down metadata framework to see what it means. Meta is a

pre"x that is used to mean “an underlying de"nition or
description.” Metadata actually provides basic information about the
data, making it easier to locate, use and reuse a particular dataset.

A simple example of an object may be a user account created for

a website. If we know details like author, date created, date
modi"ed and "le size it becomes that much easier for someone to
locate a speci"c document. MDF objects therefore do not depend on
the data models, instead they have custom "elds. So "eld criteria are
very important attributes of MDF objects that facilitate data
consistency and data entry through dependent lists.

What exactly are MDF objects?

The MDF is a UI-based con"guration and extension framework that

provides creation, modi"cation, maintenance, and deletion of custom
objects (called Metadata Objects) within SuccessFactors. They can be
used at the corporate level as well as at the people pro"le level. It is a
platform that can be used to build new applications to add to your
client’s solution or to modify out-of-the-box applications that have been
built using MDF to "t your client’s needs.
:
 The following components constitute the MDF Object :

Organization: Legal Entity, Business Unit, Division, Department, Cost

Center,
Pay : Pay group, Pay calendar,
Job: Job function, Job classi"cation

The Metadata Framework is a way to lay out the structure of data in

SAP SuccessFactors. We know that an “Object” is a unit of collated
"elds that describe or belong to another unit in your database system.
Just like how an object could be anything, foundation objects could
more speci"cally be business units, departments, or job codes –
basically, any kind of data that is used extensively throughout a
company. Foundation objects are contained and con"gured in the
Corporate Data Model. This demonstrates the power of the MDF
because you can create objects or you can edit existing objects. This
ability to create and edit objects lets you store any type of information.
It replaces XML-based con"guration and the need to import Master
Data via CSV/Excel "les. MDF allows you to customize customer
objects and related application logic as needed to meet your client’s
needs. With MDF, you can create and manage database object
de"nitions, object relationships, and object hierarchy. The MDF is
tightly integrated with the work#ow rules engine, as well as reporting.

How to access Con"gure Object De"nition?

Digging deeper into how we can view these objects, let’s look at
the Con"gure Object De"nition
De"nition. This is the transaction that is used
to create, con"gure and manage the objects and their object
de"nitions.

For this, navigate to Admin Center → Search for Con"gure Object

De"nitions on the Action bar.
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 The di$erent "elds of the selected object will be displayed and can be
edited.

In our example, we select “Object De"nition” in the “Search” "eld and

then choose “Position” from the drop-down to view how this object has
been de"ned. As shown in the image above, you can see some basic
data about the object in general such as whether it is active or not,
whether version history is kept on the MDF de"nition, etc. Below that
begins a list of "elds within the object and associated attributes of each
"eld such as its technical identi"er, length, the type of "eld it is, etc.
These "elds are as shown in the image below.

Scrolling further down we can even set rules for what happens when a
new object is created (such as pre-populating "elds) or validation rules
to help with data integrity to check "elds before the object is saved. We
can edit this de"nition of the overall object and the "elds within the
object by clicking “Take Action” and then “Make Correction”.

How to create a new MDF object?

:
 Successfactors o$ers the chance to con"gure the objects as per
company-speci"c requirements. These objects are con"gured using the
object de"nitions during the creation of the object. The structure of
each Metadata Object is "xed, although there is a degree of #exibility.
You can add up to 200 custom "elds for each Metadata Object, in
addition to the standard attributes that are required. New objects can
also be created with the Create New option as shown on the top right of
the screenshot above. From the Create New dropdown, you can select
the object de"nition whose instance you want to create. This opens a
form in which you can enter data for that instance. This dropdown will
only contain the object de"nitions that are available to you on a
particular Success Factors instance. If you do not see an object
de"nition that you expected to see, check the security permissions. The
attributes when creating a new object would look like this:

How to use the MDF object?

The MDF is accessible in OneAdmin for system administrators – these

are under Company Settings and Employee Files. The Manage Org, Pay
and Job transaction in SF used for accessing Foundation Objects that
are not yet moved to MDF Objects. One such example is as shown
below:

In the Manage Data transaction we can view the objects that have been
:
 moved to MDF. This is done by selecting the required object from the
dropdowns and we will be able to view the "elds of the object. For
example let’s have a look at our “Position” object. This transaction will
display the object details in the following manner:

We can choose to edit these "elds or also permanently delete them by

using the Take Action drop down.

In addition to the standard Metadata Objects there are also other types
of Metadata Object, such as Rules, UI components, and Picklists.

In Conclusion..

The SuccessFactors Metadata Framework (MDF) is swiftly becoming a

very sought after area of con"guration within SuccessFactors. It
empowers one to con"gure custom MDF objects for People Pro"le,
permitting modi"cations and adaptation of the system to display
important data on an employee’s record. Therefore, it is rewarding to
see SAP make an addition in this release to allow Analytics to easily
take advantage of these objects. In e$ect, SAP has provided a sturdy
and durable extensibility framework that customers can utilize
to extend HR cloud functionality and discover company-speci"c objects
to enhance and optimize their own business processes, without the
need to code. Access to the custom data will now get very much easier,
how it will work out in the future only time will tell. The simple way of
using MDF Objects can lead to better decisions, and it can improve
quality, eliminate costs, and build trust, besides fostering innovation in
products, services and processes.

Check out the full version of the article here: https://integrtr.com/mdf-

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 objects-in-sap-successfactors/

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Assigned Tags

SAP SuccessFactors platform

SAP Metadata Management

Custom MDF objects

mdf with foundation object

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1 Comment

You must be Logged on to comment or reply to a post.

Philippe BOULICAUT
August 3, 2023 at 5:30 am

Does other customers have created a custom E!ective Dated MDF object

to overcome the long lasting issue

when rehiring an employee the last hire date

in employment info is updated as soon as the rehire event is entered :

we understand from sap side it’s working as designed :

2772278 - Changing Hire Date via Job

Information Automatically Updates all Date
Fields in Employment
Information(Employment Details)
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