Foundation Data Model Moves Forward

After 100+ hours invested in 75 meetings about the Foundation Data Model (FDM), recommendations for the Workday Financials worktags UVA will use have been identified. Representatives from many schools and units contributed their expertise and feedback as a part of this process.

For the first UVA Workday Financials tenant build, the FDM will be set up using the identified worktags. Keep in mind, though, that this does not mean the FDM is completely locked in. During the upcoming configuration and prototype phase later this year, end users will have the opportunity to interact with the FDM in our tenant and see how it works with UVA data. User feedback will be essential to inform changes to the UVA tenant’s configuration prior to its next iteration. Additionally, the FDM is intended to evolve after implementation based on UVA’s needs.

While planning, the FDM data governance team considered reporting needs (statutory, state, and managerial). They also needed to ensure consistency of data from Oracle to Workday and flexibility for future budget and reporting needs. The team feels confident that the new system will be able to handle the bulk of managerial reporting, using the Workday Financials budget module and Adaptive Planning (formerly called Adaptive Insights) to bridge any gaps. As part of their research, the team benchmarked against other higher education institutions that use Workday Financials as well.

Company and Fund worktags will be required, as will Cost Center, Program, and Function for expense and revenue transactions. Fund and Function, primarily needed for statutory and state reporting, will default so users don’t need to enter those worktags. The design includes additional managerial worktags (e.g., Program, Project, Activity, Location, and Assignee) to accommodate managerial reporting needs. UVA will have a dual driver system, with the first driver being Gift/Grant/Designated and the second being Program. Driver worktags drive the value of other worktags. For example, once a user chooses Gift, Grant, or Designated, it will automatically determine the Fund tag. In the case of grants, the option exists to default Cost Center and Program off of the Grant worktag as well. Using Designated/Gift/Grant to default Fund allows for potentially simplifying fund structure and reducing the number of funds in Workday for simpler mapping to state funds.

The good news is that the recommended FDM is similar in concept to the current Oracle setup. The similarity reduces change management needs and enables easier mapping of the current Oracle chart of accounts to the Workday FDM.

For more information about the UVA FDM, see the July 15 Steering Committee slide deck (starting at slide 12) and visit the FDM Community Page for details about worktag definitions and other resources.