Automating SAP SuccessFactors

[ashwin.ashok ((TheCodingTheory))]

I just received requirement for Automating the Launching of Forms.
I’ve noticed not all activities work, despite refining the selectors(Some selectors validate despite the button not appearing on screen).

The UI for SuccessFactors is not easy to navigate through, also element exists activity seldom works. Many elements load at varying intervals so its not like I can drag in an element exists for each and every element.

We use API calls wherever we can, but we can’t automate everything through API. I wanted to ask whether using Computer Vision or Object Repository will be a good alternative.

How are you automating SuccessFactors, or what is your approach?

Help is most appreciated, thanks in advance.

[LevKushnir]

HI @ashwin.ashok

Please be so kind and give me and other community members more details about your automation challenges?

• Do you have any specific element, any specific activities, which is behaving differently from your expectation?

• Can you share some screenshots of your particular application/form you are using?

• Do you have a more description about the use case?

• Which version of UiPath Studio and UiAutomation Package you are using?

SAP SuccessFactors is a modern web application with highly dynamic structure of HTML elements (you are completely right). In some cases SAP SuccessFactors is using SAP FIORI interface, which we can automate without any big issue, despite the dynamic elements. We have developed here our unique capabilities for object identification, support all FIORI versions and all browsers About SAP Fiori Automation

I would like to understand more.

As a quick hint:

• Computer Vision is & can be very helpful in some scenarios. This is a recognition method for automation
• Object Repository - is “like a storage” of automation objects, element for share & reuse. This will not help you with recognition.

Looking forward to hearing more from you

Best regards, Lev

[ashwin.ashok ((TheCodingTheory))]

Hi @LevKushnir ,

Thank you for your detailed response, I’m grateful that you took the time to respond to my query.
Given below is one such example of where the automation fails:

First I’ll describe how it works manually.
You either click on the drop down and wait for the items in the list to load(I suppose it retrieves the values from its database) or you can type into the box and wait for dropdown to load.
Now for the automation part,
Select Item activity doesn’t work for dropdowns in SuccessFactors.
If I use a “Select Item” activity, it results in the error shown below:

So Select Item is a no-no when dealing with SuccessFactors.

Another thing I’ve noticed is the robot is always successful in entering the text, but that doesn’t always lead to the dropdown generation. Even if I include a click, enter text and keystrokes action, it doesn’t select the right value.

Although the bot is always successful in typing into the field, just typing in the required value(Country in this case e.g.USA) will not suffice. I will have to enter the exact text(or partial), and select the required value for it get registered.

Sometimes, keystrokes don’t work, or the provided delays isn’t sufficient for dropdown to fully generate(and there is only so much delay we can provide, unnecessarily lengthening the process).

Also, we have tried Computer Vision and Image Automation, but it doesn’t register certain fields, especially when running in RDP.

In a nutshell, the main issue I face while automating SF, is when I have to automate selection of items from a dropdown list.

[LevKushnir]

HI @ashwin.ashok

Clear description, clear use case! What I see on your screenshots is SAP FIORI user interface, so let me play around and understand what we can do and how we can do.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Best regards, Lev

[LevKushnir]

pHI @ashwin.ashok

I was able to reproduce and understand the issue, you have described. So, follow me:

The good news is, that SAP SuccessFactors is using SAP FIORI interface and we are able to understand/automate each and every SAP FIORI controls in very stable manner.

The bad news is, that in SAP SuccessFactors there is some kind of “extension layer” on top of FIORI, which does not allow us to get to the SAP FIORI layer during “Selection on screen”

BUT

The good news is, that we can overcome this “extension layer” with a fine tuning of the selector, that you can perform stable and reliable automation now. With the next product release I will incorporate this workaround right into product, that you do not need to think about it anymore.

Green - good SAP FIORI selector, with ui5/ui5-p attributes (see the documentation above)
Red - bad selector, this is a generic HTML stuff, which is bad for SAP automation
Blue - “extension layer” preventing us from using “Selection on screen”

Solution: grab the right green selector instead of red selector from UiExplorer and use it in your activity. Than all Dropdown boxes will work as expected.

Manual for you:

1. Drag & Drop the select item activity
2. Go to edit selector
3. use UIExplorer

4. Indicate element on the screen and you will get bad selector
   

   

5. replace bad selector with good selector. just 2 clicks + delete with your hand the bad one
   

   

The good selector has sap.extent.uilib… name, see the screenshot

6. all done, save the new selector

7. use the automation - we are able to use all data correctly
   
   

Solution: grab the right green selector instead of red selector (delete the red one) from UiExplorer and use it in your activity. Than all Dropdown boxes will work as expected.

PS: will fix this manual workaround for the upcoming release.

Best regards, Lev

[ashwin.ashok ((TheCodingTheory))]

Hi @LevKushnir ,

Thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this!
Now automating SuccessFactors won’t be as difficult!

-Ashwin A.K(Speridian Technologies)

[nikhil.girish]

Hi @LevKushnir , Thanks for your suggestion.
By the way we tried to replicate the same steps for a client project, please find the below screenshots

Here is our finding, when we followed each and every step what you had mentioned in prev post , same issue still persist where we are not able to see the dropdown options in activity of select item.

We have only included the ui5 webelements as suggested in your previous post along with the sap.extent.uilib, but tht didnt help either.

Also please find the versions we are using below

Thanks in Advance!!

[LevKushnir]

HI @nikhil.girish

The point here is, that there are 2 different (actually much more) SAP Dropdown menus, but highlevel I would divide this into 2 groups:

A. Dropdowns with preloaded content, it means during the design time and “Indicate on screen” we can grab the content and use it in Select Item activity.

B. Dropdowns with dynamic content, it means we do not have an access to the dropdown during the design time and will see the list of available item only during the run-time.

Let me give you some hints how to work with such dynamic menus.

Best regards, Lev

[LevKushnir]

So, I am back. When working with SAP dynamic menu, the flow would be:

Type Into the field the right value → wait until the SAP backend process will load the available data → click the value, you want to select.

You have learnt above how to get the right (green) SAP FIORI selectors.

Use always SAP FIORI selectors, this will ensure the stability of the automation.

So, in case of “Event Reason” dynamic dropdown, the flow in Studio would be like this:

1. I am clicking in the field and type the right value inside
   

   

2. once the data are loaded from backend, I am selecting the right value.
   

   
   
   Here, you can see, that I am using only SAP FIORI selectors, starting with ui5 / ui5p

ui5 - the generic selector, “saying”

• you are in the SAP List
• you are in List Item

ui5p - is the selector for properties, “saying”

• use property Title with the name “Additional Job”

ui5p - give you an access to all prosperities, like to everything in SAP FIORI framework, check it out with UiExplorer.

See more here: Studio - Identifying SAP Fiori Elements

Best regards, Lev

[nikhil.girish]

Thanks @LevKushnir , we just got a confirmation that select item activity cannot be used.

[LevKushnir]

What does it mean? do not understand your note

[nikhil.girish]

Sorry, what I meant to say was I tried to use Select Item Activity, but due to SF’s extention that you mentioned, it doesn’t work. I hope the new update you were talking about comes out soon…Thank you for taking the time to explain all of this!

[LevKushnir]

HI @nikhil.girish

I think there is some misunderstanding here. Let me clarify this once more.

Today you can use:

Select Item for “A. Dropdowns with preloaded content”, the only limitation is, that the values are not fetched from SAP and you have to enter this manually.

Type Into & Click for “B. Dropdowns with dynamic content”, as I have shown in the post above.

The identification of objects and the stability of the automation is ensured every time using SAP FIORI selectors.

Best regards, Lev

[nikhil.girish]

Thank you so much for assisting us here .