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Tableau > Case Studies > Princeton University Office of Development Sees “A Paradigm Shift” with Tableau

Princeton University Office of Development Sees “A Paradigm Shift” with Tableau

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization

Applicable Industries

Education

Applicable Functions

Business Operation
Sales & Marketing

Services

Data Science Services

The Challenge

Princeton University's Office of Development, responsible for initiating and nurturing donor relationships, was struggling with time-consuming, error-prone manual reporting processes. Staffers had to dig through several different reports to answer questions, a process that was not only time-consuming but also prone to mistakes. Viewing data in Excel made it difficult to notice results that didn’t quite make sense—data entry errors or outliers that could indicate significant risks or opportunities. The major gifts team each managed a pool of approximately 200 prospects—far too many people to rely on memory to manage contacts. With no dedicated tools to visualize overall engagement, the office relied on large list reports and manual review of individual records to make sure prospect and donor relationships were adequately tended. The research analytics team was responsible for reporting high-level campaign metrics to university trustees and other top executives, but this was another time-consuming, manual effort.

About The Customer

Princeton University, the fourth-oldest university in the United States, attracts the highest caliber of faculty, staff, and students. The Office of Development at Princeton—the fundraising arm of the university—supports this legacy of excellence through a number of giving programs. The Office of Development plays a significant part in that effort, initiating and nurturing donor relationships. Its work also supports other crucial aspects of Princeton’s mission. The Office of Development maintained in-depth transactional giving data and relationship management data, but staffers often had to dig through several different reports to answer questions—a time-consuming, manual effort with potential for mistakes.

The Solution

The Office of Development at Princeton University adopted Tableau to overhaul their manual reporting processes and develop a more data-driven culture. They started using Tableau on their desktops in 2008, primarily for maps. In 2012, they decided to purchase several professional licenses providing direct access to the Oracle database. Today, the Office of Development has 3 employees authoring data visualizations in Tableau Desktop and approximately 150 staffers and administrators consuming vizzes through Tableau Server. In addition to visualizing data from their Oracle database, Campbell’s team also blends data stored in Excel. They have begun experimenting with blending data from the university’s Exact Target digital marketing automation platform. Typically, the team visualizes approximately a million rows, although some dashboards have included up to 8 million rows of data. For security, they use Active Directory.

Operational Impact

Minimized the risk of human error by having all the data the team needs available in one place, up-to-date, and pre-formatted.
Improved communication and understanding of data throughout the department.
Developed better understanding of international alumni community.

Quantitative Benefit

Cut time-to-insight in half for campaign performance.
Reduced the time required to access and format data for senior administrators and trustees from two days to almost instantaneous.
150 staffers & administrators interacting with data using Tableau Server.