REPORT WRITER

1.0.0 Workday Reports

Reports are basically defined using XpressO (Workday’s development tool). There is a
tool called Report Writer which helps to create reports that user can run directly from
home page. Report writer is a report writing tool designed by workday and access to
Report Writer is by the assignment of an Administrator Role.

1.0.1 Types of Reports

Workday delivers two types of reports

 Standard Reports
o Standard reports are those which are delivered by workday and using
standard reports we can create custom reports by copying the reports
 Custom Reports
o Custom reports are designed by customers based on the company
requirements and can also be created by copying the standard reports.
In order to create a report
o Only the owner who created report will have access to it and Setup
Administrator are allowed to transfer the ownership of the report to
another user
o There are various types of custom reports can be created by user. The
various types are : Simple Report, Advanced Reports and Matrix
Reports

1.0.2 Use of Security in Reports

Each report and Data Source is secured by Securable Items in Workday in a domain
security policy. Based on the security groups assigned to the users, the data sources
and the fields are visible. For ex: Manager who can access their staff personal details
may not be able to view their social security numbers.

The security also works for reports which are shared. Sharing does not override report
security and whenever user creates a report, he/she can only view those fields for which
they are authorized.
 The Data Sources Report shows which security group has access to which data source

1.0.3 Terminologies Used in Reports

Data Sources:
 A Data Source is Similar to a View in Relational Database
 Each report will have only one Data Source
 A Data Source provides access to a single type of Business Object
 Refer to the Primary Business Object
 One Row for each Primary Business Object Instance
 Control security when a report is shared
 Primary Business Object drives availability of other Objects via relationships

Business Objects:
 Workday stores data as “Business Objects” which can be assumed as a table in
database. Each Object contains both Logic and Data.
 Workday Business Objects has Fields (Columns) and Instances (Rows)
 A Business Object can have One Instance or Multiple Instances

Relationship with Business Object and Data Sources:

 A Data Source can have one or more Business Objects

Primary Object:
 Primary Object is a parent table. For ex: Worker is a Primary Business Object

Class Report Fields:

 Fields are similar to columns in a table
 There are various types of fields. The fields are: Text, Numeric, Currency, Date
and Boolean, Multiple Instance, Single Instance.

1.0.4 Custom Reports Concept

Workday enables user to create. There are three types of custom reports can be created
using Report Writer:
Simple Report:
A simple report provides straightforward design options for the beginning or
occasional user to create reports quickly and easily .
 Advanced Report:
An advanced report provides all the features of a simple report, plus more
advanced ones such as accessing related business objects and producing
multiple levels of headings and subtotals. Advanced reports also enable the use
of sub-filters, run time prompts, Charts, Worklets, Report sharing, and provide the
ability to expose the report as a web service.

Matrix Report:
A matrix report forms the foundation for custom analytics. It summarizes the data
by one or two fields that contain repeated values. The resulting matrix is
displayed as either a table or chart that users can drill down to see the
associated details. You can 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.

1.0.5 Report Access

 If the string “Custom Report” is entered into the search box all of the tasks
associated with the report writer will be returned
 The menu area within the Navigate tab has a report writer option. Once the
report writer is selected the tasks associated with the report writer are presented
 It is important to remember that a report is an object. Once you find a report it will
be presented with a related action icon. The related action icon can then be used
to initiate the report writer tasks.

2.0.0 Create Report in Workday

User can create a custom report in four different ways and they are: copy a custom
report, copy a workday standard report, create a new custom report and create a custom
report based on the context where you are in the application

Activity 2.0.1: Create a custom report

Scenario: Creation of “Employee Report” which list all the workers personal details and
hires details

Step 1: Login as lmcneil and Search for “Create Custom Report” and select the task as
shown below
Note: lmcneil is a “Super User” and “All Workers” Data Source lists all the workers
information

Click on Create custom report hyperlink.

Name the report as “Employee Report”.
Click “Ok” to continue
Select “Business Object” as “Worker”
Add following fields to the report
 Worker
 Hire Date
 Last Name
 First Name
 Social Security Number

Click “Ok” to save the report.

 Click “Run” to run the report and retrieves the required data.

Note: “Test” option will retrieve the “Random” 10 results and Run will retrieve the data
based on the criteria if any.

2.0.1 Run reports

Users can run reports in four ways and they are:
Standard Reports
 User can run report interactively
 Export to excel
 Using View printable version option
 Scheduling a report

Custom Report
 After creating a new custom report and clicking on “Ok”, the system
prompts for Run and Test. On click of Run, the system results the data
 Using “Run Custom Report” task in the report writer menu
 By selecting custom report related action and click on Run option
 Schedule a report
2.0.2 Schedule Reports

Schedule a report so that you don't need to manually run each time. For example, by
setting up a recurring process, you can automatically run a weekly report each Friday at 6
PM. When you schedule a report, it runs in the background, which allows you to continue
your work while the report is running.

Scheduling of a report are done in below mentioned ways

 Using Schedule a Report task

 Selecting a Custom Report -> Schedule from the report which is created
Steps:
If user want to schedule an Employee Report which is created, the user need to follow
the below mentioned steps

Select a report which you want to schedule

Run Frequency:
Run Now: this option will run the report immediately
Run Once in Future: this option runs the report on the date and time you specify
Daily recurrence: this option runs every day on the specified time
Weekly recurrence: this option runs every week on the specified time
Monthly recurrence: this option runs every month on the specified time

Click “ok” to proceed

User can select the type of the report

 File to be deleted after: this option will delete the file from the server after the days
exceeded
Click “Ok” to proceed

User can view the status by selecting Process Monitor task and the request name

2.1.0 Create Custom Reports

While Creating Reports the report user should be aware of the following things
Where is the data that is needed?
• Step 1 – Choose the Data Source
What fields should be on the report?
• Step 2 – Select Business Objects, Related Objects and Fields
How should the report output be sorted?
 • Step 3 – Define the Column Order
• Step 4 – Specify the Desired Sorting
Which rows or instances should appear on the report?
• Step 5 – Define the Filter Criteria & Prompting

2.1.1 Create Simple Reports

Now we will understand the process to create a Simple Report

Scenario: Create a report which lists all the terminated employees list

Step 1: Access Create custom report task

Step 2: Provide report name and report type as “Simple Report”
Step 3: Select Data Source as “Terminated Employees”
Step 4: select the fields which are mentioned below

Order: enables you to define the order that fields should appear on the report. You can
move the order of the fields from up and down

Field: Represents the field name associated with the business object that should be
included in this column of the report. The prompt allows you to see the available fields for
the business object “By Category”, in which they are listed by functional grouping, or “All”,
which lists all the fields alphabetically. An icon is displayed next to each field which
indicates the field type. See Field Type Appendix for a description of what the icons
represent. To help you decide the appropriate field to use, click on the magnifying glass
next to the field name to see a description of the field. Note that only fields that are
authorized for the roles you hold will be displayed in the prompt list. Fields in the “Do Not
Use” prompt should not be used in a report.
 Column Override: enable user to override the column heading label and this will be
used during integrations.

Options:

Options will vary based on the field type selected.

Step 6: Run the report to view the results

2.1.2 Create Advanced Reports

2.1.2.1 Define Columns

The Columns tab on the report definition allows you to specify the fields you want to
include on the report and the sequence in which they should be displayed on the report.
The columns grid contains one row for each field that should appear as a column on the
report. Each row in the grid defines the field, column heading overrides and options on
how the field should be displayed.

Business Object: the Business Object is defaulted to the primary business object of the
data source selected.

Field: The prompt shows the available fields for the business object “By Category”, in
which they are listed by functional grouping, or “All”, which lists all the fields
alphabetically. The icon displayed next to each field indicates the field type. See Field
Type Appendix for a description of what the icons represent.

Column Heading Override:

Allows you to override the field name as the column heading on the report. If you don't
want to use the Field name as the column heading, enter the appropriate value in this
field.

2.1.2.2 Define Sort Options

  Multiple Sorts
 Sorting by Ascending or descending
 Sort by Secondary Objects
 Group headers provide a logical separation of data on the report. If you select the
Display Headers check box for any of the sort/group levels on the report, you must
define on the Columns tab the Group Name field (found in the Global Fields folder in the
prompt window) as the first column of the report.
 If you select the Display Subtotals check box for any of the sort/group levels on the
report, in the Columns tab you must specify either Sum, Average, Minimum, or
Maximum in the Options field for at least one field on the report or include the Count field
(found in the Global Fields folder in the prompt window) as a column on the report.
 Overrides the name that will be used in the Group Name column for this sort/group level
 Specifies whether you want to display grand totals for the report. If selected, in the
Columns tab you must specify Sum, Average, Minimum, or Maximum in the Options
field for at least one field on the report or include the Count Field (found in the Global
Fields folder in the prompt window) as a column on the report.

2.1.2.3 Define Filters

 Business Objects can be filtered based on rules in the report definition

 Filters consists of Boolean expression and Operators
 Some data sources include pre-defined filters and additional filters can be specified using
report writer
 The users can be prompted at run time to enter values for use in filters

 The Filter tab on the report definition allows you to specify how you want to filter the
primary business objects for the report. This step is optional. If no filter criteria are
specified for a report, all instances from the data source will be included in the report.
Otherwise, only instances that satisfy the filter criteria will appear on the report. A filter
consists of one or more filter conditions, defined as rows in the filter grid.

EXAMPLE: Prompting for a range of values. In this example, assume you want to prompt the
user for a range of hire dates when they run the report. You would select "Starting Prompt" as
the Comparison Value for the first filter condition referencing the Hire Date field and "Ending
Prompt" as the Comparison Value for the second filter condition referencing Hire Date.
Here is how the filter conditions should look:
 And/Or Field Operator Comparison Type Comparison Value

Hire Date is greater than Prompt the user for the value Starting Prompt

And Hire Date is less than Prompt the user for the value Ending Prompt

2.1.2.4 Define Sub Filters

 Advanced reports use sub filters for filtering the data of the related business
objects which are child tables. For ex: If user wants to filter data on employees
dependents then use sub filters
2.1.2.5 Define Prompting Overrides

 Report prompts allow the user to specify different criteria for the same report
each time the report is run. Some data sources have built-in prompts. (See the
data source description for details.) You can also create your own prompts on an
advanced report by choosing Prompt user for the value as the Comparison Type
in a filter condition. Creating one report with prompts to provide filter criteria is
quicker and easier than creating multiple reports, each with "hard coded" filter
conditions.

 On the Prompts tab you can specify optional prompt related data about your
report, such as prompt instructions, the sequence the prompt fields will be
displayed in, overrides for the prompt labels, etc. In the prompt grid you specify
the prompted field and enter override values. You can specify prompt overrides
for both built-in and user-defined prompts.

 When an effective date or an effective date and time is specified at run-time, the
report returns only data values that were in effect at that date or time. If you don't
select a value for this field, the report returns data in effect as of the date and
time the report is run.
 When an entry date or entry date and time is specified at run-time, the report
returns only data values that were in entered into the system at that date or date
and time. If you don't enter a value for this field, the report returns data entered
as of the date and time the report is run.
2.1.2.6 Define Output Options

By default, a custom report is rendered as a table and not enabled for use as a worklet.
Use the Output tab to override these defaults and define the reports:

 Output type.
 Chart options.
 Worklet options.
2.1.2.7 Define Sharing Options

By default, a custom report is visible only to its owner. You can choose to share your
report with other Workday users or groups. Then, anyone meeting your sharing criteria
can run the report and view its definition (if they also have the Report Writer role).
Sharing a report with another user allows him or her to run the shared report, not edit the
report. In order for the shared user to be able to edit the report, the shared user must
copy the shared report and edit the copy of the report, or the report owner must transfer
ownership of the report to the shared user.

2.1.2.8 Define Advanced Options

 The advanced option is available to advanced reports

 Enabled Preferred Currency : Displays the user's preferred currency, as a second
line within the same cell on the report

 Enable As Web Service: Select this check box to expose this report as a web
service. If you select this option, then you must also define Column Heading
Override and Group Column Heading values on the Columns tab, and provide
Label Overrides for all prompts on the Prompts tab. You can also select which
Web Service API Version to use. The API version defaults to the API associated
with the current release of Workday. When an advanced report is exposed as a
web service, all supported web service options become accessible by selecting
Web Services > View URLs from the related actions menu for the report.

2.1.3 Create Matrix Reports

 The matrix report type is used to display data grouped and summarized. Matrix reports
are similar, but not identical to, pivot tables and crosstabs found in other systems. You
group data in a row group and optionally a column group. Values in the matrix cells
display aggregate values scoped to the intersection of the row and column groups to
which the cell belongs. At runtime, as the report is processed, the report matrix is built
both horizontally and vertically on the page based on the data selected. Once the matrix
is built, you can view the data by different fields, and each cell within the matrix is
drillable. You can either drill into a number displayed in a cell in the matrix or group the
results by another field, or you can view the detail transactions that comprise the number
in the cell in the matrix.
Examples: If a user wanted to retrieve the count of employees and contingent workers
by an Organization. Then we can use Matrix Report to retrieve the data

The above report retrieves the data as per the scenario and the results are :

2.2.0 Difference Between Types of Reports

SL No Simple Reports Advanced Reports

1 Sharing of report is not available Sharing with other users is available
2 Simple filters can be done Complex filters are possible
3 Access is restricted to Primary Access is available for both Primary Objects
Business Objects and Related Objects
4 Cannot define as a Worklet Worklet can be enabled
5 Cannot publish as a Web Service Cab Publish as a Web Service
6 Cannot define Run Time Prompts at a Can define prompt values
report level
7 Filtering is available on Primary Filtering is available on Primary and Related
Business Objects Business Objects

2.3.0 Manage Custom Reports

2.3.1 Edit Report
User can edit the custom report in below mentioned ways
 By Accessing the Edit Custom Report task from Report Writer Menu
 By selecting Custom Report -> Edit from relation action of the report
2.3.2 Copy Report
Copy option will allow the user to create a new custom report along with the properties
which already exist in the report. Users can copy custom report in below mentioned ways
 By Accessing the Copy Custom Report task from Report Writer Menu
 By Selecting Custom Report->Copy option from Related Action of the Report
2.3.3 Test Report

After defining a custom report, you should test it to ensure it returns the data you expect
and formats it properly. If not, keep iterating between editing and testing until you are
satisfied.

To test a custom report, use the Custom Report > Test related action on the custom
report. This runs the report but only includes the first ten rows of data from the data
source. For reports with large data volumes, this significantly reduces the time required to
display the test results.

2.3.4 Share Report

This option is available for Matrix and Advanced report types and by default custom
reports are available only to its owner. You can choose to share your report with other
Workday users or groups. Then, anyone meeting your sharing criteria can run the report
and view its definition (if they also have the Report Writer role). Sharing a report with
another user allows him or her to run the shared report, not edit the report. In order for
the shared user to be able to edit the report, the shared user must copy the shared report
and edit the copy of the report, or the report owner must transfer ownership of the report
to the shared user.

Don't share With this option selected, your report can be viewed and executed only by
report (default) you.

Share with all Select this option to share your report with any user who is authorized to
authorized access the report's data source.
users

Share with
Enables you to specify both authorized groups and individual authorized users
specific with whom you want to share the report. The report will be shared with a user
if he or she is a member of any of the authorized groups specified or is one of
authorized
the authorized users specified. When you select this option, the following
groups and fields become available:
users ← Authorized Groups: From among the security groups that are
authorized to access the report's data source, you can select a
subset. Only users with those security groups can access your
report.
← Authorized Users: Specify one or more users that can view and
run your report. Users must be in at least one security group that
 allows them to access the data source.

2.3.5 Transfer Ownership

Select Transfer Ownership of Custom Reports from the Report Writer category of the
Navigate slider. You can also open the custom report whose ownership you want to
transfer and select Custom Report Definition > Transfer Ownership from the related
actions menu.
The intended new owner must be in the Report Writer security group and be in one or
more of the security groups associated with the Data Source accessed in the report.

2.3.6 Print Report

If you want to view the report definition, then click on Print Icon in the report. You will be
able to view the report definition as mentioned below.

2.3.7 Convert Report

Access the simple custom report that you want to change and select Custom Report >
Change to Advanced Report Type from the related actions menu.
It is not possible to convert an advanced report to a simple report. Nor is it possible to
convert simple or advanced reports to matrix reports or vice versa.

2.3.8 View reports

Reports can be viewed in two ways:

 By accessing report writer menu
 Through Related Action of Custom Report

2.3.9 Delete Report

Select the Delete Custom Report task from the Report Writer category on the Navigate
slider, or open the custom report you want to delete and select Custom Report
Definition > Delete from the related actions menu.
You can only delete custom report definitions that you have created; you cannot delete
custom report definitions that others have shared with you.

2.4.0 Worklets
2.4.1 Define Worklet
A Worklet is a report that can be displayed in a "tile" on the Workday "landing pages",
which are: My Workday, All About Me, and My Team, and the Dashboard slide-out.
Worklets provide users quick access to frequently referenced data and tasks common to
a specific functional area. There are two types of worklets—Workday-delivered worklets
and custom worklets. For information on configuring the landing pages to display these
worklets

Workday Delivered worklets are Inbox, My Account and Personal Information. These
worklets cab be accessed by set of pre-defined groups

Custom worklets can be created by using Report Writer and specifying either the
advanced or the matrix report type, and then selecting Enable as Worklet on the Output
tab.
Customer worklets can be shared with other users. Just like advanced reports, worklets
have four sharing options, which are: “Don't share report”, “All authorized users,”
“Specific authorized groups”or“Specific authorized users”.

2.4.2 Developing a Custom Worklet

Worklet Creator/Owner

1. Design an advanced or matrix report using the Report Writer.

2. On the Output tab, select Enable As Worklet and override the

Worklet Options, if required:

o Change the landing pages (Worklet Page

Layouts) where the Worklet can be used.
o Change the maximum number of rows that
will be displayed.
o Change the report that will be displayed if the
Worklet is maximized.
o Change the Worklet icon.

3. Go to the appropriate landing page and configure the page to

include your new Worklet.

Here are the steps required to deploy a custom Worklet for shared use:

Worklet Creator/Owner
 1. Follow steps 1 through 3 above.

2. Share the Worklet with the appropriate authorized users.

Setup Administrator
← If the Worklet is to be required or recommended
for one or more security groups, update the
Worklet Page Layout Setup using the Edit Tenant
Setup task.

End User
← If the Worklet is recommended or optional, go to
the appropriate landing page and configure the
page to include the Worklet.

2.5.0 Workday Report as Web Service

Workday enables you to expose advanced custom reports as web services. Web
services allow inter-operable, machine-to-machine interaction over the Internet. In
Workday, web services present report results as URLs, enabling integration between
Workday and external business services, such as payroll or benefits providers. Web
services also can be used to expose business data to external reporting tools, such as
Microsoft Excel. Output options for web services include:

← Workday XML
← Simple XML
← CSV
← RSS
← GData
← JSON

More details on each of these options are provided below. Note that there is also a
deprecated Internal REST/Workday Internal XML option that is not supported.

Activity: Publishing report as a Web Service

Step 1: Click “Enable as a Web Service” Checkbox: once the checkbox is located on the
Advanced Tab in the report. Once it is turned on and the report is saved the web service
URLs and XML can be accessed using the related action icon in the report.

Step 2:
Define column heading overrides: workday requires that column heading overrides be
defined for a web service enabled report. These headings will then be used in the XML
Schema

Step 3:

Define Group Column Headers & Prompt Label Overrides: workday requires that group
column headers be defined for a web service enabled report only if you define secondary
objects within your report. These headings, which are tied to secondary objects, will then
be used in the XML Schema. Prompt label overrides are required If a prompt is defined
within the report definition or If the Data Source has a Built in prompt(s)