Empowering data access through projects like DestinyOne Operational Data Store (ODS) is crucial for WashU to harness the full potential of our data.
By enabling flexible and direct access to data, it empowers employees like Haley Dolosic, Director of Data & Analytics with the School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS), to generate more accurate and meaningful insights, ultimately driving informed decision making and fostering future innovations.
What is an ODS and how does it work?
An Operational Data Store (ODS) is a central database where information from different places at WashU is gathered and organized into one easy-to-access system. This can include things like student records, class schedules, or financial data. By bringing information together, it becomes much easier for WashU employees across the university to do specific reporting.
What started as an original request to restore a backup file yielded significant savings for Dolosic’s team, because the Data and Analytics team found a solution that saved tens of thousands of dollars a year in labor.
At the outset, Dolosic stated her business case. She had a small team working on data, and they needed to be able to access information easily and automate reporting out of her systems. The new system they were using, DestinyOne, did not make this process easy, and Dolosic requested more support to get the work done.
She said that pre-built reports, often referred to as ‘canned reports,’ were provided by DestinyOne but didn’t meet the need she had in her work because she still had to manipulate the data herself. What she needed was report automation, which removes the manual and often tedious process of compiling reports together and lets a program do that work instead.
Dolosic also identified a critical issue during the adoption of DestinyOne – a lack of flexibility in accessing and utilizing data.
“I was left with this problem where I couldn’t really get at all the data I needed,” she said. “For example, I had used a specific part of the student profile to gain access to race and ethnicity, but there is no report in DestinyOne that pulled out critical data.”
Because canned reports created by DestinyOne were not sufficient for her needs, Dolosic needed to undertake manual efforts to extract and merge data from multiple sources, a time-consuming task that still had its limits. The reality was that Dolosic needed custom dashboards and direct access to data.
“Access directly to the data means that I was able to output reports that are more accurate and more meaningful for my people than the canned reporting coming out of DestinyOne,” she said.
She talked with experts on her team and agreed they wanted to get access to that data by talking to the Data and Analytics team. Despite facing technical hiccups along the way, such as compatibility issues with Tableau and issues with Microsoft Azure, the team’s determination prevailed.
Communication emerged as a cornerstone of success during the project. When faced with challenges from the vendor, the Data and Analytics team worked to get Dolosic what she needed. Working together, these teams were able to gain access directly to the data, despite the vendor’s complex process.
Reflecting on the experience, Dolosic emphasized the importance of early involvement of the Data and Analytics team in system implementation projects. It’s an improvement for anyone who will come on board to an ODS in the future, she said.
Further, security emerged as a central tenant of this approach. Because of the solution developed, access to the data is carefully managed, leading to a feeling of confidence in the security for the business.
The DestinyOne ODS project exemplifies the transformative power of data and analytics driven decision-making.
Following this implementation, Dolosic shared that collaborating with the Data and Analytics team should be a priority for all who are working on similar projects. Looking at this data provided the team with a way of understanding their system as well, which will help as they grow their use of it.
Through perseverance, collaboration, and a commitment to excellence, Dolosic and her team have unlocked the potential of data, paving the way for future innovations in reporting and analytics.
“It all came together in the end,” Dolosic said. “With your work on getting me the data, I was able to delve into the database to understand how the system works and generate the necessary reports.”