At the University of Pittsburgh and in technology, innovation is a way of life. Recently, Pitt IT partnered with the Office of Budget Operations (OBO) within the Controller’s Office to transform their annual Target Letter process, which establishes budget targets for each University unit. This collaboration has resulted in a more efficient, accurate, and automated approach.

The Challenge: Trudging Up Financial “Cardiac Hill”

The annual budget process has always been a critical but time-consuming task. Each year, the OBO would manually prepare and distribute a budget letter packet for each of Pitt’s 41 responsibility centers (RCs). The team had to manually pull data from multiple sources while simultaneously performing in-depth analysis using Excel spreadsheets and Access databases.  Once the analytic part was complete, they had to then prepare various schedules and reports that accompany each budget letter.

This task was prone to simple yet impactful errors. Transferring data between systems and populating changes across multiple documents introduced significant risks. A single typo or miscalculation could cascade into larger issues.

This process was also both time-consuming and rushed, requiring meticulous attention to ensure consistency and accuracy. The team began doing calculations, creating reports and worksheets, and compiling schedules in March to ensure completion by August. But any last-minute adjustments — such as changes in state appropriations, which are often delayed by Harrisburg, departmental reorganizations or executive decisions — required redoing much of the work, adding to the stress.

Finding a Solution Together

Pitt Information Technology’s Customer Success and Engagement team reached out to Deputy Controller Melissa Micco and her team about helping to facilitate this cumbersome process. Micco recognized the opportunity for change and asked the OBO team to collaborate with Pitt IT’s experts.

Krista Denny, manager of budget operations, recalls their initial hesitation. "We were just trying to get through it each year, and it was working. The idea of starting a new change process seemed like so much added work in an already tight deadline," she admits. Assistant Manager Leah Melvin and Financial Analyst Marlena Coumos agreed, but their apprehension quickly turned to enthusiasm. “Pitt IT has been phenomenal. We told them what we want to see, and they followed through. They took the time to understand what we do and how we do it. Then, they showed us what could be done,” Melvin recalls.

Pitt IT’s Heather Lego, senior business analyst, and Nalyn Siripong, senior data scientist, worked hard to understand the budget process to identify areas for improvement. “We’re not financial analysts, and we don’t need to be,” Lego says. “Our job is to find ways to eliminate the tedious, mindless activities so they can focus on strategic financial tasks rather than administrative hassles.”

Finding the Right Tool: Alteryx

Alteryx, a powerful data analytics platform that allows users to prepare, blend, and analyze data from various sources without needing to write any code, emerged as the ideal tool for this transformation. With its ability to automate complex data workflows, Alteryx significantly reduced the manual effort involved in generating the budget target letters.

“By understanding the process, where the data comes from, and how the data is related to each other, we can use Alteryx to compile all the necessary elements for the target letters,” Siripong explains.

Alteryx pulls data directly from PRISM and other systems, ensuring that the most recent and accurate information is used across all documents. Using templates that were created for each type of schedule (such as revenue and expenses), Alteryx can then run the entire workflow or just specific parts of the process. Alteryx then automatically creates folders for each RC and compiles all necessary components, generating the complete target letter with minimal manual intervention. Any discrepancies and potential errors are identified, allowing staff to address issues before they become problematic. After review, analysts can then send each packet to the appropriate RC with the click of a button.

The Impact: Time, Accuracy, and Usability

The team started small, identifying two time-consuming schedules that could be automated relatively quickly. But then the ball really got rolling. “We were blown away,” Denny says. “We just didn’t envision what Alteryx could do. But as soon as we completed those first automations, we kept exploring what else we could do.” Now, the team has automated nearly the entire process of creating and sending the budget packets.

The results have been a game-changer. What once took weeks of manual labor can now be completed in about four minutes. Because automation minimizes the risk of human error, the data is more accurate and consistent. The success of this project has opened everyone’s minds to new possibilities, and they are exploring further automation opportunities, such as validation and reporting steps when RCs submit their annual operating budgets.

Lessons Learned

The collaboration between Pitt IT and OBO is a testament to what can be achieved when technology and teamwork come together. The transformation of the annual Target Letter process showcases the power of innovation to improve efficiency, accuracy, and overall job satisfaction.

The OBO team encourages all areas of the University to embrace change and leverage technology. “If you’re thinking, ‘There should be an easier way to do this,’ go to Pitt IT! Bring them your challenges and ask them to help you find solution,” Coumos says. “They were really respectful of our workload. It was a big project, but it wasn’t overwhelming, so we could still get our regular work done.”

Denny appreciated that Pitt IT is an internal partner. “Pitt IT is not an external consulting firm, with their high fees and lack of familiarity with how we do things. Plus, we have ongoing support from the whole IT team,” she says.

To explore how Pitt IT can help transform your processes, submit a help request. Together, we can make great things happen!

-- By Karen Beaudway, Pitt IT Blogger