SoftTech AI Registry
SAP · SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals

Performance Preparation Agent

Joule agent for SAP SuccessFactors managers preparing performance conversations with their direct reports. It summarises and analyses permitted performance and goals data, generates talking points, meeting agendas and next-step recommendations with inline citations, drafts 1:1 meeting requests for scheduling in Outlook, and can request continuous feedback on behalf of a direct report. SAP previously named this agent the Performance and Goals Agent; the Help Portal page is the same evolving page (URL slug performance-and-goals-agent) now titled Performance Preparation Agent.

Recorded characteristics

Function
SAP describes the agent as assisting "managers in effectively preparing for performance conversations with their direct reports. It summarizes and analyzes key performance and goals data, including performance and development goals, performance forms, activities, continuous feedback, 1:1 meetings and achievements, offering a clear overview that highlights both successes and challenges. Based on the analyzed data, it generates personalized talking points and outlines a structured agenda to keep discussions on track. Additionally, the agent recommends actionable next steps, such as assisting in scheduling 1:1 meetings or helping managers request feedback from relevant stakeholders when no feedback is available for a direct report." SAP's capability table for the agent lists nine named capabilities: 1. Generate talking points and meeting agenda — "personalized talking points and structured agendas for performance discussion based on direct reports' performance-related data including performance and development goals, feedback, achievements, activities, 1:1 meetings, Performance Management forms, 360 Reviews forms, and succession nominations". 2. Schedule 1:1 meeting — "Helps draft meeting requests, including subject and body content, for conversations with direct reports, and provides a link to easily schedule the meetings in Outlook." The documented output is a drafted request plus a scheduling link; SAP does not state that the agent itself creates the calendar entry. 3. Summarize feedback — summarises continuous feedback received by direct reports and answers targeted questions about it. 4. Summarize achievements. 5. Summarize activities. 6. Summarize performance and development goals, including progress, milestones and target dates. 7. Summarize performance forms, including comments and objectives captured in them. 8. Summarize Detailed 360 Report — "Summarizes the Detailed 360 Report of direct reports, offers details about specific aspects, and provides insights tailored to address managers' queries", with the note that "Managers must have access to the Detailed 360 Report of their direct reports." 9. Request feedback — "Allows managers to request continuous feedback on behalf of their direct reports from relevant stakeholders." Interaction is conversational rather than step-driven: the agent "allows managers to ask questions and receive tailored answers that address their specific needs. For example, they can ask follow-up questions based on earlier conversations, and the agent will offer increasingly relevant analysis and advice. This flexibility enables managers to seek clarification on performance metrics and explore various strategies." SAP does not describe this adaptation as learning or memory across sessions. Generated responses carry inline citations: "The agent provides inline citation links. Managers can select a citation number to navigate to the relevant details page, which helps them understand where an AI insight comes from and review the underlying data when needed." A "Source and AI Reasoning section at the end of Joule's response" lists the AI analysis and data types used, highlighting "a maximum of 30 data items for each data source". These are navigation and disclosure features; SAP does not present them as audit logging, provenance history or model explainability. Not established for this agent: writing or suggesting performance ratings; editing or creating goals; editing performance forms; writing feedback content; creating Continuous Performance Management activities; saving the generated agenda or talking points into any Performance & Goals record; submitting reviews; or any calibration, compensation, promotion, succession or disciplinary decision. SAP positions the agent as preparation and analysis assistance for the manager, who conducts the conversation and any subsequent transaction.
Data access
SAP states: "When available, the agent primarily relies on the following data sources to provide insights: Personal Information, Continuous Feedback, Continuous Performance, Performance Management forms, 360 Reviews, and Goal Management. The agent follows the same configurations for data access as defined in these modules, including permissions and target populations." The capability table additionally names the specific record types analysed: performance and development goals, continuous feedback, achievements, activities, 1:1 meetings, Performance Management forms, 360 Reviews forms and succession nominations. Detailed 360 Report summarisation is gated on the manager already having access to that report, per the Detailed 360 Report Permission Control section of the 360 Form Template Settings documentation. Where the manager does not specify a period, "the agent will automatically default to a one-year range". Where the module data is absent, "the agent will still offer generalized guidance and assist with meeting scheduling, although the content may not be as tailored or comprehensive." Scope is stated as direct reports: "The agent is targeted at managers who have direct reports." Matrix reports, indirect reports and other populations are not addressed in the documentation reviewed. No access to compensation, payroll, disciplinary, medical or general Employee Central records is documented for this agent, and none is inferred here.
Actions
Can take actions
External actions
Unknown
Human confirmation
Not established
Permission basis
User permissions
Administrative control
Configuration is documented in "Configuring Performance Preparation Agent". Prerequisites: "You've enabled Joule in SAP SuccessFactors" and "You have the Administrator Permissions Manage AI Capabilities AI Services Administration permission." Procedure: "Go to Admin Center AI Services Administration", "In the Promotions Feature Settings section, enable the Performance Preparation Agent switch", and "Grant users the User Permissions AI Access Performance Preparation Agent permission." Enabling the switch prompts the administrator to "review and accept the applicable Terms and Conditions". The agent has its own enable switch and its own user permission, so it can be turned on or off independently of other Joule use cases: SAP notes it "is a standalone agent and does not depend on assistant enablement". SAP also "strongly recommend[s] enabling one or more of the following modules: Performance Management, Goal Management, 360 Reviews and Continuous Performance Management" for richer analysis; those are recommendations, not prerequisites. Runtime data reach is not configured in the agent itself: it "follows the same configurations for data access as defined in these modules, including permissions and target populations". Administrative authority to enable the agent is therefore separate from the manager's runtime access, which derives from role-based permissions in the underlying modules. The Promotions Feature Settings section also displays the promotion expiration date for the tenant. No AI Unit consumption control, usage quota or separate audit control specific to this agent is documented in the pages reviewed.
Default state
Disabled
Availability
SAP published the agent as available in Joule in October 2025 and documents it in the current Joule Capabilities Guide as a generally documented agent rather than a preview or beta feature. The Performance & Goals use-case table records its Capability Type as "Agent", On Mobile App "Yes", and Best Practice persona "MSS" (manager self-service). Availability is restricted by data centre: "The agent is supported on the following data centers: JP10, EU11, EU30, US30, AP10, AP11, US10, EU10, EU20, and EU12." Joule must be enabled in SAP SuccessFactors first. Edition-level differences beyond the module and data-centre conditions are not documented in the pages reviewed. Promotional commercial terms are separate from technical availability. SAP states the agent "is currently available for trial on a promotional basis", which concerns licensing rather than product maturity, and the documentation contains no preview, beta or early-adopter designation for the agent itself.
Licensing
The Performance & Goals use-case table records the Commercial Model for the Performance Preparation Agent as "Base (only for promotion period)". SAP states: "The Performance Preparation Agent is currently available for trial on a promotional basis. This means you can activate and evaluate the agent without purchasing an additional AI license (SKU). When enabling the agent, you'll be prompted to review and accept the applicable Terms and Conditions. Once accepted, the agent can be used throughout the promotion period. Note that this trial is available for a limited time and will expire at the end of the current promotion. You can check the expiration date in the AI Services Administration." So the agent is currently usable without an additional AI licence, under time-limited promotional terms. SAP does not publish the promotion end date on these pages and instead directs administrators to the expiration date shown in their own tenant's Promotions Feature Settings. A specific 30 September 2026 cut-off is not stated in the SAP pages reviewed, and what licensing applies after the promotion ends — including whether an additional AI SKU or AI Unit consumption becomes necessary — is not established.
External model or provider
Not established. SAP does not name a model, model version or model provider for this agent in the Performance Preparation Agent, Important Notes, Configuring, or Performance & Goals use-case pages. No general Joule model statement is applied to this runtime here.
Limitations and uncertainty
Scope and access: documented for managers with direct reports only; matrix or indirect reports are not addressed. Analysis quality depends on which of Performance Management, Goal Management, 360 Reviews and Continuous Performance Management are enabled, and on the manager's existing module permissions and target populations. Detailed 360 Report summarisation requires the manager to already hold access to that report. Disclosure limits: the Source and AI Reasoning section "will highlight a maximum of 30 data items for each data source", so it is a sample of the data used rather than a complete list. Mobile limits: the agent is marked as available on the mobile app, but "In mobile apps, support for inline citation links is limited. Some citation numbers allow navigation to detail screens, while links to certain modules, such as Performance Management and 360 Reviews, are shown as plain number text and do not support navigation." Other constraints: a one-year default date range when none is given; availability limited to ten named data centres; multi-language support deferred to a separate Joule Multi Language Support reference without an itemised list on these pages. Not established: whether the manager is asked to confirm before a continuous feedback request is sent, and what the request's recipient limit is within the agent (the separate Joule Request Feedback transactional use case documents up to five people, but that limit is not restated for the agent); whether generated summaries, talking points or agendas persist anywhere beyond the Joule conversation, or can be exported; whether any write occurs in Outlook or another external calendar system, as SAP documents only a drafted request and a scheduling link; the promotion end date and post-promotion licensing; the model or provider; any agent-specific audit logging; and whether the agent can read existing performance ratings as distinct from performance form content. Explicitly outside this record: other SAP SuccessFactors Joule use cases in the same module — Create Activity, Give Feedback, Request Feedback, Edit Performance Goals and the navigational use cases — are separately documented Joule capabilities and their authority is not attributed to this agent. The Goal Creation Agent, Goal Progress Agent and the wider Performance & Goals Assistant orchestration are documented by SAP as roadmap rather than generally available and are not covered here, as are the separate Career and Talent Development use cases.

Evidence