Best Practices for Reporting in Project Management Tools

Workday Reporting Isn’t About “Building Reports.” Most people think of Workday Reporting like it’s Excel, just filters and columns. But in real projects, reporting is often the most underutilized and high-impact area in Workday. Here are 5 Reporting Best Practices we follow in every Workday project (with real use-case examples): ✅ 1. Don’t Over-Rely on Advanced Reports ➡️ Use Composite Reports only when absolutely needed. Too many teams jump straight to complex logic when a simple Standard Report + Calculated Field would work. Example: For monthly headcount, we used a delivered report with a custom prompt for Location → easier to audit, 5x faster performance. ✅ 2. Always Use Prompts for Filters ➡️ Hard-coded filters = no flexibility. Example: Instead of filtering by “Department = Sales,” use a prompt for Department. Now the same report can be reused across functions without editing the definition. ✅ 3. Align Security Early ➡️ Even the perfect report is useless if the right people can’t run it. Example: In one client project, managers couldn't access attrition reports because the report was secured under a custom domain they had no access to. Fixed in 15 minutes—but lost 2 weeks due to misalignment. ✅ 4. Use Worktags Wisely ➡️ Worktags aren’t just for Finance. They drive powerful insights across modules. Example: We tagged Learning Completion reports by Cost Center & Location → leadership could see ROI per region instantly. ✅ 5. Report Naming Matters More Than You Think ➡️ “John’s Custom Report V3” is not helpful. Use clean, consistent names: Employee Attrition - Quarterly Trend Time Off Summary - By Department Better names = easier discovery = more usage. 💬 What’s your #1 Workday Reporting tip from real-world use? Drop it in the comments below 📌 Save this post for your next reporting configuration session. #Workday #WorkdayReporting #HRAnalytics #WorkdayConsultant #HRTech #EnterpriseSoftware #ReportingBestPractices

Project managers, only report what matters Project updates shouldn't be a data dump. They should be a signal boost. Most stakeholders don't care about every single task, ticket, and speed bump. They want clarity. They want outcomes. They want action and impact. Report smarter by: ☝ Highlighting the key points early Don't make them dig. Say the important stuff: what's on track, at risk, and a need to know now. Think TL;DR first. ✌ Separate detail by audience The dev team might want specific Jira info. Leadership probably wants 3 high-level bullets. Tailor your updates to show you respect time and what your audience wants. 🤟 Focus on movement, not just activity You should never say "we had 4 meetings and I sent out 8 emails." You should say "we cleared X blocker which pulled delivery back on-track and saved us 3 hours on testing." Specific movement will trump outlined (but not actioned) motion. If your update doesn't drive clarity or action, it's just noise. Keep them sharp, short, AND strategic. 🤙

The Project Status Report That Saves Time (And Your Sanity) Ever spent more time writing a project status report than actually managing the project? Yeah, me too. Until I found the 15/5 Rule—a simple approach that changed how I communicate project updates. ✅ 15 Minutes to Write ✅ 5 Minutes to Read That’s it. No fluff, no endless paragraphs—just clear, actionable updates that stakeholders actually read. Here’s How It Works: 1️⃣ Start with the Big Picture → What’s the project’s current status? (On track, at risk, or off track?) 2️⃣ Highlight Key Updates → What changed since the last update? What’s completed, in progress, or delayed? 3️⃣ Call Out the Risks → What’s keeping you up at night? What needs attention before it becomes a bigger issue? 4️⃣ List Next Steps → What’s happening next, and who needs to take action? Why It Works: 🔹 Respects everyone’s time—concise, to the point, and actionable. 🔹 Builds trust—stakeholders don’t feel lost in unnecessary details. 🔹 Keeps YOU focused—no more over-explaining, just leading. A well-structured status report shouldn’t feel like another project in itself. Try the 15/5 approach. Your future self (and your stakeholders) will thank you. Do you have a go-to structure for project reporting? Drop it in the comments! 👇 🔔 Follow Craig for an exploration of project management and more. ♻️ Repost to help others.