Object names in Workday

by Rajesh Cynix
Posted: Oct 05, 2021

Most of us have seen circumstances when a lack of object name discipline makes work more difficult. In one ERP implementation, a company began with strong intentions but failed to follow through. They shared well-organized naming guidelines for reports, business processes, integrations, and queries. They included them in their intranet training materials and discussed the rules during training.

After that, they completely forgot about them.

Generate reports

After seven years, the HR Director requested that we figure out how to generate useful reports from years of transactional data. The first task was to create a report that would inform him of the number of employees in each employee group. It took three weeks to complete that assignment.

Although this is an extreme example, many businesses struggle when they do not establish and follow naming guidelines. You may save hours of irritation, minimize your costs, and eliminate wasteful duplication with a disciplined approach to governance and a few simple guidelines.

The Workday Design Advantage

When you first start using Workday®, you'll notice that the object names are in plain language rather than codes. You may need to study word definitions, but a translation table is not required. Learning is quicker, and returning to operations you haven't done in a long time is far easier than having to memorize codes. This approach can be carried over into the objects you name in Workday.

Guidelines for Best Practices

Many items in Workday® are defined and named. Reports, business processes, integrations, encryption keys, computed fields, and templates are just a few examples. Following a set of naming guidelines will help you a lot. One of the most important advantages of consistent names is that you can locate and reuse existing objects rather than having to build them from scratch.

When it comes to naming your objects, there are a few best practices to follow.

All Objects Recommendations

Make use of simple language.

A new user should be able to see and understand an object in context. Have a native speaker in each language assess the object name in context if you're using multiple languages.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations should only be used if they are well-known acronyms or are easily understood in context. For example, in report design, "RCF_" could be a nice prefix for calculated fields. For intermediate computed fields, "ICF_" might be useful.

Business objects

Business object names should not be abbreviated. The names of objects can be confusing, and abbreviations can confuse the meaning. If you're naming a report after a business object, for example, use the complete business object name.

You can utilize ISO standards for nation and region codes. Both 2-letter and 3-letter codes are maintained by ISO. If your company employs geographic or organizational codes, only use them if people will understand them.

Function names

Budget, Benefits, Payroll, Procurement, and so on are examples of function names.

Use title case when an object's name includes spaces. Use camel case if the object requires contiguous characters (no spaces).

Report Titles

Make the title case.

It's difficult to make a string of uppercase letters.

Be as precise as possible.

Avoid broad words like "Benefits Report." Use a unique name for your deductions, such as "Employee Pre-Tax Benefits Deductions."

With a suffix, show temporary reports. If you don't want a report to remain evergreen, add the word "Temporary" to the end of its name and delete it after you're done with it.

Ampersands.

The "&" character should not be used. Instead, use the word "and." The ampersand character instructs the browser to display a special character in HTML pages and XML activities.

Use hyphens sparingly.

Only utilize them if they're what a user would type into a search engine. Use as a separator if necessary.

Integrations

Determine which Workday® platform was used to build the integration: connector, toolkit, EIB, or Studio.

From a Workday® standpoint, name the integration direction: There are two types of inbound and outbound traffic.

If a consultant or integrator creates objects, include the integrating partner's name in the name to aid with future revisions.

If applicable, identify the intended application, location, and business unit.

Use the issuer, direction, key type, and target in encryption key names.

Mapping and Transformations

Include transformation type (XSLT), integration name, and layout type in transformations and mapping.

Include the operation type (GET), field name, transfer type, and variables used to produce fields in mapping templates.

Governance

A governance process that aids compliance is recommended. This is possible with automatic reports.

Include object naming in your training for anyone who has been given authority to do so. Don't forget about promotions and transfers.
Regular communication will help to reinforce the course.
Create custom reports that highlight things that break the restrictions.
Run reports frequently enough so that follow-up isn't a hassle.

Workday, an interactive environment for collaboration, networking, and learning, can be a wonderful resource for Workday-related queries, but it can be hard to browse and difficult to discover what you're looking for at first.

Methods for browsing

Here are some tips and methods for browsing Community that may be useful to beginning Workday users, as well as some reminders for veterans.

Return to the home page by clicking the community logo from any page.

2. Search

Do you have a query about an Enterprise Interface Builder (EIB) or are you experiencing an issue when trying to load one? Try putting it into the search field (or copying and pasting it). If you can't recall how to go to the Knowledge Sharing Sessions (KSS) calls for a specific location, just key in the area and "KSS" and you should find it.

3. Menu

A quick reference guide to the resources available:

How to use the Community, assistance with Workday deployment, training, support, professional services, and Frequently Asked Questions are all covered under "Basics."

Everything you need to know about the current and planned releases may be found in the "Release" section. It's a wonderful place to look for resources for both releases and service upgrades, as well as examine the "Scheduled Maintenance" calendar and locate Workday's resource center.

Workday features and functionality documents, such as the "Administrator Guide," integrations, and strategy roadmaps, are available under "Products."

4. Profile

Customize your profile and notification settings here, as well as bookmark specific topics, pages, or "Administrator's Guide" sections for easy reference later.

5. Workday Notifications

Receive Workday notifications for time-sensitive, high-impact, or broad problems or modifications.

6. Marquee

Contains links to current blog entries and information about upcoming webinars, as well as a post or two about the release windows.

Product Information Pages

Workday is now accessible from the home page. You'll also see a calendar of upcoming events as well as the Production Status of your Workday data center. (In Community, your Data Center is listed under your user group.) Navigate to "Collaborate> User Groups> My Groups" from Community, then choose your company's private group to view the locations of each of your tenants.

Conclusion

Your implementation strategy should include naming conventions and governance. It is, however, never too late to get back on track. Not only will your Workday users be less frustrated, but you'll also save time and money on rework and duplication. You can learn more about implementation through Workday online training.