The 2024R2 release for Workday Adaptive Planning introduces several powerful features to streamline financial planning and enhance user experience. Notably, users can submit data edits from valid leaf-level intersections in OfficeConnect reports to Adaptive Planning, allowing updates directly within Excel. Additionally, the new Long-Running Processes report in the Planning Center helps identify and manage processes that could bottleneck performance. These enhancements, along with other updates like improved report scheduling, reflect Workday’s commitment to optimizing planning workflows and performance.
User Experience
Changes to User Interface | The User Interface has undergone changes to further align the Workday Adaptive Planning interface with other parts of the Workday ecosystem. As part of this effort, several pages can now be updated to a responsive design in the Visual Preferences page in Administration. |
Write Back from OfficeConnect to Adaptive Planning | Allows users to submit data edits from valid leaf-level intersections directly from OfficeConnect reports into Adaptive Planning. The ability to update planning data without leaving Excel streamlines workflows, letting users leverage Excel’s powerful capabilities, such as formulas and copy-paste functions. In writeback mode, only specific elements, such as certain accounts, levels, versions, and dimensions, can be edited and submitted. Learn more about the feature by watching a video on https://doc.workday.com/release-notes/en-us/plnsheet/7928324.html |
Save Perspective Filters | Users can create, save and reuse custom perspective filter in dashboards. Administrators can also share filters with others. No additional set-up required. |
Archived Versions for Data Freeze | The “Archive version” check box allows users to archive plan versions, which freezes the values of calculated and linked accounts, preventing them from recalculating when changes are made to the model. This feature provides a more complete data freeze, enabling users to make changes to actuals version data, linked account configurations, and model structures without compromising the integrity of historical data. The Archive version check box replaces the Calculate Formula Values check box and is available for all plan versions. |
Model Reports Scheduling | The Model Reports Scheduling feature has been enhanced to allow users to schedule model reports, making it easier to share recurring reports with select users. This feature streamlines the process of sharing recurring reports with specific users, reducing the need for manual intervention. |
Rename Matrix Report Property | The “Optimize report for faster load time” label has been renamed to “Optimize report execution”, and the “Advanced” header has been renamed to “Optimization”. This change is designed to provide a more intuitive and user-friendly experience for Adaptive Planning users |
Codes for Calendars and Modeled Shet Display Columns | Allowing to edit codes for calendars and display columns in modeled sheets promotes consistency and organization within the model, making it easier to manage and refenced different components. The update includes new fields and columns for calendars, as well as the ability to edit codes for display columns. Additionally, the modelled sheet definition API has been updated to accommodate these changes. |
Support Attributes in Association Loaders | Adaptive Planning association loaders now support attributes. This enhancement enables users to easily include attributes in their association loads by mapping attribute names in the column mapping tab. Additional Setup required. |
Create Associations with Attributes | Exciting new feature which makes it easier to manage access rules in your Adaptive Planning tenant. You can now create user associations using not only levels and custom dimensions, but also level and custom dimension attributes. This added flexibility simplifies the setup and maintenance of access rules. The feature will be automatically available on September 21, 2024. |
Long-Running Process in the Planning Center | This feature helps users identify and cancel processes running for more than 30 seconds, preventing potential bottlenecks and ensuring smoother planning operations. By managing these resource-heavy tasks, users can avoid disruptions during peak times and reschedule them for quieter periods. Located in the new Process Dashboard, this tool covers various processes, including sheet loads and admin updates. Please, find more details at https://doc.workday.com/release-notes/en-us/plnfed/8008018.html |
Replace Mode by Level for Model Sheet Import in Planning Data Loaders | This feature allows users to replace data by level when importing into modeled sheets using planning data loaders. This enhancement provides more granular control over data updates, enabling users to target specific levels and replace only the data that needs to be updated. A new mode, “Replace all for imported levels”, has been added to support this functionality, making it easier to manage and update modeled sheet data. Data loaders need to be updated to use the feature. |
Integration Planning Data Source Scalability | Enhancements to scalability and performance. This update allows for faster data export and the ability to export up to 2 million rows of data from Adaptive Planning, a significant increase from the previous limit of 500,000 rows. This feature supports most account types and modelling features, with some exceptions. For more details, please refer to release notes: https://doc.workday.com/release-notes/en-us/plnint/8097193.html |
Unified Access Management (UAM) | A feature that enables administrators to manage user access and permissions from a single location. By leveraging Workday’s security groups, administrators can create and assign Adaptive Planning permission sets and sync these groups into Adaptive Planning to control user access. This centralized approach automates the process of assigning permissions and managing user access, making it easier to maintain security and compliance across the application. |
Insights
Machine Learning Predictive Forecaster | A new feature that uses historical data to generate accurate forecasts. It allows users to select from eight ML algorithms, including Workday developed AutoFit, which automatically chooses the best algorithm based on your data. To use the Predictive Forecaster, users need to add the new Predictive Forecaster permission to their permission sets in the Administration settings. |
Bottom-up Workforce Planning | The Bottom-Up Workforce Planning feature has been enhanced to improve the user experience when viewing headcount and headcount forecast plans. The update includes new visual indicators, such as Planning Staffing Status icons, to help users quickly identify key information. Additionally, related actions menus and direct object access have been added to streamline navigation and data entry. The feature also includes improved sorting and pagination, making it faster and more efficient to manage workforce planning data. Furthermore, a new data extraction security domain has been introduced, enabling workforce planning configuration managers to extract larger amounts of data with improved scalability and performance. |
Publish Financial Plans | Administrators can create an Integration System User (ISU) and JWT Client directly from the Publish Plans tenant setup page. This enhancement significantly reduces implementation time and improves the user experience by enabling the display of background task messages for scheduled plan publishing in Adaptive Planning. A new “Create ISU and JWT Client” button has been added to the Publish Plans section within the Tenant Setup Task, streamlining the setup process. Additional set-up required. |
Actuals Import from Workday Financials | The actuals import from Workday Financials feature has been enhanced to make it easier to import actuals from Workday into Adaptive Planning. Additional validations have been added for Ledger Account and Ledger Account Summary, ensuring a smoother import process. A new safeguard has also been introduced, preventing the selection of invalid account sets for the chosen company. There will be no additional work required to use the feature. |
Import Ending Balance data for Balance Sheet from Workday Financials with High Volume Extract | Adaptive Planning has expanded its balance sheet reporting capabilities with the introduction of High Volume Extract for importing ending balance data from Workday Financials. This feature supports single- and multi-currency reporting for large data volumes, providing a more detailed and accurate view of financial performance. To facilitate this, a new “Ending Balance” amount type has been added, along with journal line filtering by Balance Sheet Ledger Accounts and Summaries, making it easier to manage and analyse balance sheet data. |
Financial Planning Configuration Manager | Now importing actuals data from balance sheet journal lines for equities, assets, and liabilities becomes easier. The enhancement offers several key benefits, including reduced implementation time, supports multi-currency imports and streamlined ongoing maintenance. Additional work required during initial PCM setup. The feature is automatically available. |
Workday Adaptive Planning’s 2024R2 release significantly enhances the financial planning experience by introducing features like direct data editing from Excel, improved report scheduling, and long-running process management. These, combined with enhanced data management capabilities, machine learning forecasting, and unified access management, empower finance teams to work more efficiently, make data-driven decisions, and optimize planning processes, ultimately driving better business outcomes.
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