Clear and consistent naming helps ensure that worktags are meaningful, easy to use, and support effective reporting across the University of Washington. The following standards apply to all FDM values (e.g., Cost Centers, Programs, Gifts, Grants).
Name Design Standards
Avoid acronyms.
Spell out terms for clarity. Acronyms may be included in parentheses at the end of the name, if helpful.
Example: Foundation Data Model (FDM)Avoid abbreviations as full names.
Use full names whenever possible. If necessary, place abbreviations at the end for reference.
Use allowed characters only.
Allowed: bars (|), periods (.), and dashes (-)
Not allowed: slashes (/), colons (:), commas (,), apostrophes (’), ampersands (&), and other special characters.Use proper case formatting.
Use standard capitalization (e.g., "Biology Department Support"). Do not use all UPPERCASE or all lowercase.
Do not include legacy system artifacts.
Do not reference legacy FAS budget numbers, object codes, org codes, or other legacy structures in worktag names.
Be mindful of report readability.
There is no character limit for worktag names, but names should be concise enough to display clearly in reports and dashboards. Long names can be hard to scan and may be truncated in some Workday outputs.
Avoiding Duplication
Before requesting a new FDM value, always check to see if a similar or identical value already exists. This helps prevent:
- Redundancy and confusion in reports
- Duplicate or conflicting values across units
- Extra maintenance and cleanup later
Tips:
- Search the desired name, either partially or whole, in the Workday search bar
- Review the existing worktags and definitions in the Knowledge Articles linked in the worktag glossary.
Effective Dating Guidelines
Workday sometimes requires an effective date when setting up worktags. UW follows these conventions to ensure visibility and usability across the system:
- Default effective date: When applicable, worktags should be created with an effective date of 01/01/1900.
This ensures that the worktag is immediately visible across Workday. Future-dated values can be difficult to locate and may not appear in some reports or prompts.
- Changes to existing worktags:
Changes (e.g., name updates, inactivation) can only be effective as of the start of the current fiscal period.
Note: For Ledger Account Summaries, no changes are allowed retroactively after audited financial statements have been issued for the prior year. Changes are to be effective dated 07/01/20XX at the earliest.
Annual Review and Inactivation
Each Shared Environment is responsible for reviewing their worktags annually and inactivating those no longer in use.
Best practices:
- Schedule an annual review aligned with fiscal year-end.
- Close worktags that are obsolete or inactive after clearing net position.
Coordinate with the University Controller’s Office - FDM Governance (UCO-FDM Gov) team if inactivation may impact other users or processes.