The Workday Student Project team is reaching an important milestone: wrapping up configurations of the new Student Information System (SIS) and preparing for testing, which will begin in the next phase in June.
Over the past several months, teams across campus have worked in an iterative Explore, Design, Build, Refine approach to ensure Workday Student is intentionally configured to reflect MSU Denver’s academic structures, policies and student support practices. This work includes configuring core functionality related to academic records, registration, advising, grading and financial aid.
The transition reflects the University’s commitment to provide systems that meet the demands of the full student lifecycle, as well as needs of faculty and staff.
Beyond configuration: Data validation and readiness work
Configuration is only part of the story. In parallel with final system setup, the project team has been validating data, confirming security and access roles, and conducting readiness activities to ensure the tests reflect how MSU Denver users will interact with the SIS in practice.
These efforts are critical to building a stable and reliable testing environment. Data validation helps ensure information flows correctly across processes, while readiness work supports future training, communication and change coordination so faculty, staff and students are prepared when new functions are added.
Looking ahead: System testing begins in June
The next milestone is system testing, scheduled to run between June and the fall.
The priority of the testing phase is conducting “end-to-end” tests. During this time, cross‑functional teams will walk through end‑to‑end processes to confirm the system works as intended and to check its reporting and integration capabilities. The tests also will identify areas for refinement and validate the experience from multiple perspectives — student, faculty and staff.
This phase will ensure that Workday Student is ready to support MSU Denver’s phased transition beginning in early 2027. The project team will continue testing activities after end-to-end tests are completed and seek feedback about user experience where applicable.
Testing will be organized into several categories intended to capture activities performed throughout a given semester. Throughout testing, these activities will be tracked within a set structure of scenarios:
- Epics: the highest level of organization, capturing predefined categories (e.g., core academic life cycles)
- Tests: all related to their “parent” Epic’s category, the Tests contain topics (e.g., registration) or populations (e.g., academic support staff)
- Test Steps: the most granular pieces, which define specific activities performed within a topic or by a population (e.g., add/drop/withdraw classes)
The testing team, in collaboration with functional area leads, are identifying a core group of contributors to help with testing during this crucial phase. If you are interested in participating, please reach out to a functional area lead.
Stay Informed: Read the latest Window on Workday
Visit the Workday Student website and read the latest Window on Workday to learn more about where the project stands, how readiness is taking shape and ways to stay engaged ahead of testing and training.
