Most Bad Workday Reports Fail in the First Two Minutes
Before you start your next reporting project, your next complaint, or your next theory about what is broken, pause for two minutes.
Run a small query. Pull one population, one timeframe, one behavior. More often than not, assumptions fall apart almost immediately.
That idea came from a recent post by David Dysart, and it landed because it reflects what we see constantly in Workday Student reporting. Many reporting challenges are not caused by complex logic or system limitations. They start much earlier, with choices that were never validated before the report was built.
Over time, we have seen a consistent set of issues that show up again and again.
The Wrong Data Source in Workday Reports
One of the most common problems is choosing the wrong data source at the very beginning. If you do not clearly understand when to use the Student Course Registration Record versus the Student Course Registration data source, that confusion will ripple through the entire report.
This is exactly where small proofs matter. A quick test query often reveals whether the data source truly aligns with the question you are trying to answer.
Unnecessary Calculated Fields
Calculated fields are powerful, but they are often used when they are not actually needed. In many cases, the right data source already provides what you need. And when a field is not available on the primary business object, the solution is frequently to use a related business object rather than creating additional logic.
Overuse of calculated fields adds complexity, slows performance, and makes reports harder to maintain over time.
Misunderstanding the Workday Student Data Model
A student in Workday is not the same thing as a student in higher education language. The Student business object primarily supports biographic and demographic information and does not reflect academic history in the way many expect.
Academic details live in the Academic Record and Academic Period Record. Students can have multiple academic records, which changes how data should be queried, grouped, and interpreted. Without understanding this structure, reports may appear correct while quietly telling the wrong story.
Build Small Proofs Before Big Models
Good reporting in Workday Student is less about building complex logic and more about disciplined validation. Learning the Workday data model is similar to learning a new language. Terms matter. Relationships matter. Assumptions must be tested.
Start small. Validate more than you think you need to. Document definitions. Talk with peers at other institutions and ask for sample reports. Most teams are willing to export templates and explain why they made certain design decisions.
Two minutes of validation can save weeks of rework.
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