About Decision Intelligence

Administrator Guide

Decision Intelligence (DI) enables analysts to use AI to investigate data, explore what-if scenarios, and submit changes to Adaptive Planning through existing security and approval chains. DI uses your existing chart of accounts, consolidation hierarchy, organizational structure, and security context. You can analyze financial data without exporting information, setting up external data connectors, or engineering prompts.

You access DI from the Global Navigation menu in Adaptive Planning. Prompt DI in plain language to analyze and model against your data. Every computation runs in an isolated environment with no access to external networks or other tenants' data. You can use DI to:

Investigate variances and receive structured breakdowns by dimension, driver ranking, and contribution analysis.

Analyze root causes using mix-shift analysis, correlation analysis, and statistical hypothesis testing to decompose performance shifts across dimensions.

Model and compare scenarios by building what-if cases as assumption deltas on a baseline.

Run Monte Carlo simulations to model probability-weighted outcome ranges across key assumptions to quantify risk and confidence intervals in your forecasts.

Reforecast from drivers by projecting financial outcomes from operational inputs, such as pipeline, headcount, and conversion rates, using regression analysis and trend modeling.

Apply advanced analytics, including linear regression, time series decomposition, cohort analysis, and Pareto analysis, using natural language.

Generate narrative summaries grounded in your analysis, including variance explanations, scenario comparisons, and quarterly performance summaries.

Data Sources

You can bring your data into DI by:

Uploading CSV or Excel files directly in a prompt by selecting

Sources

Attach

. You can upload multiple related files, such as actuals, budget, and headcount, and DI joins them automatically.

Using your existing Adaptive Planning standard sheets, modeled sheets, and cube sheets, including any dimensional intersection. When DI pulls data from Adaptive Planning, it also fetches the relevant structures.

When you combine multiple data sources in a single project, such as a Salesforce pipeline export and your Adaptive Planning forecast, DI joins them automatically using shared dimensions like time period, region, or cost center. You can run cross-source analysis in a single conversation. Example: Using the pipeline data I uploaded and the Q4 plan from Adaptive, show me where the revenue forecast is at risk.

When you bring data into DI, it reads your files or Adaptive Planning data and builds a semantic model of your data's structure that ensures that every query DI runs is valid and traceable. You can:

Review the model in the model panel to see dimensions, measures, formulas, and how datasets connect. You can view the model as a list or diagram.

Correct the model through conversation. Example: If DI misclassifies a column, you can provide a correction. DI then updates the model and saves the correction to the project.

Define formulas, which are computed measures that derive from existing data. Example: Gross Margin = Revenue - COGS. DI stores formulas in the model and applies them to all future queries.

When you start a new conversation with DI, it creates a project, which is a persistent workspace that saves your data, semantic model, conversation history, and analysis artifacts. You can return to any project from the home screen and continue where you left off.

Calculation Traceability

Every computed number in DI traces back to source data. You can ask DI to explain any result to view the full calculation chain, including:

The data DI used.

The formula DI applied.

How DI derived intermediate results.

Example: Show me exactly which rows you used for that number
.

Calculation traceability works across the full analysis chain. If a variance breakdown feeds into a scenario, DI can trace the scenario output back through the variance calculation to the original data.

If a number looks wrong, you can ask DI to show its reasoning and correct it if needed.

Outputs and File Exports

You can edit DI’s analytical outputs by changing chart types, sorting and filtering data, and drilling into specific dimensions.

DI can generate these visualization types:

Bar charts and grouped bar charts

Waterfall (bridge) charts for contribution decomposition

Line charts for trends and time series projections

Scatter plots and correlation matrices

Tornado charts for sensitivity rankings

Tables with inline data

KPI dashboards with delta indicators

Monte Carlo probability distributions with confidence intervals

Multi-panel interactive dashboards with filters, sliders, and drill-down controls

DI also can produce finished deliverables in the format you need, such as a board summary, a variance report, or a scenario comparison deck. Example: Create a PowerPoint summarizing the Q3 variance analysis with the waterfall chart and my recommended reforecast.
DI generates a downloadable file containing your analysis. DI supports these file formats:

PDF (.pdf)

Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx)

Microsoft Word (.docx)

Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlsm, .xlsx)

CSV (.csv)

Markdown (.md)

JSON (.json)

YAML (.yaml)

You can also export the underlying data as CSV from any table.

Submit to Plan

When you're ready to act on a scenario, DI displays a structured preview of the proposed changes, including:

Every cell that will change, organized by account, level, time period, and any custom dimensions.

The current value and the new value for each cell, including the delta.

When you approve the changes, DI submits them to Adaptive Planning along with the full context of how the numbers were generated. DI checks the underlying plan data to determine if it has changed since your analysis began, and warns you if it has before submitting the changes to Adaptive Planning.

DI Data Contribution

Workday collects operational telemetry and agent execution traces to monitor system behavior and improve the product experience. Workday doesn’t use your data to retrain or fine-tune the foundation model.

You can disable the collection of this data:

For Adaptive Planning standalone instances, select

Administration

General Setup

Disallow Data Contribution in Adaptive Planning

If your Adaptive Planning instance is Workday-enabled, access the

Data Contribution for Workday AI

report to disable your data contribution. See Manage Workday AI Data Contributions for Universal Main Subscription Agreement Customers.

Disabling your data contribution can impact Workday's ability to troubleshoot any unexpected behavior with responses from DI.

Limitations

Feature	Limit
File upload size	50 MB total per message (resets each message)
Files per prompt	10
Prompt length	1000,000 characters
Supported file types	.csv, .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm
Submit to plan	DI can submit to Adaptive Scenarios, and assist you in merging the scenario into the base version. Submits to all sheet types, but can’t create or manage splits.
What-if scenarios	Adaptive Planning limitations for what-if scenarios also apply to DI. See Reference: Adaptive Planning Limits.

DI parses cell data, formulas, number formats, named ranges, and table structures from Excel files. Macros in .xlsm files are accepted at upload but not executed.

DI doesn’t support:

External data connectors. You can’t connect DI directly to external systems. You can upload exports from those systems as CSV or Excel files.

Scheduled or recurring analyses.

Project sharing. Projects are per-user. To share results, you must export files.

Real-time Adaptive data sync. DI fetches Adaptive Planning data at the time you request it and doesn’t update the data if the underlying plan changes during your session. When you submit, DI catches changes made since your analysis began. It displays the current values in the approval preview, which you can approve or reject.

File uploads beyond spreadsheets.

Personalization. Your preferred chart types, default dimensions, and narrative style don’t carry over between projects.

Web search.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
DI provides a number that seems incorrect.	Prompt DI to provide specifics on the calculation. Example: Show me exactly which rows you used for that number . I can display the reasoning for the answer and the specific data behind any result. If the semantic model needs correction, tell DI directly.
A file upload failed.	Verify that: The file type is CSV or Excel (.xlsx, .xls, .xlsm). The total size of attachments in the prompt is under 50 MB. The 50 MB limit resets with each prompt. You can upload additional files in subsequent prompts. The file is not corrupted or password protected.
DI is slow or unresponsive.	Complex analyses with large datasets take longer. Refresh the page if DI is unresponsive. If the issue persists, start a new prompt in the same conversation. Your project and history are preserved.
Analysis doesn't match expectations.	Rephrase your question with more specifics, including the time period, dimensions, and measures you want. Open the model panel to verify that the semantic model is correct. If a column is misclassified, tell DI. Example: Region should be a dimension, not a measure .
Lost work or missing history.	Project history persists across sessions. Return to the project from the projects list. If a conversation is truly missing, report the issue to Workday with the full page URL.