Version 2021.2 – May 27, 2021
Click the image below to to watch the Release Version 2021.2 webinar:
Introduction
Othot is pleased to announce release 2021.2 of the Othot Platform. The release adds various new features and enhancements and significant improvements to overall performance and predictive capabilities.
If you have any questions regarding the contents of this document or require additional information on any updates contained in this release, please reference other Othot Help Center articles or contact Othot Support at support@othot.com.
New Features
Refining the experience and increasing the ease of getting to insights is a focus of each release. Many new features are the result of direct feedback from our Partners and useful for our entire community.
Pivot
Pivot is a relatively new feature in the platform and has received significant traction amongst users.
Saved Pivot
Many users come back to the platform to look at aggregate data in the same manner, each time they log in. Instead of starting from scratch every time, users can create saved Pivot configurations that behave similarly to saved Views or saved Sensitivity configurations. These different configurations are named and saved so that the data being analyzed are always presented in the same format.
Pivot Snapshot
In addition to saving the configurations of a Pivot, users requested to save a static version of their new report so it could be available for future use or sharing. Because most of our partners provide new data daily, which the Othot platform uses to make new predictions, the Pivot created last week will probably look different than the one viewed today. Taking a Snapshot allows for a record to be kept of how decisions were made or compared to changes since the same saved Pivot configuration was last viewed. All Snapshots are stored in the Signal tab on the Insights page.
Pivot on What-If Variables
The insights gained from simulating What-Ifs and Scenarios are valuable for better understanding what is expected to happen by allocating resources. Often, understanding the impacts of these prescriptions on different groups is important. Pivot has been enhanced to include the What-If results from these two features to see how additional financial aid or a recruitment tactic could impact different populations when shaping your class.
Filter in Pivot
To reduce the number of clicks to filter the data in a Pivot further, Filter in Pivot has been added. This allows users to focus on smaller subpopulations without having to exit the Pivot currently in use.
Dashboard Anything
Another relatively new feature is Dashboard Anything. Release 2021.2 includes some improvements to keep the feature consistent with Pivot capabilities and to help improve usability.
Dashboard Snapshot
Like the new Pivot Snapshot capability, our Partners requested the ability to create and store Dashboard reports on-demand. A copy of the Dashboard and its data will be saved as a Signal report and available for access later and to share with other team members.
Dashboard Widgets Column Freeze
Some table-format widgets can contain many columns of useful data, resulting in the table wider than can be easily viewed on-screen and requiring scrolling. Column freezing was added to widget configurations to make it easier to understand the rows’ contents. This makes specific columns static in addition to column headers.
Matrix
With financial aid planning season upon us, we wanted to include some usability enhancements to simulate new strategies easier and faster.
Build Your Own Matrix
Many institutions want to test their matrix creations or only make slight deviations from their current aid packaging strategy. This release has a new setting that allows users to start from an empty aid matrix to streamline the process and get insights quicker. A user can iteratively build out a financial aid strategy to simulate the impact each change to an award cell will make on a class.
Matrix Warnings
Optimization problems can be constructed with constraints and objectives that are drastically different than history. Sometimes to achieve these requirements, aid must be awarded in drastically different ways than in the past. Although feasible, some of these award strategies might be riskier due to the lack of historical knowledge. Because of the potential increased error, the platform now has the ability to include warnings on award decisions that violate certain conditions to make sure the user is aware of the potential risk.
Analyze
Enhancements are developed for Analyze in each release because it is one of the most heavily used parts of the Othot Platform.
Histogram Drill-Down
At the top of the Analyze page, users are now able to click on a bar from the Likelihood Score Distribution visualization, and the Grid will automatically filter based upon the Likelihood Scores selected. This makes filtering down to individuals of interest based on their probabilities quicker.
Individual Page Export
The individual page is now available to be exported like most other parts of the platform. A PDF can be created for review with an individual or storing as a record in a different system.
Other Enhancements
As with every release, many existing features have been improved or expanded. A few of the more notable items are:
- View Templates
- Views Backward Compatible
- Correction Factor by Subgroup
- Auto-manage All Users Group
- Direct SSO
- Custom Features API
- Dashboard Performance Enhancements
Bug Fixes
Adding enhancements occasionally results in the introduction of software bugs. Our team has fixed as many issues as possible and gives top priority to user-reported problems. Here is a list of the more notable items addressed:
- Dashboard Not Always Loading
- Dashboard Filters Persist to Other Dashboards
- Segment Persisting to Prescriptive Features
- Signal List not Updating on Product Switch
- Goal Dashboard to Reimporting
- Sensitivity Values Not Sorting Properly
Next Release
The Othot development team is already working on the next release, 2021.3. This release is scheduled to go into production in Q3 2021. For more details about the features planned for the 2021.3 release, contact Othot Partner Success or Othot Sales.