Presentations

TechExpo 2025: A Retro 'Spective

OIT Update Meeting - September 8, 2025

TechExpo is Duke’s annual, cross-campus conference created about Duke IT, for Duke IT, and by Duke IT. This year’s theme, Retro Revival, brought together IT professionals from across the university and health system to share knowledge, showcase innovation, and celebrate our community. We’ll recap the successes of our 2025 Retro Revival event and look ahead to what’s coming next year.

TechExpo website

Presentation slides available upon request

Getting Started with Google Analytics 4

Duke LearnIT@Lunch - November 29, 2023

Co-presenter: Greg Whitaker

Just when you thought you understood Google Analytics, Google released a new version that changes everything: Google Analytics 4. Whether you are brand new to web analytics or a long-time user, this introductory course will help you get your bearings in the redesigned service. We will review the terminology and how the tool works, outline new features and what has changed, and show you how to turn GA4 data into concrete actions that help shape strategies and inform decisions.

LearnIT@Lunch website

Presentation Recording

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Website Options at Duke

Duke LearnIT@Lunch - October 4, 2023

Co-presenter: Ryn Nasser

OIT offers three primary website services to meet your website needs: Sites@Duke Express, Sites@Duke Pro, and custom design and development. Which path will you choose? This session compares the ins and outs of each option, so you can decide which is right for you and control your own website story!

LearnIT@Lunch website

Presentation Slides | Presentation Recording

Sites@Duke Pro: Year One

OIT Update Meeting - October 10, 2022

How it started versus how it's going for Duke's enterprise Drupal website service.

Sites@Duke Pro website

Presentation slides available upon request

Doing a Lot with a Little: Project Management at Scale

Digital PM Summit 2019 - October 22, 2019

Feeling overwhelmed? Whether you belong to a PM team of one, manage a laundry list of clients or wear several different hats on any given day, sometimes the deluge of work far outweighs the resources at your disposal. Yet, you still need to give every project your full attention and best efforts, without blowing timelines and budgets.

No two teams are alike, so why do we apply a one-size-fits-all philosophy to digital project management? This session will discuss how to customize the standard DPM processes to fit your personal constraints. We will review efficient, scrappy solutions to help you use your time wisely and still achieve the desired results.

In this session, you will learn:

• Ways to scale your process to meet your team's unique constraints

• Tips for approaching projects one-by-one... when you have 50 of them

• Tactics to reduce overhead, set boundaries and add structure when your task list gets out of hand

• The appropriate time and place for a “PM lite” approach

Digital PM Summit agenda | Presentation notes

Presentation slides

Making Informed Decisions: Google Analytics Crash Course 

Learn IT @ Lunch - March 6, 2019

Co-presenter: Greg Whitaker

IT Training @ Duke

Presentation recording

Putting Web Metrics to Work

Duke ProComm - multi-day course taught in 2015, 2017, & 2019

Co-presenter: Greg Whitaker

Participants will get an overview of Google Analytics to understand the terminology and how the tool works, to illustrate the potential uses of metrics to help shape strategies, inform decisions, and improve communication.

This introductory course will show you why you should be using Google Analytics and how you can use it to improve your marketing and communications strategies. In two two-hour sessions, you’ll learn basics about Google Analytics, including how to understand and report on key metrics, and how to turn this data into actions that help shape strategies and inform decisions. This class is geared towards Duke employees who are new to Google Analytics. Participants should bring a laptop and have access to a Google Analytics account, if possible – although these are not required.

Course website

Digital Project Management for Non-Project Managers

Duke TechExpo - April 7, 2017

Co-presenter: Ryn Nasser

Make your life easier through digital project management! This presentation will cover the basics of DPM and provide concrete actions any tech employee can take to maximize efficiency, organize tasks, and avoid common pitfalls. By integrating lightweight project management principles into your everyday routine, you can start to tame your overwhelming to-do list and stay on time, on budget, and within scope. Both managers and team members can benefit from a DPM foundation, whether working on a large team or individually, and during any stage of any project.

TechExpo website

Presentation slides

Getting More out of Google Analytics

Duke TechExpo - April 17, 2015

Co-presenter: Julie Grundy

Go beyond the basic reports to get the most out of your Google Analytics! This session digs into lesser-known, easy-to-use features and customizations that will elevate your metrics knowledge and bring value to your organization. Whether you’re supporting a site or embarking on a redesign, analytics data helps you make smart choices on everything from browser and device considerations to site performance, so you know where to focus your development efforts to maximize results. From custom dashboards to filters, site search to segments, we’ll walk through a dozen ways you can tweak your account today to use analytics to your advantage. These tips will provide advanced insight into your website’s audience and its behavior, giving you the tools to make informed decisions about your web strategy and technical needs. This session is aimed at users who have a basic level of familiarity with Google Analytics. We will take you beyond the main Audience, Acquisition, and Content screens, so you can take your reporting to the next level.

TechExpo website

Duke Center for AIDS Research Website

Duke CFAR Fall Scientific Retreat - September 24, 2014

CFAR website

Presentation slides