Project Brief & Business Case
Blackboard Analytics Project
Project number: 608284
Prepared by:
Cris Deagon
Last modified:
14 March 2016
PAB request number:
<PAB Request Number>
Approved by PAB:
DD/MM/YY
Approved by ITAG:
DD/MM/YY
Governance Model:
Steering Committee (or)
AD Management (or)
Team Management
Blackboard Analytics
1
Business Case ....................................................................................................................... 3
1.1
Background ........................................................................................................................ 3
1.2
Business Rationale for the Project ..................................................................................... 3
1.3
Business Benefits / Rewards ............................................................................................. 3
1.4
Investment Appraisal.......................................................................................................... 3
1.5
Options Considered ........................................................................................................... 4
1.6
Potential for Collaboration .................................................................................................. 4
1.7
Capacity Requirements ...................................................................................................... 4
2
Project Definition .................................................................................................................... 5
2.1
Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 5
2.2
Approach ............................................................................................................................ 5
2.3
Scope ................................................................................................................................. 5
2.4
Deliverables ....................................................................................................................... 6
2.5
Constraints ......................................................................................................................... 6
2.5.1
Schedule ................................................................................................................. 6
2.5.2
Cost ......................................................................................................................... 7
2.5.3
Future/On-going Costs ............................................................................................ 8
2.6
Interfaces and Dependencies ............................................................................................ 9
2.7
Assumptions ..................................................................................................................... 10
3
Project Organisation Structure ............................................................................................. 11
4
Project Plan .......................................................................................................................... 12
4.1
Project Procurement Plans .............................................................................................. 12
5
Communication Plan ............................................................................................................ 13
6
Change Management Plan .................................................................................................. 14
7
Project Controls .................................................................................................................... 15
7.1
Project Tolerances ........................................................................................................... 15
7.2
Project manager Controls ................................................................................................ 15
7.3
Deviations from Plan ........................................................................................................ 15
8
Project Risks ........................................................................................................................ 16
9
Appendix 1: Detailed Project Schedule ................................................................................ 17
10
Appendix 2: High – level Data Design.................................................................................. 18
11
Appendix 3: TOGAF Pilot scope .......................................................................................... 19
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Blackboard Analytics
1 Business Case
1.1 Background
The Blackboard Analytics project provides self-service access to student and course data to support
student retention, student engagement and instructional design and system oversight.
1.2 Business Rationale for the Project
There is a direct and indirect relationship between loss of income for the university and student attrition.
This is from lost fees through non-re-enrolments, as well an indirect losses from reputation damage.
Student retention is also seen as an indicator or poor student engagement which is strongly linked to
instructional design and instructor performance.
Analytics of data is an emerging field provides many opportunities for the university to improve practice,
improve data insight and measure the impact of initiatives as well as improve the ability for personalised
support to be provided to students in a timely and meaningful way that encourages them to make a
different decision (leave the university) before census the date.
While there is a wide range of analytic tools and products on the market, the Blackboard Analytics
solution integrates directly into SI-net and Blackboard (two of the most important data sources when
identifying students at risk). This pre-available integration makes the Blackboard Analytics solution a
very cost effective and quick tool to install compared to all other options, and includes ongoing
upgrades, updates and support as Peoplesoft (SI-net) and Blackboard products mature over time.
1.3 Business Benefits / Rewards
1. Students at Risk: This should reduce in % as students are identified and support processes are
actioned based no the analytic data and reports.
2. Student engagement: this should increase as students can see in near real time how their effort
is impacting their progress in comparison to their peers. This is expected to result in a reduction
of “show cause” letters and an improvement in course activity and results.
3. Instructor engagement: The reports will provide near real- time access to student activity and
will allow instructors to monitor the impact of their course design and student outcomes in
comparison to their peers. This is expected to result in an improvement in the adoption of
Flipper classroom eLearning tools and an increase in attendance at eLearning training sessions.
4. Increased capacity to query and analyse learning data: This is expected to reduce the amount of
time Application Services in ITS spends on writing manual, ad hoc queries for researchers and
those wanting student learning data.
5. Improved decision making: This is expected to result in data-driven decisions that are a result of
the executive dashboards which track school, faculty and cohort progress and trends.
6. Improved experience with learning analytics and a foundation capability to commence learning
analytics in a more granular and personalised way.
1.4 Investment Appraisal
The first year cost is expected to be $150 to install the system and pilot it. Second year costs will be
between $50 and $150 to scale up the system to a university wide solution. With effective student
retention results, this may equate to a saving of over $1M p.a. in retained student fees.
Other universities have shown a 75 – 150% return on investment for similar initiatives.
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Project Brief & Business Case
1.5 Options Considered
The following options were considered:




Do nothing
Buy a suite of products (various products were evaluated).
Build a custom solution (various designs were evaluated).
Borrow a custom solution from another university.
The following aspects of the solutions were evaluated: Cost, time, extensibility, support,
maintenance integration with existing systems, lessons learnt from other organisations.
1.6 Potential for Collaboration
There are many opportunities for collaboration on this project as many universities have similar
programs in place. Several have already provided references for the selected vendor and provided
several models for intervention. The vendor also has a very keen interest to collaborate with UQ as
we will be the first PeopleSoft (SI-net) integration in Australia.
1.7 Capacity Requirements
Areas Impacted:
Servers
Yes
 No
Comment: Microsoft services has been involved
in planning.
Disc storage
 Yes
 No
Comment: Infrastructure has been involved in
planning.
Network
 Yes
 No
Comment: Network design has been involved in
planning.
Database
 Yes
 No
Comment: Database and Operational data store
have been involved in planning.
Staff support
 Yes
 No
Comment: training is included in implementation
and eLearning training coordinator is involved in
planning.
User numbers
 Yes
 No
Comment: Pilot scope is yet to be defined, but
will include ITS for system, Few courses for pilot
and all staff for full rollout.
Other (please specify):
There is a significant reliance on Student services to provide support services to convert the reports
to retention.
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Blackboard Analytics
2 Project Definition
2.1 Objectives
This project aims to install the system and provide reports that can be used to identify students at risk. It
will also aim to improve the university’s maturity with learning analytics. It will also be available for the
other (secondary) benefits listed above, but these are not key drivers.
2.2 Approach
The approach is to use software implementation partners to install and configure the system
(Blackboard Analytics vendors). Then trial it within ITS to ensure it is stable and functional. Then pilot
the system with a stratified sample of courses that demonstrate key characteristics of interest to Student
Services and the faculties and student retention. Finally, the infrastructure can be scaled up after more
is known about the system in preparation for a full university rollout and fully supported by ITS
operationally.
2.3 Scope
Is
Is Not
Installation, configuration and verification of the
89 off the shelf reports by vendor
A fully redundant, high availability system.
Integration with SI-net data
Custom data sources and custom reports.
Integration with Blackboard data
All staff and students.
A single server to install and test the software
Data sources that do not exist in SI-net or
Blackboard.
Train the trainer mode for ITS staff to further train
other stakeholders.
Advanced security model
Pilot report and recommendations for full rollout.
Reports that do not support student retention –
will be available but if they do not work, will not
be a dependency for project completion.
A basic roles-based security model.
Student services support processes.
Reports that support student retention
Replace the reports reports.
Integration with edEX
Data cleansing activities for input data sources.
Business changes to improve data capture in
Blackboard or SI-net.
The vendor has signed a fixed deliverable, fixed price contract and there is no contingency budget for
the project. This means that there is no room for scope changes, except that wich the vendor agrees to
without penalty.
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Blackboard Analytics
2.4 Deliverables
The deliverables includes:













a project brief,
terms of reference,
project plan,
procurement for the vendor engagement,
architecture documents for approval by ITAG,
System documentation for system owners,
all analytics reports, dashboards and web services and supporting resources
Software Pilot report with Scaling –up recommendations
Student pilot report with recommendation for business support in the event of a full rollout,
Operational support plan.
Pilot closure.
SharePoint site for stakeholders to track progress and collaborate with the project.
https://projects.its.uq.edu.au/projects/eLearning/bb_analytics/SitePages/Home.aspx
Reports as required.
2.5 Constraints
Fixed




Negotiable
Budget: The financial decision has only
requested funding for the Software licence
from Bb Implementation costs. Additional
staff costs are being covered from the
Operational eLearning SLA resourcing (i.e.
there are no dedicated project staff).
There is no contingency budget for any
additional costs that may arise during the
life of the project.
Time: The vendor’s implementation plan is
for 26.5 days consulting (for set-up and
training services), however, the contract is
a fixed deliverable contract and this may be
flexible within reason.
Quality: There are 89 OOTB reports that
are included with the system. This is the
limit of reports that are provided by the
vendor. While there is scope for
customisation, this is not in scope for the
pilot.


Pilot schedule – once the product is
installed and the vendor is completed, the
piloting is flexible.
Scope: The scope for the pilot and early
benefits is to reduce the student retention
drop-out rate. This could be increased to
include other benefits if agreed by the
project sponsor.
2.5.1 Schedule
Milestone
Duration /
Date scheduled / Completed
Start-up
6 weeks
Dec 2013 / completed
Initiation (funding decision)
2 weeks
Jan 2014 / completed
Vendor Implementation negotiations &
procurement
2 weeks
Feb 2014 / completed
System design
1 week
Feb 2014 / completed
Stage 1: Software Pilot
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Blackboard Analytics
Implementation Phase 1: Planning & set-up
4 weeks
Mar 2014
Implementation Phase 2: Installation
2 weeks
Apr 2014
Implementation Phase 3: Orientation
1 week
Apr 2014
Implementation Phase 4: Deployment
preparation
3 weeks
May 2014
Implementation Phase 5: Software Pilot
12 weeks
Aug 2014
Stage 2: Student Support Pilot
6 months
Dec 2014
Post-pilot report and recommendation for Golive
1 week
Sep 2014
Preparation for Go-live
5 months
Jun 2015
Go-live
1 day
Jan 2015
Operational handover and support review
2 weeks
Jan 2015
Continued trials and staged rollout
11 months
Nov 2015
Project closure
2 weeks
Dec 2015
Stage 3: System Expansion
Stage 4: Full Rollout – staged approach
2.5.2 Cost
Project Budget 2013
Item
SLEP funding
ITS Funded
(allocated to 2014, committed in 2013)
PM x 1 Hew 8 (0.5 FTE) x
6 months
$28,901
Hardware
$8,750 (Dell server)
$15,322 (SQL licencing)
Blackboard Analytics
software
$55,000
$11,000
Application Support

Microsoft
services
$1,079

Application
Support (AIS)
Hew 7 x 2hrs / wk @ 3 months:
Database support
(EAS)
Hew 7 x 4hrs / wk @ 3 months:
Operational data
Store
Hew 7 x 2hrs / wk @ 3 months:


$1264.80
$2529.60
$1264.80
Training & support
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Blackboard Analytics
Bb Analytics engagement
$45,000
$16,856.42
$100,000
$86,967.62
Project consumables
Summary Totals
Grand totals:
Budgeted: $186,968 Expended: $186,968 Balance: $0 Difference: +/- 0%
2.5.3 Future/On-going Costs
Project Budget 2014
Item
SLEP funding
ITS Operationally
funded
PM x 1 Hew 8 (0.5 FTE)
$57,802
Hardware
Nil
Needs funding for project
If extra performance / sizing is required
for full rollout
$60,000 - $150,000* (depending on
system specs and option selected –
internally hosted physical, internally hosted
virtual / externally hosted)
Software
$55,000
(expended)
$61,300
SQL licences
Remaining Bb Analyitcs
contract plus SQL
licences
$32,000* (once –off – internally hosted
option)
Microsoft
services
$12,944
$2,000 set-up costs *
Application
Support (AIS)
Hew 7 x 2hrs / wk @ 3
months:
Application Support


(Annual Maintenance of
existing physical server)
$1264.80

Hew 7 x 4hrs / day @ 3
months:
Database
support (EAS)
$16,911.78

Hew 7 x 2hrs / wk @ 3
months:
Operational
data Store
$1264.80
DBA – SQL training
$5000 – 5 days + travel
(if not available in
Brisbane)
Training & support
Bb Analytics
engagement
$45,000
(expended)
Project consumables
Summary Totals
$20,000
$100,000
(expended)
$156,487.38
(+10%)
$114,000 – $204,000*
Grand totals: Project 2014 Required: $360,487 Funded: $156,487 , Balance: (- $204,000)
* cost based on most expensive hosting option (internal physical)
Note: Costs are based on the assumption that the pilot is successful and decision to scale out to
redundant production system is made.
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Blackboard Analytics
Needs funding for operational support (SLA) – 2015+
Note: All resource assumptions are to be revised post-pilot during 2014
Item
Recurring annual cost
Software
Recurring costs in eLearning SLA:
$65,000 p.a. (all options) *
Hosting
$40,000 p.a. (externally hosted option)
or
Application support costs detailed below
Application Support

Recurring costs in eLearning SLA:
Microsoft services
$18,000 approx.*

0.5 FTE Hew 7
Application Support (AIS)
$66,414*

0.2 FTE Hew 6-7
Database support (EAS)
$20,869*

0.2 FTE Hew 7
Operational data Store
$20,869*
Training & support
1 x FTE Hew 7
$97,346 (TBC)
Grand totals: Recurring Operational (required for eLearning SLA commencing 2015)
Required: $288,498* Funded: $0, Balance: (-$288,498 p.a.) –
* cost based on most expensive hosting option (internal physical)
2.6 Interfaces and Dependencies
The project requires the input from almost all groups in ITS as well as other UQ stakeholders.
System / TEAM
Details
Microsoft Services
Environment installation
Networks
Environment set-up and security
Teaching and Learning, AIS
Blackboard Administration & system owners
DBA
Database administrators
SI-net
Business rules and SI-net technical
Operational Data Store
Business rules and SI-net data access
Infrastructure
Scale-up options
Student Affairs / Student Services
Support owners and course statistics
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Project Brief & Business Case
2.7 Assumptions

Permission model for application access will be defined and approved

Access to the correct staff at the times required for the progress of the project
 High-level requirements agreed (functional and non-functional) will be able to be met from
the OOTB config.
 Project steering committee and terms of reference agreed with timely access to ad hoc
direction as required.
 Ability to use the Si-Net data and that there are no customisations that cause significant
issues.

Budget is approved for a vendor engagement in early 2014 and for scale-out when required.

Australian People soft tables are mapped by the vendor before project commencement.
 The pilot will be installed on infrastructure that has already been installed and this will be
sufficient to install and test the software and support processes before making a large redundant
system scaled for enterprise deployment.

The pilot participants will be available when required.

There is ongoing support for the project until completion.
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Blackboard Analytics
3 Project Organisation Structure
Steering Committee
Chair
Role / Representing
Phil Long
Chair & Director Analytics
Helen Harris
Student Services Director (Business
representative)
Jodi Phillips
Senior Supplier
TBA
AD(A)
Secretary
Andrew Jell
Project Site URL
https://projects.its.uq.edu.au/projects/eLearning/bb_analytics/SitePages/Home.aspx
Project Manager
Name
Cris Deagon
Project Team
Name Kim Taylor
Role: Environment installation, access and configuration
Name Patrick Strong
Role: Blackboard Administration and operational system owner
Name Helen Harris
Role: Student Services access
Name: Andrew King
Role: Database Administrators team
Name: Greg Sutton
Role: SI-net staff access and business rules
Name: Vern Bawden
Role: Operational data Store staff access and business rules
Name: Marc Blum
Role: Network Architecture and security
Name: Cheryl
Brugman
Role: Pilot group instruction design and business representative
Name: Ingrid Riener
Role: Pilot group instruction design and business representative
Name: Ailsa Dickie
Role: ITS Training
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Blackboard Analytics
4 Project Plan


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

Project mandate approved and funding provided by the Student Lifecycle program in Nov 2013.
Procurement and contract execution to be completed by the project manager in 2014.
Project executive to approve the terms of reference and create the mechanism for additional product
approvals (including the project plan) in Jan 2014.
The environment is set up by Microsoft services and access to the environment provided to the
vendors in Jan 2014.
The vendors are to install and configure the system in Feb 2014.
All testing and validation of the reports to be completed by ITS by March 2014.
Pilot participants to be decided and approved by the steering committee by March 2014.
Pilot report for system scale-up to be provided by the project manager.
Pilot access to the reports is to be provided and training given to orient the users.
Pilot participants to work with Student services representatives to trial a variety of support processes
and business changes.
Lessons learnt for the pilot will inform a support pilot report for the Student Lifecycle program for
information on full rollout impacts.
Operational support plan approved and SLA funding for the operational system is secured.
Project closure report and lessons learnt.
4.1 Project Procurement Plans
Procurement Plan Title
Stage
Cost
Implementation services
Initiation
$130,000
Hardware and SQL licences
Initiation
$40,000
Scaled-up hosting services
Delivery
(Expansion)
TBA
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Project Brief & Business Case
5 Communication Plan
Target audience:
Key messages:
Communication
methods:
Owner:
Deadline:
Date completed:
ITS Employees
Analytics awareness
and impacts on team
Emails, Meetings,
PowerPoints,
discussion
Cris Deagon
2013
Jan 2014
UQ Employees
Analytics and
improvement to
information and
student data – pilot
group
Emails, Meetings,
PowerPoints,
discussion
Cris Deagon
June 2014
Students
Access to support and
assistance
Face to face
Instructors
June 2014
UQ Researchers
Self-services access to
data
Email / present ion at
committees
Cris Deagon
June 2014
General public
State of the art
analytics and
intervention strategies
Articles, web site
OMC
2015
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Project Brief & Business Case
6 Change Management Plan
The Analytics project is responsible for implementing the system. How the system\ is used will
depend on the instructor, school, faculty needs and faculty priorities. The system will provide
access to the reports, however it is likely that the business do not use the Blackboard system
effectively to provide this data that generates the reports. Therefore the report quality and use will
need to be improved with a change in data entry practices and improved system data consolidation.
The adoption rate, change management and training and use of the reports to identify students at
risk is the responsibility of the faculties. In addition, any student support changes will be the
responsibility of Student Services or the faculty providing those services.
ITS training will provide limited on-line self-help materials.
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Blackboard Analytics
7 Project Controls
The project plan outlines the baselines that form the basis of the project controls.
Controls include:






Integration controls (See appendix 2 – High level data design)
Scope controls – refer to the project plan in-scope / out scope statement and Appendix 3 –
TOGAF Pilot scope. Deviation requests will be outlined in the highlight report for decision.
Schedule – refer to the schedule and milestones and any deviation requests outlined in the
highlight report for decision.
Cost – refer to the budget and any requests for additional funds via a business case and
reported in the highlight report for endorsement.
Quality – Refer to the high-level requirements that support Student retention and ITS
performance assessment in the pilot report(s) and Blackboard Analytics contract for minimum
vendor deliverables.
Risk – Refer to the risk log and highlight report for risks that are new, increasing, eventuating or
are near proximity. Urgent and important risks will be escalated for adhoc direction as required.
Additional controls include informal ‘work packages’ via email and semi-regular meetings.
7.1 Project Tolerances
Measure
Tolerance
Time
+ / 4 weeks
Cost
+ / 0% (no tolerance for unapproved overspend)
Scope
+ / - 1 mandatory report or 5 desirable reports
7.2 Project manager Controls





Highlight report
SharePoint site reporting traffic lights
Weekly escalation / catch ups.
Escalation to the Program Director / Associate Director(s) as necessary.
Governance bodies – Steering committee, reference groups and assurance groups
7.3 Deviations from Plan




Deviations from the project plan that exceed tolerances will need to be escalated depending on
the tolerance measure:
Financial deviations need to be approved via the line mangers through to ITS Director for
approval for any expenditure.
Time and scope deviations will need to be escalated to the Program Director for ad hoc advice.
And further escalation to the steering committee if required.
All deviations from the plan (both projected and actual) will be included in the monthly highlight
reports.
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8 Project Risks
Refer to the project risk log online: https://projects.its.uq.edu.au/projects/eLearning/bb_analytics/Lists/Risks%20and%20Issues/AllItems.aspx
Qualitative Risk Analysis Matrix – Level of Risk
Risk Impact
Minor
Moderate
Major
Catastrophic
Almost Certain (A)
M
H
H
E
E
Likely (B)
M
M
H
H
E
Possible (C)
L
M
M
H
E
Unlikely (D)
L
M
M
M
H
Rare (E)
L
L
M
M
M
Likelihood
Insignificant
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Blackboard Analytics
9 Appendix 1: Detailed Project Schedule
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Blackboard Analytics
10 Appendix 2: High – level Data Design
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11 Appendix 3: TOGAF Pilot scope
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