Case Study: University of Birmingham achieves rapid, flexible data analysis—cutting REF processing from 20 people to 1 hour with Tableau Software

Enabling flexible, rapid analysis at the University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham’s business intelligence team struggled with slow, inflexible reporting that made it hard to incorporate feedback and share insights. Compiling the Research Excellence Framework results once required up to 20 people using Excel to produce statistics and distribute spreadsheets across the university.

By deploying Tableau Desktop and Server the team now compiles, visualizes and shares data rapidly—what used to take 20 people now takes about an hour—and has built a university KPI dashboard to broaden daily engagement. The visual, iterative approach has increased user uptake, sped decision-making, and spawned a community to promote best practices across academic and professional services.

University of Birmingham

Rob Andrew

Head Of Business Intelligence