Welcome!

Academics and Events in One Database:

How publishing event data from a single source can enhance

communication, minimize risk and assist in disaster preparedness

Tammy Miller

Business Analyst / Application Administrator

University of Idaho

tmiller@uidaho.edu

• Opened in 1892• Research-based, public land grant

institution• Main campus in Moscow, Idaho plus

three branch campuses• 12,000 students, including grad

students

Why store academic and special events together?

Lots of great reasonsSingle source for event data:– Basis for master calendar– Accurate space utilization analysis– Know where people are congregated on

campus– Avoid double-booking classroom space– Automate building controls and signage

Academics integrated with Special Events in 2007

Environment Changes over Time

• Contracted for event scheduling software to be delivered via SaaS late 2009

• Upgraded to new event scheduling tool that includes calendar publication

• Began creating event calendars for internal use:– Calendar for report production in RO– Calendar of smart rooms for Classroom

technology group

2010 – The story behind this story

It was a busy summer…

I was on vacation…

And sleeping soundly when…

No chilled water was reaching the NOC

July 2, 2010 in IdahoPipe break floods UI building with 6 feet of water

Damage in the ‘six-figure’ rangeMoscow-Pullman Daily News

The University of Idaho’s J.A. Albertson Building is closed indefinitely after a nearby water line broke late Tuesday or early Wednesday and flooded the building’s electrical room

with about 6 feet of water.

Meanwhile, in another city in another state

• An application server stops functioning and doesn’t fail-over

• The server is restarted• But University of Idaho Citrix

permissions are somehow lost• And in the morning, no one is able to

sign in to the Events application

Emergency + no data = very bad!

What can we do…?

We can leverage one of our new tools!

Location calendars can serve as a source for redundant data:

• Application servers separate from Publisher servers (distinct data sources)

• Immediate access to event data• Data can be easily communicated

(shared)

Constructing Location-based Calendars

View what is happening in one room, on one floor, or in the entire building:

Click on an event for details

Select from all or any events to report

Many options for data delivery!

The data is shareable:

Event detail in email:

Download event data to another calendar:

Key data elements in calendars that are critical to emergency response:

• Location• Head count• Event sponsor contact information

Key elements of calendars useful for emergency management:

• Quick access to relevant data• No time consuming queries or reports

to produce• Multiple ways to communicate the

data

Key elements of calendars useful for emergency management:

• Role in preparedness• Role in response• Role in recovery

Expanding on the available key data:

Add links to floor plans

Add links to calendars for other buildings in proximity

Event data flow and distribution:

What makes these calendars private?

• Events are unfiltered, everything published

• Building plans are sensitive data• Web search for URL is not activated• Distributed to select audience• Option to protect with password

Issues with location calendars• Data feeds are batched, not live• Duplicate events occasionally created• If event moves, old and new location

listed• Canceled reservations not always

removed• All campus events not accounted for

How were location calendars received?

Location calendar distribution:• Registrar’s staff• Building managers• Building schedulers• Landscape and Exterior Services• Emergency and Security Services• Facilities and Building Services

Academic and Special Events in one place

Many reasons for taking this approach – the most compelling are:

– Ability to analyze space utilization– Ability to communicate where people are

congregated on campus at any time

Caveats• Not all activities represented in event

database• Calendar data should be double-

checked against a standard query or report run against the event data source

• Publishing calendars for emergency use might inspire you to become a first responder

Be Prepared!

Questions?

Tammy Miller

Business Analyst / Application Administrator

University of Idaho

tmiller@uidaho.edu

Thank you!