![\"\"](\"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Depositphotos_52465535_s-2015.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/b><\/i>It\u2019s often called the curse of the information age: we\u2019re drowning in data. But with the right tools, the sea of institutional knowledge at U-M can be navigated successfully.<\/span><\/p>\n A group of intrepid IT staff from the College of Engineering (CoE) is creating custom analytical applications to help administrators leverage the vast amounts of information available from U-M enterprise systems to more easily manage workflows and make more informed decisions. Three of the largely used systems they have developed support the graduate student application process, the management of information for existing grad students, and CoE\u2019s online purchasing system. (<\/span>See the info box below for details<\/span>.)<\/span><\/p>\n Jacob Hayward, a web software developer at CoE who did the initial development for these applications, first pulls information from the U-M Data Warehouses, which are the Oracle databases used to run business objects reports. \u201cI have scripts that run every morning that import the data from the data warehouses into our database server,\u201d says Hayward.<\/span><\/p>\n Some enterprise data that the CoE applications use include: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOther examples would be pulling all the graduate applicants that applied for a given program from the admissions database, or pulling all the current graduate students in a given program from the student database,\u201d says Hayward. \u201cMy system pulls this data, combines it, and breaks it down by term, which is what the departmental staff need.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Departmental data is then partitioned, and each department controls who has access to their area of the systems. \u201cDifferent departments have different needs so the goal when developing a new system or making modifications to existing systems is to find the core areas everyone has in common, and then add all the special cases to departmental settings that each department can turn on or off,\u201d Hayward explains.<\/span><\/p>\n Most of the systems Hayward developed started as requests from Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty and staff to solve a specific need. \u201cUsually they came to me with a problem and a rough idea for a solution, and then we\u2019d work together to design the system to solve it,\u201d says Hayward.<\/span><\/p>\n Other CoE departments soon began to show interest in these applications. Most of the custom applications are still only used within CoE, although LSA has begun to use the online purchasing system. \u201cWe coordinate with LSA developers on enhancements made to that system so both colleges benefit,\u201d Hayward says.<\/span><\/p>\n Andrea Bolash, a business process consultant lead with CoE resource planning and management, is one of the beneficiaries of these customized applications. \u201cJacob’s work has saved our staff in the college tons of time,\u201d says Bolash. \u201cHis applications start small and catch on, prompting multiple departments to request using them. They are really good examples of \u2018supplemental systems\u2019 that fill gaps and leverage institutional data to make life easier for our academic and administrative departments within the college.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Other IT staff who help with ongoing development of the custom CoE applications include Michele Goci, Justin Laby, and Rachel Leggett (CoE), and Rick Smoke (LSA).\u00a0<\/span>To learn more about OPS contact\u00a0coe-dept-app-support@umich.edu<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0For information about other applications, <\/span>contact Jacob Hayward<\/span><\/a> directly.<\/span><\/p>\nIt all starts\u00a0with the data<\/h1>\n
\n
Add flexibility and customization<\/h1>\n