Letter from Theresa
February has been a busy month. Over the past month and a half, we’ve conducted numerous business process design workshops, resulting in over 100 business processes along the way. We would like to thank the key stakeholders and council members for their support and contributions throughout this phase. Those processes are being reviewed further within the team to assure touch points have been considered. (Click on the box at the end of this article for an example of a touch point.)
We’ve also been working on identifying requirements and specifications for data conversions and integrations. Last, but certainly not least, a core group (including the Controller’s Office, Medical Finance, Office of Research Administration, Advancement, Budget Office, the hospitals, and others) has been deeply immersed in the design of the new Financial Data Model (FDM).
We are excited to announce that we have reached a major milestone. We have moved out of the Architect Phase and into the Configuration Phase. This allows us to begin building our first prototype including a small scale data conversion. This will be the first opportunity for the team to see how the new business processes look in Workday. While the Finance Advisory Councils take a much needed breather, work will intensify within Gables One Tower, Suite 300, as the team focuses on the technical aspects of building the system.
We wish you a happy and productive transition to spring!
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Are You Ready?
Workday Finance is coming June 2017 and we want your feedback.
Helping University faculty and staff prepare for changes to our administrative systems and finance business processes is an important part of the Workday Finance project. In the coming weeks, we will send a brief survey where you can make your voice heard and help shape the success of Workday Finance. This will be the first of several check-in surveys over the life of the project to ensure we are helping the University prepare for this important change.
Keep an eye out for the assessment, which will be sent from workday@miami.edu.
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Adaptation of Other Systems
With the implementation of the new Financial Data Model, systems that previously relied on FRS account numbers and subdepartments will need to adapt to the new FDM’s constructs. We will be working closely with these other systems to assure a smooth transition once Workday Finance is implemented.
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Attend a Town Hall Meeting
Would you like to learn more about the Workday project, milestones, business processes, and more? Attend an upcoming Town Hall meeting. Starting this March, the Workday project team will be hosting Town Hall meetings on the Coral Gables, Medical, and RSMAS campuses. Dates, times, and locations are as follows:
- Tuesday, March 22 from 3 to 4 p.m. on the Coral Gables Campus
- Wednesday, March 23 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on the Medical Campus
- Thursday, March 24 from 9 to 10 a.m. on the RSMAS Campus
These meetings will be open on a first come first served basis to employees. We encourage you and your staff (especially those who work in Ariba or DMAS) to attend these sessions. Invites will be sent shortly.
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Tip of the Month
Beginning this month, we will share insight into the "why" behind new processes and help you work more efficiently.
This month's tip focuses on worklets. Did you know that you can add a My Dashboard worklet to your home page where you can easily access information, such as tasks you have initiated or metrics related to your staff? Your dashboard is customizable, meaning you can see the information that matters most to you. Click on the box at the end of this article to learn how to create your very own dashboard in Workday.
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Meet Your New Financial Data Model
We will be featuring new elements of the Financial Data Model in upcoming issues of the Workday Finance Update. This month, we’d like to introduce Spend Categories, which will take the place of FRS Subobject codes for expenses. Spend Categories are used to categorize different types of expenditures – for example, Travel, Professional Fees, Office Supplies. You’ll encounter Spend Categories most frequently in procurement and travel expense reimbursement business processes. Spend Categories are one of the many reportable elements in Workday and they can also be used to drive workflow to specific approvers. For example, a Spend Category of Software might route to UMIT for approval.
Unlike FRS Subobjects, which rely on a numbering schema, Spend Categories are arranged in logical hierarchies and will be visible as plain English descriptions of types of expenses. Depending on the business process, a Spend Category might default based on what you are purchasing, or it may be visible in a drop down list for you to select.
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Building Blocks
In the next phase (Prototype One), the project team will prepare and build our first implementation “tenant,” starting with a copy of the Workday environment you use now. We will begin adding new financial data and configuration for the new business processes we will use once Workday Finance goes live. The team works collaboratively to do this build and then begins the initial round of informal testing. The testing at this stage is informal as it is the first pass at preparing the system. The initial testing will be performed by the project team using sample financial data for in the following departments: UMIT, College of Engineering, Radiology, Neurology, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
As we get further into the project, the testing becomes more formal and structured. We’ll talk about testing in a future newsletter.
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Activity Pay Training
Are you interested in Activity Pay training or know someone it may benefit? A new course is being offered that provides an in-depth review of period activity pay in Workday. Attendees will learn how to:
- Define all the fields, features and aspects surrounding period activity pay
- Use period activity pay correctly to carry out business objectives in various situations
Ulda Cher, Administrative Assistant for Housing and Residential Life Operations had been using Activity Pay, and found it to be quite challenging - until she attended training. "I went to the training and left with a better understanding of Activity Pay. The training was very effective, and the perfect length of time to master enough without feeling overloaded; it has helped me a great deal. I learned new ways to do things using Activity pay. With proper training/timely training, some of those errors could be avoided."
Registration is open now by visiting ULearn and searching for the keywords "Activity Pay."
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Workday to FRS Crosswalk for Salary Expense
Have you wondered why various compensation items post to specific FRS Subobject codes? Or how CFB is determined? We’ve developed a crosswalk to help you understand how payroll expense processed in Workday is posted to FRS.
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