1. Developing an information portal
Inair 2018
R. Edwin Welch, pH.d.

2. Overview
This presentation will walk the participants through the project life cycle including:
Needs analysis
Vision casting
Development of functional requirements and operational definitions
Strategic partnerships
Engagement of undergraduate students in development
Deployment
Promotion
Next steps

3. Background
Taylor University established in 1846 in Ft. Wayne Indiana as Ft. Wayne Female College
Private Christian Liberal Arts Institution
Fall 2017 enrollment 1,892 undergraduates
Office of Institutional Research FTE – 2.5
Director of Institutional Research
Institutional Research Analyst – 1.0
Information Resource Coordinator – 1.0

4. Time line – University program review
University Program Review Began
June 2014
UPR Final Report
Feb. 2016
33 Academic Program Units
51 Different Data Points per Program Unit
61 Different Majors
13,000+ Data Points Delivered

5. Time line - vision June 2014 Feb. 2016 June 2015
University Program Review Began
June 2014
UPR Final Report
Feb. 2016
Vision Development
June 2015
Make relevant and actionable data accessible to decision makers
Provide a dynamic environment for the exploration of data
Provide a self-service reporting environment for standard reports
Relieve pressure on the OIR to minimize bottle neck for requests

6. Time line – needs analysis
University Program Review Began
June 2014
UPR Final Report
Feb. 2016
Vision Development
June 2015
Met With Dept. Chairs
Fall 2015
Questions
What information do they need on a regular basis?
What do they wish they knew on a regular basis?
What information do they need for accrediting bodies if applicable?
What course information do they need or would like to know?
Common Themes
Admission data
Course Enrollment, Trends & Capacity
Curriculum Needs
Individual Student Data
Student Success

7. Time line - development
Propose Concept to the IT/EDS team
Spring 2016
Development Begins
June 2016
Met with Vice-Provost and Deans to set scope
Significant data validation and test of core reporting object critical to the development was completed by IR and the EDS team over the prior year
Employed Rapid Application Design (RAD)
Separated backend development (data queries) from front end development (presentation)
Development team consisted of 2 students working 40 hrs. per week and 2 EDS team members

8. Functional requirements
Blend of UPR data requirements and themes identified from interviews
Trend analysis – not “Official” numbers
Self-service reporting
Data security – Department chairs can only see their respective data
Senior leadership sees all university data
Provost
Vice-Provost
School Deans
Director of Assessment and Quality Improvement

9. Time Line - Development
Propose Concept to the IT/EDS team
Spring 2016
Development Begins
June 2016
Testing and Data Validation
Fall 2016
IR and the EDS team engaged in validation together
Independent queries were generated based on independent sources for comparisons to data displayed in the AIP
Discrepancies were investigated and adjustments made if appropriate.

10. Time line - launch Spring 2016 June 2016 Fall 2016 Jan. 2017
Propose Concept to the IT/EDS team
Spring 2016
Development Begins
June 2016
Testing and Data Validation
Fall 2016
Official Launch of the AIP
Jan. 2017

11. Content areas Enrollment Persistence Student Flow Graduates
Faculty Load (Under Construction)
Credit Hours (Under Construction)
Geography
Demographics
Cross Department data (Under Construction)
Fact Sheet
On Demand Reporting

12. Features Primary Filters Operational Data Definition Info
Drill Down Function available
Open Chart in a New Tab

13. Persistence

14. Student flow

15. geography

16. Demographic information

17. Development tools Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio
Pentaho Data Integration (Data Warehouse)
Information Builders BI and Analytics Platform
WebFocus BI portal
AppStudio 8104
InfoAssist

18. Next steps
Base trend data on frozen data (census data) instead of transactional
Build out areas under construction
Refine alignment with departmental annual report and 8 year review
Continued promotion with department chairs
Content and security review to prepare for access by all faculty