Certified Master Anaplanners are experts in thought leadership, technical expertise, mentorship, and Connected Planning evangelism. Certified Master Anaplanners unlocked membership in the program after achieving the highest technical certification level in our ecosystem and proving their expertise by passing a certification exam.

This exclusive community wears many hats and drives immense impact to the Anaplan ecosystem through the many ways they share their knowledge and expertise across their organizations, networks, and with others within the Anaplan community. They act as advisors, mentors, strategic implementors, developers of best practices, change-makers, and so much more.

Certified Master Anaplanners are the top 1% of our ecosystem! As thought-leaders who evangelize the platform, they tenaciously lead transformation in businesses, innovatively find the best solutions for collaboration and scalability, all while driving more efficient and accurate Connected Planning solutions. With Anaplan at the core, they aren’t afraid to take on complex challenges to develop and make your Honeycomb™️ a reality.

Pictured: Asslam Umar Ali (2022 Certified Master Anaplanner of the Year), right, with Erin Siemens, SVP Chief Customer Officer Anaplan at Anaplan Live! 2022.

Certified Master Anaplanners

Experts in Anaplan thought leadership, technical expertise, and Connected Planning evangelism.

Information on the Certified Master Anaplanner program

About the Certified Master Anaplanner program
Learn about the program and impact
Become a Certified Master Anaplanner
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Recent articles for Certified Master Anaplanners

Certified Master Anaplanner Exam
Certifications offer a way to prove your skills. When you want to be recognized for achieving the highest level of skill, that of a Certified Master Anaplanner, you want to be sure the testing process is secure and that all applicants are treated fairly. To achieve that end, we have partnered with Kryterion Global Testing Solutions to administer the Certified Master Anaplanner Certification Exam. Once you are qualified, you can sign up to take the 90-minute exam. It can be taken online as a proctored exam or at any Kryterion Testing Center. The exam is made up of 60 multiple choice questions that focus on the areas of modeling, data integration, and Center of Excellence principles. There is a fee of $550 + local tax rate for each attempt.Frequently Asked Questions How do I qualify for the Certified Master Anaplanner Certification Exam? Please visit the eligibility page to review the qualifications for the Certified Master Anaplanner Certification Exam. All Anaplan Certified Solution Architects automatically qualify for the Certified Master Anaplanner Certification Exam. How do I access the Certified Master Anaplanner Certification Exam? If you are an Anaplan Certified Solution Architect, you will be able eligible to sign up for the exam. Please follow the steps on the Certified Master Anaplanners Introduction page. The first step is to create an account on Kryterion’s testing platform, Webassessor. Follow the links on the page to get this set up, using the same email as your Learning Center account. After creating your Webassessor account, the Certification Program Manager reviews your eligibility and approves your account. These approvals occur every Friday. After you are approved, you can register for either a proctored online exam or an in person exam at a Kryterion test site. Why can’t I see anything past Step 1 on the Certified Master Anaplanners Introduction page ? To be able to see the full list of steps outlined, you must meet the eligibility criteria by becoming an Anaplan Certified Solution Architect. If you have completed this under a different email or company, please email Academy@anaplan.com to transfer over your learning records account. Is there a fee for the Certified Master Anaplanner Certification Exam? To cover the cost of the proctored examination, there is a fee of $550 plus regional taxes per scheduled exam. How do I take the Exam? You can find a list of testing centers here or take a proctored online exam. If you are taking the online proctored exam, please review Kyterion’s Online Testing Requirements. One of the requirements for the online exam is to download and install Kryterion’s Sentinel software, which may require Administrator privileges on your computer. After your account is approved in Webassessor, you can register for either a proctored online exam or an in-person exam at a Kryterion testing center. The exam is timed and will take 90 minutes to complete. Please plan for testing of the proctoring system at the beginning of the online exam. This may take up to 15 minutes. What happens if I applied before and didn't qualify? All applicants will follow the same application-to-certification process regardless of the original application date. Does this impact Current Certified Master Anaplanners? No. Current Certified Master Anaplanners do not have to take the updated exam or pay any fees as long as their certification has not expired.
September 2023 Community Member Spotlight: Alejandro Gomez
Let's celebrate @AlejandroGomez as our featured Member Spotlight for September! He has been in the Anaplan ecosystem for nearly a decade, a Certified Master Anaplanner for five years, and recently appointed an Anaplan Community Boss! Read on to explore Alejandro's journey, expertise, and his meaningful contributions over the years! About Alejandro We asked Alejandro about his background and history with Anaplan. Here’s what we learned! Since starting my Anaplan journey back in December of 2014 — shortly after completing my studies in Business Management — I have worked for different leading Anaplan Partners in EMEA, implemented Anaplan (and in the early days a few other EPM solutions) in six different countries, across several industries and functions. Over the years I have had the opportunity to learn from truly remarkable professionals, work for leading companies and make a lot of good friends along the way. Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the Anaplan world! We asked Alejandro a few questions to get to know him! Please share an Anaplan success story you’re proud of. It is challenging to pick just one or two stories, partly because nearly all of them contain outstanding elements, but also due to the confidentiality constraints! Rather than picking one story, I would like to highlight the consistent undelaying results achieved when implementing Anaplan across different customers. While there are already a few publications discussing the improvements experienced by the companies using Anaplan, and I’m sure that many Community users have likely experienced similar benefits, I would still not overlook them. I am a spreadsheet enthusiast and I often develop a kind of paternal pride with the models I build. This is why I empathize with planners who are reluctant to leave Excel behind. It might be an Excel h*ll but it is one they understand and find comfort in! When these folks give Anaplan a chance and experience the reduced turnover time in the planning process, the auditability, the collaboration, the version control or the integration of large data volumes (to name a few), while also keeping ownership of the solution thanks to Anaplan’s comprehensive enablement materials — that is a success story to me! Finally, I would like to take the opportunity and make a quick mention of Logicor, whose CoE is led by Manuela Apostol, and with whom I have worked closely. They have made Anaplan the true calculation core of the organization, integrating it with their databases and BI tools in order to obtain a single version of the truth that unifies systems and teams. They align actuals, budgets, forecasts and what-if scenarios, and present all that data to their user base in an easy-to-digest way, whether as NUX pages or customized Excel reports through the add-in. Well done, guys! Please share something you can teach about Anaplan - any tips and tricks you’d like to highlight? Thanks to the efforts made by the Anaplan Community and Anaplan's Operational Excellence Group (@AnaplanOEG) among others, pretty much everything worth knowing is already available to all Anaplan users. It's not easy to think of a new idea. I would like to mention a personal way of thinking — a tip I have given to some colleagues and customers — especially when delivering the Level 1 training with those starting their Anaplan journey: relax the constraints when struggling to design and build a new Anaplan solution, since perfection impedes action. What I mean by that, is that sometimes it can be challenging coming up with an optimal solution in terms of calculation performance, data usage, scalability and user-friendliness, in addition to the inherent challenges of understanding the business process and modeling it in Anaplan. There are numerous constraints to keep an eye on. If you can manage them all on the go, good for you. However, if working with all of them is slowing you down, then ignore some of them to some extent. Therefore, instead of wondering if it would be better to split the operations into multiple simpler line items (e.g. Anaplan’s 144 threads and parallel calculations are leveraged) or group operations together reducing the number of line items (saving space and completing calculations in fewer waves), focus on building something that simply works. Something that solves the user’s problem, and they can understand and use. Focus on building something that ticks the user stories’ requirements, regardless of the approach. Once that has been achieved, we can look for more efficient ways of obtaining the same solution. In case of doubt, I always err on the side of usability, getting a solution in front of the user that provides what was asked for, regardless of the efficiency. Here are my reasons why: * Once a first solution (MVP if you will) has been achieved, it can be optimized at a later stage. * Once the user can interact with it, we will probably receive new feedback that will slightly change the design of the solution, thus impacting the space, performance, and scalability considerations. * Finally, no matter how efficient a model is, if it does not solve a user’s problem or is too complex to be used or understood, it will not be adopted at all and users will not experience the speed of your calculations. In order to illustrate some of the considerations mentioned above, I would like to bring back what I consider to be one of the most insightful pieces of information ever created on how the Anaplan engine works. This information is widely available in the Planual and Planual 2.0, but back when it was released it was priceless and I still enjoy the way Duncan introduces these topics. https://community.anaplan.com/discussion/36431/ama-with-duncan-pearson-designing-for-performance-and-scale What do you enjoy about the Anaplan Community? I think the Community is a great place altogether: one can find virtually any Anaplan-related topic there, from the new “How I Built It” series, to all the platform and training-related questions, the Idea Exchange, or Groups… the variety and depth of content is priceless. Then there is the engagement and atmosphere: more than 75k registered users, many hundreds of them active on a daily basis, contributing to creating new content and helping each other selflessly. There was an initiative a few years ago that I found especially interesting: a competition to see who can make the coolest management reporting. Hosting small games to see who finds the most ingenuous solution to a case, or something similar, could be interesting. But something I particularly hold close to my heart is the Modellers Forum EMEA, and that is all thanks to @Paul and @CatherineH. They always make sure that there is an interesting agenda lined up for every event, in addition to a good turnout of Anaplan staff, customers, and partners. Then they wrap all that with a friendly and fun atmosphere, beer, and snacks. What else could I possibly ask for? I feel is about time for the next Modellers Forum @Paul… What's one thing on your bucket list that you hope to accomplish in the next year? At the moment, I don’t have a bucket list with specific boxes to check, but I do have a vision: to continue expanding and improving the use of Anaplan for Supply Chain planning and performance management, leveraging Anaplan’s capabilities such real time collaboration and calculations to model digital twins aimed at anticipating disruptions and making supply chains more resilient. If a supply chain is a “network used to deliver products and services from raw materials to end customers through an engineered flow of information, physical goods, and cash” and supply chains are becoming “more fragmented and extended”, more complex and volatile — why continue planning and monitoring supply chains in isolation? With tools designed for smaller datasets and personal usage such spreadsheets that only contribute to delaying and siloing the decision making, while the amount of products, information and exigence is only increasing? I truly believe that Anaplan is the perfect tool to not only overcome these common shortfalls, but to help planners pursue supply chain excellency, turning large volumes of data into insightful and actionable information to make right decisions and reduce lead times and wastage. …..We hope you enjoyed learning more about Alejandro in this month’s Community Member Spotlight. Thank you, Alejandro, for being an outstanding Community contributor and advocate! Alejandro's Community articles: * https://community.anaplan.com/discussion/155710/mentorship-tips-for-creating-self-sufficient-anaplanners * https://community.anaplan.com/discussion/94993/demand-planning-a-cornerstone-of-every-business-plan * https://community.anaplan.com/discussion/62326/cutting-inventory-costs-with-anaplan Want to learn more about our Community Member Spotlight series? Check out this post. Do you know someone in the Community who you think should be featured in a Community Member Spotlight? We want to hear about it — please nominate them here.
Essential Anaplan topics
The best way to hone your expertise is practical experience. We recommend one or more years of hands-on experience using Anaplan to uncover all you can do with the platform. Training can also help you advance your technical skills and learn best practices for working with Anaplan.In addition to our required training, the following materials can help you get a well-rounded understanding of the platform. Learn how you can grow your knowledge in the areas below: Center of Excellence Topics Data Hubs * Data Hubs: Purpose and Peak Performance Governance & Structure * Building a Center of Excellence * Introduction to Centers of Excellence * Selecting Center of Excellence Governance Structures * Center of Excellence Roles and Responsibilities * Why Do I Need a Center of Excellence? Data Integration Topics Importing and Exporting Data * Data Related Training Classes * Get Started with Imports * Export from Anaplan * Overview of Private and Default Files * Import Data Sources Integration Platform and Connectors * Data Integration * Anaplan Connect * Guide to Data Integration using Anaplan REST API * Anaplan API Guide and Reference * Tableau Connector for Anaplan * Excel Add-in Version 4.0 * Third-party Data Integration * Anaplan Connector Guide for Dell Boomi * Anaplan HyperConnect Powered by Informatica Model Building Topics Model Building Best Practices * Best Practices for Module Design * Formula Optimization in Anaplan Knowledge * Time Range Application * Reduce Calculations for Better Performance * PLANS–This Is How We Model Shared Best Practice * Add Notes Formulas and Functions * Calculation Functions * YEARTODATE Function * Formula Structure for Performance * SELECT Function * RANK Function Dynamic Cell Access * Dynamic Cell Access * Dynamic Cell OR Selective Access * Dynamic Cell Access Learning App Selective Access * Selective Access (Anapedia) * Selective Access (Academy) Time Ranges * Time Ranges * Introduction to Time Ranges * Time Ranges–The Basics Dashboard Filtering * Filter (Anapedia) * Filter Best Practice Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) * ALM Overview * Revision Tag Best Practices * Save Incomplete Changes when Synchronizing in ALM * Production Lists Overview * Structural Information Reference
Managing a distributed Center of Excellence
Author: Kevin Cho is a Certified Master Anaplanner and Anaplan Team Lead at Atlassian. Managing an Anaplan implementation used by a geographically dispersed team can be challenging. There are the standard challenges of remote working — fewer direct and spontaneous interactions, isolation and lack of team bonding — alongside Center of Excellence (CoE)-specific challenges, like schedule conflicts for CoE meetings and role clarity across different geographies. All of which can all impact how a Center of Excellence functions, in turn producing a poor experience for your users. However, it doesn’t have to be this way — even a small Center of Excellence can support a team around the globe by integrating your CoE composition and rituals with existing team structures and processes, and leveraging different tools to make the coordination efforts seamless and more efficient. Team representation It may seem obvious, but having strong representation within the Center of Excellence across each location ensures a balanced voice in project prioritization, risk management, and general cohesiveness of the platform. This also extends to the support that you can provide to the everyday users of Anaplan. It is a much better experience having a support resource available in a local time zone, compared to having to wait for a support team to come online during their normal working hours. Conversely, this can vastly improve the work-life balance of your team, especially during critical planning and reporting periods, where round-the-clock support may be required. Communication and collaboration One of the main challenges that comes with managing a geographically dispersed CoE is effective communication and collaboration, especially with larger teams running projects in parallel. Alignment across a CoE is normally addressed through the regularly scheduled checkpoints ranging from daily stand-ups with project teams, weekly change management meetings, to quarterly steering committees. With geographically dispersed teams, this can get surprisingly difficult to schedule as time zone differences can very quickly add up! To address this, focus instead on regular asynchronous communication (emphasis on the regular!): * Prioritization meetings can instead turn into living documents, where stakeholders can provide input in their own time, easily delegating and sharing information across their team members who may not be necessarily invited to a synchronous prioritization meeting. * Updates from daily stand-ups can be provided through posts on a common chat thread, summarizing yesterday’s achievements, blockers, and the upcoming day’s focus. Similar to a live stand-up, emphasize succinct updates — those interested in delving more into the detail can then reach out directly.* However, be sure to not disregard the team building benefits of a daily sync! This can be accomplished by leveraging the right tools: * For live document tracking and editing, check out Confluence or Google Docs. Both are great options in providing the option for concurrent editing. * For chat, tools which support asynchronous collaboration are key. Slack and Microsoft Teams both offer the ability to create channels and threads, where users can localize conversations and stay engaged whilst not requiring live interaction.* Bots that can organize certain rituals (e.g. daily stand-ups, fortnightly kudos/thanks) are also a great way to incorporate them with less manual burden. * For task management, tools like Trello and Jira can help model builders and testers stay organized and on track, by providing regular status updates on tasks through the tool itself. Save the meetings for when synchronicity matters — for example, in intensive training sessions, and design and process workshops. This is especially useful in ensuring Executive Sponsors remain engaged with the CoE. Keeping them in the loop without a heavy time commitment will help in keeping them on your side. A success story (and continuing) Even prior to the pandemic, the Atlassian team has been working in a distributed manner, with teams located across Australia, the Philippines and the US — this has become more ingrained in our philosophy with the official adoption of a geographically flexible workforce (TEAM Anywhere). In turn, this has shaped how our Center of Excellence has been structured, and how we engage with our stakeholders. By utilizing the tools and techniques listed above, we’ve successfully grown our Anaplan implementation and user base, whilst still maintaining a lean team. What tips would you add regarding best practices on managing a distributed team? Leave a comment!
How I Built It: Solving world’s hardest Sudoku with Anaplan Optimizer
About the Author: Tristan Colgate is a Certified Master Anaplanner and Managing Director at Fidenda. Hi Anaplan Community! I’m excited to bring a new and fun video to the Community ‘How I Built It’ tutorial series. In my video, I’ll walk through how I used Anaplan’s Optimizer to solve the world’s hardest Sudoku puzzle. In 2012, mathematician Arto Inkala created what’s considered to be the hardest Sudoku puzzle to solve and I’ve never been able to solve it, so I brought in some assistance from my favorite tool! Optimizer is a really important part of the Anaplan platform. It can be used by organizations to find the optimal solutions to business problems where there is a need to optimize a business outcome that has multiple moving parts and constraints. In doing so it automates business decisions that are impossible for humans to thoroughly analyze. For example, I have implemented it at a media organization that needed to decide which new television program projects they should invest in to maximize ROI, whilst observing other targets such as minimum hours of programming needed per genre. Check it out and let me know if you have questions! https://play.vidyard.com/Dkwo7eMRBe7Fe8kCEuFDm6 ….. All the 'How I Built It' tutorials can be found here.
Anaplan training resources and tips from a Certified Master Anaplanner
Author: Hem Maan is a Certified Master Anaplanner and Director at Bolt Consulting Group. Anaplan is a fantastic platform that not only allows businesses to achieve their objectives, but also the flexibility it offers also allows model builders to fully utilize creative problem-solving skills. It’s important to be on top of our skills and the latest Anaplan news, and what better way to do that than TRAINING! This blog will cover ideas and tips to make the best of the Anaplan ecosystem so you can create a thriving career and generate results for your organization. Anaplan is a blank canvas, ready for skilled Anaplanners to create their masterpiece that will add value to their organization and provide them with insightful output. How can we maximize the opportunity to build great models? Background I started my career in spreadsheet-led organizations, and I quickly found myself tinkering away — either trying to maximize the user experience of our spreadsheets to create beautiful reports, or leveraging the power of VBA and macro scripting to automate common business tasks. I found that quite cathartic — solving real problems in a way that was logical, visually appealing, and took users on a journey. It might sound odd, but it not only satisfied my craving for logic, but it also allowed me to exercise my creative muscles! In order to get the best out of my spreadsheets, I had to go on a journey of discovery — in order to be equipped with the tools in my belt that enabled me to build good models. That meant training… Anaplan is no different, and with so many possibilities of how and what you can build, from UX page development, model development and integration development, training is the single biggest lever for users within businesses and model builders across the world to equip themselves with the techniques and tools needed to really create awesome Anaplan apps! Let's explore some of the training resources available within the Anaplan ecosystem. Training resources * The Academy Anaplan has dedicated a great deal of effort into creating what I believe is a truly world-class Academy program. Model builders can sequentially get familiar with aspects of the Anaplan platform by completing the training exercises. You can get started with the on-demand video courses at learning.anaplan.com and complete them at your own pace. * A strong Community It can sometimes feel lonely tackling a tricky problem on your own, but you’re never alone! The Anaplan Community is an awesome collection of expert Anaplanners and others also seeking advice. It is a friendly forum where you can gain access to others experiencing similar problems and search for answers to your questions. * Certification While the content can sometimes be challenging, the reward at the end of perseverance is getting certified. It is a great way to level up your career, unlock new opportunities in your career, and identify opportunities to expand the Anaplan footprint at your organisation. By having the backing of your certifications, you can immediately show customers (internal and external) that you know what you are talking about. I was lucky enough to have obtained and maintained my Certified Master Anaplanner status for four years running, and I am very proud of that achievement and to be part of a growing collection of Anaplanners. * Anapedia If you haven't checked it out yet, do it now. Bookmark it, as you will find that in your early days and as you encounter more complex challenges, you will regularly rely on the comprehensive documentation available for each and every Anaplan function and feature available. I always have at least one Anapedia tab open during a working day! I am very grateful to the Anaplan team for putting together such a high-quality area of well-organized information. Without it, I would not have obtained the knowledge on Anaplan that I have needed over the years to overcome complex business challenges. * Apiary If you ever find yourself having to build custom APIs for integration purposes, there is comprehensive documentation available at the Anaplan API Apiary, which is a vital tool for those who need it. In addition to the fantastic resources that Anaplan has made available, here are a few additional pieces of advice that I would give to anyone new to the Anaplan world: * Gain functional experience. Knowing Anaplan is a great head start to building awesome Anaplan apps, but supplementing that knowledge with functional expertise is also worthwhile. Being able to understand and translate complex business processes into workable Anaplan models is important, as it means you can become an effective business partner to your organization. * Follow best practices. This one is all about doing things the right way. Building logical models using Anaplan best practices (which are also covered in training) means you can create an Anaplan ecosystem that really thrives. This enables scalability, longevity in your builds, and secures real long-term value for your business. Something as small and simple as following naming conventions or adding functional areas means that others who join the business or need to work on the model can follow a logical process flow, which means the ecosystem has continuity. * Learn about your users’ psychology. Our users are our customers, and understanding their wants and needs and the questions they need answers to is such a great way of giving you the insight needed to build apps. Understanding this puts you at a real advantage when it comes to successfully bringing users on the Anaplan journey with you. * Don’t forget about making it pretty! Anaplan has such a wide range of features in the form of highly customizable UX pages, excellent Management Reporting capabilities, and an ability to organize apps into logical user flows. There’s really no excuse for poor looking reports and pages! Bringing in color and imagery — charts and visualization all help to tell the story and help to bring user engagement into our models. All this while giving those of us with a creative streak a sometimes much needed outlet in the world of data! * It takes time. As I say, Anaplan can be complex when coming from a non-multi-dimensional modeling background, and this can take time to understand. However, once you do, it becomes a natural way of operating and seeing your business. Time also brings the benefit of layering up key knowledge and expanding on it over time. Small chunks of knowledge accumulated add up over time. Don't be afraid to trust the process, learn as much as you can along the way, and persevere towards your goal. Upskilling does take time, but like any skill, if it's easy, it's not worth doing! Conclusion Upskilling myself in Anaplan is one of the best decisions I ever made, which has enabled me to add value to organizations in the form of high-quality Anaplan models, and also given me the opportunity to satisfy my creative side. That’s all thanks to equipping myself with the tools and techniques to build high quality Anaplan models. If you’re interested in talking more about the benefits of training, where to start, or even looking to get structured training for you or your users, leave a comment!
New Academy badging for Certified Master Anaplanners and Solution Architects!
The Anaplan Academy is thrilled to share some exciting news with you! In response to your valuable feedback and to enhance the recognition of your achievements, the Academy is thrilled to announce the launch of our highly anticipated Anaplan Certification Badge, designed to showcase your expertise in Anaplan and provide you with a distinguished recognition in the industry on July 10, 2023! (Please note: this is separate than the Community badge program!) At Anaplan, we are committed to recognizing the accomplishments and skills of our valued community members. After rigorous development and testing, we are excited to unveil our Anaplan Certification Program, an industry-leading assessment that validates your proficiency in leveraging the power of Anaplan. The Anaplan Certification Exam Badge is a digital symbol of excellence that signifies your commitment to mastering Anaplan's platform and delivering outstanding results. By displaying this badge on your professional profiles, such as LinkedIn, resume, or email signature, you can instantly demonstrate your expertise to potential employers, clients, and peers. Here are a few key details about our new badging system: * Digital badge: Each certified individual will be awarded a digital badge, a visually appealing emblem that encapsulates your certification achievement. The badge will be easily shareable across various online platforms, such as LinkedIn, email signatures, and personal websites. * Verified authenticity: The digital badges are securely issued and verified, ensuring the credibility of your certification. Prospective employers, clients, and professional networks will have confidence in your qualifications, as the badges provide a direct link to your verified accomplishments. * Rich metadata: The badges will contain detailed metadata, showcasing the specific certification you have earned, the skills and knowledge you have demonstrated, and any relevant expiration dates or renewal requirements. This comprehensive information will provide a comprehensive overview of your capabilities to anyone viewing your badge. * Simplified sharing: Sharing your certification achievements will be effortless with our badging system. You can easily embed your badges on your digital platforms, allowing you to instantly promote your expertise and enhance your professional reputation. The certification badges are for Certified Solution Architect (CSA) and Certified Master Anaplaner (CMA). To earn the Anaplan Certification Exam Badge, you must successfully pass our rigorous certification exam. The exam covers a wide range of Anaplan concepts, functionalities, and best practices, ensuring you have the skills needed to drive successful planning and decision-making processes using Anaplan. Please review the following resources for more information on how to become a Certified Master Anaplanner or Solution Architect: * Solution Architect Certification Eligibility * Become a Certified Master Anaplanner! * Badge earner instructions (login provided once badge is earned) If you have any questions or concerns regarding the upcoming badging system, please don't hesitate to reach out to the certification program at certification@anaplan.com. We are excited to embark on this journey with you and witness your professional growth as an Anaplan certified expert. Let's celebrate your accomplishments together with the Anaplan Certification Badge!
Assigning List item based on Text line items and looking up - COMPLEX
Hi Community, To give the backstory of this - I have a module, where I first import one data file into, with Loan-Hedge ID List) and line items as the dimensions. The second file I import is a similar one, also with Loan-Hedge ID (List) and line items as the dimensions. When importing the first file, these Loan-Hedge IDs will have a Stock Symbol assigned to them, and will also show their assigned Hedges, as Loan-Hedge ID, coming in on the Hedged ID column, as text. In the three columns to the left, named Hedge 1, Hedge 2, and Hedge 3, I basically separate them out individually from the Hedged ID column. Essentially, what I'm trying to do, with a formula, is to populate the hedges with their associated Stock Symbol if the cell is empty. Below is the end result I'm trying to achieve: To note: in blue is the dimension of the column, and in yellow is the format of the column. If needed, more line items can be added to make it easier. I really hope the community can help me with this! Thank you!
A conversation with Stacey Gibbens — Journey | Anaplan Community Podcast
Join Dennis Lemoine, Sr. Program Manager of Community Events, for our fifth episode of Journey, an Anaplan Community podcast. This month we bring you Stacey Gibbens (@Stacey_Gibbens), Certified Master Anaplanner, recently appointed Community Boss, and Solution Architect at Globe Life. Stacey is a seasoned IT professional who takes the business/technology partnership seriously and continually drives for optimal outcomes. At Globe Life, Stacey leads an Anaplan CoE within the FP&A department. Working with her colleagues and customers, she continuously moves the planning process forward and enables a reliable and streamlined solution. In the Anaplan Community, she is extremely active and regularly contributes to forums and thought-leadership. In this episode, Dennis and Stacey chat about Stacey’s introduction to Anaplan, how her career evolved over the years, her thoughts on the Certified Master Anaplanner program, and more. "I also get the opportunity [with the Certified Master Anaplanner program] to network with other Master Anaplanners. If I have a modeling problem, I’ve got a team of people that I can say, “Hey have you ever seen this before? What would you do?” And that’s the mindset of the Community — people are like, “Yeah, call me up!” It’s really one of the most generous groups." – Stacey Gibbens Tune in and let us know what people and topics you would like to see in future episodes. https://play.vidyard.com/YkuZh39nqpYb6HhP3xrZ4j Check out a few of Stacey’s Community contributions: * Getting to know your model * Pro tips: Anaplan Lifecycle Management (ALM) implementation * July 2023 Community Member Spotlight: Stacey Gibbens View our past podcast episodes here.
why is the summary not showing even when its enabled...
i have to refer sum in another module but it shows 0 since the sum is not showing here
can we have a multi select filter as a page selector in Anaplan?
similar to what we have in excel filtering…can we use page selectors to select multiple boolean formatted line items. Snapshot attached
Button on Dashboard not working
The picture above highlights the problem, every time i use the button Add Sub-GL/Vendor Item, the chart to the right should update with the name, GL account, for each department. I tried to add a new vendor expense under admin finance and legal called "anaplan", the gl account i choose was called software/subscriptions. After using the button, the page selectors default from software to consulting & external, the chart to the right shows accounting, audit instead of software, and it doesnt show the name "anaplan", it shows enter description. The following picture is the logic behind the button: The A6 sub/gl list looks like this when i open it: Everything says enter description, and its not tied to the department i need (admin, finance, legal). This is the formula driving the display name: The module being referenced in the display name formula is here: Here is the output: How do I resolve this? all i wanted was to be able to input each departments software contracts so that a budget owner can come in and see there contracts. This originally went south because the logic was set up so that all contracts regardless of the department fell under software, subscriptions.
Unveiling the path to success: Tips for new Certified Master Anaplanners
Author: Wendy Wen is a Certified Master Anaplanner and Senior Director at Globalization Partners. Greetings, fellow Master Anaplanners and aspirants on this remarkable journey! As a seasoned Certified Master Anaplanner, I've had the privilege of experiencing the transformative power of Anaplan firsthand. Today, I'm delighted to share my insights and lessons learned to guide recently certified Master Anaplanners as you step into the world of Anaplan mastery. Celebrating your achievement Let's begin by acknowledging your achievement in reaching the esteemed status of Master Anaplanner. It's not just a title; it's a testament to your dedication and the extraordinary effort you've invested. The journey to mastery is paved with challenges and moments of growth that shape your expertise. Charting a course for success Allow me to illuminate the path ahead with my top five tips to enhance your journey as a Master Anaplanner, both within your organizational sphere and across the expansive Anaplan ecosystem. * The power of collaboration. Collaboration is at the heart of success in any realm, and Anaplan is no exception. Embrace mentorship and collaboration, especially with those who are new to the platform. Consider introducing a comprehensive L1 training for fresh business users — an approach I've found to be remarkably effective. By empowering users with Anaplan's functionalities, we pave the way for insightful feedback and innovative enhancement ideas. Together, we can foster a culture of collaboration, uniting to spread the Anaplan love far and wide. * Advocate Anaplan's value. Your mastery extends beyond the technical. Engage in developing a Connected Planning platform within your organization. Showcase how Anaplan can revitalize business processes and elevate decision-making. Becoming an advocate for Anaplan's value cements your role as a driving force for transformation. * Actively participate in the Community. Joining the Anaplan Community opens doors to a world of shared expertise. Engage actively in discussions, forums, and events — this is where ideas flourish and knowledge thrives. Immerse yourself in conversations with fellow experts, share your insights, and stay updated on the latest trends and best practices. * Nurture product development. Anaplan's greatness is fortified by user input. If challenges arise or innovation beckons, don't hesitate to communicate directly with the Anaplan Product Development team. Your insights contribute to the evolution of a platform that continually adapts to meet user needs. * Become a lifelong learner. Anaplan is an ever-evolving realm, and continuous learning is your compass. Stay attuned to the latest features, enhancements, and changes. Attend webinars, immerse yourself in virtual events, and connect with peers at Anaplan user conferences. This commitment to learning keeps your expertise at the forefront of innovation. Beyond technical proficiency Remember, the journey to being a Master Anaplanner extends beyond technical prowess. Communication, problem-solving, and collaboration are equally vital. By weaving these traits into your journey, you amplify your impact, not just within your organization but across the wider Anaplan community. Embrace the path ahead As you navigate the intriguing path of a Certified Master Anaplanner, consider this journey as a canvas where your expertise and influence converge. I wish you boundless success, insightful collaborations, and a profound impact on the world of Anaplan. Your journey is illuminated, and your potential — limitless. Onward and upward! With best wishes for your journey, Wendy Wen
How I Built It: Fantasy Football draft
Author: Zach Hird is a Certified Master Anaplanner and Senior Consultant at Peloton Consulting Group. Hello Anaplanners! Learn how I used Anaplan to aid my fantasy football draft experience in this fun and different ‘How I Built It’ tutorial. I use live fantasy football data to give myself a competitive advantage while drafting real fantasy football teams. Using Anaplan pages and unique filtering, I am able to understand which players are optimal and suboptimal to draft in each round according to ranking deviations between various FF platforms. Anaplan makes this analysis seamless and efficient so I can crush my 2023 fantasy football drafts and thus leagues. Let me know if you have questions! https://play.vidyard.com/TuzS8taaecAAfi9TKiWvrf …… All the 'How I Built It' tutorials can be found here. Check out the most recent ones: * How I Built It: Dynamic month, quarter, and year filter * How I Built It: Improving the end user experience * How I Built It: Data validation
Doubts regarding Anaplan L1,L2 and Anaplan way
Dear Team, I am a new joiner in Anaplan, I want to learn Anaplan and start my career into Anaplan. I need Anaplan trial workspace for my L1 and L2 Certifications but its showing first should learn Anaplan way then only trial workspace will be given by anaplan team, so I am confussed, first what should learn . so please do the needful guys
August 2023 Community Member Spotlight: Steve Bows
Join us in celebrating @sjbows as our featured Community Member Spotlight for August! He has been in the Anaplan ecosystem and in the Community for five years, a Certified Master Anaplanner for the last four years, and is currently a Group leader for the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) - Sustainability. We're excited to share more about Steve's impressive background, expertise, and contributions. About Steve We asked Steve about his background, current role, and history with Anaplan. Here’s what we learned! I’m the founder and Managing Director of Zooss Consulting, where we’re pioneering the concept of ‘Sustainable Business Planning’. This is about applying the goals and techniques of sustainability analysis to the world of Connected Planning, and doing our bit to help solve the looming crisis that the world faces. I’ve been implementing planning systems for nearly 30 years now, initially with Adaytum, then Cognos Planning, and for the last five years with Anaplan. I’ve been a Certified Master Anaplanner for the last four years. We asked Steve a few questions to get to know him! Please share an Anaplan success story you’re proud of. I actually have two that spring to mind. Firstly, I’m really proud of the Academic Workload Planning solution that I helped design last year for LaTrobe University in Melbourne, in collaboration with another Australian-based Anaplan partner. We had to come up with a simple and elegant process to make life easier for 500+ academic staff, and based on the rave reviews we got, I think we succeeded! Secondly, we have a fantastic success story in the making at Timberlink — a company that produces timber from sustainable pine plantations. We’re starting with demand and supply planning, and then moving on to longer term planning — including integrating sustainability metrics. They are a ‘purpose-based’ business like us, and its really rewarding to be working with like-minded people. Please share something you can teach about Anaplan - any tips and tricks you’d like to highlight? I would say that the single most important success factor in any Anaplan project is the process design. Be relentless in asking “WHY?”, not just “HOW?” – and be as creative as you can. Not only does it make the project much more fun for everyone, but you’ll really be adding value and building trust. Aim for elegance (as few moving parts as possible) and be comfortable with the idea that ‘less is more’. You’ll get a lot of pushback initially, but if you show you can incorporate positive feedback and roll with the punches, you’ll get real user engagement. When key stakeholders start defending your design to the wider group, you know you’re on the right track. 😊 What do you enjoy about the Anaplan Community? I’m a big fan of the collaborative approach to building best practice. Anaplan is such a flexible tool that there will very rarely be one single ‘right way’ to do things. Being able to search and interact with people who have different approaches and perspectives really helps me to validate my thinking when coming up with a design. It's also very satisfying to be able to contribute to this body of knowledge and know that my insights have been useful to someone else. What's a hobby or interest of yours that most people might not know about? I’ve always been a keen student of history, in particular the Classical Greek period (5th Century BC). I have a Bachelors in Classical Greek Language, for a which I did a thesis on Aristotelian ethics, and a Masters in Ancient History. Aristotle was a supreme system builder (contributing to logic, botany, zoology, literary criticism, politics, as well as all the various sub-disciplines of philosophy), and I think he would have made a great Certified Master Anaplanner! Realizing the connections between disparate systems and processes and drawing all these strands together were his unique genius, and we can all learn from it. ….. We hope you enjoyed learning more about Steve in this month’s Community Member Spotlight. Thank you, Steve, for being an outstanding Community contributor and advocate! Steve's ESG articles: * Carbon footprinting: Building ESG metrics into your financial plans [Part 1] * Carbon footprinting: Building ESG metrics into your financial plans [Part 2] * Carbon footprinting: Building ESG metrics into your financial plans [Part 3] * If the topic of ESG interests you, be sure to join our ESG-Sustainability Group that Steve leads! Want to learn more about our Community Member Spotlight series? Check out this post. Do you know someone in the Community who you think should be featured in a Community Member Spotlight? We want to hear about it — please nominate them here!
How I Built It: Data Hub basics
Author: Josh Baker, Certified Master Anaplanner and Senior Vice President at PJT Partners. Hi Anaplan Community! I’m excited to share my new ‘How I Built It’ video on Data Hub basics, including setup, automation, and model to model data/attribute loads. For some background: * The demo utilizes comma separated files (downloaded from HRIS; uploaded to Anaplan). * Demo data has been formatted, cleansed, and standardized in source system. * The demo utilizes Anaplan Data Hub to enrich and validate data / control data flows. In the video, you’ll learn: * How to setup data validation, data enrichment, and related user interface. * How to setup a saved view/related filters to stage & load data from Hub to Spoke. * How to setup an action in the spoke to retrieve data from the hub. Why is this useful? Some of the key advantages and takeaways include: * Organizations should be able to improve transparency into system-to-system integrations. * Users will be able to achieve custom reporting/custom analysis that may be restricted in HRIS. * This allows for scale and expedites time to value for future model builds & strategic initiatives. https://vimeo.com/815040545/121f57dbc4 Leave a comment and let me know if you have tips to add! ——Community Manager note: In our new “How I Built It” series, we showcase the incredible talent in the Anaplan ecosystem! From technical content that will help you navigate common challenges, to insights into creative solutions — these videos will offer a peek into how your peers do their jobs. Check out additional How I Built It tutorials: * Waterfall calculation * Popular Word Game * Dashboard Filter using Line Item Subset * Integrations using CloudWorks * Beginners guide to integrating with Anaplan using Python
Meet Certified Master Anaplanner Jose Maya
Meet Jose Maya (@josemaya) — Certified Master Anaplanner and Business Intelligence Architect at LafargeHolcim in Australia. Jose has extensive experience in engineering, logistics, workplace health and safety, and teaching. He describes himself as intellectually curious and a creative thinker with a passion for management, productivity, quality, logistics, manufacturing, statistical data analysis, and process optimization. We asked Jose to share with the Anaplan Community more about his Certified Master Anaplanner journey, the benefits of having a Certified Master Anaplanner in an organization, and more. “The ‘How I Built It’ videos really give you content that inspires you. Some of those videos have inspired me and my team to do something new, to challenge ourselves and think about the great, creative ways we can overcome challenges in the organization." – Jose Maya Tune in to hear more about Jose’s thoughts on the Certified Master Anaplanner program and benefits it has brought him. (Transcript also available below.) https://play.vidyard.com/1h97qS5hWDi4FNz1dUnLVZ If you have a story to share about your Anaplan journey, we would love to connect. Share in the comments below or contact us at CommunityContent@anaplan.com. ….. Meet more Anaplan Certified Master Anaplanners: * Announcing the 2023 Certified Master Anaplanner of the Year! * A conversation with Daanish Soomar — Journey | Anaplan Community Podcast * July 2023 Community Member Spotlight: Stacey Gibbens Transcript Spoiler Spoiler Warning ▲▼ Share with us your Certified Master Anaplanner journey. I’ve always had this natural interaction with mathematics, statistics, data. So, I’ve ended up doing a lot of this stuff in all the companies that I have worked for. Those skills have always been there — I think it comes natural to me. But there was the opportunity in my company for someone to be on the space of Anaplan. I thought, this has lots of potential. The thought of having connected workbooks effectively… That's the way I saw it back then. That was very, very intriguing to me. I was very curious about getting into it and start doing it. What [Anaplan] brought to me was an immense world of possibilities. From early 2020 to now, it has definitely shaped my way of looking at planning and model leveraging to make decisions and see the future of the company. How has becoming a Certified Master Anaplanner impacted your career journey? I think internally, within my organization — visibility as well as gaining additional trust from my peers and my stakeholders. Externally, also visibility and being able to network with other people that are doing similar work. And even people that want to get into the Anaplan space that see that you have become [a Certified Master Anaplanner] and they are interested and asking questions. It really expanded that network. It's been an opportunity for me. I think getting the skills to be able to manage stakeholders and interact with different people from different backgrounds has really improved my leadership skills as well as has allowed me to put myself out there. Why is it important to have Certified Master Anaplanners involved in an organization? Well, for one, the expertise. Expertise on the Anaplan platform and its capabilities and the understanding of how that can be used. Of course, what you want to do with Anaplan, just in my view, is to really create that Connected Planning ecosystem. You want to orchestrate your processes; you want to make sure that whatever models use Anaplan talk to each other, and then you have true Connected Planning rather than siloed planning. And the Certified Master Anaplanner can actually achieve or help the organization achieve that. There's also the opportunity for others to develop their skills in Anaplan, so I can create Anaplan talent within the organization. Leveraging knowledge of the way of Certified Master Anaplanners. What do you see most valuable in being a Certified Master Anaplanner? A couple of things that I really love about the materials that we produce are, for example, the ‘How I Built It’ videos. I love them, and I don’t know if all of them, but I know the majority of them are produced by Certified Master Anaplanners. They really give you content that inspires you. Some of those videos have inspired me and my team to do something new, to challenge ourselves and think about what are the great, creative ways we can overcome challenges in the organization. So that's just one that I love. We do have also blogs about new functionality, so I always get excited about new functionality in Anaplan because for me it's been very clear from day one that Anaplan just goes up – just right up. The evolution is incredible.
July 2023 Community Member Spotlight: Stacey Gibbens
We are thrilled to present our July Member Spotlight: @Stacey_Gibbens! She has been in the Anaplan ecosystem and in the Community for 9 years, a Certified Master Anaplanner for 4 years, and recently became a 2023 Community Boss! Read on to learn more about Stacey's impressive background, expertise, and contributions. About Stacey We asked Stacey about her background, current role, and history with Anaplan. Here’s what we learned! Stacey Gibbens is a Certified Master Anaplanner and Solution Architect. She is a seasoned IT professional who takes the business/technology partnership seriously and continually drives for optimal outcomes. At Globe Life, Stacey leads an Anaplan CoE within the FP&A department. Working with her colleagues and customers, she continuously moves the planning process forward and enables a reliable and streamlined solution. Stacey has been deeply involved in various aspects of Anaplan ownership since first introduced to the platform in 2014. At that time, she took on designing and implementing a novel solution to satisfy complex security requirements because nobody else thought it was “sexy,” and created a solution that has since become one of the standard methodologies! We asked Stacey a few questions to get to know her! Please share an Anaplan success story you’re proud of. I am proud of the large, complex, and secure integration environment that I built out during my 9 years working for a prominent Real Estate Investment Trust. I took ownership of the integrations for the large multi-model continuous planning environment after the initial implementation in 2014. For the next 7 years, I reconfigured, upgraded, optimized, and grew the sphere of integrations from the original 7-model environment to a 17-model environment, with data flowing in, out, and between models and other financial systems in a scheduled daily, periodic, or hourly cadence. For an example of a technique I used to accomplish this, please read the following article I wrote on the topic! The technique is applicable for current versions of Anaplan Connect as well. https://community.anaplan.com/discussion/67536/tips-for-large-script-implementations-using-anaplanconnect-1-4-x Please share something you can teach about Anaplan - any tips and tricks you’d like to highlight? My tip is how to use a supporting technology to enhance your non-ALM development migration! We have a non-ALM Dev environment for long-term development and an ALM Prod-Support environment for short-term development. One of the things that I've been doing lately to ensure my team's "redevelopment" from our non-ALM Dev environment is accurately reproduced in our ALM Prod-Support environment is using a text-comparison tool to validate that the redeveloped modules are exactly the same as the originally developed models. What is a text comparison tool and how would that be helpful? A text comparison tool reviews text (or .csv) files and highlights differences between the files in a visually obvious manner, like highlighting. There are many options out there from free to licensed and with different levels of functionality from basic to advanced. There are even plug-ins to popular text editors. The goal when redeveloping functionality is to precisely and accurately reproduce something that’s approved to migrate – so an easy way to identify differences is a game changer. The first step is to export a module's blueprint view (or even the whole model's line item view, but that can get messy) as a .csv, open in Excel, clear the "cell count" column, and resave. Then, use the text compare tool to review both environments’ exported .csv files. The tool will highlight anything that's different and iterating after applying any required fixes will confirm an exact replication has occurred. With all the possible configuration items that can get missed, this is a great way to confidently migrate from one environment to another when ALM is not in place. Clearly, testing will still be needed, as data state might cause the functionality to work differently, but at least the model builder can be confident that it's THE SAME CODE that they vetted out in Dev. You're a very active Community member, Certified Master Anaplanner, and new Community Boss! What do you enjoy about the Anaplan Community? The thing I most enjoy about Anaplan Community is the interesting use cases and questions that people post. I continually find something interesting and new that I hadn’t ever needed to consider and now have a basis to understand something new! I bookmark things to reference in the future, creating my own mini-library of ideas and techniques! The wisdom of crowds is real and Anaplan Community offers an incredibly diverse collection of perspectives and areas of expertise to learn from. There are now 25 hours in a day! How do you spend your extra hour? I’m going to take my new bicycle out for a spin! I bought myself a fancy new bicycle a couple of months back and have found that I enjoy riding so much that it barely feels like exercise! I live in a suburb outside of Indianapolis and so I’ve mapped out how to ride up to about 8 miles away (15 mile round trip) using mostly neighborhood roads! And yes, I always wear my helmet. 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️ …..We hope you enjoyed learning more about Stacey in this month’s Community Member Spotlight. Thank you, Stacey, for being an outstanding Community contributor and advocate! Check out a few articles written by Stacey in the Community: * https://community.anaplan.com/discussion/155819/getting-to-know-your-model#latest * https://community.anaplan.com/discussion/139605/pro-tips-anaplan-lifecycle-management-alm-implementation#latest * https://community.anaplan.com/discussion/67536/tips-for-large-script-implementations-using-anaplanconnect-1-4-x#latest * Stay tuned for an upcoming conversation with Stacey in the Journey | Anaplan Community Podcast! Want to learn more about our Community Member Spotlight series? Check out this post. Do you know someone in the Community who you think should be featured in a Community Member Spotlight? We want to hear about it — please nominate them here!
Sample Reporting
Good Day All I m looking for a sample report template on the assessment of incorporating two models into one ( like workspace optimization, impacts, and advantage ). Can anyone help to share the same? Thanks in advance.
A conversation with Daanish Soomar — Journey | Anaplan Community Podcast
Join Dennis Lemoine, Sr. Program Manager of Community Events, for our third episode of Journey, an Anaplan Community podcast. This month we are excited to feature a well-known Community member and Certified Master Anaplanner — Daanish Soomar (@DaanishSoomar)! If you haven’t heard Daanish’s name, there is a good chance you’ve heard his story, as he went viral several years ago! Known as the "Guy with the Sign", now a Founder/CEO of DSI Consulting, Daanish’s journey showcases the power of perseverance and innovative storytelling. After going viral on LinkedIn and landing his first job, he created DSI Consulting — a company dedicated to serving the media and entertainment industry. In this episode, Dennis and Daanish chat about Daanish’s unique career journey, becoming a Certified Master Anaplanner, people who have helped and inspired him, and more. “I do always want to keep at the core, the element of giving back to the Community. Because the Community has done so much for me. I wouldn't be in this position without that Community crowd. I just want to make sure that I — no matter how successful or not successful [my company] ends up becoming — I still want to make sure that it's at the core.” – Daanish Soomar Tune in and let us know what people and topics you would like to see in future episodes. https://play.vidyard.com/R8g7gCepnrajZ6iHkY4kxV? If you missed our preview episodes, check them out here: • Episode 1: Featuring Prince Ayinde, Business Analytics Manager at LinkedIn • Episode 2: Featuring Jared Dolich, partner and founder of Retailitix
The First Thing I Needed to Know About Becoming A Master Anaplanner
I don’t recall ever being ranked first at anything. By my senior year in high school, I managed to grow to an astounding and towering 4’11”, 98 pounds (1.5 m, 44 kg). I tried wrestling, cross-country, triathlons, trumpet, marching band, debate, public speaking, theater, and squash. I even had a little retail business selling candy out of my locker. I never got a leading role or made the varsity team or made a fortune selling cinnamon toothpicks. I was never picked to be on a team, nor was I ever asked to lead. I think the closest to being first was every now and then I would win a wrestling match because there was no one in my weight class to wrestle, so I won by default. It really was not until I became a volunteer as a senior outreach visitor that I began to understand what is meant when we say, “I’m first.” David was a holocaust survivor. Before I had started visiting him every Saturday, he had suffered a massive **** preventing him from saying anything except his wife’s name, Helen. One day, on a very cold Minnesota morning, David and I were walking back from the library, and he motioned me to stop and sit at a nearby bench. We sat down and his eyes began to well up with tears. I did not know what to do. But then he began to speak, slow and soft at first, and staggered, but he was somehow thoughtful and articulate. He began sharing, in detail, his experience in the Auschwitz concentration camp. I later learned David had never shared this with Helen, his son, or his daughter. I don’t know how, or if, I can describe in words what happened to me emotionally that day but it changed me into the person I am now, and, in reflection, my concept of what being first really means. There is a basic human connection, both emotional and intelligent, that is passed on from one person to another that transcends any ranking, scoring, gaming, professional title, political agenda, capital gain, or incentivized point system. Being first endures and shines brightly. You are first when you cultivate an uplifted and inspired connection with someone, and you are first when you pass that spark on to someone else. My time with David changed my career calculus towards a more connected human condition. My love for retail and technology and my interest in teaching led me to earn my MBA at night school at the University of Minnesota so I could ultimately become a retail CIO, a title I eventually earned. However, the ambitious trek to get there was grueling, uninspiring, and lacking in compassion. Ironically, I wasn’t applying retail knowledge or dabbling with technology; and, most disappointingly, I was not helping anyone but myself as a CIO. I scored all the points, I got to the top, I had a prestigious title, I got to set the leadership agenda, but I didn’t feel like I was first. In fact, I was rather miserable. For me, there was no spark at the top of that mountain. I left the executive management world, humbled but determined, with a single purpose: to rekindle the fire. I want to remind myself how good it feels to be part of a connected team, being inspired by others, knowing I’m progressing because like-minded people genuinely want me to reach my potential, and having the ability to pass-on that same energy to someone else. I finally found my calling when I mapped out a path that led me to become a retail data scientist, a road, by the way, that led me straight to Anaplan. My introduction to Anaplan started when my retail client wanted to compare Anaplan functionality to the functionality of their legacy applications. Over time, I found my vision and outlook to be very congruent with the Anaplan Community’s values, very uplifting, thoughtful, and responsive. At Anaplan, they have a cultural norm called “Anaplan Love”. I certainly felt it. The leap to being first didn’t begin until it was suggested to me to pursue the Master Anaplanner certification. I use the word “leap” because no one really becomes a Master Anaplanner without getting help from someone else. To earn this certification, I needed access to coaches and opportunities to apply what I have learned. The Anaplan Community is an open book. Access to virtually anyone, an active Anaplan Community, and free online training. At Anaplan, they have a cultural norm called “Anaplan Love”. I certainly felt it. The struggle to the Master Anaplanner certification is what leads to the forever enduring, give and take of building people up, whether that’s me learning from Anaplan Academy’s best and brightest, getting mentorship from Anaplan’s go-to-market team, or me helping someone get through their level 1 modeling experience, or perhaps me helping a retail planner to never again have to munge data together in a spreadsheet. The Master Anaplanner journey is the destination. The countless hours I invested in learning Anaplan interviewing others, attending webinars, helping Anaplan customers, volunteering to build proof-of-concepts, and attending instructor-led courses is an investment in how to be first because each milestone led to a new friendship. My Master Anaplan certification is steeped with positive energy and is much, much more than a piece of virtual paper. Being first will never be about how many Master Anaplanner points I have earned, or how many badges and kudos I have accumulated, or how many certifications I have. Those kinds of victories are fleeting, as George Patton was known for saying. At the end of the day, being first is about building up your confidence and then turning around and helping build up someone else’s confidence in something that they’re passionate about. My Master Anaplan certification is steeped with positive energy and is much, much more than a piece of virtual paper. When I say I am a Master Anaplanner in the retail industry, what I am really saying is, I feel like I helped someone be a better person with no expectation of recognition or reward. And, for once in my life, I can confidently say, I’m first. 2020 Master Anaplanner, Community Boss, & Retail Planning Enthusiast Principal Consultant, Columbus Consulting Jared Dolich's passion for retail traces back to his high school days when he sold cinnamon toothpicks to his classmates and when he learned firsthand the concept of inventory management, cost of goods sold, and how to make a tidy profit. After being introduced to retail planning solutions as a buyer at Target Stores, he’s been on a personal journey ever since to help retail practitioners reach their potential by using software solutions that effectively enable their processes. Recently named a 2020 Master Anaplanner, Solution Architect, and Community Boss, Jared provides retailers, wholesalers, and eCommerce planners the rigor, training, and positive thinking needed to help them fully optimize their Anaplan platform. Prior to joining Columbus Consulting, a consultancy focused on the retail industry, Jared was a retail IT executive for Target, Tuesday Morning, Payless, and Ascena.
How to Make a Line Item Manual and Highlighted Yellow
Hello Anaplan Community! I have a question about adding new line items. When I add a new line item to a module in the backend of Anaplan, how do I know for sure the line item will be manual entry and shown highlighted yellow in the app page? For example, in the screenshot below I inserted the highlighted line item and as you can see, you can input manual entries. But once I sync to PROD, how would I know it will appear like the line item "Investor Payments Made [Manual Input]" in the 2nd screenshot below?
June 2023 Community Member Spotlight: Kait Chura
As part of our ongoing monthly tradition to recognize and appreciate our Community members, we are delighted to present our June Member Spotlight: Kait Chura @kaitchura! With an impressive track record of over four years as an engaged Community member and three years as a Certified Master Anaplanner, Kait's dedication and expertise shine through. Get ready to learn more about Kait's background, impressive skills, and valuable contributions as we highlight them! About Kait We asked Kait about her background, current role, and history with Anaplan. Here’s what we learned! I spent the first three years of my Anaplan career at Spaulding Ridge supporting and leading every conceivable implementation use case. Right now, I'm in my second year of being the Solution Architect for LiveRamp. My educational and professional background prior to learning Anaplan was in film, sport management, marketing, supply chain, retail, and operations — so, naturally, I now work in finance. I love being creative in Anaplan and often end up building solutions that stem from the question, "Can we do that in Anaplan?" While I'm still human and I've been stumped a few times (and that still haunts me...), my passion for the tool led me to becoming a Certified Master Anaplanner. Fun Fact: I have been known to solve Anaplan issues in my sleep. We asked Kait a few questions to get to know her! Please share an Anaplan success story you’re proud of. Does this Community Spotlight count? Oh, outside of this... hmmm... I never had a "traditional" background. As a student-athlete, I studied film and sport management for my undergrad degrees. I received a masters in strategic communications, and prior to starting my Anaplan career at Spaulding Ridge I worked at Apple in retail leadership, call center operations, and supply chain. Right now, I am the Solution Architect at LiveRamp managing a large finance hypermodel. My career is as non-traditional as they come, but my greatest success, and how I learned Anaplan quickly, was because I mastered the storytelling perspective of Connected Planning, which: a) helped me ask meaningful questions and b) allowed me to not be pigeonholed in one use case. Let me try to explain how I use storytelling to see the power of Connected Planning using a fake example: Best Buy purchases 100 computers from Dell to sell in a store in Duluth, Minnesota. That one sentence becomes multiple stories for model builders to envision (and build) in Anaplan. It's basically a choose your own adventure such as: * Story 1: SPM. Suzanne is responsible for that sale at Dell. Her commission goes up based on the number of computers that Best Buy purchases. As an Anaplan model builder, my role makes sure that data comes into the Data Hub and goes out to the SPM spoke model, so the sales team recognizes Suzanne's commission for selling the 100 computers. * Story 2: Supply Chain. The distribution center in Canada will fulfill the order, but Bryan needs to know that the sale has processed. My role makes sure an order that had a purchase order number is processed, communicating that Best Buy has now paid for the order. That way the distribution center can move the order into a truck to Duluth. If the data doesn't translate from the Data Hub into the fulfillment spoke model correctly, it won't trigger the fulfillment of the order. * Story 3: Finance. The finance team will recognize the revenue of the (computer sale price) x (100 units) - production cost, as the revenue generated by the sale for Dell. This is important because company wide revenue impacts the stock price. When that sale enters the Data Hub, the finance spoke model needs to be able to consume the sales data and translate it to the P&L report. It may even need to translate it a step further for larger audiences (currency conversions anyone?), which ultimately allows for the finance team to report on company performance. When I think of my Anaplan achievements a few things came to mind from my consulting highlight reel (a dynamic drill down of workday transactions using natural page selectors, teaching myself optimizer for supply chain workflow, or building a NFL salary cap management tool... in my free time); but, I think my greatest success — that hopefully one that others can learn from — would be mastering Anaplan as a storytelling tool. What are you reading, watching, and/or listening to currently? Yikes — well, let's just say if you've ever wondered "who watches _____ ", it's probably me. I consume a lot of TV and movies to turn my brain off. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), it's the summer and the Writers Guild of America is striking for a fair contract (#SupportWGA), so my current watching habits are restricted to rewatching old TV shows, live sports, and reality TV. Two weeks ago — Ted Lasso. Outside of that, my guilty pleasure TV is Bachelor/ette, where I regularly watch and live tweet every episode with a group of friends (shout out to fellow Certified Master Anaplanner, Alexander Jackson @ajackson314). Off the screen habits — if you ever see me out in the wild wearing headphones or are a passenger in my car, I'm probably listening to an array of podcasts at 2x the speed, or Taylor Swift. I recently migrated my entire podcast library to Spotify so I can get accurate metrics about my own podcast consumption numbers... I really love data. Please share something you can teach about Anaplan — any tips and tricks you’d like to highlight? My number one tip is to ask questions until you can visualize what you're trying to accomplish, without thinking about formulas. It may feel like it sometimes, but model schemas aren't just busy work, they're a way for you to visualize the if-then-else aspect of how the data flows. It also really helps in realizing the "connected" part of Connected Planning. "If I change this number it will impact X, Y, and Z." -------> Do I just want to change that number in the Data Hub so SPM, Supply Chain, and Finance see the change? Yes / No ------------------> Yes, integration into the data hub ------------------> No it's just a forecast number for the finance team in their what-if scenarios /// only build in Finance spoke model. After you visualize how the data will flow, then you determine a BASIC math equation of how you expect the data to change for ONE intersection (one month, customer, region, product). Don't try to solve it all at once. Then check if the formula works for the bigger picture. Extra credit is awarded to people who throw a person into the schema. I guarantee if you take the time to go the extra step of imagining how the person should be engaging with the data on your schema (sometimes they're not -- i.e. calculation engines), it makes it easier to dashboard, determine conditional formatting, or add images later on. What do you enjoy about the Anaplan Community? When I started learning Anaplan, my secret weapon was Googling what I was trying to achieve, then adding "in Anaplan" at the end of the query. "How do I use the ratio summary method... in Anaplan", "Budget versus Actual financial modeling... in Anaplan", "How do I add blank lines between line items... in Anaplan?" What I quickly learned was that most of the answers were in Anaplan Community. Then I started becoming the person asking questions... then answering questions... then using my upvote power in Anaplan Community to highlight enhancements I want (like an Anaplan wish list). I love the range of solutioning that happens on Anaplan Community. Sometimes it's someone asking a question on a concept they haven't quite grasped yet (do we all still have moments of doubting the difference between a LOOKUP and a SUM or is that just me?), other times it is for the creative problem solvers. I live for when the Anaplan Community is collectively trying to push Anaplan to do something that may not be considered out-of-box functionality. I'm a nerd at heart, and sometimes you just need a centralized location to geek out with others…that's what I enjoy about the Anaplan Community. …..We hope you enjoyed learning more about Kait in this month’s Community Member Spotlight. Thank you, Kait, for being an outstanding Community contributor and advocate! Check out a couple articles written by Kait in the Community: * Community perspective: How to maintain corporate brand standards in Anaplan * Top three underappreciated features of the UX Want to learn more about our Community Member Spotlight series? Check out this post. Do you know someone in the Community who you think should be featured in a Community Member Spotlight? We want to hear about it — please nominate them here!
Announcing the 2023 Certified Master Anaplanner of the Year!
Congratulations to Anaplan’s 2023 Certified Master Anaplanner of the Year, Adam Cookson, Staff Architect at a multinational video game and digital entertainment company! Adam is an experienced senior architect and Center of Excellence lead who has worked across the insurance, private equity, real estate, asset management and technology sectors for over a decade. Starting his Anaplan journey in 2016, he swiftly attained the Certified Master Anaplanner qualification in 2018. Working both as a consultant and internally at multiple global companies, Adam has embedded Anaplan as a core tool and used it to bring significant business value to users. We are proud to acknowledge that Adam stood out among the best of the best in a highly competitive process and ultimately received the majority vote by his peers in the Certified Master Anaplanner Community, showcasing his high engagement in the Anaplan ecosystem, exceptional abilities, and unwavering dedication. Adam has been an integral part of expanding the Anaplan pipeline at his company, developing loyalty and reassurance amongst the Anaplan user base, IT project teams, and internal executive sponsors. He’s clearly demonstrated all four core tenants of how exceptional Certified Master Anaplanners approach their internal and external Anaplan communities by actively engaging as a thought leader, technical expert, connected planning evangelist, and mentor. He established Anaplan training programs with documentation and examples that effectively enable new and experienced users, effectively manages the “business as usual” function for 220 active users, and offers architectural leadership and active oversight on all new projects. Additionally, he completed a Gartner Peer Review for Financial Planning Software, further supporting Anaplan’s position in the competitive market and authored a “how-to” article that enabled others in the Anaplan ecosystem to understand how to navigate a particularly complex and universal business issue using Anaplan (How to traverse hierarchies: The power of loops). “Having known Adam for a long time I can genuinely say he deserves this award. Adam personifies the Certified Master Anaplanner role, contributing to not only the success of any organization he represents but also the Anaplan Community with his articles regarding best practices, and regular attendance at the Modelers Forum. He is a true advocate for Anaplan and I’m delighted for him on both a professional and personal level.” Paul Gallagher, Senior Customer Success Business Partner at Anaplan Let’s get to know Adam! We asked him to share a bit more about himself: What are some of the most valuable skills you have learned along your journey to becoming a Certified Master Anaplanner? Adam: I’d say the most valuable skills I’ve learnt in my journey centered around problem solving and effective technical communication. During my career I’ve often had to delve into quite complex technical issues and provide detailed solutions to clients, this is a skill I’ve had to hone over the years. Luckily, I’ve always enjoyed getting stuck into problem solving, the more difficult the better! Whether it’s taking on the challenge of a new model or designing enterprise architecture, I always enjoy piecing together an implementable solution. Of course, what works in tandem with this is an ability to effectively communicate my designs to various levels of stakeholders. This is something I’ve had to work hard at consistently throughout my career as it’s much easier to come up with an idea than it is to explain it and get buy-in from people who aren’t as close to the system as you are. How has being involved in the Certified Master Anaplanner program helped enable you for success in your Anaplan Journey? Adam: Getting involved in the Master Anaplanner program has been one of the best decisions I’ve made during my Anaplan journey. It has put me in contact with a wide range of experienced people who are always happy to talk about best practice, technical innovations, and design decisions. It’s also helped open doors throughout my career; accreditation has been a way to let every prospective employer or client know that you act as a trusted voice for Anaplan and can offer a wealth of knowledge in the field. What business challenges has Anaplan helped your organization solve? Adam: The key challenge Anaplan has helped us tackle is the issue of global alignment. As with any large global business, creating a singular view of planning is challenging, but in Anaplan we found a tool that opens the way to implementing a unified planning logic. It’s a journey we’re still on but I’m excited to keep going down the path that Anaplan has enabled. What's one piece of advice you would give a new model builder to be successful in their journey? Adam: The advice I’d give to new model builders is to always consider the full scope of your actions. When we talk about Anaplan, we always mention Connected Planning, but what that means from a development perspective is that your actions can have wide reaching consequences. Due to the interconnected nature of our models and environments, the impact of a simple change can be felt across a wide range of users. So always be careful and measured in your approach, consider the solutions architecture, and what your work may touch upon. If you keep this in mind, you’ll avoid numerous pitfalls that can trip you up and set you back during your journey. What are some of the resources within the Anaplan Community that you have found the most valuable? Adam: I think the Community is a great resource for new and old model builders alike. Everyone who takes part is happy to answer questions and provide technical examples to problems no matter how simple or complex. If you’re ever in need of a sounding board for a problem or have run into a dead end with your solutioning, the Community will always be there to lend a helping hand. What is the best career advice you have ever received? Adam: To be confident in your abilities and always challenge why things are done the way they are. The simple questions often go unasked once a process has been implemented, but being the voice in the room who’s willing to ask why something exists in its current state, what was originally considered, and whether it’s truly necessary is a great way to both grow your own knowledge and stand out from the crowd. Lightning round: your favorite movie or TV show, food, and book. Adam: My favorite movie changes constantly but one I watched recently and absolutely loved was Parasite, as for food I’d say a good cut of fillet steak, and for book I’m going to cheat and name a series as I can’t pick just one, The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. - Adam was recognized this week at at the Anaplan Community Experience (ACE) event in San Diego. A huge congratulations and thank you to Adam!
Static Column Width & Autofit - the Minimum Column Width Idea
Column Resizing! It is finally here, the folks looking at large numbers will be able to see the entire number. I am clearly excited after 4 years this finally came out. This enhancement is regarding what the UX does when you do a fixed column width. In the screenshot, I have fake time in the columns which has a dynamic filter on it. Line Items are in the rows. When you do fixed columns, there is a tremendous amount of white space. Best case would be for Anaplan to auto resize until the fixed column width is met - the criteria would bet the "Fixed Column Width" is essentially the "Minimum Column Width" A screenshot with a different filter on the table - the user still needs to use the horizontal scroll bar but at least they can read the dollar values with the fixed column width.
Master Anaplanner Certification
Hi All, Anyone has given Master Anaplanner certification in recent times? Thanks, Mahesh

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Meet Stacey, Principal Master Anaplanner Program Manager at Anaplan

For questions about the program, recertification points requirements, or your involvement please reach out to MasterAnaplanners@anaplan.com!

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Certified Master Anaplanners

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