In the dynamic world of financial planning and analysis, accuracy and reliability of data are paramount. Workday Adaptive Planning offers robust tools to help organizations achieve precise financial modeling. One feature is the implementation of data validation rules in modeled sheets. These rules act as guardians, ensuring that only accurate and reliable data makes its way into your financial models. In this blog, we will explore the steps to effectively use data validation rules in modeled sheets within the Workday Adaptive Planning platform.

Step 1: Accessing Modeled Sheets

To get started, log in to your Workday Adaptive Planning account and navigate to the modeled sheets. Modeled sheets are the foundation of your financial modeling, allowing you to organize and input data in a structured manner. Once selecting a modeled sheet, the user will have the option to select “Data Validation Rules.”

Step 2: Understanding Data Validation Rules

Data validation rules serve as checks and balances for the data entered into your modeled sheets. These rules help prevent errors and inconsistencies, ensuring the integrity of your financial models. Before setting up rules, it’s essential to understand the different types available, including range checks, conditional statements, and formula-based validations.

Step 3: Creating a New Data Validation Rule

To create a new data validation rule, go to the “Modeling” tab and select “Modeled Sheets.” Choose the specific sheet you want to apply the rule to and click on “Sheet Settings.” Under the “Data Validation” section, click on “New Rule.” Here, you can define the rule type, criteria, and actions to be taken if the data doesn’t meet the specified conditions.

Step 4: Defining Rule Criteria

Clearly define the criteria for your data validation rule. For example, you may want to set a rule that restricts a certain expense category from exceeding a specified percentage of the total budget. Use the available options to set conditions, thresholds, and parameters that align with your financial modeling requirements. Additionally, you can use the expression builder tool to assist with building your expression.

In this example, let’s use the expression builder to build a validation expression that will prevent a user from adding an employee to a Personnel file with a higher salary than 100,000. To do this, we will use the column selector to pick the Pay Rate column in the personnel model, then equals, and less than function.

Step 5: Configuring Actions

In the data validation rule setup, you can configure actions that will be triggered if the entered data violates the specified criteria. Options include warning messages, preventing data entry, or even triggering a workflow for further review. Selecting critical prevents users from submitting invalid data, while selecting warning allows submission but presents a warning message. In our example, let’s select critical to prevent users from adding employees with salaries over 100,000.

Step 6: Testing and Iterating

Once you’ve configured your data validation rules, it’s crucial to test them with sample data. This iterative process allows you to fine-tune rules and ensure they are effectively catching errors without hindering the data entry process unnecessarily. Let’s test our rule in our Personnel model. To do this, let’s return to our Personnel modeled sheet and enter an invalid value.

My invalid data is highlighted in red. If I attempt to save this data, I am prompted with the following message:

This is because we selected the critical action for this rule.

Step 7: Monitoring and Maintenance

Regularly monitor the performance of your data validation rules. As your financial models evolve, update and refine the rules to adapt to changing business requirements. Periodic maintenance ensures that your rules remain effective in safeguarding data accuracy.

Data validation rules in modeled sheets with Workday Adaptive Planning empower organizations to maintain the accuracy and reliability of their financial models. By following these steps, you can harness the full potential of data validation rules, contributing to more robust financial planning and analysis processes within your organization.

Revelwood is an award-winning, Platinum Solution Provider for Workday Adaptive Planning. We build solutions for the Office of Finance that minimize your risk by seamlessly incorporating business analytics into your everyday thinking. By combining the software with our best practices and out-of-the-box applications, we help businesses achieve their full potential with Workday Adaptive Planning.

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