During the COVID-19 pandemic, MSS provided analytics support to key emergency
management agencies. We transformed a labor-intensive, manual reporting process into
a fully-automated data pipeline using Google Cloud Platform and Tableau with
integrations from over 40 data sources. We also designed, built, and managed a daily
COVID-19 response dashboard, providing daily critical situational awareness to over
1,500 City Leaders.
COVID-19 presented a dynamic and high-stakes situation that strained the ability to
understand the pandemic’s impact accurately. The shift to remote work disrupted the
usual situational reporting mechanisms. Additionally, COVID-19 response and recovery
data sources constantly evolved in accessibility, reliability, and meaning. MSS provided end-to-end reporting products, wireframed solutions, developed dashboards and
automated data pipelines, and created ad hoc analyses to answer emerging questions.
We also conducted sessions with leadership to understand their questions and provide
insights regularly. Throughout this process, we crafted transformative solutions that
smoothly transitioned into operations and modeled an agile team dynamic that the
agency later formalized as the Emergency Data Team. We also provided dashboard
templates and data visualization training to ensure that future emergencies would benefit
from these improvements.