Transcript Academics and Events in One Database

Welcome!
Academics and Events in One
Database:
How publishing event data from a single
source can enhance communication,
minimize risk and assist in disaster
preparedness
Tammy Miller
Business Analyst / Application Administrator
University of Idaho
[email protected]
• Opened in 1892
• Research-based, public land grant
institution
• Main campus in Moscow, Idaho plus three
branch campuses
• 12,000 students, including grad students
Why store academic and special
events together?
Lots of great reasons
Single source for event data:
– Basis for master calendar
– Accurate space utilization analysis
– Know where people are congregated on
campus
– Avoid double-booking classroom space
– Automate building controls and signage
Academics integrated with Special Events in 2007
Environment Changes over Time
• Contracted for event scheduling software
to be delivered via SaaS late 2009
• Upgraded to new event scheduling tool
that includes calendar publication
• Began creating event calendars for internal
use:
– Calendar for report production in RO
– Calendar of smart rooms for Classroom
technology group
2010 – The story behind this story
It was a busy summer…
I was on vacation…
And sleeping soundly when…
No chilled water was reaching the NOC
July 2, 2010 in Idaho
Pipe break floods UI building with 6 feet of water
Damage in the ‘six-figure’ range
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
The University of Idaho’s J.A. Albertson Building is closed
indefinitely after a nearby water line broke late Tuesday
or early Wednesday and flooded the building’s electrical
room with about 6 feet of water.
Meanwhile, in another city in another state
• An application server stops functioning and
doesn’t fail-over
• The server is restarted
• But University of Idaho Citrix permissions
are somehow lost
• And in the morning, no one is able to sign
in to the Events application
Emergency + no data = very bad!
What can we do…?
We can leverage one of our new tools!
Location calendars can serve as a source for
redundant data:
• Application servers separate from Publisher
servers (distinct data sources)
• Immediate access to event data
• Data can be easily communicated (shared)
Constructing Location-based Calendars
View what is happening in one room,
on one floor, or in the entire building:
Click on an event for details
Select from all or any events to report
Many options for data delivery!
The data is shareable:
Event detail in email:
Download event data to another calendar:
Key data elements in calendars that
are critical to emergency response:
• Location
• Head count
• Event sponsor contact information
Key elements of calendars useful for
emergency management:
• Quick access to relevant data
• No time consuming queries or reports to
produce
• Multiple ways to communicate the data
Key elements of calendars useful
for emergency management:
• Role in preparedness
• Role in response
• Role in recovery
Expanding on the available key data:
Add links to floor plans
Add links to calendars for other
buildings in proximity
Event data flow and distribution:
What makes these calendars private?
•
•
•
•
•
Events are unfiltered, everything published
Building plans are sensitive data
Web search for URL is not activated
Distributed to select audience
Option to protect with password
Issues with location calendars
•
•
•
•
•
Data feeds are batched, not live
Duplicate events occasionally created
If event moves, old and new location listed
Canceled reservations not always removed
All campus events not accounted for
How were location calendars received?
Location calendar distribution:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Registrar’s staff
Building managers
Building schedulers
Landscape and Exterior Services
Emergency and Security Services
Facilities and Building Services
Academic and Special Events in one place
Many reasons for taking this approach – the
most compelling are:
– Ability to analyze space utilization
– Ability to communicate where people are
congregated on campus at any time
Caveats
• Not all activities represented in event
database
• Calendar data should be double-checked
against a standard query or report run
against the event data source
• Publishing calendars for emergency use
might inspire you to become a first
responder
Be Prepared!
Questions?
Tammy Miller
Business Analyst / Application Administrator
University of Idaho
[email protected]
Thank you!