CYCLES: What Every
WEAVEonline Administrator
Should Know
Kristin Rice
Director of Member Support & Development Management
During this session:
Terminology
– Data Elements
– ID Numbers
– Lifespans
– Enhanced Cycle Functionality
New Cycle Creation
– What happens in Admin Tools
– What happens in Assessment
Orphan Tools and the Lifespan Manager
Common Pitfalls
Terminology: Data Element
We use the phrase ‘data element’ to
refer to:
– Mission/Purpose Statements
– Goals
– Outcomes/Objectives
– Measures
– Achievement Targets
– Action Plans, etc.
Terminology: ID Numbers
ID Numbers are visible to WEAVEonline
Administrators via a rollover for:
–
–
–
–
–
Entities
Goals
Outcomes/Objectives
Measures
Targets
ID Numbers are unique
ID Numbers are the same for a data
element’s entire lifespan
Terminology: Lifespans
Lifespans control in which cycles a data
element is active using:
– Established in Cycle
– Active Through Cycle
Lifespans control if a data element will
be copied into a new cycle
•Select the last cycle in which that Data Element
should be Active OR
•Select ‘Keep Active’ if this Data Element should
be copied into new cycles
Terminology : Lifespans
Lifespans are like taffy:
A
B
C
It is the same piece of taffy, same ID#,
and should be the same general
idea/theme within the data element
Lifespans: Admin Tools
Entities
General Education/Core Curriculum
Institutional Priorities
Strategic Plans
Standards & Standards Sets
Analysis Questions
Annual Report Sections
Local News (Start/End dates, not effected by cycles)
Lifespans: Assessment
Mission
Goals
Outcomes/Objectives
Measures
Targets
Findings (single cycle lifespan)
Action Plans
Documents
Lifespan: Example 1
I have three cycles:
If I create an Outcome/Objective that was
Established in ‘A’ and is set to ‘Keep Active’
This Outcome/Objective will exist in:
When a new cycle is created, it will automatically be
copied from the most recent cycle (C) into a newly
created cycle (D)
This Outcome/Objective will have the same ID
number in all cycles
Lifespan: Example 2
I have three cycles:
I need to create an Entity that was established in the
prior cycle (B), will be in the current cycle (C), and will
be in future cycles:
Once saved, this Entity will now exist in*:
When a new cycle is created, it will automatically be
copied from the most recent cycle (C) into a newly
created cycle (D)
This Entity will have the same ID number in all cycles
Terminology:
Enhanced Cycle Functionality
Edits made in one cycle are NOT automatically
reflected in other existing cycles
Small changes, edits, tweaks are therefore
accurate to the cycle in which they were made
This preserves the data so that the
wording/naming is accurately reflected in
each cycle
The Cycle Text Viewer can be used to review
wording in all cycles
Enhanced Cycle Functionality:
Example
Copy Edits Forward
On the Assessment Tab: If you edit a Data Element in
one cycle and you want this identical change made in
other subsequent editable cycles you can use the Copy
Edits Forward functionality
Admin Tools: This feature does not exist in Admin Tools
Enhanced Cycle Functionality:
Admin Tools
Entities*
General Education/Core Curriculum*
Institutional Priorities*
Strategic Plans*
Standards*
Analysis Questions*
Annual Report Sections*
* Enhanced Cycle Functionality
Enhanced Cycle Functionality:
Assessment
Mission*
Goals*
Outcomes/Objectives*
Measures*
Targets*
Findings
Action Plans*
Documents
* Enhanced Cycle Functionality
Creating a New Cycle
Before creating a new cycle – Review & Plan!
A new cycle:
–
–
–
–
–
Cannot be deleted
Start/End Dates must not overlap
The Cycle Display is what users will see
Cycles cannot be rearranged chronologically
New cycles cannot precede existing cycles chronologically
Creating a New Cycle
Click on Add New Cycle
Enter Details
Press ‘Save’
Cycles
WEAVEonline Administrators choose which
cycle should be the ‘current’ cycle for their
institution
What Happens when a
New Cycle is Created?
New Cycle: Admin Tools
Entities:
– All existing entities that have their lifespan
set to ‘Keep Active’ will be stretched from
the most recent cycle into the new cycle
– If an entity is added to an earlier cycle and
is set to ‘Keep Active’ it will automatically
populate into all existing cycles
– After the cycle is added, edits made to an
entity in any cycle are NOT made to that
entity in any other cycle (Enhanced Cycle Functionality)
New Cycle: Admin Tools
Entities:
– Cycles are meant to be added when needed
– If you have several future cycles and an entity’s
name is edited in the current cycle, this change
will need to be made in every future cycle
– If an entity’s placement in the tree changes in the
current cycle, you may drag/drop or cut/paste this
entity to its new position, this change will need to
be made in every future cycle
– Use the cycle text viewer to view the ID#, name,
and parent for the entity in all cycles.
New Cycle: Admin Tools
Entity Tree Editing Tip
– If you will be making large scale/restructuring
changes to your entity tree:
1. Print the entity tree for each existing cycle
2. Mark editing/placement changes on the
printout
3. Make edits to entity names in all appropriate
cycles within the application
4. Re-parent all child entities prior to ending the
lifespan of a parent entity
5. Move entities into correct placement in tree
New Cycle: Admin Tools
General Education*
Strategic Plans*
Institutional Priorities*
–
–
–
–
–
Standards*
Analysis Questions*
Annual Report Sections*
Each data element in these areas have a lifespan
These areas have Enhanced Cycle Functionality
Edits made in one cycle STAY in that cycle
Use the magnifying glass to see the wording over all existing cycles
When a new cycle is created, all data elements that were set to
‘Keep Active’ will be stretched into the new cycle
– When editing a data element, the edit stays in the cycle where the
edit was made
– Use the Cycle Text Viewer
to see the wording in different cycles
New Cycle: Assessment
Mission*
Goals*
Outcomes/Objectives*
Measures*
Targets*
Action Plans*
– All data elements that are set to ‘Keep Active’ are copied
from the most recent cycle into the new cycle
– If a data element is added to an older cycle and is set to
‘Keep Active’ it will automatically populate into all of the
cycles in its lifespan
– From this point forward, edits made to a data element in one
cycle are NOT automatically made to that data element in
any other cycle (Enhanced Cycle Functionality)
New Cycle: Assessment
Mission/Purpose
– An entity can only have one Mission/Purpose per cycle
– You may edit an existing mission or choose to alter its lifespan
Targets
– Can only have one per cycle per Measure/Objective pair
– You may edit or choose to alter its lifespan
– If you wish to see Findings from prior years (trend data) then you
would choose to edit as opposed to altering the lifespan
Findings
– You must have a Target before you can enter a Finding
– Can only have one Finding per Measure/Objective pair
– Findings exist in only one cycle
New Cycle: Assessment
When a new cycle is created, the following are
automatically copied into that new cycle:
– Numbering for Goals, Outcomes/Objectives and
Measures
– Associations of Outcomes/Objectives with General
Education/Core Curriculum elements, Strategic Plans,
Institutional Priorities, and Standards
– Relationships for Outcomes/Objectives, Measures and
Goals
– Relationships between a Measure/Objective pair and
its Achievement Targets and Action Plans
– Connections with Documents
New Cycle: Assessment
If a user is working ‘out of sequence’ (not in the most
recent/newest cycle) and makes a change to:
– Associations (ASSOCIATIONS between and Outcome/Objective and
Goals, Standards, Strategic Plans, General Education/Core Curriculum,
Institutional Priorities and RELATIONSHIPS between MeasureOutcome/Objective pairs and Targets and Action Plans)
– Connections (Documents)
Those changes can be brought forward into a cycle
using:
New Cycle: Example 1
Cycle C is created
In the prior cycle (B) a user adds a document that is set
to ‘Keep Active’ and connects that document to an
existing O/O that is also set to ‘Keep Active’
The document and the O/O have lifespans and therefore
exists in cycles B and C
But, the connections between the document and the
O/O only exist in the prior cycle (B)
The document (
) can be copied into the new cycle
by navigating to cycle C and clicking on:
New Cycle: Example 1
Associations, Relationships & Connections are
added using check boxes
– Associations of Outcomes/Objectives with General Education/Core
Curriculum elements, Strategic Plans, Institutional Priorities, and
Standards
– Relationships for Outcomes/Objectives, Measures and Goals
– Relationships between a Measure/Objective pair and its
Achievement Targets and Action Plans
– Connections with Documents
These check box choices get copied into NEW
cycles automatically
But if a user is working out of sequence, these need to
be PULLED forward using
New Cycle: Assessment
If a user is working ‘out of sequence’ (not in the most
recent/newest cycle) and makes a change to:
– Data Elements (Mission, Goals, Outcomes/Objectives, Measures,
Achievement Targets, and Action Plans)
These changes can be pushed forward into other
subsequent editable cycles using ‘Copy Edits Forward’
Lifespan Manager
The purpose of the Lifespan Manager is to allow
WEAVEonline Administrators the ability to review
lifespan data and relationships within entities
The Lifespan Manager is accessed through three
different paths:
– Via Admin Tools> Orphan Tools> Orphan Index
– Via Admin Tools> Orphan Tools> Lifespan Manager
– Via Assessment Pages > Lifespan Manager button
This tool is currently just for WEAVEonline
Administrators
WEAVEonline Administrators can use this tool to align
data, fix orphans, and view text in multiple cycles
Lifespan Manager
Example of aligned data
Please view the Orphan Tools Webinar (Online Learning Community) and/or the
Orphan Tools Tutorial (Help > FAQs and Other Info) for more details.
Lifespan Manager
Use the Lifespan Manager to review wording
in all cycles
The Cycle Text Viewer
can also be utilized
Common Pitfalls
Pitfall Example# 1:
Changing the Theme/Meaning/Idea of a
Data Element that exists in multiple cycles
• Editing the wording of an existing data
element (ex. O/O) into a completely
different idea so that it no longer
resembles what existed in prior cycles
• Then editing the lifespan
Pitfall Example #1
Original O/O
Changing the Theme of a Data Element
Pitfall Example #1 (continued)
Changing the Lifespan :
– Removes this data element from 2008-2009
– Removes all records of the original wording of this Outcome/Objective
If you were to extend the lifespan back to 2008-2009, all
wording would be copied from 2009-2010
Pitfall #1 Synopsis
In this scenario:
– A Data Element had one underlying ID
number, but after editing had more than one
theme/concept
– This can then lead to users making further
and more drastic changes such as changing
the data element’s Lifespan
– The consequences can be:
•Loss of wording specific to a cycle(s)
•Creation of Orphaned Relationships, Targets and
Findings (see next example)
Common Pitfalls
Example 2: Changing the
Lifespan/Orphaning Data
Editing the ‘Established in Cycle’ or ‘Active
through Cycle’ dates without regard to data
that exists in those cycles and thereby
creating orphans
Pitfall Example #2
Original Data
Pitfall Example #2
Original Data in the lifespan manager
Pitfall Example #2 (continued)
Original Data Schematically
Pitfall Example #2 (continued)
If the lifespan of the Objective is altered
Pitfall Example #2 (continued)
Original Data in the lifespan manager
Pitfall Example #2 (continued)
If the lifespan of the Objective is altered
Pitfall Example #2 (continued)
If the lifespan of the Measure is altered
Pitfall Example #2 (continued)
If the M/O Relationship is removed
Pitfall Example #2 (continued)
If the M/O Relationship is removed
Pitfall Example #2 (continued)
If the lifespan of the Target is altered
Pitfall #2 Synopsis
Anytime the lifespan of an Objective,
Measure, or Target is altered, there is a
potential to orphan data
Anytime a relationship between a MeasureOutcome/Objective pair is removed, there
is a potential to orphan data
A warning exists in the application as well
as in the ‘Adding/Editing Data in a New
Cycle’ document
Pitfall #2 Synopsis
Despite warnings…. users still change
the ‘Established in Dates’ of data
elements
It is hoped that WOAs will be able to
choose to either show/hide the
Established in Date to their users via a
setting
Pitfall #2 Synopsis
To prevent orphans, users should work in the
following order:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Remove un-needed Findings
Alter the lifespan of Targets
Remove M--O/O relationships
Alter lifespans of Measures
Alter lifespans of Objectives
The following warning exists in the ‘Adding/Editing
Data in a New Cycle’ document
NOTE: Do not change the ‘Established in Cycle’ without first reviewing related
data that may be affected. Please ask your WEAVEonline Administrator if you
have questions.
WEAVEonline Administrators can find and fix
orphans via Orphan Tools
For More Information:
Help > FAQs and Other Info > Cycle Primer
Help > Getting Started > Adding & Editing
in a New Cycle
Help > FAQs and Other Info > Orphan
Tutorial
Orphan Tools Webinar
Encore Training - EVERY MONTH (2nd Friday)
Contact Support
support@weaveonline.com or 1-877-219-7353