Higher Ed Enterprise Model Conceptual model
11
Use · Operational efficiency

Find operational efficiencies

“Where are staff re-keying the same data, and what does it cost?”

Inefficiency hides in the seams: data copied from one system to another, approvals chased by email, the same request entered three times. The model marks those seams as workaround links and manual workflow steps, so you can count them, cost them and fix the biggest first.

How to run it
  1. Filter the catalog to workaround coverage.
  2. Trace each one to the workflow steps and offices it touches.
  3. Estimate hours per year and rank by cost.
What you're looking for

Manual handoffs between systems, duplicate data entry, approvals with no routing, and status nobody can see without asking.

The decision

A ranked list of fixes — simplify, integrate or automate — each with an owner and an estimate of hours saved.

A worked example

The cabinet asks where staff time goes on routine work. Filtering to workaround links shows new-hire data typed into four systems by three offices. One integration from the HR system removes the re-keying, and onboarding drops from days to hours.

Try it: open the workflows and their metrics →
Open it in the model: Workaround coverage →
Step by step
  1. Pick a domain. Hiring, purchasing, enrollment changes — one area where staff complain about busywork.
  2. Pull the workaround links. Every place a capability is marked workaround is a candidate: spreadsheets, email, re-keying.
  3. Trace the workflow steps. For each, find the steps, offices and systems involved, and where work waits or loops back.
  4. Estimate the cost. Volume × minutes per item × people involved. Rough numbers are fine; ask the people doing it.
  5. Choose the fix. Simplify the process, integrate two systems, or automate on the lightest tier that fits — in that order.
  6. Measure and report. Set a baseline before the change and report hours saved and cycle time the next term.
Who’s at the table
Business analystMaps the steps and gathers volumes.
Process ownersKnow where the time really goes.
Integration teamSizes each integration fix.
Finance or budget officeTurns hours into cost and tracks savings.
What you need from the model

More examples

Illustrative scenarios from a fictional institution. Your findings will differ.

New-hire data typed four times

Situation. HR, payroll, IT and the department each enter the same new employee.
What the model shows. Three workaround links on hiring and onboarding capabilities, all fed from the HR system of record.
Decision. One integration from HR to the others; data entered once.

Purchase approvals by email

Situation. Requisitions over a threshold are forwarded by email for sign-off.
What the model shows. A workflow step with no system and frequent rework from missing details.
Decision. Route approvals in the procurement suite and remove one approval level.

Grade changes on paper

Situation. Faculty submit grade changes on a form the registrar re-keys.
What the model shows. A workaround link on the grading capability and a manual step in the registrar’s workflow.
Decision. Use the SIS grade-change workflow faculty already have access to.
How you know it worked
  • Staff hours saved per year.
  • Cycle time and rework on the targeted workflows.
  • Workaround links converted to full coverage.
  • Data entry points per record (should fall).
Common pitfalls
Automating waste. Remove unneeded steps before you integrate or automate.
Savings that never show up. Agree up front how freed time will be used or reported.
Fixing the loudest, not the largest. Rank by volume and hours, not by who complains.
Templates and related pages: Process tune-up → Effort-impact sheet → Process automation playbook → Lean Six Sigma →
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