FST Updates

 

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Foundation Data Model (FDM):  The FST team has recommended some changes to the way worktags will be used in the FDM.  The main difference is that we will use two driver worktags instead of three, with the program tag no longer being a driver.  Driver worktags determine the values of other worktags – the difference is that now, users will have the option to keep the defaulted value or choose another from a list of allowed worktag values.  This approach offers greater flexibility while still limiting opportunities for error.  Read more on the blog.

FDM Mapping:  The team is working with several schools and units to test out the mapping exercise process that everyone will take part in soon.  After a few weeks in May of refining the procedure with these collaborators, the team will have enough info and experience to provide more detailed instructions and expand mapping activities to include others. You can still be making progress with mapping right now, even while we wait for the mapping tool to be available in July.  Here's how to prepare for mapping.

Adaptive Planning:   The Adaptive Team is still pushing toward the third, Workday integrated version of Adaptive Planning, the University’s new budget tool. The team is refining the current tenant of Adaptive Planning based on user stories they’ve gathered from schools and units across UVA.  If you’d like to see more about the work with Adaptive, and the budget process redesign, check out this update.

The Grants management workstream has also been very busy behind the scenes – they're partnering closely with FST colleagues working on the FDM, payroll costing, and reporting and analytics to ensure seamless integration of grants in all those related areas. More here on the blog.

Training:  Training plans are coming together.  We’re still a year out from the delivery of training, but we’ve pulled together a roadmap that will allow us to design, develop, and deliver training that fits the needs of our stakeholders. See the latest update from the Training Team.

FAQs from Sneak Peek Sessions: We’re answering some of the 244 questions raised in those sneak peek sessions our Change Leaders held after round one of Customer Confirmation sessions – you’ll be seeing some of the most common ones answered in the blog and other coms channels, and we’ll be following up with our Change leaders on those as well.  Check out the first three questions and their answers here. 

The System Remediation Network has started establishing subgroups intended to help members connect in smaller numbers to discuss remediation-related topics more specifically.  The plan is to create about 10 subgroups with about 10-15 system owners each.  The groups will meet monthly, and the full SRN meetings will continue monthly as well.  Read more on the blog.

Five Things to Know about FST: April 29, 2021

 

1.  FDM: Mapping and Worktag Changes: The team has recommended using two driver worktags instead of three (see more here).  They're also working with several schools and units to test out the mapping exercise process, which will be more widely available in late May.

2. Adaptive Planning, Reporting & Analytics, and Grants Management are all moving forward . . . often hand in hand with one another!  The workstreams collaborate to ensure seamless processes when we go-live.  (Adaptive Update, Reporting & Analytics Update, Grants Management Update)

3.  Smaller groups are forming for System Remediation work; there will be about 10 subgroups with 10/15 system owners each.  More information here.

4. We're answering questions from the Sneak Peek sessions here in the blog!  Many of the 244 questions asked during those sessions were about the same things; you can see the first three questions and answers here.

5.  The second round of Customer Confirmation Sessions starts this June (more info soon!), and we're going live with Workday Financials in July of 2022! (See our countdown timer on the FST website)

Summer Reading from the Inclusive Excellence Team

Contributed by Patty Marbury

Beginning this summer we are going to spend time during our bi-weekly Sprint conversations discussing the book Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. 

Caste has been highly recommended as an anti-racism book, and while it would certainly be helpful, it is not necessary that you read the book to participate in and engage in the discussions. An outline of the discussions will be coming soon, and when possible, we’ll supplement the book with other relevant resources. 

Watch for the outline coming soon, and in the meantime, order your copy of the book! Please contact Patty Marbury, pam5w@virginia.edu or ToShun Campbell, tc8yk@virginia.edu if you are outside of UVAFinance/SFS and would like an invitation to these Sprint discussions.

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Want to know more about the book?  Check out this link: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/10/900274938/caste-argues-its-most-violent-manifestation-is-in-treatment-of-black-americans

The Adaptive Planning Vision

 The Adaptive Team continues to refine the current tenant of Adaptive Planning based on user stories shared by schools and units across UVA.  

The vision for Adaptive 3.0, the version of Adaptive Planning that will interact with Workday Financials in 2022, is one that considers all the possibilities and imagines a strategically nimble future. 

Check out the objectives below that they're keeping at the forefront as they work with schools and units on budget process redesign.

Strategic Planning

• Develop a five-year (or more) multi-year financial plan across the institution, including transparent cash flow, built by the units and parameter-driven for the institution​.
• Elevate the level at which we budget to ensure it is a strategic exercise

Budgeting

• Develop budget spread across 12 periods with multiple spread methods for more accurate budget vs. actuals and to better support forecasting​
• Transition BudgetUVA fund source allocation functionality to Adaptive, so that there is one source of truth for the budget and budget vs. actuals reporting​
• Include commitment tracking and request process within a unit, between units, and with a center

Forecasting

• Introduce the concept of quarterly forecasting for the institution​
• During Q4, explore introducing a periodic forecast to tighten the projection as UVA approaches the FY end​
• Explore options that allow the system to be open for year-round forecasting in addition to the annual budget process

Reporting

• Develop standardized reports in support of institutional planning and budgeting processes, so there is one version of the truth​
• Align on the funds we budget (UFM), how they map to the new FDM with the necessary granularity and detail, and the process for tracking budget vs. actuals and fund balance throughout the FY​
• Consider the ability to bring in additional data, such as enrollment information​
• Harness the reporting and analytics tools in Adaptive, including dashboards

Capital Planning

• Explore using Adaptive Insights to build the capital plan for the institution ​
• Link capital plan and operating budget, so that one feeds the other 

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Want to read more about what the Adaptive Team has been up to?  Check out the FST Website!

FDM: Recommended Worktag Changes

As the Finance Strategic Transformation (FST) project readies for the build of our second prototype tenant (our instance of Workday Financials), the team has recommended some changes to the way worktags will be used in the Foundation Data Model (FDM, Workday’s term for chart of accounts). These changes will be included in this second configuration of our tenant. 

The main difference is that we will use two driver worktags instead of three, with the Program tag no longer being a driver. Driver worktags determine the values of other worktags; our approach to using them would also change slightly. Based on the selection of a driver (the two remaining driver worktags being Cost Center and Gift, Grant, Designated, Project), other worktag values will default (see the visualization below; click to enlarge). 

The difference is that now, users will have the option to keep the defaulted value or choose another from a list of allowed worktag values. This approach offers users greater flexibility while still limiting opportunities for error by only listing appropriate pre-determined allowable substitutions. These changes also mean the use of the Program tag is now optional, and the revised approach frees up Program, as it no longer drives function, for specific departmental use. Worktag definitions remain unchanged. 

Mapping for the FDM is underway, with the project team working with several schools and units to test out the mapping exercise process. View this previous FDM mapping blog post for more info about the planned approach. After a few weeks in May of refining the procedure with these collaborators, the team will have enough info and experience to provide more detailed instructions and expand mapping activities to include others. The FDM mapping tool, which the project team will use to assist with the process, is expected to be ready in July. In advance of that, progress can still be made with mapping.

From Melody's Desk

Dear Team,

As you know, UVAFinance has been partnering with The Racial Equity Group to build a more equitable and inclusive UVAFinance. This week you received an email inviting you to share your thoughts on racial equity here at work. 

Responses are collected by The Racial Equity Group and are completely anonymous. Responses will only be shared with UVAFinance leadership in an aggregated manner.

I hope you'll prioritize completing this survey because your feedback is a vital part of the plans we will make for the future. We need to hear everyone’s voice in order to plot the best path forward. 

Thank you in advance, and do let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Best Regards, 

PS:  If you didn't receive the link to the survey, contact Mara Hilliar.

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Read more about UVAFinance's work with Inclusive Excellence

Updates from the Grants Management Workstream

The Grants Management team is partnering closely with FST colleagues working on the foundation data model (FDM), payroll costing, and reporting and analytics to ensure seamless integration of grants in related areas. 

The team is also continuing its work on defining security roles and requirements for the Office of Sponsored Programs and other units, and they continue to test user stories and make progress on conversions.  

Take some time to refresh yourself on grants management in Workday by visiting the slide deck presented by Vonda Durrer and Urmila Bajaj in Customer Confirmation Sessions (round 1) in the Community:

 https://communityhub.virginia.edu/docs/DOC-2721 (behind NetBadge; if you have trouble accessing the link, email bv8h@virginia.edu).

In this deck you'll see a mapping of grants terminology in Workday to the words we use now in Oracle, plus an overview of the award structure and much more!

FST Historical Data Decision

 

What was the decision? FST will not map and convert data from the past 3-5 years from the enterprise data warehouse (EDW) to the new FDM. The EDW is a repository that stores and manages much of UVA's current and historical enterprise data from the Integrated System/Oracle , PeopleSoft, and Workday HCM so that it can be used by various reporting systems across grounds or provide curated data to other Data Marts. The EDW will continue to serve this purpose in the future state with the addition of Workday Financial Data. 

What does this mean for accessing data in the future? The EDW is not the same as University Business Intelligence (UBI): EDW stores data and UBI is a reporting and analytics tool used to access that data. UBI will continue to serve this purpose for historical (pre-Workday) finance and SIS/student reporting and analytics. Also, the Reporting & Analytics FST team, along with others from across grounds, is currently working on designing, building, and testing a reporting and analytics model for the future that will be useful for accessing data.

How was this decision made? The FST team brought the following questions to governance groups: What are the current use cases for access to 3-5 years of data? If the decision is made to convert 3-5 years of data, do you have the resources to complete that exercise? Once the governance groups had a chance to give their feedback the Reporting/Data Warehouse, FDM and Conversion teams continued to solicit feedback and worked on finding other potential solutions to meet needs without burdening both the project team and end-users. This feedback and information was then brought to the Executive Committee and Leadership Council for the final decision.

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For information on other decisions the FST team is working on, check out the Decision Log on the FST website. You can visit this blog post for a quick explanation of the RAPID process.  

Sneak Peek FAQs

After the first round of Customer Confirmation sessions, Change Leaders from across Grounds hosted "sneak peek" sessions in their areas so that more people could get a glimpse of the first build of UVA's Workday Financials tenant. 

The result was lots of great questions (244 to be exact).  Many of those questions could be answered during the sneak peek sessions, but about 35% are still yet to be addressed.  The Change Management Team is working on getting answers to those and on sharing answers to the most commonly-asked questions.

This week, we thought we'd share three of the most frequently asked questions from those 244, along with answers.  Watch for more in the next blog digest!

What will happen to historic data?

FST will not map and convert data from the past 3-5 years from the Enterprise Data Warehouse, but that data will still be accessible via UBI.   Read more about this.

What is the timeline for training? 

We are about a year out from the delivery of training, but the training team has a plan in place that includes multiple modalities, practical exercises, and more!  Read the team's latest update here. 

Is there a crosswalk available between the PTAO and FDM worktags?  

The mapping exercises that each school and unit does will provide the most complete correlation of PTAO to FDM (read more about that here).  In the meantime, you can get a good sense of the FDM worktags here:  

• The graphic in this blog piece
• UVAFST-FDM Revenue & Spend Category Mapping from Oracle (CommunityHub; let Brandi Van Ormer know if you have any problems accessing this file.)
• FDM Slides from Advisory Group in April 2021 (CommunityHub; let Brandi Van Ormer know if you have any problems accessing this file.)
• Also check out Workday Words on the FST website for more ties between current terms and legacy terms.

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We'll catalog all FAQs on the Finance Strategic Transformation FAQ page.  See it here.

The Guiding Principles of Training

Just a reminder of where we are on the FST journey. 

Training plans are coming together for Finance Strategic Transformation.  Although we're about a year out from training delivery, the training team has crafted a plan to design, develop, and deliver training, and improve knowledge retention.  Here are their guiding principles: 

• Deliver role-based training to our stakeholders 60 days prior to go-live.
• Create and empower self-sufficient end users by practicing real-life, hands-on, relevant exercises
• Increase end-user understanding of financial processes that apply to their role
• Provide easily understood and easily accessed training materials that promote self-service learning
• Educate end-users on the benefits of Workday Financials, to improve adoption
• Develop a framework for tracking and measuring training effectiveness with an eye toward continuous improvement

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Keep watch in the UVAFinance blog for more information on training.  Until then, check out these past training updates: 

Not So Basic Training:  FST Training Team prepares to deliver

Behind the Scenes, the Training Team is busy!

New on Finance Matters: Inclusive Leadership

Patty and Brandi welcome Lisa Harris back to Finance Matters to discuss the Six C's of Inclusive Leadership as identified by Dr. Shirley Davis.

LISTEN HERE!   

Resources Mentioned:

• Dr. Shirley Davis' 6 C's of Inclusive Leadership
• More about Dr. Davis
• Valerie Kaur, Revolutionary Love (See No Stranger book)
• More of Lisa Harris on Finance Matters:
• Find Your True North
• The Importance of Resilience
• Bridging the Generation Gap in the Workplace

From Procurement to Project Team Member: Caleb Knapton joins the FST Team as Procurement Analyst

Caleb and his daughters enjoying the outdoors

After working in Procurement at UVA Finance for the last few years, Caleb Knapton knew that the FST team would be a perfect fit for him. “[Joining the project team] is a great way to leverage my experience into what is essentially the future of UVA Finance, and [it allows me to have] a position that provides me with a voice (even a small one) in what that future will look like.”

 In his new role for a little over a month now, Caleb is settling into working as Procurement Analyst for the project’s Functional workstream. “So far, there is a lot of catching up to do, given the amount of progress that has already been made in the last year,” he says. “But it’s great to see the support this project has, and the teamwork that is enabling so many different moving parts to work together.”

Despite having to do a little catching up, Caleb seems happy to be part of a process that is so important to the future of finance at UVA: “It’s encouraging to be a part of what is essentially a start over for many processes and procedures that were less than desirable, and to be able to make changes in the right direction.”

As a Procurement Analyst, Caleb will collect and analyze data, work on reports, and will also be involved with testing, documentation, and training. He’ll be working closely with Addie Coe and the Business Solutions and Analysis Team within Procurement and Supplier Diversity and will also work with Sue Clements and the Spend Team.

Outside of work, Caleb enjoys spending time with his wife, four kids, and their dog. “We spend a lot of 

Caleb's four children

time in sports, watching movies, chasing around our 1-year-old, and listening to endless talks from my son about LEGO, ‘Star Wars,’ and ‘The Avengers.’”  He also says his family is very involved with their church and has recently been traveling to see different colleges for his oldest daughter. As for personal hobbies and interests, Caleb loves playing and watching sports: “I watch WAY too much European soccer,” he says. He also tries to read as much as he can and to spend lots of time outdoors.

And those of you who worked with Caleb in UVA Finance might not even know this, but he has a twin! “I have an identical twin brother, but we are almost nothing alike.”

Fields, Finance, and FST: Say ‘Hello’ to FST’s New Systems Analyst, Michelle Gregory

 

Michelle

 As someone with 15 years in the financial industry and seven years of experience  working in higher education, joining the FST Team seemed like a great opportunity for Michelle Gregory.

More specifically, Michelle was interested in “playing an integral part in the FST project, learning a new system, and collaborating with business partners to promote continuous improvement of the budget and planning tools.”

As a Systems Analyst for the Reporting and Analytics workstream, Michelle will focus on the functionality of UVA’s budgeting and planning tool, Adaptive Planning, and will work on its integration with Workday Financials.

“I will be participating in the design and implementation of Adaptive Planning, which is scheduled to go live July 2022,” Michelle explains. “Post-implementation, I will be responsible for maintaining the application, continuous improvement of the system, collaborating with FP&A and University leaders, and partnering with Workday support teams to ensure seamless integrations with the University’s ERP and reporting environments.”

To do this, Michelle will work with various members of the FST Project Team to ensure the design and functionality of Adaptive will meet requirements. After implementation, she will work with end-users across Grounds to better understand their needs and discuss how Adaptive can meet those needs.

After 2 ½ weeks in her new role, Michelle says she feels “encouraged and excited by the commitment and organization of the FST Project.” She is also enjoying the inside look she gets at finance at UVA. “Although I have been in higher education for the last seven years,” she says, “I have always found it interesting to see how each institution operates, defines, and utilizes data.”

Outside of work, Michelle is very much a family person and spends as much time as possible with her

family and friends. Now that it’s Spring, she spends a lot of her time at the baseball field, as she serves on two boards in her community for their little league baseball and softball programs. She also has four boys, ranging in age from 5-21, and three of them currently play baseball. “I love every minute of watching them play the sport they love,” Michelle says.

When not on the field, Michelle loves to travel, read, and when it’s warm out, she loves spending time outdoors.  

Salesforce Part Two (Video): Exploring Opportunities

 By removing duplicate processes, we can improve our stakeholders' experience with UVAFinance.  Here's how we can identify those processes across UVAFinance using Salesforce.  

See the previous Salesforce video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JljOZLULxew&t=1s 

Jared Thompson Reports for FST Duty

Jared Thompson and family

Reporting is a key part of the Finance Strategic Transformation (FST) project, and that's where Jared Thompson comes in. This month, he joined the project team as a Workday Report Developer. Thompson was practically engineered in a lab for this role, as he has five years of experience building financial reports in Workday, which he started doing when he worked for Workday. Additionally, his experience includes higher ed consulting; he's worked with two other universities. 

As a consultant, Thompson has built clients' financial reports in Workday, including income statements, balance sheets, and whatever other financial statements they needed. 

"I enjoy it because I feel like it's a rare skill but adds quite a bit of value," says Thompson. "A lot of people will spend all of their time doing all the work, and I get to help push that last button so they get to see all of their work in one place." 

UVAFinance Director of Business Intelligence and FST Reporting and Analytics Lead Mark Anderson frequently comments that the process of creating reports in Workday is unique and requires a specialized skillset, so UVA is fortunate to benefit from Thompson's expertise. Even though he's been on the project less than two weeks so far, Thompson explains that it feels like he's already been with UVA longer. 

"I think being able to go from my last role to this one—I'm able to transition pretty quick because I know Workday," Thompson says, "you know, it's just tracking the reports so I can hit the ground running."

He's done just that, already building and tweaking several reports FST team members have identified as necessary. 

Thompson and friends overlooking the Grand Canyon

Part of what attracted Thompson to this role is that he'll be able to develop and maintain relationships, working with the same colleagues over time—a bit different than consultant life. Also, he's able to work for UVA while remaining remote. Thompson lives with his family in St. George, Utah, which he loves. He was born in California, then his family moved to Utah and he's been there ever since. 

Outside of work time, Thompson spends time with his family, pictured above. He also loves to be outside in nature: camping, hiking, and mountain biking. His children are 3 (almost 4) and 18 months, so he explains there's not as much time for those activities just now, though he'll surely get back to them.