1 W I S S E N n T E C H N I K n L E I D E N S C H A F T

u www.tugraz.at

One-Stop University Administration

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

2 2 Overview

Point of Departure Goals and Results Approach and Methodology Experiences

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

3 3 Graz University of Technology

Basic Facts: §  Located in the South-

East of Austria §  Founded 1811 §  Research university

with a focus on science and engineering degrees such as mechanical engineering, architecture, computer science, …

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

4 4 Graz University of Technology

Facts and Figures: §  7 faculties with 105 departments §  3 campus areas in the city §  Approx. 13,000 students §  Approx. 1,500 academic staff and

900 non-academic staff §  Approx. 140 M€ federal budget and

60 M€ third-party funds (research grants)

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

5 5 Point of Departure

Many Service Units The university has about 30 service units for staff and students: §  HR, Finance, Controlling, Research & Technology,

ICT Services, … §  Student Administration, International Relations,

Lifelong Learning, Dean’s Offices, …

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

6 6 Point of Departure

Many Administrative Processes There are more than 500 administrative processes –only for staff! The processes contain forms that are implemented using various technologies – from SAP workflows to Excel sheets

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

7 7 Point of Departure

Many Web-Sites Every service unit has had a web-site since mid-1990s The web-sites contain the units’ forms and in many cases information on how to use them Every service unit has at least one web-site editor

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

8 8 Point of Departure

Drawbacks of this approach: §  Information design, design of forms, and process

modelling is done autonomously by service units §  No centralised “management” of these efforts §  Information is not homogeneous in granularity and

style §  Explanations make use of technical, subject-specific

terms that are hard to understand for end-users

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

9 9 Point of Departure

Consequences: §  Information is not end-user-oriented, not clearly

structured §  Users often do not find the information they need §  Users often do not know the support services they

could use §  Processes are often not transparent or are hard to

understand

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

10 10 Goals

Overall Goal Plan and implement a new, modern information architecture for the university

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

11 11 Goals

Goal 1: User-Orientation §  Clear destinction between staff, students, and

external users ▶  Intranet and service portal for students and staff ▶  Public web-site for external users

§  Two separate entry points – one for staff, one for students

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

12 12 Goals

Goal 2: One-Stop University Administration §  Find all required information for daily work in one

place §  Initiate all administrative processes from this single

point1

1 Existing systems such as SAP or the campus management system are not replaced, but seamless integration through single sign-on is achieved

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

13 13 Goals

Goal 3: Topic-Orientation §  All information in the intranet and service portal

should be structured by topics – not by organisational units!

§  I.e., service units should not have web-sites, there is only one single source of information for students and staff – the intranet and service portal!

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

14 14 Goals

Goal 4: Lean Structures §  No more than 12 top-level topics §  Information should only be max. four clicks away,

i.e., hierarchy is max. four levels deep

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

15 15 Goals

Goal 5: Users’ Language §  Use the users’ language – not the service units’

technical, legal, subject-specific terms

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

16 16 Results: TU4U

Intranet and service portal “TU4U”, launched in October 2013

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

17 17 Results: TU4U

Live Demo ▶  https://tu4u.tugraz.at/

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

18 18 Approach and Methodology

Implemented as “strategic project”, led by ICT Services However, this is not an IT project – it is much closlier related to organisational development!

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

19 19 Approach and Methodology

Step 1: Analysis §  Analyse the existing web-sites, forms and

handbooks of all service units §  Analyse and document administrative processes

§  First, only document the main characteristcs of the processes (name, owner, purpose/aims, target group)

§  Later, document them using BPMN 2.0

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

20 20

TU4U Studierende

Stundenpläne

DiplomDoktoratMasterBachelor Architektur

FAQ

Meine IT

Druck und KopierzentrumSoftware

HomepageNetzwerkzugang in das TU Graz Netz

Studienadministration

Änderung persönliche Daten

Meldung der FortsetzungTU Graz Card

StudienbeitragBeurlaubung

Interessenvertretungen

Mein Studienplatz

SoftwareHardwareZeichensäleBibliothekLernzentren

Gaststudium an der TU GrazGästehaus der TU GrazWelcome Guide

Studieren im Ausland

Post Studium MobilitätsprogrammeMobilitätsprogrammeSprachkurseErfahrungsberichte

Studienbeginn

Individuelles StudiumTU Graz CardStudienbeitrag

STEOP / Studieneingangsphase

Zulassung zum StudiumDoktorat Nostrifizierung eines akademischen GradesMaster Nostrifizierung eines akademischen GradesBachelor

InskriptionDoktoratMasterBachelor

Studienabschluss

DoktoratDr.-Studium der Technischen WissenschaftenDr.-Studium der Naturwissenschaften

MasterArchitekturSoftwareentwicklung-Wirtschaft

BachelorArchitekturSoftwareentwicklung-Wirtschaft

Diplomstudium Architektur 1. Studienabschnitt

StudienunterstützungNanoversity

Stipendien und Beihilfen

Prüfungen

WiederholungenAbmeldungAnmeldung

AnerkennungenKommisionelle Prüfungen

LehrveranstaltungenLeistungsbeurteilung

AbmeldungAnmeldung

Approach and Methodology

Step 2: Macro-Structure §  The macro-structure is the top-level structure for

grouping all processes and information into max. 12 topics

§  Document it using Mindmaps

§  Discuss and refined it with the service units

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

21 21

Step 3: Micro-Structure §  Find a structure that is valid for all articles in the

intranet and service portal – what does a service provide, who can use it, when can it be used, …

§  Use common headings in all articles §  Use consistent references to forms, laws,

official guidelines, … §  Use consistent contact information in all articles

Approach and Methodology

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

22 22

Step 4: Functionality §  Plan functionality together with users and service

units: §  fulltext search, most recent and most frequently

used articles, staff directory, information on public transportation, lunch menus of restaurants, …

§  user feedback for all articles §  “did you know that …” for promoting scarcely

known, mainly optional services and limited offers §  single sign-on (Shibboleth)

Approach and Methodology

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

23 23

Step 5: Integrate Internal Communication §  Integrate existing, central commuication channels:

§  staff magazine (four times a year) §  rectorate’s newsletter (monthly)

§  Integrate service units’ communications: §  research newsletter (fortnightly), research

magazine (twice a year) §  announcements for courses

§  all integrated into the topic-oriented structure

Approach and Methodology

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

24 24

Step 6: Shut down Service Units’ Web-Sites §  First describe the processes and information of a

service unit are in the new intranet and service portal §  Then permanently redirect the service unit’s web-

pages to the intranet and service portal

Approach and Methodology

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

25 25 Approach and Methodology

Organisation Editorial board (two professional editors) for the intranet and service portal At least one contact person per service unit Close alignment with the PR & Communication Department

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

26 26 Approach and Methodology

Future Changes Most changes are linked to the rectorate, where university guidelines might be changed The intranet and service portal is integrated as the last step in the rectorate’s decision making process: send the information to be published to the TU4U editors

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

27 27 Experiences

Facts & Figures from TU4U: §  120,000 visits by 3,000 users in three months §  90+ percent positive or very positive feedback from

end-users §  Mostly positive feedback from service units §  TU4U is widely accepted as the source of

information about services and processes

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

28 28 Experiences

Content: §  Most frequently used articles: staff benefits,

information on salaries §  Least used articles: research in general, general

management tasks

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

29 29 Experiences

Functionality: §  Frequently used features: feedback, search, staff

directory, lunch menu §  Scarcely used features: bookmarks, alphabetic

index, sitemap, weather forecast

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

30 30 Experiences

Feedback Mechanism for Articles: §  All feedback is processed and answered by editors §  High level of collaboration between editors and end-

users in order to make the information “perfect” §  People want to get involved through this functionality

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

31 31 Your Feedback, Your Questions

Questions? ▶  tu4u@tugraz.at

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria

32 W I S S E N n T E C H N I K n L E I D E N S C H A F T

u www.tugraz.at

One-Stop University Administration

11 June 2014 Graz University of Technology, Austria