UWFT UW Connect Shared Environment Prep Initiative

Last updated: October 18, 2022

October 2022 Update

The SE Prep Initiative is Closing:

The SE Prep Initiative is coming to a close as we work through our final three groups. Thank you for all the hard work to those who participated in this initiative. This work has provided us with crucial insights into how the UW Connect future-state rollout team will scale the release of the new UW Connect Finance Service leading into go-live next year. The team will now focus on incorporating feedback, developing the new service, and planning release. We welcome any feedback regarding UW Connect and invite you to share here.

More about the Initiative: 

Workday Finance go-live will bring massive change to UW staff. The purpose of this initiative is to reduce the degree of change related to using UW Connect as part of the new Finance workflows by onboarding more units to the current UW Connect Service Management product. For interested units with finance/procurement shared service teams (or defined work groups), we will waive the $3,100 implementation fee and set up UW Connect using some standard configurations. As a result, teams will begin learning UW Connect core features and functionality and establish related business processes in their units. At Workday go-live, units will convert to the new UW Connect Finance Service.  This process will also provide insights into the UW Connect Finance solution and inform planning activities for onboarding teams to the UW Connect Finance service at UWFT go-live. 

Who is this for?

Units who are engaged with the UWFT program due to having a future state finance shared environment. 

  • Service: UW Connect Service Management  
  • Cost: Monthly licensing fee of $45 per person for staff processing inbound requests ($14 for student employees) or managing work within UW Connect.  No license required for those submitting requests.  
  • Timeframe:  Inclusion in this initiative will be made on a case-by-case basis as capacity allows. This initiative will end by November 30, 2022, by which time any unit must complete implementation. After this point,  UWFT resources will shift to focus solely on implementation of the new Finance service. 

Here’s what you can expect:  

  • Implementation process will take approximately 6-8 weeks 
  • Unit manager is responsible for partnering directly with the FT and FTT teams and ensuring necessary communications within their unit 
  • After completion, each unit/department will have:   
    • Standardized Finance and Procurement forms (3) 
    • Ability to generate UW Connect requests via email  
    • Standardized management dashboards 
    • Staff training and reference materials  
    • Ongoing UW Connect support and maintenance 

Onboarding Process:

Once units are confirmed, the implementation process is 6-8 weeks. Key dependencies include unit readiness and ability to leverage standardized features across units.   

For more information:

If you have any questions regarding this initiative, please reach out to Kele McGarey – kmcgarey @ uw.edu.

Questions about UWFT? See the UWFT Change Network site.

UW Connect overview video link