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University Leadership Dashboards

This effort represents the next step in our data maturity journey. Previous investments to improve data access and integration capabilities, form a Data Stewardship Council, and explore data visualizations using per-user Tableau licensing have established the building blocks for us to grow. This foundational work along with initial steps to build an enterprise data repository, initiated through the Financial Data Warehouse modernization project, has set us on a successful trajectory to provide centralized university data visualizations. In partnership with the Vice Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and Planning, we will identify university-level data problems and build leadership dashboards using data that spans academic and administrative departments. This will create a "one-stop-shop" for leaders to discover, share, and use valuable data to guide decisions and better understand the business of the university.

Sponsors and Leadership

The Leadership Dashboard Initiative is sponsored by the Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Financial Officer of Carnegie Mellon University. The Leadership Dashboard Initiative is led by three co-chairs: Henry Zheng (Vice Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and Planning), Amy Coutu (Senior Director for Enterprise Applications), and Brent Carothers (Associate Vice President for Financial Planning and Budgeting)

Expected Outcomes

Timeline and Milestones

Updates

Expected Outcomes

Centrally available analytics to solve organizational problems.
Commonly used data is easily discoverable for use by university leadership.
Foster a culture of data-informed decision-making.
Enable access to Tableau dashboards by shifting away from a per-license Tableau cost model to an enterprise license.

Timeline and Milestones

Phase 1: Plan and Build

FY22 — FY23

Build momentum and leadership buy-in
Form a core project team
Establish standards for dashboard development and design
Establish a review and publication process
Build the common portal for housing approved dashboards
Develop pilot dashboards that align with established standards and processes

Phase 2: Engage and Launch

FY23

Officially engage the larger CMU community and launch the program.
Transition to enterprise Tableau.
Work with the community to develop the first wave of university leadership dashboards, targeting the needs of the academic units

Phase 3: Expand Adoption

FY24 — FY25

Continued community engagement to develop additional waves of university leadership dashboards.

Updates

Technology Enablement

Tableau Enterprise Administration was implemented with desktop licenses provided to core developers. When a dashboard is published, anyone with an Andrew userID and view permission can log in. Keep in mind some dashboards with secure data will be restricted.
Progress has been made to create a data lake using the Snowflake platform. The Financial Data Warehouse is the first project to use this technology.

Data Governance

A streamlined approach for requesting access to data resources has been developed.
The dashboard review and adjudication process has been finalized. This will ensure data accuracy and quality for shared dashboards with campus constituents.

Data & Analytics Collaborative

A data and analytics collaborative was established. The collaborative will be supported by a core group of data and analytics power users on campus. It will serve as the functional leadership group for the university leadership dashboard project.

Community of Practice (CoP)

A charter document for a community of practice in data analytics at CMU is being drafted. This document will guide our activities in the future.
A Data Analytics Community site and Google Group have been created. Educational opportunities and updates on data analytics initiatives will be shared here. This is also a great place for you to have conversations.