Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Top-10 Countdown
Raise Your BI IQ
6/1/2007
- Who are you trying to serve?
- Ask how they use information to support decision-making.
- Always remember: It's not about you!
Focus on what people need to accomplish, not on the technology.
- End users were not hired to open Excel files or create Word documents.
- It's the processes and decisions that count, not the enabling technologies.
Conduct a report fit/gap analysis.
- Dust off your business process analyses (BPAs) or create new ones.
- Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) based on critical objectives from the BPAs.
- Then... Fill in the gaps!
Steward your data.
- Make sure everyone is using the same definitions.
- Garbage in, garbage out--but one person's trash is another's treasure.
- Establish a formal group that meets regularly to discuss the topic of managing data.
Have everyone access the same source of data.
- Centralize data in a common format, documented with metadata.
- Utilize an operational data store (ODS) to provide a stable view of formatted data.
Put easy-to-use reporting tools in your users' hands.
- Move IT away from the role of providing reports.
- Standardize on an institutionally supported set of reporting tools.
Draw upon the experiences of those who've been down the BI path.
- Don't reinvent the wheel.
- Look outside education for inspiration. Other industries have BI experience to share.
Communicate to change the culture.
- The most difficult challenge that BI creates is the requirement to involve everyone, from presidents to administrative assistants, in creating useful information.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate--with everyone.
Cite this Site
copy text (above) for proper citation
Recommended Reading
- Where the Risks Are
Knowing what to spend on data protection and where to focus the effort isn't easy. Security assessments help eliminate the guesswork by identifying where your most critical risks lurk.
- Technology Forever
Who says classroom learning has to culminate with a formal degree? Tech-enabled lifelong learning programs are utilizing videoconferencing, vodcasting, and more to reach out to the 50-plus nontraditional student.
- They Say They Want A Revolution
As sustainability efforts ramp up on campuses, educators share eco-friendly dorm practices-- the ideal way to educate students about environmental issues.
- Getting More out of Mobile
Sure, cellular and handheld devices are quintessential communication tools, but savvy institutions are getting extra bang for their mobile tech bucks.
- It's Bandwagon Time
Colleges and universities worldwide are turning to the hosted SaaS model and saying goodbye to issues like patch management and server optimization.
- Waiting It Out
Have you given up trying to bring faculty into the world of emerging technology for teaching and learning?
