This category is for general or administrative news updates for the blog
Leveraging Working Groups to Divide and Conquer on a Time-Sensitive Effort
Recently, the CIDA team successfully led and coordinated efforts to establish operational processes to support a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) at the University. This initiative required coordination across many departments, including the Provost’s office, Labor Relations, Payroll, Financial Aid, Accounts Payable, Transportation Services, IS&T, and more. We had tight timelines and critical deadlines to meet […]
Leveraging DMAIC to Achieve Your Goals
The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) framework is a powerful tool that can be immensely useful in the context of higher education administration. At CIDA, we employ DMAIC for the majority of our projects, and the results have been consistently positive. At its core, DMAIC is a structured approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement. […]
Process Mapping 101: A Powerful Tool for University Employees
As a university community member, you’re likely on the lookout for ways to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and provide better service to students, faculty, and staff. One valuable tool to have in your continuous improvement toolkit is process mapping. So, what exactly is process mapping? In simple terms, it’s the visual representation of the steps […]
Mapping Your Path to Success: Stakeholder Analysis in University Improvement Projects
When launching continuous improvement initiatives, programs or projects in higher education, understanding your stakeholders is crucial for success. A stakeholder analysis can help identify who will be affected by changes and how to engage them effectively throughout the process. In a fictitious example, consider a registrar’s office implementing a new course registration system. Key stakeholders […]
Crafting Effective Problem Statements
Throughout our consulting work with clients across the University, we have observed that the foundation of any successful project or initiative lies in a clear and well-defined problem statement. Here is why it matters and how to craft one that drives results. Why Problem Statements Matter A good problem statement: Focuses efforts and resources Aligns […]
The CIDA Compass – CIDA is Launching a Blog!
Welcome to the very first Continuous Improvement & Data Analytics (CIDA) blog post! Our vision at CIDA is to create and sustain a culture of data-driven decision making and continuous improvement at Boston University. We also aim to foster continuous improvement culture and collaborate with peer institutions of the same mindset. In pursuit of these […]