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Guiding Principles

Throughout this project, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ will build on our current use of Workday to transition from discrete uses of various administrative systems to one single enterprise system. Establishing this foundation of a sustainable, secure, unified source of administrative data will further enable and foster a culture of integrated and collaborative working, learning, and advising. A transition of this magnitude will require engagement and input from the entire campus community. 

Undertaking structural change of this breadth will be invigorating and, it must be said, difficult. Such fundamental change requires a deep commitment to balancing individual autonomy with the needs of the community, as well as an acknowledgement that tensions can and will arise when we must make choices between the two. The Workday Steering Committee has approved the following Guiding Principles to support prudent and fair decision-making for what must be an equitable and unified technology platform at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾. These Principles will serve as the foundation for the many decisions our Workday implementation teams will need to make as they lay the foundations of our enterprise system.  

The Guiding Principles are based on core values that members of the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ community articulated as being of primary importance in the undertaking of the Workday Program. These values include: Communication, Clarity, Collaboration, and Best Practices. 

1. We will utilize Workday functionality as delivered whenever reasonable. 

We will use Workday functionality whenever reasonable, standardizing business processes and relying on configuration rather than customization. We will focus on the institutional value of the function being delivered over individual preferences for the form of delivery. Workday will be ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾’s primary system of record and we will look to Workday first, considering outside solutions only as needed and approved through project governance structures. 

We will make decisions for the greatest good, designing for the needs of the 80%, not the 20%, remaining mindful that the design must focus on the core activities, not the exceptions. 

2. We will follow an inclusive and timely decision-making process that emphasizes self-service, diversity, and equity. 

The Workday Project is a ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ project. It will touch on all areas of the community, and it will require us to intentionally foster a culture of collaborative working. Although not every suggestion will be adopted or acted upon, all members of the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ community are invited to share their ideas and suggestions throughout the project by emailing workdayproject@bowdoin.edu. 

All members of this project have a shared goal in mind — to implement Workday successfully and collaboratively at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾. However, we come to the project with varied backgrounds and priorities, and team members will have varying opinions. Functional administrators across campus, with input from stakeholder groups, will be empowered to make the overwhelming majority (roughly 70%) of decisions in this project based on their professional expertise and knowledge of best practices. Even in times of disagreement, we will show respect to each other and demonstrate a willingness to compromise. 

We additionally recognize that the work of adopting an Enterprise System is time-consuming. To demonstrate respect for our colleagues, we will make thoughtful, deliberate, timely decisions that move the project forward responsibly and prudently. These decisions should, when practical, move processes toward a “self-service” model that empowers students, staff, and faculty to complete tasks seamlessly and independently. These decisions should similarly make processes widely accessible to users of all abilities and backgrounds, working to eliminate unwanted disparities. 

3. We will keep an open mind to growth and change.

Workday is more than just new technology. As a fully integrated enterprise system, it will transform the way we manage our data and our processes across the community, and may require changes not only to technology, but also to mindsets and behaviors. This is a moment of growth for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾, and it is important to acknowledge that the process of growing is often painful and uncomfortable in the moments that lead to breakthroughs.   

We will keep an open mind to growth and to change, seeking excellence but not perfection, with an appetite for improvement. We are open to changes that help us create equitable, contemporary, sustainable, secure, and user-friendly tools.  

4. We will provide frequent, clear communication.

We are committed to keeping the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ community updated about all aspects of the Workday Project throughout the project website and other community updates. We will use these opportunities to present information along with clarifying any previously communicated information. 

We will provide updates in a predictable and systematic way, so that the community will always know when and where to find the information. Throughout the project, events and trainings will be held to gather feedback from the community and assist faculty, staff, and students in the transition to Workday.  

Project Governance

Configuring and implementing Workday at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ will impact groups across the campus in ways large and small. For this reason, it's crucial that impacted groups across campus are involved in discussions about Workday early and often. To achieve maximum input and efficiency, a project governance structure has been established to help ensure that the voices of impacted groups are heard and to clarify which body has the authority to make which decisions when. The governance structure depicted below establishes decision making thresholds and member responsibilities throughout the lifespan of the implementation. 

The majority of the project's day-to-day decisions will be made by the groups, or workstreams, that are having daily meetings and making decisions about Workday's configuration. Decisions are escalated further into the middle of the circle as their potential impact grows or get cross-functional, meaning that they impact more than one area.  

Groups/Workstreams/Functional Teams

The Functional Teams will be doing the day-to-day work of implementing Workday at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾. These Subject Matter Experts (or SME's in Workday speak) will review all of their business practices alongside our implementation partners and the Project Management Office to fit into new Workday methodologies. They will test and implement these new functionalities while resolving issues and communicating unresolved issues to the Project Team for discussion. Members may be in more than one Functional Team group, and groups may shift and combine as work goes on. 

These Functional Teams are at the heart of this Workday project. Because these experts are at the core of the college's business processes, they understand better than anyone the impacts of moving from our current processes to Workday processes, and understand the levels of change management that will be necessary to move the culture of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ along with moving our processes. 

Functional Teams are also places where faculty and students will be most directly involved with reviewing items that relate to their processes in Workday.

The Functional Teams are expected to make roughly 75% of the decisions around the implementation of Workday at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾.

Project Team

The Project Team will likely be fluid throughout the life of the Workday project, and will consist of the Leads for all Functional Teams that are working at that point in the project, and may include Leads for Functional Teams whose work has concluded or not yet begun. This group will be key in making decisions that impact multiple functional areas of the college, and will escalate issues they cannot resolve up to the Steering Committee for resolution. 

These leaders will champion the project and will support the Functional Teams, communicate with key stakeholders across the college, resolve issues escalated from the Functional Teams, and help find ways to have a little fun and recognize the hard work of the teams. The Project Team is expected to make roughly 20% of the decisions around the implementation of Workday at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee of the Workday project will facilitate making big decisions about moving our information systems to Workday. This group will both make decisions elevated by the Project Team and help shepherd conversations through committees and other appropriate standing college governance committees so a decision can be made. This group will sign off on completed project milestones, help support change management at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾, and help resolve and remove issues received from other groups. The Steering Committee is expected to make roughly 5% of the decisions around the implementation of Workday at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾.

• Matt Orlando (Finance and Human Resources) 
• Jamie Tatham (Finance) 
• Tama Spoerri (Human Resources) 
• Becky Corey (Finance) 
• Jen Scanlon (Academic Affairs) 
• Martina Duncan (Academic Affairs) 
• Dallas Denery (Academic Affairs)
• Saari Greylock (Academic Affairs) 
• Mike Ranen (Academic Affairs)
• Michael Cato (Information Technology) 
• Jeff Doring (Information Technology)
• Andy Birenzi (Information Technology)
• Tina Finneran (Institutional Research, Analytics, and Consulting) 

The Steering Committee also includes attendance by Heather Rankin, Bernadette Williams-Looper, Emy Farley, and Brittany Geiger from the Project Management Office, as well as our partners at Cognizant Solutions.

Executive Sponsors

The Executive Sponsors of the project are responsible for focusing on the "big picture" and overall progress of the Workday project. They are charged with making any changes to the timeline or budget for the project and committing the necessary resources to the project. The Executive Sponsors are expected to make roughly 1% of the decisions around the implementation of Workday at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾.

Michael Cato, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Matthew Orlando, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration & Treasurer

Jennifer Scanlon, John S. Osterweis Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies; Senior Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs