Workday Adaptive Planning comes to Whitehead in 2024
Introducing Workday Adaptive Planning!
Whitehead Institute is now using another Workday tool called Adaptive Planning. Adaptive Planning allows for centralized financial planning, budgeting, forecasting and analysis based on the financial data entered in Workday. This will allow for a more disciplined and consistent budget analysis and forecasting process, as well as more accurate cash management.
As of May 2024, Adaptive Planning is now live and is being used by select team members of Finance and Research Finance.
More information will be shared about the user rollout for the FY2026 planning cycle over the coming weeks. For now, some key highlights:
What is Adaptive Planning?
Adaptive Planning is a budgeting and forecasting tool and is an extension of the Workday tool that is currently being used for recording financial data. The purpose of Adaptive Planning is to centralize the budgeting and forecasting process as well as to create long-term plans. This will allow for more accurate budgeting, detailed analysis and enhanced reporting to make better informed decisions for the future.
Who is working on Adaptive Planning?
A project team has been assembled to work on this project in partnership with our Workday consulting team. This team provides a blend of expertise from Whitehead Finance, Research Finance and IT departments and our Huron consulting team (see chart). An additional group of people from various Administrative Departments, Cores and Research Finance are participating in User Acceptance Testing.
Who is going to benefit from using Adaptive Planning?
Adaptive Planning is going to be an integral part of the budgeting and forecasting process going forward so the entire Whitehead community will benefit from it. It will be used extensively by the Finance and Research Finance teams as well as by the cost center managers, budget managers and administrators for the annual budgeting and quarterly forecasting cycles.
Will Adaptive Planning integrate with any other tools?
Yes, Adaptive Planning will integrate with Workday that is currently being used for recording actual financial data. This will allow for easy comparison of budget vs. actuals and creation of holistic forecast models. It will also integrate with HCM that is being used for headcount and compensation planning.
When is the go-live date for Adaptive Planning?
As of May 24, 2024, Adaptive Planning is now live and is being used by select team members of Finance and Research Finance.
When will we start using Adaptive Planning?
The internal project team has been using Adaptive Planning for configuration, testing, and initial set up throughout 2024. The project team will rollout Adaptive Planning to cost center / budget managers and administrators for the FY2026 planning cycle in the November/December 2024 timeframe. The Q1 FY2026 Forecast will also be done in Adaptive Planning.
Will there be testing and training for all stakeholders involved?
Yes, there will be extensive training for all the stakeholders from instructor-led training to job aids and training materials. Training sessions will be scheduled for all users and communications will be sent out in this regard with plans for Readiness Workshops in September and Training Classes in October.
The Whitehead Institute Support Portal (FreshService) will also be used to house all training documents, similar to Workday.
Extensive testing has been conducted by members of the Finance and Research Finance teams, with additional end-user testing having been conducted by a broader group of cost center managers.
How will updates on Adaptive Planning be communicated?
Updates will be sent primarily through emails, within the IT Newsletter and key information will be saved on the Workday Adaptive Planning intranet page.
Will I have to login into Adaptive Planning with my Whitehead username?
Yes, you will have to sign in using your Whitehead username and password.
Who should I ask if I have questions now?
Feel free to reach out to Laura Sander, Nina Miller-Browne or Sharmila Lala from Finance, or project manager, Kathy Wilder, with any questions.