Case study
Schedule Management Template
for an Arts and Music School
The Challenge
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The art school faced challenges in managing many classes and a large body of students.
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Creating timetables for all courses was a complex and labour-intensive process.
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Difficulty managing potential class clashes and efficiently scheduling classes.
The Solution
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An interface for users to log new classes.
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A table keeping track of all the classes booked for upcoming terms.
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An archive for previously added classes that are no longer relevant.
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A feature allowing users to visualise and generate timetables.
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A built-in system to flag potential class clashes and offer alternative solutions.
The Impact
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Streamlined scheduling process, facilitating management and avoiding class clashes.
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An intuitive timetable management tool tailored to the client's needs.
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This custom solution, costing between one and two thousand pounds, has significantly improved the school's timetable creation and management process efficiency.
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The Challenge
Senacea was approached by a UK-renowned arts and music school to create a unique solution for their complex timetabling problem. With thousands of students enrolled in various courses across the UK, the school faced a challenge in scheduling and managing conflicts for class bookings. The project aimed to create an automated system that could support bulk booking, manage potential class conflicts, and provide a streamlined way of managing timetables.
The client needed help managing a vast number of classes and students. Creating timetables for all courses was complex and time-consuming, with the additional challenge of managing potential class conflicts.
The Solution
After thorough interviews with the client, Senacea proposed an automated spreadsheet system in Excel to streamline the process. The system contains several key features:
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Control Panel: Where users log new classes.
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Database: A table maintaining a record of all the classes already booked for the next semester or year.
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Archives: An archive of previously added classes, no longer relevant or from previous semesters.
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Timetable View and Generator: It includes lists and group mappings applied.
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Conflict Management: If a class is scheduled at an already occupied period, the system flags it. The user can then select a different teacher or modify the date to resolve the conflict.
The system was designed to be intuitive and user-friendly. Upon adding new classes, any necessary fields not populated would be highlighted in red. Users then specify which courses and groups the classes would be for, when the first class is, and its start time.
The system is designed to anticipate and manage conflicts. If a time slot is already occupied, the user can select a different teacher or modify the date. Once the conflict is resolved, the class is successfully loaded into the system.
The system allows for a high level of customization. Users can easily filter through the database by skills, tutors, studios, courses, years, and so on. Once the timetable is finalized, it can be exported for printing or digital distribution. Users can also adjust the size of different elements to ensure presentability.
Watch how Senacea transformed the timetable creation process for a major UK Arts and Music School.
Our tailored, automated solution streamlined class scheduling, efficiently managed class clashes, and improved overall efficiency. Explore the system's features, including the control panel, database, archive, timetable view and generator, and conflict management.
The Project Impact
The final product is an effective, easy-to-use timetable management tool that meets the client's unique needs. Not only has it streamlined the scheduling process, but it has also enhanced the school's ability to manage and avoid class conflicts. This project, costing between one and two thousand pounds, delivered a custom solution specifically tailored to the client's needs.
Senacea's solution provides a comprehensive answer to the client's timetable problem. The system's ability to manage class conflicts, filter through extensive databases, and generate and adjust timetables makes it a powerful tool for educational institutions managing large student bodies and complex schedules.
The Challenge
A group of luxurious hotels in the UK needed to improve templates & processes related to their annual budget creation.
The budget consolidation was the major file delivered to the upper management for approval. Its preparation required close cooperation of directors and heads of all hotel departments to collate data from different sources (e.g. forecasting & accounting software, bespoke financial models in Excel format).
Forecasts provided by stakeholders were highly interdependent and time-sensitive. For instance, the number of rooms sold would influence restaurant guest numbers and in consequence demand for extra kitchen & waiting staff. Any local event or parade would also have an impact, what had to be accounted for in the dynamic models.
This task required a great amount of financial modelling as well as Excel & VBA development. It was a project stretching far beyond simple repairing and developing spreadsheets. Intensive collaboration and variated levels of technical proficiency required user-friendly systems preventing errors and allowing for version control. Finally, conflicting objectives of stakeholders had to be addressed and the entire spreadsheet & macros system tested and integrated with BAU processes, such as operational forecasting.
The Solution
Senacea began by evaluating existing tracking templates for opportunities to automate, error-proof and standardise their use and created a bespoke solution that will be managed in-house. The next step was to improve and simplify the budget creation process, eliminating manual and unnecessary work of department directors.
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Dead links eliminated & input files consolidated
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Input files content and ownership specifications
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File updating ordered and data flows illustrated
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Aligned template structures
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Standardised formatting & colour coding
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Data exports and imports automated
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Standardised category lists
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Automated consistency checks
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Drop-down menus
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Inductive reasoning (from big picture to details)
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Dynamic dashboards
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Modification & recreation of templates to allow for adding new accounts and categories
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User-friendly processes for augmenting the templates
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Automation, simplification & access restriction
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Automation, simplification & access restriction with Excel VBA and macros
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Diagnostic prompts warning about version updates
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Mapping deliverables against stakeholders
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Determining critical project path
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Recordings of the performance of basic procedures with voice narration
