Discover what’s in store for ATP’s Test & Train Stage

The Administrative Transformation Program achieved another program milestone this month with the launch of the Test & Train Stage, following a busy Configure & Prototype Stage dedicated to designing and validating business processes in Workday.

ATP and key stakeholders celebrated the launch of the new stage with kickoff events on July 11 and 12 that detailed the upcoming stage’s two main activities — testing UW’s business process designs in Workday and developing and delivering end-user training — and highlighted plans for areas like security role mapping and deployment planning.

“Test & Train is about getting in to the nitty gritty of Workday — it’s not just ‘How does this process happen in Workday?’” says Eric Phillips, ATP Project Management Strategy Lead, “but also ‘How does Workday integrate with the other systems we use?’ and ‘Does it work like it should after a new software release?’”

Read on to discover what’s on tap during the Test & Train Stage, and beyond.

Testing

ATP will conduct a variety of testing activities to ensure the standardized business processes in the final setup of Workday meet the needs of faculty and staff across the UW System.

End-to-end (E2E) testing happens during the first half of the stage and will evaluate the entire lifecycle of a business process in Workday, as well as integrations and reports. During this time, ATP teams and design focus groups will test Workday to ensure the setup is cohesive, identify opportunities for design enhancements, and validate training materials.

Following E2E testing, user experience (UX) testing will give ATP Readiness Teams and invited end users the chance to test key business processes and share their feedback.

Training

Much of the Test & Train Stage focuses on developing training materials — such as job aids, webinars, computer-based training, and instructor-led sessions — to ensure UW faculty and staff are ready to use Workday when it goes live. Materials will be created in collaboration between ATP’s Training Team and functional Design Teams.

Training for UW staff is scheduled to begin in March 2024, with support continuing past Workday go-live. Once live, computer-based training will be available 24/7 for staff to take at a time that fits their schedule.

Security Role Mapping

Security roles determine who can access specific information and perform certain actions in Workday based on their position at the UW. During the Test & Train Stage, ATP will provide detailed process information to the campus Readiness Teams, who will map access and permissions to hundreds of roles in Workday.

Cutover Planning

The process for moving from our current technology environment to Workday — known as cutover — involves more than a flip of a switch. Like moving from one house to another, activities are deliberately sequenced and scheduled for the months leading up to and following Workday go-live.

ATP will work with Systemwide stakeholders and ancillary system owners to perform key pre-go-live activities like data cleanup, conversion, and validation. Lower-priority data loads and additional cleanup will also continue after go-live.

Learn more about the ATP timeline, including activities leading up to and following the Test & Train Stage.