The MIS approach to Management Information at UQ is detailed in the following charter.


1. Scope
 The Data Warehouse will encapsulate data from those corporate systems where a reporting requirement exists beyond the host organisation unit to access and transform transactional data to produce higher-order knowledge.

2. User Focus
 We will understand the reporting requirements of our users, not as an on-demand report writing service, but in order to provide the necessary tools, training and assistance that enables the University community to access and manipulate their information knowledgeably.

It has always been clear to MIS staff that the success of any BI environment depends on how much it is used. A strong user focus and an understanding of user needs are critical to whether it succeeds or fails.
The underlying philosophy behind the UQ BI environment is that it has been established to empower the user. To use a phrase coined by Bernard Liautaud, the one-time CEO of Business Objects, it is all about ‘democratisation of the data’. This philosophy came easily to MIS because it started as a user area and was more interested in the data than the technology.


3. Executive Support
 We will develop tools and reports that provide trustworthy and timely information, cutting across operational systems, to assist the Senior Executive formulate and measure progress towards strategic objectives.

For a BI environment to thrive, it has to have ongoing funding and to be seen as a strategic priority. It therefore needs to have strong support from senior executives and, in particular, an executive sponsor. The best way to achieve this is by delivering measurable results rather than giving presentations promising exciting outcomes.
To support the initiatives developed by the Senior Executive, MIS has developed specialised applications, including an Enterprise Bargaining tool, a tuition fee modelling dashboard and various resource packs to support specific areas such as teaching quality.
Senior executives have their own portals where they can view reports specific to their areas of responsibility as well as University-wide reports. They also make use of their ‘My Documents’ area. In this way, the BI environment has strong visibility from the top down.


4. Data Owners
 We will develop mutually beneficial relationships with the corporate system owners to augment their operational capabilities without becoming a de facto interface to third-party applications, and provide a consistent reporting environment to the University community recognising that system vendors and versions change over time.

One of the greatest challenges in any BI environment is bringing the ‘owners’ of the data onboard. MIS has made considerable progress with this over the years, although some challenges are ongoing. This is true of BI in general. Users that show strong support leave, new executives are appointed and new systems are implemented where the suppliers may have a vested interest in getting UQ to use their reporting system. It is important, therefore, to have a strong foundation that is constantly being enhanced.
There are a number of reasons why data owners may initially view the BI environment with suspicion. Most of these stem from a lack of understanding of how the Data Warehouse environment operates and its role in user support.
The strategy that MIS has used to overcome these challenges is to involve those responsible for the data and develop a sense of partnership.


5. Adaptability and ROI
 We will interpret and apply appropriate Business Intelligence techniques that assist our users to achieve efficiencies and adapt to an evolving University landscape.

The BI environment at UQ supports a wide range of operational reporting needs as well as providing benchmarking and performance measurement reports that use ‘official’ data. This is true of all the data collections, from Research and Finance through to Student and Human Resources.
For example, with HR data – as well as reports that show staffing profiles, staff-student ratios, projected attrition and five- year demographic profile – there are a number of reports used by managers and other administrative staff on a day-to-day basis, such as those that alert them when staff within their area build up excessive leave. In Research, there are a wide range of performance reports with research income, publication and higher degree awards data available through The Reportal. The Reportal is also used extensively to return operational reports that are refreshed daily, such as those enabling users to track details for individual projects.
As well as the extensive range of operational reports available through The Reportal, administrative staff use BusinessObjects and the Data Warehouse to create ad hoc reports, particularly in the student area, to reduce manual processing. Universities have a greater need for these non-standard reports than most commercial organisations. By encouraging users to think about how the BI environment can automate processes and provide answers to questions that would normally have been too time-consuming to deal with, the University’s ROI is greatly increased.


6. Technology
 We will deliver a reporting environment built upon a robust, flexible and sustainable technological platform.

The MIS approach has always been to focus on the user rather than the technology. However, it is essential that the underpinning technological platform is robust, flexible and sustainable. This is reflected in MIS system design strategies and implementations.