Jisc case studies wiki Case studies / The University of Warwick's approach to Business Intelligence and benchmarking

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The University of Warwick's approach to Business Intelligence and benchmarking

The University of Warwick has a major project to develop and use Business Intelligence (BI) to support benchmarking. The project has evolved over some years from earlier developments including: student number planning, academic statistics online, admissions reporting, research dashboards and benchmarking Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). Future benchmarking projects include space and the University estate, energy, more student metrics and bibliometrics.

 

The key overall objectives of BI analysis are to inform strategic decision-making (for example HR performance management strategy) and to assist in shaping the future of the institution (for example the University's 'Vision 2015' drove BI development and now BI translates data into strategic decisions).

 

The key business drivers for BI and benchmarking include:

 

  • To 'automate' the production of key statistics
  • Financial planning including student numbers
  • Academic resource planning
  • Supporting strategic departmental reviews
  • Excellence in research (performance reviews of staff)
  • Process measurement and improvement

 

The project and technology design framework focuses on what is required by the user/recipient of the BI data:

 

  • What areas of activity do you want to better understand?
  • What specific questions do you want to answer?
  • Which data are available to answer your questions and what are the limitations?
  • Are comparable datasets available?
  • How should the data best be presented to answer the key questions succinctly and unambiguously?

 

Data are presented with an essential focus on the audience:

 

  • Senior management typically need to know how the University is performing against forecast or the preceding year, and against the competition
  • Heads of Department typically need to know how individual members of staff are performing in the department, and how can performance improvements best be targeted
  • Individual academics typically need to know about their performance against the preceding year (eg in research grant applications against award), and their performance against peers

 

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