FST Update

 

Want to listen to this update instead of reading it?  Tune into this week's WFST Radio Broadcast!

The Functional Team are creating configuration workbooks and user stories to support the development of the initial UVA Workday Financials tenant for the Configure and Prototype stage, which begins in November and runs roughly through March of 2021. 

As a part of the Configuration & Prototype stage, the UVA community will have at least two rounds of validating the tenant (maybe even three if time allows).  These cycles involve the team building the Workday Financials tenant with UVA data inside, then users getting time to try the tenant out, validating data.  Based on their feedback, the team will tweak the system and return with a new version of the tenant.  (See more by viewing the timeline.)

Remember our house-building metaphor?  The configuration and prototype phase is like when the builders frame up your house from the blueprint, and you get to walk through and make sure everything is as you thought it would be, making changes where they’re needed now that you can see it put together.  Basically, in Configuration and Prototype, we all come together to make sure we’re building a financial system that will work well for us at UVA.

Plan now to stay in the know!  Configuration & Prototype is a time where we all need to be paying close attention.  As autumn progresses, we’ll all need to make a commitment to staying tuned to news from the FST Team and being engaged in meetings.  Take a look at the FST communication channels, find one or two that work for you, and bookmark them!

The System Remediation team engaged with University Physician’s group stakeholders to develop requirements for their enterprise resource planning, Epicor’s system remediation.

The Adaptive Budget team is helping units finalize the FY2021 revised budget submissions, continuing development work in preparation for the FY 2022 budget development process, planning for long-term deployment, and collaborating on remediation with Workday and the FDM.

The Technical team continues to work on the high-level data conversion timeline and planning for the configuration and prototype stage.  They’re working on a tactical-level plan for the initial UVA Workday tenant, and continuing discovery on system integrations.

The Reporting team is conducting analysis of user stories for the Business Assets Functional area.  They’ve met with the financial accounting, payroll costing, and grants management teams to discuss collection of high-level reporting requirements and user stories.

FST Website Resources:  To make it easier for you to keep up with the workstream outputs,  we’ve given each workstream a page on the FST website, and we’ll be updating them regularly with whatever the team is currently doing.

While you’re on the FST website, by the way, check out the resources we’ve made available to help keep you in the know, including the Decision Log, which we update continually, and the Workday Words dictionary, which is now searchable!

Many of you are very interested in what's going on with the FDM, or Foundation Data Model, as we head toward Configuration & Prototype.  Check out this blog post for three ways to keep your finger on the FDM pulse. 

Continuous Improvement:  FST is more than just a system implementation.  Don’t forget to keep up with the Continuous Improvement content to be found on the UVAFinance blog (you can search for it by keyword in the search box, or you can simply click on "continuous improvement" on the right-hand side of the blog).  There’s also a space in the Online Community devoted to continuous improvement content – there are lots of helpful tools, examples, and even video content.

FDM Fever, Staying Apprised: 3 Ways to Stay (or Get) in the Know

Work on the Foundation Data Model (FDM) is heating up as the FST project progresses toward the Configuration and Prototype phase later this year. We know many of you are eager to keep up-to-date on progress with FDM, particularly how we'll transition from the current Chart of Accounts (COA) in Oracle to the new FDM in Workday Financials. 

The FDM team is currently working on putting together examples to give users a clearer idea of how the transition will work. They're currently identifying and analyzing how current common business processes are carried out in the COA to be able to create examples so users can understand the translation. 

Here are three ways to be sure you get the information you want:

1. Create an FDM stream for yourself in the online CommunityHub. The general UVAFinance Community has lots of great information about a variety of FST-related topics, of course. But if you're really looking to hone in on a specific topic, such as FDM, you can create a stream that enables you to have content gathered for you by people and tags you've selected. Here's a link to a community post with info about understanding feeds. It also includes guidance on how to set up your own stream. There's more info on custom streams available from Jive, the CommunityHub platform. Use the #fdm tag when building your stream, or you can also always search the community with keywords or tags to find content of interest. The FDM Community page can also be your go-to.
2. Read FDM content in the UVAFinance blog. The blog also has lots of information about the
   FST projects different areas. Using the search box in the upper left-hand corner of the blog
   landing page, you can find posts related to your interests, such as FDM.
   
3. Check out the latest meeting slides. The Fiscal Administrators group and FST Advisory Group get updates about recent project activities. Slide decks from those meetings are posted promptly and are a great source of new information about FDM and other topics. 

Too much communication in too little time? Review this one-page guide to the FST communications methods to determine where to find FST information, depending on what you're looking for and how much time you have. 

On the FST Governance page, you can search for your areas representatives in the FST governance groups. Find your ambassador on the FST team to help you plug in. 

FDM vocab or Workday lingo in general confusing you? Use the Workday Words searchable glossary to help you understand. 

CARES, COVID, & CAFFEINE

Contributed by Augie Maurelli, UVAFinance


The past five or six months have given all of us a new understanding of what it means to roll with the punches in terms of our personal and professional lives. The advent of the Coronavirus pandemic, itself unpredictable, has brought with it an almost unlimited supply of associated challenges even if we only consider our experience here in higher ed. 

  
Our concerns about the safety and financial needs of our students and staff, our need to make the best use of our own resources as well as those provided by the federal and Commonwealth governments, and our ongoing commitment to fiscal sustainability have gotten heavier and heavier since we entered this strange new era. The timeframe with which we’ve been working has been tight, to say the least, and operational challenges are certainly dynamic. 

This hyper-caffeinated
little being could represent
any one of us during the
last few months.  He's 
a creation of the Oatmeal.
See him in action here.

While most of the folks who are doing this work here at UVA would just say these additional challenges are “part of it,” I want to take a moment and call attention to the impressive and frankly encouraging work that I’ve seen done here in UVAFinance and in partnership across Grounds to ensure we address the needs as they come, working together and thinking creatively.

As soon as the CARES Act was passed, UVAFinance pulled together quickly, working to understand over 300 pages of legislation and its potential impacts. It was no small task, as the Cares Act involved several aspects, including institutional support, student support, tax implications and labor relief. The aggregate bill addressed assistance with cashflow, management of COVID-related leave, direct funding, pass through funding from the state, and loans for our medical center.

I’ll link to several stories both on the UVAFinance blog and in UVAToday of how UVA came together in this herculean effort, and I’m going to highlight just a few more “behind the scenes” types of efforts here. As endlessly complex as the process sounds when you read about it, it’s even more complex when you’re living it day to day in the work environment, as even small changes mean that everyone has to move in tandem and keep their eyes open for potential hurdles.

Examples of this include the institution of the Employee Assistance Fund. This was a new fund and required a plan document and administrative that included intake, review, payment and overall program adherence. Behind the scenes, UVAFinance and HR worked feverishly to work out how to pay the tax- funds, which required the implementation of a new digital payment solution, as well as a process for our reporting team to shepherd the disbursements. Additionally, we established how to effectively use the Bank of America disbursement tool and made sure we were compliant on all points.

Learn more about UVA’s response to staff and student needs: https://uvacares.virginia.edu/, https://sfs.virginia.edu/sfs-operational-updates

Much of this work had to be finished in a span of nine days. What our teams did is incredible. I’ve personally never seen higher ed work together as swiftly and determinedly – once we had the directive from our leadership that support for our challenged employees and contractors was mission-critical, everyone just collectively agreed that time was of the essence and that we’d get it done.

Within the CARES Act, UVA received funds through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), and you can read more about SFS’s work on that front on the blog here.  This required coordination from the Office of Sponsored Programs since they technically have to draw the funds through the federal portal, while Student Financial processes and accounts for all the incurred expenses, with Accounting and Reporting reconciling and assisting in all of the CARES act reporting requirement.

Similarly, when the Commonwealth received federal funding from CARES, there were Coronavirus Relief requirements and a separate process for forecasting, submitting and receiving aid. Our budgeting team reached out immediately to assess potential impacts from all of our UVA partners, working with Facilities, our auxiliaries, and Deans alike to ensure we could capture as much available funding as possible. 

In tandem, Procurement sprang into action as well, pricing and sourcing necessary supplies and planning distribution (read more about Procurement’s efforts in this blog piece).

The work doesn’t end with execution either. The budget team and financial reporting team are tracking expenditures and reimbursements with regular submissions to the feds and the commonwealth demonstrating that this will continue to be a huge lift for all stakeholders involved.

And, all the while, we’re planning to return to Grounds, with all of the complexities that it will bring. As we continue to adjust our response based on UVA’s plans for fall, we do so in full knowledge that the use of all these funds will be subject to a separate APA audit, so we’ll be paying strict attention to internal controls and compliance. 

I hope you’re as encouraged as I have been to reflect for just a moment on the magnitude of what’s already been done. This is the good work of people who believe in what they do, and who have invested fully in the mission of the institution they serve.

The only thing that is for sure at this point is that we will continue to go through a lot of uncertainty. In many ways, we’ll remain at sea, in a heavy fog, but the ship will still run straight because it has a good team of people working together.

Let’s take a deep breath between the coffee and the deadlines and realize that even though we’re still afloat on uncharted seas, we at least have a Presidential Order and potentially another round of legislation coming our way!

Finance Matters: We want to hear your experiences!

 It's been six months since we moved to remote work due to a national emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic.  We've had six months of Zoom meetings, homeschooling our kids, and juggling the demands of a changing situation, with a lot of stress and unpredictability folded in for good measure. 

The Finance Matters podcast team would like to hear from you on what you've learned about yourself, life, and work during our time in quarantine.  We're preparing a podcast in which we'll discuss the experience of working during the pandemic and share voices from our team and our colleagues (anyone who wants to participate is welcome!). 

Zoom makes it easier than ever to record your thoughts.  Just open up a session, hit record (either with video or without -- we'll only use the audio on the podcast), then send the file to bv8h@virginia.edu.  If you need any help, let Brandi Van Ormer know and she'll be happy to assist. 

What we want to know:

• What have you learned about working remotely?
• How have you / your work habits changed during the pandemic?
• What has been challenging, and what has been rewarding?
• Have you learned any other new things during the past six months (i.e., have you picked up a new hobby, changed the way you prioritize your day, etc.)?
• What has been the most difficult thing about the past six months? 
• What has been most notable? 
• Any funny occurrences you'd like to share (like the time my daughter tried to cut my hair while I was on a Zoom call)?

Any and all of your thoughts are welcome.  Audio files are preferred, but we can work with written submissions as well.  Please send all content to bv8h@virginia.edu by September 16, close of business. 

UVAFinance Inclusive Excellence Update

The UVAFinance Inclusive Excellence (IE) Advisory Group has hosted four “Sprint discussions” where we’ve discussed many issues related to racism, including microaggressions, police brutality, protests, and covert forms of white supremacy, one of which is the concept of “colorblindness” when it comes to race.

In the Sprint on Thursday, 8/27, we will take a closer look at and discuss why colorblindness, while it may seem like a goal we want to achieve, actually denies and obscure the existence of racism. 

Participation in the discussions has much higher than originally anticipated, with 40-50 signing into zoom and engaging with colleagues on these very important topics. The feedback has been great as well, with individuals recommending topics and expressing appreciation for the opportunity to have difficult conversations in a safe and brave space and learn from each other. The discussion on Thursday, August 27 will begin at 4:00.  

Members of UVAFinance can lick here to join:  https://virginia.zoom.us/j/92514435680

On Thursday, August 20, the IE Advisory Group hosted a meeting to discuss the book Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and his Slaves by Henry Wiencek. About 30 colleagues participated in what was an interesting discussion. 

If you are interested in reading this book, please contact Patty Marbury, pam5w@virginia.edu. There are a couple of copies available for lending.

The UVAFinance IE Advisory group includes: Patty Marbury, Melody Bianchetto, Jen Bari, Jack King, Steve Kimata, ToShun Campbell, Raegan Harouff, Anne Marie Cumiskey, Mohammed AlKaisy, and LaVerne Harris.

 Please reach out to any member of the group with questions.

Check it out: Challenging the Status Quo Webinar

Stuck in a rut? Should you be trying to fix something that isn't broken? Want to improve the processes you’ve been doing the same way for as long as you can remember but aren't sure where to start?


The Challenging the Status Quo Panel Series will show you different perspectives from UVAFinance employees who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo and share their thoughts and idea with you​. 

The first panel discussion in this series on August 27 hosted 3 UVAFinance Senior Leaders who can help us better understand what Challenging the Status Quo means to them: Vice President of Finance- Melody Bianchetto, Associate Vice President for Financial Operations- Augie Maurelli, and Associate Vice President for Financial Strategy- Bill Ashby.

If you weren't able to join us for this webinar, or if you would like to view it again, you can find the recorded video in the Continuous Improvement Community.  Here's a link:  https://communityhub.virginia.edu/videos/1215

Keep an eye on the Blog and the Continuous Improvement Community to hear more about the next panel and other resources to help you Challenge the Status Quo.

UVAFinance: Please remove Conference Rooms from your 2020 Meetings if you're remote!

Many of us have recurring meetings on our calendars that will now occur via Zoom instead of in a conference or collab room.  Please remove the meeting spaces from any old meetings you have scheduled through the end of the year to clear the schedule for those who will be working in the building during this time.

Procurement and Payment Best Practices During Uncertain Times

The COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to negatively impact the University’s supply chain for the foreseeable future.

Supply chain challenges have included longer delivery times on goods, changes to how services are provided, and suppliers going out of business. 

To help minimize University financial risk within the current environment, Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services (PSDS) would like to remind University departments of the following best procurement and payment practices:

• Follow the suggested procurement and payment methods listed on the Goods & Services Procurement Guide: https://procurement.virginia.edu/purchasing/purchasing-resources/goods-services-procurement-guide
• Avoid making prepayments.
• Do not accept future product or service credit in lieu of a refund.
• Try to do business with ‘Contract’ suppliers. Note: Firms that have punchout catalogs in the UVA Marketplace are contract suppliers and any supplier that has an orange “C” designation in your supplier search results is also a contract supplier.
• Close Purchase Orders that have had all University and supplier obligations met.
• For larger purchases that are complicated by the pandemic and economic environment, contact PSDS for purchasing and contractual support.

Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services is here to support you through any challenges you may face with your suppliers.

For any questions or concerns, please contact us at buy-pay@virginia.edu.

New on Finance Matters: Rest to Avoid Burnout

Science has proven over and over again that rest is necessary for both physical and mental recuperation. Still, many of us don't take the time we need to rest, to enjoy our hobbies, and to replenish ourselves.


Now more than ever, in this stressful time of the pandemic, it's important that we make time to rest, not only to maintain and even increase productivity but also to avoid burnout. Patty and Brandi talk through the work of Alex Soojung Kim Pang, taking walks, taking naps, and the paintings of Winston Churchill.

LISTEN HERE!

Resources Mentioned:

Pang:
http://www.strategy.rest/?page_id=8643
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jan/22/alex-soojung-kim-pang-interview-rest-why-you-get-more-done-when-you-work-less
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/12/books/review/arianna-huffington-rest-alex-soojung-kim-pang.html
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/q-a-with-alex-soojung-kim-pang/

Churchill: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-making-history-winston-churchill-made-paintings

Dark: https://www.netflix.com/title/80100172

Former Bridge-Building Competitor, Bradley Kurtz, Returns to UVA in Business Intelligence

   

New to UVA, Bradley Kurtz was excited for the opportunity to learn more about the financial side of a university. He was also interested in the chance to help implement Workday and to “then leverage the project to improve the transparency and availability of information using business intelligence.”

In his position, he will work with Mark Anderson on business intelligence strategy and projects. His primary focus will be “the use of business intelligence tools to deliver information value from the data collected.” Also, he enjoys process mapping and business process re-engineering, and he hopes there will be some opportunities for him in these areas.

When he’s not working on business intelligence projects, Kurtz enjoys golfing, biking, gardening, and fishing. When able to travel, he and his wife, Anita, like to visit their two daughters in Connecticut and South Carolina.

Another fun fact about Kurtz: the last time he was on UVA Grounds, he was in 11^th grade and participating in a bridge-building competition! Now that he has returned as a staff member, he likes what he’s seen so far and is ready for more.

World-Traveler, Danae Polemi, is a Great Fit for the Travel and Expense Team

When able to, Danae Polemi loves to travel. She has been to over 20 countries, including studying abroad in Costa Rica, and still has many more places she wants to visit. Before coming to UVA, Danae was part of an educational travel company where she worked directly with airlines and other vendors to create customized travel programs for universities. Her experience and passion for travel are why she was so eager to join the TravelUVA program at the University.

 She recently joined the Travel & Expense team as Travel Program Administrator. She is filling in for Raegan Harouff as Raegan temporarily takes over Korby Griffith’s duties while he is busy with FST.

 Danae is enjoying her role at UVA so far, particularly “meeting all the airline, rental car, and hotel reps and learning more about our contracts.” She also likes working with her UVA team members and says they have been very welcoming over Zoom and Teams.

 In addition to travel, Danae loves to run, bake, get outdoors, and spend time with family. Also, she and her husband will often go on hikes with their dog, Copper. The family is extra busy right now, though, because they just had their first daughter, Sofia, in April. “We are loving every minute with her!” Polemi says.

Continuous Improvement: The POWER Assessment

From Angela Knobloch, FST Change Management & Continuous Improvement Workstream Lead

A continuous improvement mindset truly transforms a culture when it is embraced in a day-to-day basis. It requires intentional reflection and willingness to adjust based on new information.

• Positives - What’s working well?
• Objections - What’s not working well?
• What else might be considered?
• Enhancements - What would make the positives even better?
• Remedies - What would make objections better? 

Let’s apply this model to some recent stakeholder feedback we’ve received on the FST team about how to have a productive meeting:

• Positives: Glad to be invited/included in meeting; feel like my feedback matters
• Objections: Hard to stay focused (especially remotely) when we’re just talked at during the meeting
• What else? We’re all distracted with Return to Grounds and the COVID environment
• Enhancements: Keep inviting the key stakeholders AND ask their opinion/feedback more often
• Remedies: Fewer meetings; focused with specific objectives; always a discussion opportunity

How might you apply the POWER Assessment in your current role?

Continuous Improvement: Navigating the Change Process

From Angela Knobloch, FST Change Management & Continuous Improvement Workstream Lead

Navigating change, no matter how worthwhile it is, always includes some discomfort. In the current state of things, we have a measure of certainty. We know what to expect; we understand the steps in our processes, even if they aren’t the most effective. 

When a triggering event occurs (not necessarily THE change itself, but something that indicates change is coming) it drops us into a period that feels chaotic. Unexpected and expected triggers both have this effect. Well planned projects with effective change management and project management processes still ask us to trade certainty for uncertainty, at least for a while. Knowing about this change process and partnering with others to navigate change can help mitigate the depth of the sense of chaos and keep ourselves and others from falling too deeply into the Valley of Despair.

When we get to the other side of the chaos, we build from caution to confidence and finally competence when we reach the future state. The journey isn’t as neat and linear as it looks here. We may slip back and forth between stages. Understanding this process helps us know that the positive aspects of change are on the horizon; it also helps us to have empathy for ourselves and others while we process the disruptive elements of change and continuous improvement.   

What can you do to help yourself and others bridge the Valley of Despair with change?

Continuous Improvement: Efficient and Effective

From Angela Knobloch, FST Change Management & Continuous Improvement Workstream Lead

Many people think of “efficiency” when they consider continuous improvement. Efficiency is an important component, because reducing waste in processes can save valuable time and money. However, the other part of the equation is being “effective.” Effectiveness considers, “Is what we’re doing valuable in the eyes of our end users?” Are we holding on to a long-held procedure because we’ve done it so long it seems necessary, and yet our stakeholders see no value in it?  

Effective + Efficient = Continuous Improvement.  Here's your challenge: What do your end users value?

Workday Words Dictionary is now Interactive!

We've taken the pdf version of the Workday Words dictionary and made it interactive -- now, you can search for words with which you're unfamiliar, click on them for meaning, and compare them to either the legacy term or the new term.

Check out the dictionary on the FST Website. 

We'll keep updating the dictionary, so please keep submitting your suggestions to be included at financetransformation@virginia.edu. 

UVAPrint is Open and Ready to Serve You!

A note from our friends at UVAPrint

UVAPrint has remained open to serve the University's essential services throughout the shutdown. As we welcome back students and staff for the Fall reopening of the University, we would like to remind you that we can respond immediately to your department's printing needs! 

We offer full-color offset printing on our eight-unit Heidelberg press, affordable short-run color printing on our digital presses, photo-quality signs and banners on our wide format press, high volume duplicating of forms and support materials, as well as mail preparation and addressing services. 

We also offer custom embroidery for hats, shirts, jackets, and just about anything else you would want to proudly display your name or department on. Our class bubble testing service is simple and easy to use. You can either drop off the test pages or submit them as a pdf and we take care of the rest. 

Delivery on Grounds is always free! We look forward to assisting you with whatever your communication needs may be. Call or email print representative Josef Beery for help planning and ordering your next job at 434 964-6886 or jb6y@virginia.edu.

Finance Transformation Updates

Want to listen to this update instead of reading it? Tune into this week's WFST Radio Broadcast!

The FST project team is preparing to implement recommended worktags into UVA's first tenant build in Workday Financials. This preliminary build will enable users to interact with the setup during the configuration and prototype period later this year and provide feedback. 

Schools and units used Adaptive Planning to submit recast FY21 budgets, and the project team is gathering feedback now that will help make the FY22 budgeting process go as smoothly as possible. 

The Spend Focus Group, comprising representatives from schools and units, met for the first time recently. The group's vision is to shape the following:

• A shared understanding of how Spend processes can and should work
• A common-sense approach to Spend – distilling complexity until we can get our processes as clean and simple as possible
• A universal language to articulate business needs

With some of the added time afforded by the timeline extension, the team has extended the project's Architect phase. System remediation work continues to determine what changes will be necessary and plan to support schools and units that need to remediate their systems.

Communication overload?  Check out our handy guide for what FST channel to check out based on what you want to know and how much time you have!
 

What is FST, really?  HINT:  It's not just a Workday Implementation!  Read more here on the blog.
 

Other Updates you might be interested in:

• FDM Updates
• Internal Service Provider (ISP) Work
• User Personas
• Updated Workday Words Dictionary (make suggestions for additions by commenting on the CommunityHub post here)
• Consistently Updated FAQs
• Decision Log for the Project
• Documentation of Change Impacts

Foundation Data Model (FDM): Looking for a Deep Dive?

The FDM team recently shared updates with Fiscal Administrators and the FST Advisory Group, including their recommendation for the organizational worktags we'll use in our first build of the UVA Workday Financials tenant. The first build, coming this fall, will use these tags to see how they work when applied to UVA's data in the system. 

The team collaborated with stakeholders from schools and units to talk through functionality and transition from the current chart of accounts (COA). In terms of engagement, the team views this as just the tip of the iceberg. Many users will have the opportunity to get their hands in the system to test how it works and provide feedback to contribute to changes we'll see in the next build. 

As part of the process, the FDM team also compared UVA's needs and options for Workday FDM setup with what other higher education institutions have done. 

Looking for more nitty, gritty goodness about the FDM? Get it in the CommunityHub here. 

New Community Content: Change Impacts

There are a few new posts on the Community that are worth viewing if you want to stay up to date on the latest FST information. For example, you can find the updated project timeline here.

Don't worry; none of the change impacts are quite like this.

There’s also a spreadsheet of documented change impacts, which will likely be of interest to a lot of folks. A change impact refers to a change in processes, systems, and policies that may affect how employees do their jobs. Broader change impacts were initially identified during the Phase 2 Business Process Discovery workshops. More detailed change impacts were documented during the Architect sessions.

Keeping track of all the different identified change impacts will inform future decisions made by the team and stakeholders. It also helps the change management team determine where to focus training efforts and what processes and areas need the most attention. Because of the connection to training efforts, members of the FST Change Management team participated in each session to help identify and document individual impacts.

If you’d like to learn more about change impacts, you can find more information in The Change Management Strategy slides.

More Time to Design: Architect Phase Extended

With the overall timeline extension for the FST project, specific adjustments are still underway. You can see an adjusted timeline here. 

This added time made it possible to extend the Architect phase of the project until Oct. 30, 2020. Configuration deadlines and other Architect phase-associated activities will be adjusted accordingly. 

Some deliverables will be due sooner than the extension date, so FST workstream leads are collaborating with their teams to ensure things stay on track. We have this extra flexibility now, but it's important to remember that as we get closer to the go-live date of July 1, 2022 that the timeline will become firmly locked in. 

Uncharted Territory: Sharing Resources During the Coronavirus Response

From UVA Leadership

• Last Friday, President Ryan and other leaders conducted a town hall with students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Our goal was to convey the reasons for our major decisions and to answer questions about them because we know they have enormous consequences for those who live, learn, and work at UVA, as well as for our Charlottesville neighbors. 
• On Monday, President Ryan hosted a similar town hall with members of the Charlottesville/Albemarle community so that they could also hear from University leaders about the steps we are taking to protect public health and to be good neighbors. 
• Tomorrow, President Ryan and the leadership team will hold one more town hall for parents and families of students to answer questions as their children prepare to return to Grounds. 
• Finally, if you haven’t already, take a moment to watch the video President Ryan released over the weekend outlining the decisions we’ve made so far and our hopes for the fall semester.

Hoos Health

Beginning Monday, Aug. 10, HOOS Health Check will help members of the UVA community remain aware of their health and any possible COVID-symptoms before they come to Grounds. This new tool will replace daily health attestations that UVA Health team members, researchers, and other groups on Grounds have used this summer. Students, faculty, staff, and UVA Health team members will complete a daily health check each day that they are coming to Grounds through the free HOOS Health Check app (available Aug. 10 in the Apple and Google Play stores) or the HOOS Health Check website. More details are available in FAQs on the Return to Grounds and Students on Grounds websites.

Hoos Well

You have free access to Wellbeats, a newly acquired health and wellness resource available through the web or mobile app that offers hundreds of virtual exercise classes, plus fitness instruction and nutrition education. Please use your UVA email address when registering. One subscription per household.

Stay motivated by logging activities using RedBrick Track. Focus on the healthy habits that matter most by making movement a part of every day. Sync a fitness tracker or log activities from your mobile device or computer.

Log in to learn more about fitting physical activity into your life.

From the CSC

The Contemplative Sciences Center completed their yoga Q&A series featuring intriguing and wise teachers from around the world, including John Campbell; Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor; Kate O'Donnell; David Garrigues, and Robert A.F. Thurman. Videos are available here or at the link below. Discussions included a range of topics, from Ashtanga yoga practice to thoughts on aging, Ayurveda, reincarnation, and the illusion of “self.”

WATCH VIDEOS >

Communication Overload: Navigating the sea of info for what you need to know

How many unread emails are currently sitting in your inbox?  Are you all caught up on the news notifications pinging your mobile phone?  When was the last time you got to sit down and read an in-depth informative piece on something you're interested in?  

If you're like most of us, the answers are "at least 20 something, definitely not, and maybe sometime before the pandemic."

The flow of information just about work-related matters has probably gotten heavier for all of us since we've gone remote:  we have all the same pressures and projects to keep up with, PLUS all of the new issues related to our changing world situation.  That makes it even harder for you to keep up with what you need to know about Finance Strategic Transformation at a time when decisions are happening more frequently, and your feedback is needed more than ever before. 

The FST Coms team has put together the resource below so you can make the best choices on keeping up to date on the project in the most efficient way possible.  And hey, if you've gotten this far in this blog post:  You rock!  The UVAFinance blog is one of the best ways to stay in touch with the project. 

Click on the image for a larger view

A note or two about these channels: 

• The Website has the best "high-level" view of the FST project.  We also have handy one-page resources like these on the Fiscal Administrator portion of our site that can help get you oriented.
• The UVAFinance blog (where you are right now) has quick updates like this article, plus, if you click on Finance Strategic Transformation in the labels to your right on this page, you'll always get the latest FST info
• We copy the latest FST Updates over to the FST website on this page, every other week.
• Looking for EVERYTHING on a particular topic or workstream?  Dive into the Online Community, where you can see documents, slides, and you can also ask questions and share ideas. 
• Got some time while you do another mundane task?  Tune in to the WFST Podcast for the same updates we do every other week on the blog!

The FST Coms team is happy to tailor pieces and channels for your school or unit's needs, so please reach out to Brandi Van Ormer if you have ideas or questions!  

2020 Too Shall Pass (fingers crossed): 2021 Payroll Calendars are posted now!

Academic, Medical Center, and UPG calendars for 2021 are live on the University Payroll site.  Check them out.

Update from the Spend Workstream

Members of the spend workstream have come together for their first focus group meeting with representatives from schools and units. 

The group's purview is processes, strategy, and functionality related to the four areas of the Spend Workstream:  payee registration & management, requisitions & purchase orders, invoices & payments, and travel & expense.  

Together, the group aims to shape the following:

• A shared understanding of how Spend processes can and should work
• A common-sense approach to Spend, distilling complexity until we can get our processes as clean and simple as possible.
• A universal language to articulate business needs.

The Spend focus group will discuss policy, process, and functionality for the four areas, and will represent the business needs of their schools and units (while at the same time thinking about the best overall strategy for UVA).  Other goals include reviewing the functionality to come, ranking process and functionality design options, identify process and functionality gaps, and prioritizing process improvement opportunities. 

At their first meeting, focus group participants echoed the wishes of attendees of the August Fiscal Administrator's meeting, with questions regarding approvals and routing, data integrity in Workday, transparency, and more.  

Topics for upcoming meetings include requisition and expense report approval flow, receiving in Workday, catalog vs. non-catalog requisitioning, payee/supplier management, invoice routing and approvals, and how to locate common queries. 

Focus group meetings are currently held on an ad-hoc basis but will happen more frequently as we approach go-live and require feedback on demonstrations. 

Thank you to our Spend Focus Group Participants!  Please contact Jenn Glassman or Sue Clements with questions or concerns. Want to see more from the Spend Focus Group?  Check out the slides from FST Advisory Group, linked here. 

Building the Future of Finance Together: What is FST, Actually?

What is FST, actually?  Hint:  It's not just a Workday Implementation!

It’s a project to take advantage of technological opportunities and build our future finance approach based on stakeholder feedback.  The components of FST are continuous improvement, implementation of Workday Financials and Adaptive Planning, and reporting and analytics. Read more about these pieces on our website. 

We can resolve past pain points and provide improved tools to increase our capabilities going forward.
How will we do that? The short answer is together. We’ll collaborate to gather information about current needs and identify wish-list items. With that information in hand, we’ll take advantage of Workday Financials and complement it with other software as needed, improving our processes to be as effective as we can.

THANK YOU to all who are partnering with us on this journey to build the future of finance at UVA.  We don't take your partnership lightly!

See the project timeline

View the project decision log

Learn Workday terminology 

Updates to the Decision Log

Decisions, decisions -- they're a daily part of life for the FST project team, working in collaboration with our governance groups, users, and UVA leadership. 

It's easy to keep up with the latest project decisions (and the ones coming around the bed) with our online Decision Log!  Click here for the latest decisions (updated August 11, 2020).

Contact the project team at financetransformation@virginia.edu with any questions or concerns.  We're always happy to hear from you!

Continuous Improvement: The PDCA Cycle

From Angela Knobloch, FST Change Management & Continuous Improvement Workstream Lead

Continuous Improvement, at its most basic foundation, is about trying something, checking to see how it worked, and adjusting as needed based on feedback (the PDCA Cycle). It’s very easy to spend our energies on “planning” and “doing” and yet neglect the most important piece of “check." Check can be as simple as asking the team “How did that go?” to more formal mechanisms of testing. However, we don’t need to complicate the PDCA Cycle in order to reap tremendous transformational benefits. 

You can incorporate the PDCA Cycle into your everyday activities.

• During planning, ask how “check” will occur and when
• Identify who needs to have the feedback/output from “check” and how will it be evaluated
• Demonstrate willingness to adjust based on “check”

Continuous Improvement: SCAMPER Away From the Status Quo

From Angela Knobloch, FST Change Management & Continuous Improvement Workstream Lead

One way to challenge the status quo and ensure we capitalize on opportunities to improve is to utilize the SCAMPER approach below. Instead of just “doing it the way we’ve always done it,” use these question prompts to help broaden thinking about current processes.

SCAMPER is a useful list of words to help us think differently about a problem, idea, concept, or issue.

• Substitute – What can you substitute? What or who could you use instead?
• Combine – What can you combine or bring together?
• Adapt – What can you adapt for use as a solution?
• Modify – Can you modify or change the item in some way?
• Put to Other Uses – What other or new ways could this be used?
• Eliminate – What can you get rid of?
• Rearrange – What could you rearrange or change around?

Inclusive Excellence Update

 

UVA’s Racial Equity Task Force has completed and submitted its Final Report to President Ryan. You can access the full report on their website. You’ll see in the report that the University’s Inclusive Excellence (IE) efforts are tightly aligned with the recommendations put forth by the task force. The IE framework includes the following six dimensions: Access + Success, Healing + Repair, Climate + Intergroup Relations, Education + Scholarship, Infrastructure + Investment, and Community + Partnership. 

The UVAFinance IE Advisory Group has begun to implement some programs and is working toward developing specific, measurable goals for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), aligning them with the dimensions of the IE framework for the next year and beyond.

The UVAFinance IE Advisory Group is working on the following DEI initiatives:

1. Developing a DEI learning and support program which will include training, resource groups, sprint discussions, book/movie discussions, resource groups.    

    a. We have held three discussions, open to UVAFinance staff, that we’re calling “sprint” discussions – based on President Ryan’s comment that this work is a “sprint rather than a marathon”—that there is an urgent need to get to a place where we can create change and inclusivity in our workplace. We’ve had outstanding participation and open dialogue about issues of race in our communities. Topics are based on a short video or article (or both). Suggestions for topics are welcomed.

    b. We’re hosting a book discussion on August 20, 2:00-3:00 to discuss the book Master of the Mountain by Henry Wiencek. This discussion is open to all. If you plan to participate, please register in Workday learning. (Search on the book title to find the “course” to enroll.)

    c. We are in the process of initiating a DEI Learning Program which to begin with, will include several LinkedIn Learning online courses available in Workday. This learning program will be announced soon.

    d. We will work with UVA’s Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights (EOCR) to deliver additional training for UVAFinance managers.

2. Improving our HR procedures and practices for recruiting, interviewing, hiring, promotion, rewards and recognition, performance management, and compensation.

    a. We have written and are preparing to finalize guidelines on informal promotions and interim placements during a period of a hiring freeze.

    b. We are beginning to evaluate UVAFinance HR practices and will make recommendations to ensure they are just, equitable, and inclusive.

3. Establishing a mentoring program for UVAFinance staff.

The UVAFinance IE Advisory group includes: Patty Marbury, Melody Bianchetto, Jen Bari, Jack King, Steve Kimata, ToShun Campbell, Raegan Harouff, Anne Marie Cumiskey, Mohammed AlKaisy, and LaVerne Harris. Please reach out to any member of the group with questions

Renaissance Woman Alison Hyler Joins FST to Help Shape UVA’s Financial Future

Drawing on in-house expertise, Accounts Payable (AP) and Payment Specialist Alison Hyler joins the FST team half-time. She’ll be working on the Supplier Accounts team, focusing on AP processes.  

“For the team, I was excited just to be able to learn something new. Then, also, I really wanted to build something better for AP, knowing how Oracle is now and being able to be part of UVA’s financial future is really exciting.”

Hyler’s been working in AP for over a year-and-a-half, so she’s quite familiar with current business practices. For FST, she’ll concentrate on supplier accounts, payment, and invoicing processes. In her FST work, she’ll connect with AP stakeholders and fiscal administrators—anyone who will be impacted by the AP changes that will be made in Workday Financials.

“We’ve been on Oracle for a long time, so I know there’s trouble with data for reporting and some inconvenient manual processes that could definitely be overhauled and improved in Workday. Especially around the invoice processing process because that’s completely manual except for our supplier portal, which works somewhat,” Hyler says. “So there definitely is just a lot of room for improvement. There’s already great stuff in Oracle, but there are a lot of manual processes that we’re hoping Workday can streamline.” 

Hyler’s analytical brain that makes her a natural problem solver also gets plenty of use in her personal life. An avid gamer, she enjoys video and board games. In non-Covid times, she has fun cracking escape rooms with her fiancé and friends. In true Renaissance woman style, she also paints and sews, and she’s currently working on her own comic, writing the story and creating the visual art.

 

Workday Words in the Community

Are there any Workday terms you want to better understand? What about the Workday equivalent of certain legacy terms? 

It's now easier than ever before to make suggestions for the Workday Words list on the FST website. Just head on over to this discussion thread on the Community and comment any words and definitions you'd like added to the list. 

Need more ideas on what to suggest? Here's what the FST team needs to know:

• Current names for processes or functions that don't seem to have a Workday Word
• Edits/Changes to the current list
• Workday Words not currently on the list

If you have any questions, feel free to add that to the discussion on the post as well. You can also send an email to financetransformation@virginia.edu.

Updated FST Timeline and Training Info on the Community

The updated FST timeline with the 2022 Go-Live date is now on the Community.

This new timeline briefly describes what to expect during each stage of transformation; it also lists ways in which you can be involved.

Aside from the timeline itself, this Community post is worth a view because Patty Marbury, the FST Training and Development Lead, provided some highly requested information on training in a comment on the page. 

 "Currently we are in the process of developing the training strategy," Marbury explains. "[This] will include decisions on training modalities--likely instructor-led, in-person training (assuming that will be possible), webinars, demos, online training, and office hours to provide 1:1 support post go-live." 

For more of what Marbury has to say on training, you can click here to see the post in the Community.

Updated Frequently Asked Questions on the FST Site

 

Have you checked out the FST website recently? If not, you should!

There’s lots of new content there, including more questions and answers on the FAQ page. All answers are provided by members of the team that know the latest developments within their specific area.

Some of the newly answered questions include:

•     How will Workday Financials affect financial reporting for grants?
•   What will the Workday approval flow be for requisition and expense approvals?
•   What are the differences between organization worktags and accounting worktags?

This page will be updated frequently throughout the project. If an answer isn’t as detailed as you’d like it to be, check back later and the team might just have some more information to share.

If you have a question that you don’t see on the FAQ page, you can send it to financetransformation@virginia.edu or click the Give Feedback link on the upper right corner of the FST website.

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The University Bookstore is Open for Business!

The UVA Bookstore is open and ready to assist with your needs!

The physical location is open Monday through Friday, 9AM-5PM, and Saturday, 10AM-5PM. The store carries a variety of branded face masks and other PPE needs, though supply can vary for items such as sanitizers.

https://uvabookstores.com/