Smarter Balanced (University of California, Santa Cruz) — Power BI consulting and development with Power BI Embedded (2023)
ContractedFirst-pass editionSmarter Balanced (University of California, Santa Cruz) · 2023 · Project ID EPC-2023-SBAC-PBI
Evidence record: Smarter Balanced (University of California, Santa Cruz) evidence record with redacted documents and SHA-256 hashes
Last updated by Errin O'Connor, Founder & Chief AI Architect, EPC Group
Contracted. Smarter Balanced (University of California, Santa Cruz) engaged EPC Group (O'Connor Enterprise Group, Inc., doing business as EPC Group) for Power BI consulting and development with Power BI Embedded — UCSC Purchase Order P0817698 per EPC Group's statement of work of May 12, 2023; services June 14 to August 31, 2023. Project ID EPC-2023-SBAC-PBI. The engagement was completed and paid in full (EPC Group accounts-receivable record).
First-pass edition. The facts in the verification line and the project-facts table come from the documents named there. The engagement narrative below is written by EPC Group from the engagement type and the documented scope, is marked EPC-reported, and is pending review by Errin O'Connor. Delivery status comes from EPC Group's accounts-receivable record as stated by Errin O'Connor on 2026-10-15; no other result is claimed that the documents or project records do not support.
Summary
In 2023, EPC Group completed Power BI consulting and development with Power BI Embedded for Smarter Balanced (University of California, Santa Cruz) on Power BI, Power BI Embedded, led by EPC Group's senior architects addressing reporting that needed to be rebuilt or extended on Power BI with a workspace, security and (where contracted) embedded-delivery strategy. The work ran through the phases the documents define: services performed between June 14 and August 31, 2023 under the May 12, 2023 statement of work. The client accepted the deliverables and paid in full, per EPC Group's accounts-receivable record; EPC Group reports that its objectives for the engagement were met. Verification: Contracted; Delivered — paid in full (EPC Group accounts-receivable record; EPC-reported). What the documents establish, and what they do not, is stated in Evidence and limitations below.
Project facts
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Client | Smarter Balanced (University of California, Santa Cruz) | document |
| Industry | Education assessment (public university consortium) | document / public record |
| Engagement date | June 14, 2023 | document |
| Work | Power BI consulting and development with Power BI Embedded (150-hour initiative) | document |
| Microsoft products | Power BI; Power BI Embedded | document / scope |
| Scope unit | UCSC Purchase Order P0817698 per EPC Group's statement of work of May 12, 2023; services June 14 to August 31, 2023 | document |
| EPC Group role | Consulting and delivery under the instrument named above | document |
| Lead architect | EPC Group senior architects (the published instrument does not name the lead; EPC-reported) | EPC-reported |
| Delivery status | Completed; invoiced and paid in full. Source: EPC Group's accounts-receivable record (paid invoices on file, not published because they carry commercial terms), stated by Errin O'Connor on 2026-10-15. EPC Group treats payment as acceptance; no client acceptance record is published for this engagement. | EPC AR record (EPC-reported) |
| Verification class | Contracted; Delivered — paid in full (EPC Group accounts-receivable record; EPC-reported) | Evidence Center convention |
| Evidence record | https://www.epcgroup.net/evidence/smarter-balanced-uc-santa-cruz-power-bi-consulting-development-2023 | — |
| External source | none published yet | — |
| Project ID | EPC-2023-SBAC-PBI | EPC Group |
What the document states
University of California, Santa Cruz Purchase Order P0817698 (June 14, 2023), invoices to 'UCSC Silicon Valley Campus — Smarter Balanced': 'Power BI Development and Consultation', per the statement of work dated May 12, 2023 describing a 150-hour Power BI consulting and development initiative with Power BI Embedded.
Starting environment (EPC-reported, first pass)
An engagement of this type begins with an organization's data sources, existing reports, security and sharing requirements, and the Power BI licensing and workspace model it will operate in; for the assessment body, Power BI Embedded delivery to external audiences. The specific inventory for this engagement is held in EPC Group's project records and will replace this paragraph when published.
Business problem (EPC-reported, first pass)
Reporting that needed to be rebuilt or extended on Power BI with a workspace, security and (where contracted) embedded-delivery strategy.
EPC Group's responsibility
Power BI consulting and development under the statement of work: data-source review, semantic-model and report development, workspace and app strategy, security design, and knowledge transfer.
Technical decisions (EPC-reported, first pass)
The decisions this kind of engagement turns on are semantic-model design and refresh strategy, workspace and app structure, row-level security, and the embedded delivery pattern where contracted. The decisions actually taken for Smarter Balanced will be stated here from the project record.
Delivery sequence (EPC-reported, first pass)
Typical sequence for this engagement type: discovery → model and report development → security and workspaces → embedded or app delivery → handover. Dates and acceptance for this engagement will be stated from the project record.
Results
| Metric | Baseline | Observed result | Period | Source | Verification class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scope delivered against the instrument | as contracted | Completed; invoiced and paid in full | engagement period | EPC AR record (paid invoices on file; not published) | Delivered — paid in full (EPC Group accounts-receivable record; EPC-reported) |
| Client acceptance | — | Deliverables accepted; EPC Group's objectives met | close-out | payment in full + EPC-reported | Delivered — paid in full (EPC Group accounts-receivable record; EPC-reported) |
| Primary technical outcome (migration completeness, platform live, deliverable detail) | pending | pending project record | — | project record | pending |
| Service interruption during cutover (where applicable) | planned window | pending | cutover | cutover log | pending |
Completion, acceptance and payment are stated from EPC Group's records; the technical rows stay pending until the project record is published. No figure is invented.
Client perspective
The client accepted the deliverables and paid every invoice in full. No client quotation is published on this page; where a client has given a written statement or a review, it is linked from the evidence record.
Evidence and limitations
The evidence record at https://www.epcgroup.net/evidence/smarter-balanced-uc-santa-cruz-power-bi-consulting-development-2023 publishes the document(s) with redacted page images and SHA-256 hashes. The instrument establishes the client, the supplier, the service and the date as stated above. It does not by itself establish delivery dates, volumes, acceptance or outcomes; those require the project records referenced in the Results table. Completion and payment in full are established by EPC Group's accounts-receivable record (paid invoices on file; not published because they carry commercial terms).
Lessons for similar organizations (EPC-reported)
- Get the semantic model right before the visuals; dashboards are the last mile.
- Decide the workspace and app model early — it is the governance model.
Related service
Power BI consulting and development ·Talk to a senior architect
Author: Errin O'Connor, Founder & Chief AI Architect, EPC Group · Published: 2026-10-15 · Substantively updated: 2026-10-15.