Dashboards present data at a glimpse
Data can be a hard thing to wrap your head around. Numbers upon numbers that can be arranged in multitudes of ways are perfect for making your head spin.
That’s why IT Systems is currently building dashboards. Michael VanHook, an analyst and report writer for IT Systems, has been working on this initiative for two years now.
“Think of the dashboard in your car. … You’ve got your odometer, your speedometer, gas gauge, all that. Basically [dashboards are] the same concept, but for different applications for different business units,” VanHook said.
Dashboards are data visualization programs that use charts and graphs that will help users get a sense of some of the data IT Systems has to offer.
Right now, IT Systems is working on dashboards for the vice presidents of the university. These dashboards, which can be accessed on Portico, are designed to give VPs a quick glimpse of their sectors.
These overviews will help them to see how their sectors are doing using key performance indicators.
Thus far four of the seven vice presid
ents’ dashboards have been finished and launched. The rest will be put up as they are completed.
Also in the works is a dashboard system IT Systems has dubbed “blueprint.” This dashboard contains a layered map of campus – it shows the rooms in each building across campus, as well as what’s scheduled in the rooms.
Blueprint aims to make scheduling rooms for a meeting much easier. Students and faculty can log on, look through rooms and scheduled events and book a room for use.