Term |
Definition |
Approve (business process) |
Designated participants in a business process with a defined responsibility in this type of event indicate that they approve the proposed action. (The business process can proceed to the next step.)
|
Business Object |
A set of related fields, similar to how a table or spreadsheet is composed of a set of related columns. Instances of a business object in Workday are like rows in a table or spreadsheet, with each instance representing a unique occurrence of that type of object, such as an organization or worker. A business object can have no instances, one instance, or many instances. Workday automatically links related business objects together. Ex. Purchase order lines are linked to a purchase order header; the purchase order header is linked to a supplier; the supplier is linked to a company, and so on. |
Business Process Definition |
The set of tasks that need to be completed for an event to occur, the order in which they must be done, and who must do them. Workday includes a number of pre-defined business processes for different purposes. You can edit the default definitions for your organization. You can also create different versions of the same business process for different organizations. |
Business Process Instance |
A business process that the initiator has started. Ex. The Hire Employee for Organization X business process definition becomes an instance when the initiator uses it to hire a particular pre-hire. |
Cancel (business process) |
An action you can take on a business process. This stops the workflow in progress and reverses any changes made to Workday data. It is also a securable action in a business process security policy. You may need further approvals to cancel a business process. |
Contextual Custom Report | A custom report created to simplify the selection of data and fields by limiting choices to those related to the context of the object. A custom report can be created by selecting Reporting > Create Custom Report from Here from a Workday object's Related Actions.
|
Correct (business process) | An action you can take on a business process. Correcting a business process changes a specification or data in the workflow while in progress. It is also a securable action in a business process security policy.
|
Dashboard |
Pre-configured worklets that are specific to a functional area, like Talent Management or Workforce Planning. Since these worklets are built with the Report Writer and report-specific calculated fields, you can copy and modify them if you have unique requirements. You can add additional custom worklets to these dashboards using the Report Writer. Alternatively dashboards are combined with worklets called "apps". Over the next few releases, starting with Workday 25, Workday will release pre-configured apps that will include views, actions, and anlaytics. In addition, these worklets "apps" will include a customizable menu and announcements. |
Data Source |
A particular set of business object instances for reporting purposes. A data source is similar to a database view, except it is more flexible in two key areas. First, a database view always returns a flattened out tabular data structure, whereas a data source can return hierarchical data structures. Second, a database view requires that technical staff manually join related tables together, while a data source automatically allows reportable access to all business objects related to those in the data source.
|
Deny (business process) |
An action you can take on a step within a business process. Now, the business process can no longer proceed to the next step. In some cases, the entire business process may be terminated, and all Workday data restored to its state before the business process started. The ability to deny a business process may depend on your system permissions.
|
Drilldown |
A feature to view more data in a matrix report. When you click on a drillable element (such as a drillable field in the table view or a column, line, or pie segment in the chart view), a context menu appears that enables you to select a new View By field. If the Enable Drilldown to Detail Data checkbox is selected on the Advanced tab of the report definition, you can also select details associated with the selected report element. |
Event | A transaction that occurs within your organization, such as hiring or terminating a worker.
|
Field (reporting) | Contains data related to a particular primary or related business object within Report Writer.
|
Filter | A clickable icon used to narrow down data. Clicking this icon will create a row on your report where you filter data to display from one or more columns.
|
Functional Area | Grouping of tasks, reports, and objects. Ex. The HCM solution includes functional areas such as Benefits, Talent & Performance, Absence and Manager/Employee self-service. Each of Workday's solutions (like HCM and Financials) is grouped into distinct functional areas.
|
Initiation Step | The first step of a business process. |
Instance | One unique occurrence of a business object. Ex. Your Executive Management organization, or John Doe, the worker.
|
Matrix Report | A custom report forming the foundation for custom analytics. It summarizes data by one or two fields that contain repeating values. The resulting matrix is displayed as either a table or chart that users can drill through to see the associated details. You control the specific detail data users should see when they drill down by selecting the desired fields when defining the report. Matrix reports also provide features such as filtering, run time prompts, worklets, and report sharing.
|
Modify (permission) | The permission to view and gain direct access to securable items through the Workday user interface. It includes view permission. |
Related Business Object | A set of objects related to the primary business object defined in a report. These related objects might have their own set of fields that can be included in the report as well. Ex. You create a report using Employee as your business object. To find the total default annual compensation defined for an employee's position, you need to access a related business object off of Employee, which would be Position.
|
Roles | A group of people with specific responsibilities and permissions. When a business process runs, the role for each step includes all of the workers in that role in the business process target organization.
|
Security Group | A collection of users, or a collection of objects that are related to users. Allowing a security group access to a securable item in a security policy grants access to the users associated with the security group.
|
Target | The object on which a business process operates. Ex. For business processes that involve a worker record, the target is the worker. For business processes that involve a financial object, such as an accounting journal, the accounting journal is the target. Since the target determines the organization, it controls which business process custom definition Workday will use.
|
View (business process) | A feature within a business process enabling you to see its status and report on it. This is a securable item in a business process security policy.
|