UBI October Featured Users Chosen

"We're all learning, and we're all teaching."

Beth Grimm, Finance Generalist, Department of Medicine

Diane Wendelken, Senior Budget Analyst, School of Engineering and Applied Science

Diane Wendelken is not afraid of change.  “As soon as you find something better and quicker, it’s worth the exploration time to make it a habit,” she says.

As one of two recently-recognized “Featured Users” of the University Business Intelligence system, Wendelken has embraced the new reporting environment without looking back. 

Wendelken uses UBI frequently in her role and has enjoyed its increased functionality and its speed, as compared to Discoverer, the reporting program being phased out.

“I hardly ever go back to Discoverer for reports,” she says. “It takes too long.”

 Shilpa Narayan from the Managerial Reporting Project
presents Beth Grimm with a "goodie bag."

Beth Grimm, also a Featured User for October, agrees that UBI’s speed is impressive, in more ways than one: “The new system is quick, but also, when I have encountered any problems, the response I get is very quick, too.”

Grimm, whose work involves in-depth reporting on grant balances and expenses, remembers a time a few years ago when she found a broken report in Discoverer:  she reported it, but heard nothing back.  When UBI came along and she ran the same report, there was still a glitch.  The difference that time was that once she reported it to the UBI team, “it was fixed within a week.”

Grimm and Wendelken were chosen as Featured Users not only because of their proactivity and willingness to help test new modules, but also, for their commitment to helping others in their respective areas learn the tool and feel comfortable with it.

Both say they work quite a bit with other users to help them dig into the system to run the reports they need.

“I like people to be able to be independent and do their jobs well,” says Grimm.  “UBI has more potential than Discoverer ever did; it’s just a matter of people taking some time to learn.”

Wendelken agrees.  “Once people realize how easy it is and what the advantages are, they love it,” she says, adding that users should always be willing to ask questions within the UBI Community and to experienced users like herself and Grimm.

“Being helpful and encouraging is all part of what I do,” says Grimm.  “I’m happy to help.  We’re all learning, and we can all teach one another, too.”

Narayan and Diane Wendelken discuss some
 new UBI developments

Advice from Our Featured Users on Working with UBI:

• ·        Don’t wait until Discoverer goes away to start learning.  Get familiar with reports in UBI now – don’t procrastinate! (Grimm)
• ·        Run UBI next door to Discoverer.  You’ll see how much faster it is, and you and also see the same numbers and feel confident. (Wendelken)
• ·        Don’t be hesitant to try new things.  There’s lots of community support and people to help. (Grimm)
• ·        Just get in the system and play with it, one report at a time, 15 minutes a day. (Grimm)
• ·        Don’t labor alone when you don’t understand something within the system:  reach out for help! (Wendelken)

Congratulations, Beth and Diane!  Thank you for being awesome UBI Community Members!

For more information on UBI Training, the UBI Community, and a full timeline for the project, visit ubi.virginia.edu