Data Warehouse & Analytics Planning Project
Overview
The Office of Institutional Research (now DAIR) and Division of Information Technology (IT) collaborated to create an enterprise data store, or a data warehouse. The purpose of the Enterprise Data Project is to provide a modern business intelligence and analytics solution and services to K-State for our 150 departments and offices in nine academic colleges on three campuses. The goal is to create a plan, strategy, and timeline focused on identifying potential solutions and services to support leveraging expansive data sets for critical decision-making and predictive analytics.
The Plante Moran consulting firm has been contracted to identify solutions and services to meet K-State's unique needs. Plante Moran will assist K-State with the following objectives:
- Enable an information-driven organization that utilizes analytics and business intelligence for strategic decisions.
- Increase consistency and accuracy of data and information through coordination and controls.
- Establish oversight, administration, and governance for the University community.
- Streamline data interfaces and integrations across multiple systems, including student, financial, and employee.
- Unify data sources and provide a secure environment for business intelligence and analytics.
- Visualize large amounts of complex data to identify trends and patterns quickly.
- Consider future opportunities for artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The outcome of this project is to create a plan to build a data analytics program that aligns with K-State's strategic and organizational goals. The plan will serve as a roadmap that aligns with current and future market and technology trends.
Listening Sessions
- General Sessions
- Deans
- Associate Deans
- Provost Staff
- Department Chairs
- Staff
- Enrollment Management
- Student Success
- Institutional Research
- Financial Services
- Student Life/Housing and Dining
- Human Capital Services
- Research Office
- Communications and Marketing
- Facilities
- Information Technology (IT)
- Archive and Records Management
- Academic Records Committee
Assessment & Recommendations
Plante Moran has compiled and shared their current assessment, and emerging recommendations of K-State's Data Analytics needs. The findings have been shared with the President's Cabinet and Dean's Council. The plan will work as a roadmap that aligns with current and future market and technology trends. In the coming weeks, the University Data Governance Committee will provide details about the next steps to build a data analytics program.
After compiling the survey responses and feedback gathered during the Listening Sessions, the following key themes emerged.
- Communication
- Data Definitions
- Data Silos
- Training
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Data Governance
Plante Moran has made the following recommendations to create a plan to build a data analytics program that aligns with K-State's strategic and organizational goals.
Infrastructure & Architecture
- Single Repository
- Data Warehouse
- Hub & Spoke
Robust Cataloging & Lineage
- Transparency
- Trust
- Ownership
Iteration & Prioritization
- Roadmap
- Milestones
- Agreement from Stakeholders
- Visibility into the Decision Process
Culture, Ownership & Process
- Requirement Based
- Communication Loop
- Process for Success
Analytics Center of Excellence (ACE)
- Data Governance (e.g. scope, structure, milestones, barometers of success)
- Data Management (e.g. automation, scheduling, quality, monitoring)
- Organization, Roles & Responsibilities