As of December 2020, Flash Player will no longer be valid.
You have probably seen this message appear on some internet browsers since the beginning of the year. This announcement is the final step in switching from flash-coded applications to HTML5 code.
What are the consequences for the LMS?
What does this have to do with Successfactors and the LMS? The question is legitimate.
Well, a lot of the training administration interface, the iconic “Tray”, was flash-coded. This announcement required a major transformation for SAP Successfactors… and therefore a change in usage for the many users of LMS administration.
Most users had already noted that the recent features added by SAP SuccessFactors (Review, Programs, Gamification, Custom Recommendations, etc.) had been developed in SAP Fiori (therefore HTML5 compatible). So, it remained to redevelop all the other features still under Flash. This challenge is being met; SAP has unveiled the deployment roadmap for this new interface.
What to expect?
We don’t know much at this point. Other than that—
Disappearance
- SAP has announced the disappearance of some features, in addition to those already announced as Native login or Plateau Question Editor (see screenshot)
- No announcement regarding reports and Plateau Report Designer that should always be supported, at least for a while.
Transformation
- A few screenshots have been shared and they show the future interface and the changes that await us.
- Consistency of the administration of the LMS with the rest of the SF suite is worked out, while keeping the navigation logic specific to the administration of the LMS to facilitate adoption by the administrators.
The element view
Registrations to a session view
One important announcement concerns the employee profile:
SAP seems to have taken advantage of this imposed transformation to strengthen the integration between the LMS and the rest of the suite, as a result, some fields coming directly from the employee profile of Bizx (Employee Profile or Employee Central) will only be available as read-only in the LMS administration site now.
Employee profile view
What will remain
Rest assured, not everything will disappear and some of the much-appreciated features will find their place in the new interface. Thus, the search screen, praised for its practicality and power, will remain the preferred search screen in the new interface.
Novelties
It will be easier to say more after testing this new interface, but it seems that it brings its share of new features. They were highlighted through the documentation:
- New terminology, more relevant and consistent with the rest of the suite
- Import content to Improved Online Content (simpler, fewer clicks)
- Simpler and clearer content object behaviour configuration
- Simplified and expanded listing filter and ranking
What should I do as a customer?
This is a very comprehensive Transition Guide, which presents the changes and their impacts. Pay particular attention to the Preparation List (p.50).
First of all, read the documentation (Attention: in order to gain access to the documentation in question you must first gain access to the site https://community.successfactors.com/):
- Screenshots and roadmap are available in the Q4 Learning release slides
- A Q&A that identifies some questions you may have
- An Excel spreadsheet that lists, functionality by functionality, changes in terminology
- A presentation of the features currently coded in Flash
- Finally, an Excel spreadsheet that shows the new features and their placement in the LMS tree versus the current position.
Want to minimize the impact on your business and take full advantage of this change? Then be prepared to conduct tests, adoption activities with new users and communication actions, so that the transition is seamless.
IN-RGY stands beside you as we begin this major shift in SAP SuccessFactors Learning.
Do not hesitate to contact our experts for questions, training and support in your improvement projects!
Sébastien Roberto
HRIS Consultant
IN-RGY