Workday is a powerful cloud-based ERP system used by many large enterprises worldwide. With regular feature releases and updates, Workday ensures its platform remains up-to-date with the latest technologies and features. However, updating such a critical system also requires careful planning and execution to avoid any issues. Here are 5 common mistakes companies make while Workday updates that can be avoided:
1. Not Testing Thoroughly
Testing is one of the most important steps before deploying any Workday update. However, many companies rush through testing or have insufficient testing coverage. This can lead to bugs and issues slipping into production. It’s important to have a well-defined testing strategy covering all business processes, configurations, and integrations. Automated regression testing helps ensure previous functionalities still work as expected. Allow sufficient time for testing and re-testing before going live with the update.
2. Poor Communication
Workday updates often involve changes to configurations, workflows, and reports used by different teams. However, lack of proper communication between IT, different business teams and key stakeholders is a common mistake. Everyone needs to be on the same page regarding what is changing, potential impact areas, testing and validation procedures as well as go-live plan. Conduct awareness sessions, publish change documentation and get sign-offs to ensure smooth transition.
3. Not Managing Dependencies
Workday is often integrated with other internal and third-party systems. Changes in Workday can impact these interfaces and dependencies. However, the ripple effect of Workday updates on other applications is sometimes overlooked. It’s important to map all such dependencies, understand potential impact, and coordinate testing and changes across different systems. This helps avoid issues during or after go-live due to unresolved interface issues.
4. Insufficient User Training
Even if all the technical testing of a Workday update is successful, the users of the system may still face problems adapting to the new changes in workflows or configurations unless they are properly trained. Not providing sufficient training to the users is a big mistake. To avoid this, user training should be started well in advance by creating demo environments where users can practice the new processes. Quick guides and support materials should also be developed to help users learn. The training should be tailored to different user roles. Only after training all users and getting their feedback, the updated Workday system should be deployed live after validating user adoption through user acceptance testing. Any gaps or issues identified during training should be addressed proactively.
5. Not Monitoring Post Go-live
The best way to catch any residual issues is to monitor the system closely in initial weeks after a Workday update goes live. However, many companies relax monitoring too soon. Designate resources for support and issue resolution. Track and resolve user issues and bugs on priority. Analyze usage analytics and reports to identify process bottlenecks. Make refinements or roll back changes quickly if needed. Continued monitoring helps stabilize the new release.
Conclusion
With careful planning for testing, communication, dependency management, training as well as post go-live monitoring, companies can avoid many common pitfalls associated with Workday updates. Opkey is an end-to-end testing automation platform specializing in Workday update testing. They help companies streamline the testing process for biannual Workday releases. Opkey assisted multinational construction enterprise, a large construction firm, reduce their test cycle times by 80% and costs by 60%. Opkey makes sure that businesses processes continue to work smoothly after update or change in any configuration.
