FundWatch is a Tableau application developed by Broad to provide financial tracking of grants. Primary users are principal investigators (PIs) and their administrative and lab managers. The project is a joint effort between GP Analytics (Zach Leber), Business Systems (Andrew Wang), and Sponsored Research (Karen Adams). The project sponsor is the Broad CFO (Jesse Souweine). The e-mail address fundwatch@broadinstitute.org goes to a Google group monitored by Zach, Andrew, and Karen and can be used for all questions.
FundWatch was piloted in the spring of 2018 and launched Broad-wide in July 2018.
Development
A Kanban board (rapid board) in Jira Cloud is used to track development tasks for the PIFR project. A Jira dashboard for PIFR is also available.
Security
Access to FundWatch is controlled through both Tableau Server group membership and row-level data security. Users wanting access should e-mail fundwatch@broadinstitute.org.
Tableau Groups
FundWatch is in the PIFR (PI Financial Reporting) project on Tableau Server. Access to that project was initially controlled by the local PIFR group on Tableau Server. Later the Broad Active Directory (AD) group BOBJ BSC End User was added, and this group us set to sync with Broad AD every midnight. Users added to the BOBJ group in AD will have access to the Tableau report the next day. The Synchronize All Groups... button can be used to manually sync during the day. The sync takes just a minute.
Row-level Data Security
In addition to restricting access to the report itself, access to the financial data is restricted by Tableau username using the USERNAME() function. The user ID will only see certain PIs and cost objects from the Microsoft SQL Server data source (vCORTbyUser on server blodgett). This live data source displays a view filter for the remaining views powered by the SAP BW data extract (Tableau Graphics Data (ZBFM_M01)). The SAP extract is refreshed every morning. The refresh takes 20-60 minutes depending on how many concurrent refreshes are scheduled.
Business Systems checks with Sponsored Research before adding any new users to the vCORT data source. This data source is live so changes are immediate.
While the vCORTbyUser data source does get large with extra rows to support developers who need access to all PIs and cost objects, it avoids the join with the financial data itself. This avoid the "join explosion" commonly cited as a problem when managing entitlements to financial transactions.
Training
Video
A 2-minute training video was made using Apple QuickTime Player on the Mac. The Screen Recording with audio function was used. The .mov file was copied to C:\ProgramData\Tableau\Tableau Server\data\tabsvc\httpd\htdocs\ on the Tableau Server where it can be accessed via https://tableau.broadinstitute.org/fundwatch.mov.
Office Hours
Office hours are held by Business Systems and Sponsored Research. Next FundWatch office hours are:
- 9/6 at 10:00 in Biscayne (75A-5021)
- 9/12 at 3:00 in Yosemite (75A-4001)
- 9/18 at 10:00 in Zion (75A-4031)
- 9/26 at 1:30 in Roosevelt (75A-6143)
On Demand
FundWatch personnel are available to meet with any user on request.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Action |
|---|---|
| Can't access report on Tableau Server | User needs to be added to the BOBJ BSC END USER group by Business Systems which then syncs overnight with Tableau Server to add them to Server and give them access to the PIFR project. The sync can be manually run during the day if necessary. |
| Can't see all accounts | User permissions need to be updated in the vCORT data source by Business Systems after getting approvals. vCORT changes are live. |
| Data is not current | Check the timestamp on the dashboard for the last refresh time. Occasionally the concurrent refreshes will fail. |
| How to use? | Watch the video. Come to office hours. Send e-mail. |
| Contact for any question | fundwatch@broadinstitute.org |