1. Efficient & Quality Service Delivery through Automation: A Case Study of Three Applications Prof. SB Junaidu Workshop for Deans & HoDs Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria May 28, 2014

2. Outline 1. Introduction 2. Software Automation Roadmap at ABU 3. Case-study Applications 1. ExamsLOGIC 1.0 2. Students Portal 3. HRMIS 4. Summary Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 2 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

3. Introduction Prior to 2008, many processes and services in the University were managed manually Many man-hours (and, of course, money!) wasted, as a result Solutions provided, where provided, were patchy and/or inefficient Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 3 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

4. … Introduction Diffusion of IT in areas of human Endeavour well acknowledged Can be employed to enable efficiency and quality of service Our goal in initiating in-house software development at ABU Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 4 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

5. Software Automation Roadmap at ABU Software development fronts at ABU – Mathematics Department – IACC – Software Development Committee Automation Big PictureBig Picture Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 5 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

6. … Application 1: ExamsLOGIC 1.0 Issues with previous Exam Packages 1. Data entry was tedious, monotonous, record- at-a-time and error-prone 2. Do not track students based on program requirements 3. Generation of Faculty and Senate results submission formats was time-consuming and error-prone Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 6 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

7. … Application 1: ExamsLOGIC 1.0 Issues with previous Exam Packages 4. Do not interface with University portals 5. Supported only physical results exchange among departments 6. Supported limited statistical reports 7. Lacked flexibility in generation of transcripts Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 7 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

8. … Application 1: ExamsLOGIC 1.0 Project Goal – To develop an examination processing system that is User-friendly Robust Customizable Extensible Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 8 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

9. … Application 1: ExamsLOGIC 1.0 Result – Software code-named ExamsLOGIC 1.0 – Meets the project’s goal – Deployed in all departments in ABU and its affiliate programs, except faculty of medicine – Versions for PG programs, Diplomas & SBRS developed Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 9 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

10. ExamsLOGIC 1.0: Exams Officers Assessment Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 10 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

11. … ExamsLOGIC 1.0: Exams Officers Assessment Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 11 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

12. Application 2: Students Portal Issues with old students portal – Outsourced to a Bank – Financially demanding – Not robust and mature for years – Lacked essential elements of a portal – Not interfaced with other applications Lacked own payment gateway, exam processor and staff portal to interface with – ABU not fully in-charge of collections and data! Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 12 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

13. … Application 2: Students Portal Project Goal – To develop an alternative portal that addresses the shortcomings of the old portal and more is completely ABU-driven & ABU-owned makes ABU a pace-setter in in-house application development Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 13 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

14. … Application 2: Students Portal Results Robust students portal developed Deployed during 2011-2012 session Used for (PG, UG, Diploma and Certificate) – Fees payment – Course registration – Accommodation booking Saves ABU millions of naira annually Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 14 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

15. Application 3: HRMIS Motivation – Employee records management tedious, inefficient and error-prone – Inconsistent/incoherent data maintained by different University organs – Generation of data for Management decisions time- consuming – Lack of friendly interface with other data sources Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 15 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

16. Application 3: HRMIS Project Goal – To develop a database-driven Human Resource Management Information System for ABU Employees Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 16 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

17. … Application 3: HRMIS Results Robust HRMIS application developed Addresses the shortcomings identified Interfaces with the staff portal for efficient and cost-effective management of – Employee records – Promotion processing Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 17 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

18. … Application 3: HRMIS Results Attracted a national grant of >N25m Scaled to cater for Nigerian Universities Six universities selected in pilot projects Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 18 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

19. Summary Presented how technology used to increase efficiency and quality service delivery in ABU Used three automation projects as case study – ExamsLOGIC 1.0 – Students Portal – HRMIS Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 19 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

20. … Summary Other Applications – Staff Web Portal – Recruitment portal – ABU Facility Manager – KADA-Legend 1.0 – BrownSugar eBursary – SmartBay Hospital Manager – eTranscript & Certificate Verification – Payroll Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 20 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

21. … Summary—In-House Automation Dividends Cost saving – What ABU generates is what ABU gets! Leadership – Pace-setting in in-house application development Leveraging & developing local skills base – A win-win for ABU and its personnel Data localization – ABU’s data is in ABU’s sleeves! Freedom, independence & flexibility Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 21 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

22. … Summary—In-House Automation Challenges Unnecessary (re)training demands on ExamsLOGIC – As one Exam Officer leaves and another comes Unprincipled use of ExamsLOGIC – Data loss: Lack of proper maintenance and frequent reformatting of computers Lack of advocacy on developed applications – For both local and commercial purposes Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 22 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria

23. The End Thank You Workshop for Deans & HoDs, ABU, Zaria 23 Assembly Hall, ABU, Zaria