As a report developer, we should ask the below questions during the design session. This will help us to select and determine the report type and requirements for the report.
- What is the primary purpose of the report?
Understanding the main objective of the report helps us determine its scope, content, and format, ensuring it meets the stakeholders’ needs. - Who are the primary users of this report?
Knowing the audience allows us to tailor the report’s solution. example: If this report is for management then probably they will need high-level data and going into details. if that report is for some audit then the business will need data at a much more detailed level. - What specific data fields do you need in the report?
This question helps identify the exact data that needs to be included, ensuring all necessary information is captured for analysis or decision-making. - What should be filter criteria for report?
This will help us to ensure that only required population is appearing in report. - Do you need any prompt on report to extract data based on that?
Goal of this question to get the prompt value that needs to added in report to fetch data based on prompt. - How data should be displayed in the report (summarized view or detailed view)? Do you require any interactive features, such as drill-down capabilities or filters?
Interactive features can enhance the usability of the report, allowing users to explore the data more deeply based on their specific questions. This question will also help us to determine type of report that needs to be created. - Are there any similar reports currently being used that this new report could replicate or improve upon?
Reviewing existing reports can provide a starting point and help avoid duplication of efforts, while also identifying opportunities for improvement. If project is an implementation project then we can ask if any similar standard report. - Who needs access to this report, and what are their roles?
This helps in configuring the report’s security and access permissions, ensuring that sensitive data is protected and only accessible to authorized users. - Is there a need for the report to be exported or integrated with other systems?
Knowing the requirements for data export or integration with external systems can influence the report’s design and format - Do you need the report to be scheduled (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly)?
The frequency of the report impacts its design, especially in terms of automation and scheduling capabilities within Workday.
Next Step After Design
After design session we need do the following :
- Prepare Report Design Document:
- Analyze report requirements and identify if any standard report to use.
- Finalize field mapping to ensure that you know which field is where so that it will be easy to build a report.
- Prepare a design document to document all requirements such a list of fields, filter criteria, Prompt, and whom we need to share this report with.
- Develop Report: Configure report in implementation tenant and do unit testing to ensure that it meet business requirement.
- Test: Ask the business users to test the report and provide testing sign-off.
- Migrate to Production: Once everything is approved then migrate the report to production.