Designing Scalable Organizational Systems in Workday
Kristina Olsen
Designing Scalable Organizational Systems
This project was implemented within Workday, leveraging its Org Studio and Mass Actions functionality to reimagine how organizational structures were modeled and maintained.
Goal: Enable organizational modeling and bulk change capabilities that made structural planning more efficient and human-centered
Team: HRIS and cross-functional stakeholders from Compensation, management, and operations.
Role: Sr Systems Analyst apply UX and systems-thinking principles to translate complex backend configuration in a clear, intuitive workflow.
What this Demonstrates
This project reflects how systems thinking bridges data logic and human behavior. I translated backend complexity into intuitive interactions—an early example of designing both the system and the experience.
THE PROBLEM
The company introduced new tools for modeling organizational structure, but the default setup was highly technical. HR partners and managers struggled to visualize reporting lines, understand dependencies, and trust that their modeling changes were accurate.
Workflows were inconsistent, and users lacked guidance. Without a coherent experience, adoption would be low and risk of structural errors high.
APPROACH
I approached the configuration as a system-design challenge: how do information, roles, and feedback loops interact?
Interviewed HR partners and managers to understand their mental models for planning.
Mapped dependencies among positions, security roles, and approvals to uncover where confusion emerged.
Created user-journey and system-dependency maps to align how the system thought with how people worked.
Cross-functional workflow illustrating collaboration across HR, management, and system touchpoints
THE SOLUTION
I designed a unified experience that balanced precision with clarity.
Simplified the modeling interface by streamlining approval routing and default prompts.
Added contextual guidance so users understood impact before committing changes.
Developed role-specific help documentation that matched each audience’s vocabulary.
The final configuration allowed teams to visualize and execute organizational updates confidently, without heavy administrative intervention.
Reorganization mass action business process setup defining roles and security group restrictions
IMPACT
The new system reduced friction, improved decision-making, and built confidence across HR and management teams. Users could plan scenarios fluidly and see results in real time, leading to faster, more consistent structural updates.
Reflection
Organizational design isn’t just about structure—it’s about how information flows. The project reinforced my belief that clear systems create confident users.
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Posted Oct 29, 2025
Designed a more intuitive approach to organizational modeling in Workday by aligning backend logic with human workflows.
