Amidst the economic pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Dallas needed a transparent and live reporting tool to demonstrate federal, state, and private COVID-19 fund allocations and expenditures. The goal was to build a dashboard that showcased received funds, their amounts, and detailed visualizations of revenue expenditures, fostering public trust and accountability.
Project Overview:
Dominic initially served as a stakeholder on the city’s COVID-19 response team but quickly transitioned to leading this critical initiative within two weeks. He proposed and developed a dashboard solution to meet transparency goals, managing a team that included one IT staff member and one data analytics expert.
Dominic initially served as a stakeholder on the city’s COVID-19 response team but quickly transitioned to leading this critical initiative within two weeks. He proposed and developed a dashboard solution to meet transparency goals, managing a team that included one IT staff member and one data analytics expert.
Dominic acted as the project manager and developer, overseeing the end-to-end process. His responsibilities included:
∙ Extracting, manipulating, and uploading data into a cloud-based software platform.
∙ Providing API .json paths for IT integration.
∙ Coordinating IT efforts to host the dashboard on Dallas’ SharePoint Designer website.
∙ Working with data analytics to create detailed drill-down visualizations using PowerBI.
The project was executed using a hybrid methodology combining waterfall and agile principles to ensure both structured planning and iterative delivery.
Deliverables:
The completed dashboard featured:
The completed dashboard featured:
∙ A comprehensive listing of funds received, including detailed allocation amounts.
∙ Interactive visualizations to drill down into revenue expenditure categories.
∙ Integration with Dallas’ SharePoint Designer website for public access.
The tool enabled city leadership to provide real-time updates to the public, increasing transparency and reinforcing trust during a time of heightened scrutiny.
Challenges and Solutions:
Challenges included integrating data from various sources and ensuring accuracy in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment. Dominic addressed these challenges by leveraging cloud-based tools for efficient data management and collaborating closely with IT and data analytics experts for seamless dashboard functionality.
Challenges included integrating data from various sources and ensuring accuracy in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment. Dominic addressed these challenges by leveraging cloud-based tools for efficient data management and collaborating closely with IT and data analytics experts for seamless dashboard functionality.
Outcome:
The dashboard was successfully delivered, providing an accessible, real-time view of COVID-19 fund management. It allowed the City of Dallas to transparently communicate its financial stewardship to residents, reinforcing confidence in the city’s pandemic response efforts.
The dashboard was successfully delivered, providing an accessible, real-time view of COVID-19 fund management. It allowed the City of Dallas to transparently communicate its financial stewardship to residents, reinforcing confidence in the city’s pandemic response efforts.
