Strategic Prioritization: The Missing Piece to Unlocking Data-Driven Decision Making
As institutions of higher learning continue to grapple with the complexities of modern education, it’s clear that effective data dashboards are only half the battle. Dashboards provide valuable insights into institutional performance and student outcomes, yet they are merely a tool – a window into the analytics realm, as Mary Shacklett so aptly puts it. To truly unlock the potential of data-driven decision making, leaders must also use data to effectively set and evolve priorities through strategic portfolio management.
Best Practice 1: Always Use Trusted and Reliable Data
In today’s fast-paced academic environment, having reliable data is crucial for informing decisions that impact student success. However, simply presenting trusted data without a clear plan in place can lead to analysis paralysis. By prioritizing initiatives and projects through strategic portfolio management, institutions can ensure that their decisions are both data-driven and aligned with their overall mission and goals.
Best Practice 2: Calibrate Dashboard Visualizations to Your Audiences
Higher ed transformation leaders may struggle to convey complex data insights to non-technical stakeholders. Strategic prioritization exercises can identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter most to various audiences and tailor dashboard visualizations accordingly. By focusing on the KPIs that drive understanding as well as decision making, stakeholders can take action based on those insights.
Best Practice 3: Organize Data for the Issues at Hand
The four key constructs of college and university data – achievement, demographics, programs, and perception/survey data – provide a solid foundation for understanding institutional performance. Strategic prioritization of initiatives and projects helps identify the most critical issues to address so leaders can allocate resources accordingly. By managing and adjusting priorities as the environment changes, leaders can advance initiatives that drive meaningful change.
Best Practice 4: Emphasize Collaboration in Building Your Dashboards
Effective dashboard development requires collaboration between leadership, staff, and IT professionals. Going out on a limb here, even students can have a voice in this step. Strategic prioritization ensures that dashboards are built with a clear understanding of the most pressing daily issues faced by all stakeholders and the KPIs that matter most to their work. These results require close engagement and alignment.
Best Practice 5: When Using a Dashboard, Ask the Right Questions
In higher ed (and most industries), leaders regularly analyze large datasets to identify trends and patterns. Strategic prioritization helps teams ask the right questions by identifying the KPIs that drive student success and allocating resources accordingly. Effective prioritization and clear dashboards bring those patterns into focus from often overwhelming raw datasets.
Conclusion
In conclusion, improved data dashboards are one essential tool for informing decision making in higher education. However, creating optimally effective dashboards through strategic prioritization of initiatives across the entire portfolio of institutional projects delivers insights that become actionable. With such insights, higher ed leaders can unlock the full potential of data-driven decision making to achieve their institutions’ all-important mission.
