LEADS – Developing an Agile System for StudentsNick Green, Greg SmithWatITIs ConferenceDecember 4, 2012

Themes - Introductions

- History of LEADS

- LEADS System Overview

- Our Values

- LEADS Key Concepts/Components

Introductions Nick Green - Waterloo Grad – Computer Science - Developer in the IST IS group (Student Technology) - Started working full-time at the University in 2011

Introductions Greg Smith - Western Grad – Business (HBA and MBA) - Business Analyst in IST IS Group (Student Technology) - Started working at Waterloo in 2009 - Interested in leadership and student success, and how

technology enables them - Winter is his favourite time of the year – Life-long skier

History of LEADS Began as a joint project between Housing and Student Life Office

Named “ERA” (Event and Resource Administration)

Partial replacement of legacy Housing Hiring System

There was a need to do non co-op, non HR-related hiring and training administration centrally on campus

LEADS improved and expanded upon ERA base

Current main clients are SSO and Housing

LEADS System Overview Four modules:

1. Hiring

2. Event Registration

3. Orientation

4. Scheduling

Our Values We value:

Client Interaction (Student and Staff)

Built for students with the help of students (involving co-ops)

Flexibility (within LEADS and in our working style)

Continuous improvement

Prioritization process with clients

Our Values Agile values individuals and interaction over processes and tools

Agile values viable products over comprehensive documentation

Agile values customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Agile values responding to change over following a plan

Our Values Our “Agile”

We have adapted the Agile method of software development to meet our needs and working environment

Extremely high degree of client involvement in development at all stages

Working with areas where requirements change frequently – We embrace this

Relationship building = Our priority

Our Values Client Interaction within our “Agile” Development

Facilitates building based on a thorough, evolving understanding of client requirements

Better communication = happier clients & better over-all product

Finding the balance between satisfying one clients needs, and making sure the solution works for everyone

Constant refinement to create a better, more user friendly product

Key LEADS Concepts General Concepts

End to end solution

Flexibility to adapt to various environments around campus – Front-end customizable

Ease of use

Permission based access levels

Key LEADS Concepts Self Service

Ability to use the system (after minimal training) without need of developer help/interaction

Ability for user to bring other users into the system safely and easily

Easy to use permissions

Key LEADS Concepts Permissions

Diagram on next slide

Key LEADS Concepts “Modular”

Reusable “types”

Easy to grow, and add

Extremely flexible

LEADS System Overview Four modules:

1. Hiring

2. Event Registration

3. Orientation

4. Scheduling

Example: Orientation Use LEADS as a cultural change tool as well as improving processes

Previous process was all paper-based, few statistics reported, no data integrity

Process to LEADS allowed for all-digital process: Pre-registration (Accept or decline) Check-in during Move-in weekend (with wristband) Attendance tracking at Orientation events

Data collected can be used for student success projects moving forward

Building database of hugely valuable data over the next number of years

LEADS “Cool” Components - Programs

- Auto Reminders

- Flexible Form Builder

Next Steps Phase 4 – Scheduling – Development and rollout

Continue roll-out of Phase 1 (Hiring) and 2 (Event and Training Administration) to other areas of campus

Determine reporting priorities for clients and integrate reporting capabilities

Determine campus-wide support procedures and practices

LEADS – Developing an Agile System for StudentsNick Green, Greg SmithWatITIs ConferenceDecember 4, 2012