Type: Testing
Challenge
A decentralized, multi-national holding company was preparing to go live with phases 1.5-2 of Workday® implementation. This included a global rollout of HCM and a US rollout of Benefits, Absence, US Payroll, and Time Tracking.
They were operating with four different versions of ADP and multiple other HCM programs. The goal was for all companies to be utilizing Workday® in order to operate under more standardized processes. Many of the individual companies required custom configurations to meet union requirements.
Due to the holding company’s decentralized structure and highly customized Workday® Payroll configuration, representatives from each organization needed to be involved in the end-to-end (E2E) solution.
A cost-effective solution was required, conducting field E2E testing with 90+ participants over four weeks. There was also a training requirement, as many of the practitioners did not process their own payrolls while operating on ADP.
Solution
A month before testing began, the IJA team met onsite to strategize, utilizing lessons learned from phase one testing. The team devised a plan that delegated one week to Benefits, Absence, and Time Tracking, utilizing cross-functional participants. The following week included onsite and offsite Payroll testing, with the more complex companies having onsite support. To fill knowledge gaps, job aides were distributed to the testers to review before testing began. In addition, each day, demos were planned to further train testers.
Prior to field testers arriving onsite, the Core team completed all critical scenarios in an effort to discover high severity defects. As the team became aware of significant issues, they were resolved quickly so that when the field team arrived, they could be used most effectively.
Each week, an hour-by-hour schedule was followed to keep everyone on track. For the 60+ offsite testers, remote sessions were facilitated. An inbox dedicated to testing was created to answer questions, and a metrics dashboard was updated daily. In the second week of Payroll testing, testers were given access to recorded demos.
Advanced planning, tester education, and the effective coordination of the entire team resulted in testing being completed on time with all critical scenarios addressed. At the end of the test period, participants had developed the skills necessary to effectively execute Payroll in Workday®.