The Problem
Managing all student data in Excel spreadsheets has severe limitations. Updating student statuses for over 60 people can represent hours of data entry. Incorporating new sets of data into a larger table involves a slow, error prone process. Analyzing data and viewing only relevant portions is also arduous.
The Solution
Another in-house database was developed that not only allows for “en masse” updates but also provides tools for bulk data manipulation and filtering on the fly.
The Process
Master tables can be created at will, with new data simply being pasted in. Any new updates can also be pasted in without disrupting/corrupting the existing data. At any time, an administrator can add new columns and populate them one-by-one or in bulk. The admin can also create a view of the table, consisting only of columns relevant to a given task, and filtered based on any column’s data. Any data updated through the view is updated in the underlying table, and therefore in all other views as well.
Separate folder trees are available for tables (blue in the images above) and for views (tan). Any table or view can be copied, cloned, or otherwise used as the framework for a new one. Each table/view has a multitude of tools that can be used to adjust the layout or to change or analyze the data. There is, for example, a string parser that turns students academic interest into key words and then compares each student’s interests to every other student, compiling the top ten students with the highest number of weighted similarities. This is extremely useful for developing a mentoring program, as well as a student outreach program for new recruits.
Focus on Agile
This was a very large project that had to be developed over a long period of time. The initial stages tackled the most time-intensive (and also time-sensitive) process, which was processing applicants. Keeping up with which applicants have the necessary documentation submitted in order to begin reviewing was an unpleasant task to manage in a spreadsheet. Moving students from one stage to the next in the review process while keeping up with data in real time was also a major challenge (keep in mind that a typical tool, like Microsoft Access, was not an option because the admin team works in separate locations, with no network to link them.
As with other projects, each time a high-value feature was released, it provided increased confidence and enthusiasm, as well as guidance, in developing the next feature.