Jisc case studies wiki Case studies / Single Central System
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Single Central System

This is a 'model case study' relating to the Business Intelligence Maturity Model.

 

Concerns with Student and Facilities Data

BI Maturity Model Stage 1

 

An institution of Higher or Further Education ('The Institution') was concerned that statutory reports took too long to prepare. They also found that senior management and departmental staff could not agree on student data. Even something as basic as the number of students enrolled at the Institution could not be ascertained reliably.

 

In addition a major building programme, and the need to refurbish existing buildings, highlighted concerns about facilities data. It was not possible to agree on the costs of individual buildings, their levels of utilisation, or the relative costs and advantages of new buildings or refurbishment.

 

A Single Central System

BI Maturity Model Stage 2

 

After a review of the Institution's data and systems, senior management, finance, the ICT service, and the planning and performance department found they were agreed that a new system, replacing almost all of the Institution's existing systems was required.

 

Because of the likely costs and risks of such a major investment, a working party from Finance, ICT, Academic Affairs and Planning was convened. This group contacted vendors and visited a number of institutions which had recently invested in major, complete systems replacement. Their visits included private industry and others outside of the education sector.

 

After lengthy discussions, the Institution decided to select a single, all-encompassing system.

 

Business Intelligence (BI) as Part of the Main Management System

BI Maturity Model Stage 3

 

The three vendors who expressed an interest were shortlisted, and gave convincing demonstrations of their software as it might be applied to the education sector.

 

The vendor selected provided HR, Finance, Procurement, and Customer Relationship Management functions in their basic software. Their consultants were able to show that the Institution's processes could be modelled in the software and managed by it. There was an extensive library of reports, including graphic displays and dashboards.

 

After a month spent in contract negotiations, risk assessment, and initial project planning, the purchase was made and planning for deployment started.

 

Part of the business case for the new software was the saving on HR and Finance software which would be replaced. The remainder of the business case was built on the enhanced data gathering, process management and reporting capabilities of the new software.

 

Initial BI deployment

BI Maturity Model Stage 4

 

The initial deployment, which took 4 to 6 months, required careful coordination among HR, Finance, ICT and Planning. Since existing systems were going to be totally replaced, a suitable breakpoint had to be selected, and legacy data had to be reviewed, cleaned, and migrated into the new system.

 

Also, since the new software had its own defined, tested ways of doing things, the administrative staff at the Institution had to learn some new processes, and to learn how to use the new software. Luckily the user interfaces were friendly, and relatively easy to use.

 

In the end, the migration went smoothly, and the new software was in place before the start of term.

 

Expanding BI Use

BI Maturity Model Stage 5

 

Once the Institution was used to the somewhat prescriptive style of their new software, they found themselves part of a large international community of users, including banks, manufacturing industry, government, and other educational institutions. As part of this community of practice, new applications of their software system were often announced and discussed, and third party add-ons were also offered.

As more administrative and managerial staff at the Institution were trained to use the software (down to department level, and even to individual research groups), more segments of the Institution were able to improve and automate their administrative and management processes, and to benefit from the transparency and reporting facilities of the comprehensive software package.

 

Management information specialists from Finance and Planning also took an active part in the vendor's User Group, and contributed to improvements in the software aimed specifically at the Education sector.

 

Forecasting and Planning

BI Maturity Model Stage 6

 

Since the Institution had been concerned about student numbers and the student experience, this was the first place where they explored Forecasting with their BI tools. They found that the student and coursework dashboard allowed them to highlight groups of students who were at risk of failing to complete (or failing) a course. The drill-down feature allowed individual students who were at risk of non-completion to be identified.

 

Targeted interventions were welcomed by most of these students, and the Institution found that fewer and fewer students were failing to complete their courses. They also found students reporting an improved student experience, and the online reputation of the Institution's courses grew.