November 2023 Community Q&A Challenge — join the discussion and collect a badge!

becky.leung · 2023-11-06T17:12:51+00:00

There was an error rendering this rich post.

Building on the incredible success of our inaugural Community Q&A Challenge in September 2023, we're thrilled to announce our second Q&A Challenge! In the Anaplan Community, we've always believed that the key to success lies in members coming together to connect, share knowledge, and support one another. Your enthusiastic participation, insightful discussions, and the wealth of expertise you shared during our first challenge left us truly inspired. So, get ready, because it's time to embark on another journey of sharing and learning!

Question for the Q&A Challenge: What are some of the common Anaplan-related challenges your users encounter? What is your internal support process for enabling those users and troubleshooting any problems they have? Share with us and explain your problem-solving process!

Please comment in this post with your answer!

How to participate in the November 2023 Community Q&A Challenge:

The challenge starts today, November 6, 2023, and will conclude on November 17, 2023.
Provide a response to the Q&A Challenge question by commenting below: What are some of the common Anaplan-related challenges your users encounter? What is your internal support process for enabling those users and troubleshooting any problems they have? Share with us and explain your problem-solving process!
Community members who participate in the discussion will receive a unique participant badge at the end of the challenge.

We will provide a recap of November 2023 Q&A Challenge in the coming weeks after the Challenge concludes. The recap will also include Anaplan’s Operational Excellence Group's shout-outs and recognition of a few outstanding responses from the completed Challenge!

Are you ready to join the discussion? Participate in the Q&A Challenge by commenting in this post below.

We look forward to seeing your responses!

For a full outline of our challenge rules and restrictions, read our full Terms & Conditions here.

Comments

jziemer

Scrolling in the new UX seems to be one of the challenges I have heard. Scrolling across a lot of columns can be clunky. Sometimes you have to find the proper downward scroll bar (not to be mistaken with the page scroll bar), to get to the horizontal scroll bar (also confused with the page scroll bar). To help with this, I have tried to encourage clients to consider the following:

Pivot the data to a more usable view.
Split their data into 2 cards.
Keep the cards shorter so the scroll bar can more easily be found.

Anyone else have this issue come up? Any other solution ideas?

anirudh

One of the most common complaints I hear from users is the ability to quickly input data into large modules. I address this using:

Excel add-in connection with read/write enabled. This sheet can also be shared with multiple users and it works very well
Provide export actions to export a CSV template and an import action to import the inputted data

I also try to never say the following to a user:

It works fine on my computer
The instructions are already on the dashboard or this is already in the manual
It's obvious (it almost always isn't)

Adapting to Anaplan takes some time so it's necessary to handhold users initially so that they feel comfortable until they get a deeper understanding of the model which invariably takes time

@jziemer those are great ideas! I would also add the new Synchronize Scroll feature and converting the page into a Worksheet view as workarounds. Also using the Maximize button on the card

Humay

One of the challenges I have faced is having a customized view of a card for each end-user. By that, I mean not showing some line items.

My suggestion is to have one general view of the card and end-users can use Show/Hide icon on each card to hide irrelevant line items from their view. The good thing about this functionality is that the change will be saved in the end-user's next page visit too.

jziemer

Thanks @anirudh. Those are great additional suggestions, and I have also heard the data entry challenge. These are helpful suggestions!

Tiffany.Rice

A common theme I hear from my users is wanting to know the last time certain processes were run, particularly those that are triggered by an end user rather than a scheduled automation.

To accommodate this request, within those end user processes that are run via UX we will include a card with the "log" that shows the last run time as well as the user who ran it. This is done by adding an additional action to the process which imports the current date (as sourced from our ERP system via daily integration) from a module dimensioned by Users. Bada-bing-bada-boom we now have a run log with a few easy steps.

@NoahJ provided a beautiful write up which explains this concept further. Check it out…if nothing else it is terrific food for thought:

https://community.anaplan.com/discussion/156379/build-custom-process-log-within-anaplan

Tiffany.Rice

A precursor to the ability to support these requests/issues is an intake mechanism for end users to engage with the model builders. In our CoE we have a diverse user base and highly value the ability to track the issues that are being raised - this makes email, IM and other person to person communication mediums less than ideal.

As such, I highly recommend establishing a formalized issues and enhancement logging process. The options abound and the optimal solution will depend on your needs or the tools at your disposal. An issue log module in Anaplan with a UX form for end users may be an easy entry point as there isn't be a reliance on other technologies to implement this solution. Or perhaps you want to leverage a more robust ticketing system such as ServiceNow which may complement your existing tech stack's support processes. Microsoft also offers a hybrid option via a combination of Forms, SharePoint & Power Automate to create a logging and notification workflow.

To me, regardless of the logging mechanism, the most important factor is ensuring it is easy for the user to understand how to log an issue and that their is someone monitoring on the other side to ensure a timely response. Every UX page I create has a card at the upper right with a link which will direct them our support intake portal. No need for bookmarks or trying to find an email with instructions on how to log an issue - once click and they are there. Once logged, the applicable development team gets an email notification.

What have you seen work effectively to track and manage user support needs?

Konstantin Malchushkin

Hi all,

in my practice support line depends on the implementation scale

In ideal world you have these levels of support for ordinary user

superuser
business consultant
model builder
architect or architectural comittee
Anaplan support

Best option of course to have some ticket system to track user requests

If Anaplan implementation is relarelatively small you have these support lines only

superuser
model builder being architect
Anaplan support

In any case you resolve a lot of questions in advance if you (or superuser) provide trainings for new comers

Nobody likes writing manuals (at least mine don't like 😅) and you may say good UX app / dashboard is one that does not need any manual, but practice says it's better to have one, then no one

And if you ask about user questions… 80% - changing business process, 10% - how to, 9% - new functionality request, 1% - let's go to have a lunch 😉

Vamsi_Kaki

Some of the challenges, users faced during their initial days of adapting Anaplan are:

Challenge1: Navigating between pages within the app.

Solution: Created Page links so that users directly land on pages where they can input/visualize
data.

Challenge2: How to avoid running an action accidentally?

Solution: Have utilised concept of Driver line item. User can run action only if driver line item is enabled or
criteria is matched.

Thanks,

Vamsi

alexpavel

The users interact with Anaplan via the Apps and the pages.

I think the first challenge is to organize the App and pages in the most efficient way to try to anticipate the issues that can appear, keeping in mind the fact that issues/support requests will be made based on what information is presented in the pages. Following the best practices in NUX page build helps a lot.

When an issue is reported I try to trace back and pinpoint the issue starting from the App page to the module / line-item by following the below steps trying to identify if the issue is related to the NUX or to the module calculations.

Questions related to the App (NUX):

In which page the user identify the issue?

Is the user looking correctly at the data?

what is the point-of-view (selectors)?

Are there any custom filters applied by the user? Here it should be really useful a real Reset of the NUX page to the original layout. Unfortunately, the NUX reset it’s just for the selectors.

Did the user change anything from the original page? (pivoting, show/hide, etc..)

Ask the user to screenshot with that have visible the selectors (sometimes useful also showing the context selectors of different cards)

Questions related to the module/calculations:

From the page, trace back the module and line-items related to the issue

Be confident in the Anaplan calculation engine applying the rule of the computers that are doing exactly what you made them to do it. Adapt your expectations to how the Anaplan calculation engine works.

Select the same point-of-view in the module to replicate the issue from the NUX page

Identify if there is an issue if related to aggregated or base-level cells (keeping in mind that the formulas are applied only on the base cells and then the aggregation methods are applied). Ratio and Formula aggregations are just another way of aggregation methods.

Identify input data having in mind another basic principle: bad input data cannot return good results

Create different data-quality checks and flags, error messages, and error count line-items, to show if there is some missing mapping that could create an issue.

A lot of times the issue is related to the fact the users are not familiar with the NUX (App) and how to use the basic/native options in NUX (search, filtering, show/hide, pivot, etc..)

It is very useful to have a key-users core team trained that can help with the general rollover of the application.

Hope it helps

Alex

AkhilEmmanual

Hi Everyone,

Some of the challenges the user encounters while using Anaplan are :

Unknowingly running some action which may cause some issues . Especially Actions which delete something or which clears some data . This can be solved by giving additional security for that particular action by providing a boolean check in the page and setting it as a driver line item. This may prevent the user from unknowingly running the actions.
Sometimes while scenario planning the user doesn't want to change data for a particular scenario and by mistake the user changes the values of that particular scenario. This issue can be solved by providing them a lock system. where they can lock a particular scenario with the help of DCA so that the user won't be able to make changes to the particular scenario which is locked.
Users also raise issues regarding text color, background color and all UX design related things. For this sitting with users and fixing the best color or design related things that user likes will be the best .

Getting into the users shoes will help us build the App very simple so that navigation through the Pages will be easy for Users.

App Itself should be self explanatory with proper Instructions, Error messages, proper conditional formatting,pages should be arranged in a flow . These all ensure a smooth user experience.

Thanks and Regards,

Akhil Emmanual

david.savarin

`What are some of the common Anaplan-related challenges your users encounter?`

One challenge which generates the most of end users issues is around access rights to Anaplan

Typical issues raised by users :

I cannot access Anaplan —> User isnt declared as an Anaplan user
I try to access Anaplan but I get an error —> User isnt clicking on the small "Access with SSO" caption below the generic User Access caption
I access the App but I cannot see anything —> Users rights on Selective access dimensions arent set for them
I cannot input / change my data —> Workflow is locked on the member list the user is trying to access to

This generates the highest volumes of issues (like on a daily basis).

`What is your internal support process for enabling those users and troubleshooting any problems they have?`

We have set up a 2 levels support organization :

First level : users & functional admins
- Users & functional admins are located within each business org° where there Anaplan supported processes
- They have both users admin and workspace admins roles with full access to all models within the business production workspace
- We typically have a 2 people there to have them backups each other over vacations
- They are accountable to provision their users, set them with correct roles within models and grant them access to the selective access lists wherever necessary.
- Benefits :
  - The users & functional admins being located within each business ensures end users proximity to both operational process knowledge, who they are and to what model / lists / roles they are expected to work on
- Cons :
  - This requires users & functional admins to have a workspace admin licence, which drastically increases costs
Second Level : Anaplan central team
- Anaplan central team is accountable to manage the issues users & functional admins arent able to solve by themselves
- Each issue raised to second level is duly documented through a ticketing system (we use Jira as a tool) and qualified as support / bug / Change Request (User Story) and prioritized with the users & functional admins raising the issue
- Second level raises the remaining issues to Third Level if necessary.
- Benefits :
  - This typically allows to process 90% of users issues through the Level 1 support, leveraging on multiple decentralized support business teams
  - users & functional admins can raise their own issues requests along with issues from users they cannot solve by themselves
- Cons :
  - none
Third Level : Anaplan support
- Anaplan support is accountable for solving / processing the tickets raised to them through the Anaplan ticketing system
- Benefits :
  - This ensures that typically a maximum of perhaps 1% of users issues are raised to Anaplan support directly
- Cons :
  - It relies on Anaplan support capability to solve the issues and this takes a very long time
  - We dont have leverage to prioritize the issues raised to Anaplan support and dont have much insights into priorization / timeframe within Anaplan teams
  - Requires a "double accounting" to track and follow issues on both our ticketing system and with Anaplan tickets

`Share with us and explain your problem-solving process!`

—> That's all here above folks

JaredDolich

Question:

What are some of the common Anaplan-related challenges your users encounter? What is your internal support process for enabling those users and troubleshooting any problems they have?

@david.savarin and @Konstantin_Malchushkin post spoke to me extra-something-special and I’d like to share some reactions I had. Trust me, as someone that used to manage a service desk for a 5000-store retailer, receiving 900,000 tickets per year from store associates, customers, and corporate employees, we had to utilize ITIL and Lean Six Sigma to develop our own best practices like those shared by David.

Short Answer

For those of you short on time, the #1 challenge was logon & access issues and/or network issues and our solution was to run the customer through a diagnostic script. For security concerns, we routed them directly to our security administrator. If we had a network issue, we tagged the incident to a problem ticket until our network team could solve the outage.

Long Answer

How disappointing you might be thinking! The #1 issue has little to do with Anaplan. An honest answer but rather stale and underwhelming. The optimistic side of me wants to declare victory, as most of the other incidents are service requests, or minor enhancements. A testament to Anaplan’s resiliency and adaptability.

But, if I could burden your attention a bit further, there is, I believe, a much more inspiring response to this question which goes something like this: When we think about planners and the Anaplan challenges they face, we can be prepared by simply plotting the severity and the frequency of the incident to prioritize, plan for, and route to the right person. Also, it’s a great way to summarize the awesome responses so far. Check it out:

Go Figure. A 2x2 Grid

Path to Resolution

Frequency:

Not Often

Frequency:

Often

Organization Impact:

Low

Potential Impact Low
Diagnostic Process
Solve Immediately

Customized Cards (@Humay)

Process Log (@Tiffany.Rice)

Lock Scenarios (@AkhilEmmanual)

Potential Impact Moderate
Problem Management
Support Sprint Prioritization

Large Model Imports (@anirudh)

Scrolling / Synchronizing UX (@jziemer, @anirudh)

Navigation (@Vamsi_Kaki)

Text Formatting (@AkhilEmmanual)

Access Rights (@david.savarin)

Organizational Impact:

High

Potential Impact High
Disciplined Process
Top Priority - Call in the SMEs

Support Levels by Type (@Konstantin_Malchushkin)

Accidental Action Usage (@Vamsi_Kaki, @AkhilEmmanual)

Potential Impact Moderate
Service Request / System Change
Development Sprint Prioritization

Service Request Log (@Tiffany.Rice)

Incident Diagnostics (@alexpavel)

Anaplan Customer Success

And, to expand on @Konstantin_Malchushkin point, we really should reiterate the top best practices. I guess, Anaplan Customer Success, this is for you @rob_marshall and @Misbah!

I won’t go into detail of each one, rather leave that to you to look them up or refresh your understanding.

DISCO
PLANS
ALM
The Planual – Misbah and Rob’s newest version
The Anaplan Way – especially user stories with success criteria, sprint reviews, testing, and planning poker
Data Hub – especially hub to spoke synchronization.
Center of Excellence best practices – unique to each organization (e.g., naming conventions)

Did I mention testing?

Test Scripts
Unit Testing
User Acceptance Testing
Dev-QA-Prod Migration Testing
System Integrated Testing

Summary

Thank you @becky.leung for the question and the opportunity to respond. ITIL gives us three, among many, very important IT processes: incident, problem, and service requests. Along with some LSS prioritization analysis, the intake process for "challenges"; namely, ideas, concerns, issues, feedback, emergencies can be efficiently handled using a simple 2x2 grid comparing organizational impact and frequency. As my engineering professor used to say, "Ours are not to question why, rather, just inverse, and multiply."

PhilippErkinger

https://imgur.com/X17puIB

This meme may describe the daily challenges pretty well. Do you agree? 😅

…but joke aside. Let's get more into the details.

There are two main challenges that I encounter regularly.

1. Developers / Expert Syndrome

Standard end-users are mostly not experts in the process and certainly not in Anaplan. Something that may seem "super easy" for a power user, model builder or solution architect can cause significant difficulties for an end-user. Most end-users also dedicate very little time to educating themselves about a new tool if they "only" have to provide input once a month or yearly. This circumstance can create significant gaps that the experts do not recognise or even neglect.

2. Tool Design

The tool must be designed for efficiency and ease of use. In that sense, creating good, logical apps is a significant challenge. Unfortunately, I see too often customers that create five or more new pages a month without removing anything old… when you return a year later, it's almost impossible to find your way around in an App. Let three years go by, and the app becomes unusable.

The solution sits in front of the screen.

I always recommend model builders and power users to put themselves in the end-user's shoes and try to see EVERYTHING through their eyes. This can be quite an eye-opener. Sometimes, it may lead to better end-user training; in other cases, it may require a completely different app or model design. Often, a simple 3-page input app can be more appreciated than by providing "nice to have" expert insights across 30 pages. Ultimately, the organisation (CoE, line of support) needs to be also tailored to the needs and skills of end-users.

anirudh

@PhilippErkinger this essay from 1996 stands the test of time :D

https://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/agre/how-to-help.html

adpinto

More of a high-level summary here because I think this topic has a lot of documentation, best practices. summary of process that is based on criticality of a defect or enhancement. I have been a part of COEs that rely on email as well as ones that have to adhere to greater standards of PMO, etc. It's okay to be somewhere in the middle! crawl, walk, run and understand that the goal is to provide support efficiently. In the below example there is an inbox for the Anaplan team that usually handles important, in-cycle items. Then below that shows an option of using a submission form. hope that sparks some ideas!

Set up a cloudworks schedule to run the process of submitting items to the master log and clearing the input for nightly

jasonblinn

This is a slightly different approach to the question, but I have some users who don't use Anaplan frequently enough, and because of that are looking for Automated push notifications in email or, messaging (Slack, Teams, Etc) when something happens that they need to go look at. That thing could be someone inputting something, an upper bound or lower bound was reached, "Its Wednesday at 6:50pm and I didnt get enough emails and was hoping Anaplan could help to fill my inbox", you name it, someone has asked for it.

There are several features in Anaplan now that can send notifications. The notifications can be controlled in user preferences (Click on your initials in the top right of Anaplan and then click on Notifications). You can be notified by Email, Mobile, Slack, and of course the little bell in the top right of the screen.

Here are the current ways that a manually triggered notification can be sent:

Mailto
Tagging someone in the comment features on a page
Sharing a Page with someone using the Share feature
Workflow
Probably some others that I am forgetting here too

The options for Automated messaging are much more limited: Use some form of Integration (AKA do it outside of Anaplan)

Most of my customers don't love that answer, in which case I always try to drive the concept of creating a landing page for a user. On this page, we can flag if there are any action items for them to complete or any intersections that have fallen out of bounds. The more reliant they are on Anaplan, the more frequent they are in the system, and the sooner they get the flag that something requires attention.

Certainly not a perfect one-size-fits-all answer for this question, but generally we are able to find something that works for what the customer is looking for.

TimothyThomas

One common question we are asked every forecasting cycle by our FP&A team is how to make sure that the inputs they have made within the forecast are flowing through as expected to downstream reporting modules (example: "How can I know that these payroll forecast inputs are properly reporting? Are the benefits & taxes calculating correctly?") .

An obvious solution to this is linking reporting pages directly on the input pages so that end users can toggle back and forth between the two as they are making updates in real time to ensure that what they are inputting is flowing through as expected. We have also created pre vs. post forecasting variance modules to help make this even easier (where applicable and where the granularity makes sense in trading off with size constraints).

A final note on this front is end user training and enablement. At the end of the day, if end users have these questions each forecasting cycle, then clearly there is something wrong with their training and use of the model as they should be proficient enough to understand how each input they make flows through the model. While each end user is trained on Anaplan when they start at our company, we have since introduced optional refresher trainings before each forecasting cycle which go over the main objectives for which users will be forecasting to try to get out of these questions preemptively and overall reduce end user confusion/mystification.

SIVAPRASADPERAM

One of the challenge user faced their initial days of Anaplan is (Export action issue):

If we edit the saved view (to add a new line item or add a new filter) after the export action has been saved then the Export Action does not recognize the change. My suggestion here is create a new Export Action and publish to NUX page/Dashboard again!

andrewtye

`What are some of the common Anaplan-related challenges your users encounter? What is your internal support process for enabling those users and troubleshooting any problems they have? Share with us and explain your problem-solving process!`

As others have noted…

Just logging in/Being granted access - patience clearly is a virtue here, right @JaredDolich? Explaining to click on the SSO link and have they received the "IT Request Complete" email? Just because Anaplan will let you in doesn't mean the organisation will allow you through the door. And then of course making sure users actually ask for the right access - yes you can have access to a model but what area/division?
Genuine frustrations with platform functionality - anyone for four columns on a non-Polaris model page? Often it's them forgetting that it isn't excel/powerpoint and the exact shading of table design won't be exactly what you want but look at all this other fun stuff that can be done. Thankfully we have pretty good relationships with most of key user groups and we collate those up - some turn into ideas for the idea exchange, others we can say yes that's on the roadmap, others are what about doing the activity like this?
Viewable screen - like @anirudh says "never fine on my computer", whilst we try to ensure that pages look good on a variety of displays (I have a office sized screen just for this) sometimes it doesn't render quite correctly possibly a dropped column for instance. And then you realise they've got a different resolution/browser zoom setting to what's been developed on. So it's explaining where the issue and going from there.
But of course if users don't report issue how are we to know what's not working - so every model has a first contact rather than a generic email which means that issues can be resolved more quickly and then we as a team share these challenges and drop-out "top tips" out to our model owner community who can then share these out accordingly. And thankfully most of the low-level issues tend to get sorted by the specific model user set via a business led model owner which stops a lot of noise getting through.

M.Kierepka

What are some of the common Anaplan-related challenges your users encounter?

1. “How can I extract the data because I need to calculate/sum/analyze it in a different (my) way" - firstly I usually ask if they really need — maybe they can just use native Anaplan functionalities, but they don't know Anaplan's capabilities? After they tell me what they need:

I try to show them how to filter/sort/pivot/find/group data, and it solves ~25% of such cases, builds confidence in the tools and teaches them to try to do it in the future,
another ~25% is just pointing them to another page/grid that already does what they want,
and anyway I will tell them (even for the first 50%, as they may need it on another time) how to export every grid in Anaplan, add extra properties to the export, hide summaries etc. I also ask if they need to extract this exact table frequently, and maybe I should define a backend export/special view that they can generate quickly, with some additional properties or calculations?

2. “Why is this like that?” — typically it's about the number that is different than they expect. We try to investigate it together, with the user sharing the screen so that they navigate through Anaplan and build muscle-memory where to click to find extra details, like:

Is it a formula or aggregation? Let's try to drill down, see what's the calculation (users often can understand basic formulas), why it is like that, from which items it's aggregating, maybe we can see the previous step in the grid above/previous page.
Is it an input? Well, let's check history, perhaps someone else imported new data or edited your number?

What is your internal support process for enabling those users and troubleshooting any problems they have?

Most of these questions come from users that were not able to join the training when the project went live, or from the ones that don't use the tool frequently enough. That's why it's important to not only do the proper training sessions, but to also record them and put some knowledge base, like Confluence. There they can read more about the business process, watch some GIFs that show simple actions, we can put links to relevant Anaplan platform documentation/training videos etc. It's also essential to update these resources (and descriptions/instructions on the dashboards!) after such questions — potentially someone else will have a similar question, and they can find the answer on their own, without even reaching to anyone?

It's also a good idea to send a “starter pack” email to any new user that is added to the platform — with things like custom instruction about SSO, knowledge base link, key point of contacts. Depending on the size, type, users, and phase of the project, we either establish a ticketing system (like JIRA or ClickUp), tell them to message us via email/MS Teams/Slack, or even tag us in the Anaplan comment.

Alessio_Pagliano

Based on my experience working on multiple Anaplan projects in both consulting and end user roles, I would like to address the common challenges related to Anaplan and provide recommendations for an effective internal support process.

Question 1) Common Anaplan-related challenges that users encounter include:

a) Login issues

Sometimes, user access is managed through a complex provisioning process, leading to difficulties in logging in and accessing relevant functionality. This can be caused by incomplete setup processes or users contacting Anaplan directly instead of following the proper access request process. Additionally, users may be disabled due to inactivity, resulting in access issues. To mitigate these challenges, I recommend implementing a solid and well-documented user access management process.

b) Basic Anaplan training

Many users have all the necessary tools to achieve their goals but lack knowledge on how to utilize them effectively. This can be addressed by identifying and training "super users" within the organization who can provide detailed Anaplan and process training to new users, reducing costs and maximizing user adoption.

c) Further ad-hoc data analysis

Users often resort to exporting data and working in external tools like Excel, unaware that the answers they seek are already available within the Anaplan system. Encouraging users to explore the system and providing guidance on performing ad-hoc data analysis can save time and reduce the risk of manual errors.

d) Process and end user errors

Users not following the correct processes can lead to technical debts and delays. This may require ad-hoc data fixes, which can be minimized or prevented by leveraging the expertise of "super users" who can guide users in following the right processes.

e) Deep dive into results and reconciliation

Understanding and reconciling results can be challenging due to design decisions or project complexities. Assessing the frequency and importance of these queries can help determine if improvements can be made to facilitate the process. "Super users" can also assist in reducing the number of queries by providing guidance and support.

Question 2) Support process

To establish an effective support process, I recommend implementing the following key areas:

a) Project roles and responsibilities

Clearly define roles and responsibilities, including contact details, to ensure efficient communication and accountability. Appointing one or more "super users" as the first point of contact for user queries/issues can streamline the support process.

b) User access management documentation

Develop a comprehensive document outlining the user access management process, ensuring that it aligns with auditing requirements for audited systems.

c) Internal ticketing system with SLAs

Utilize an internal ticketing system, such as Assyst or Jira, to log and track user issues. Implement documented service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure timely resolution of problems.

d) Regular review of common issues

Conduct periodic reviews of logged tickets to identify common issues and trends. This information can inform the project roadmap and help prioritize improvements.

e) User feedback surveys

Conduct annual or bi-annual user feedback surveys to gather insights on common issues, needs, and trends. This feedback can be invaluable in shaping the project roadmap and addressing user concerns.

Based on my experience, implementing these recommendations will enhance user support, improve user adoption, and optimize the utilization of Anaplan within your organization.

Misbah

I think most of the issues that I have seen so far are already captured by most but I would like to share something for which there was no possible solution or alternative. Some of the these challenges that users have encountered in my experience is to

Input the data directly into Anaplan dashboards, it could be single entry or bulk loads like @anirudh mentioned. One of the reasons that I discovered was that users had to calculate the numbers or in other words they had to arrive at the input numbers before start feeding Anaplan. If there was any option for users to perform calculations within Anaplan it would have allowed users to stay in the platform and not export the data out. Now this might call for a new Product feature in Anaplan which allows people to do their calculations without leaving Anaplan. I have recently seen that there is a similar feature in competitor's platform (Pigment) which allow users to open calculation field within the platform itself without having them to leave the platform or export the data out. Simple yet darn effective. Another reason for it is Less adoption of My Pages or Personal Dashboards: "My Pages" is supposed to take care of the need of each user to handle/see the data/KPIs the way they want to but due to not so great adoption of My Pages this has been another challenge for the users to get things done outside Anaplan and feed them back into Anaplan.
Scrolling grids is something which has its own challenges as highlighted by @jziemer It could be the size, position or shape of the scroll bars, not sure.

Thanks,
Misbah

Quick Links

Recent release news

May 2025 platform releases and what’s next
Check out the latest Anaplan feature updates and enhancements in our May 2025 official release notes. The information below offers supplemental information to that post. Integrations and extensibility Preview dataset when mapping to model or selecting for transformation view in ADO When selecting a dataset to map to a…
April 2025 platform releases and what’s next
Check out the latest Anaplan feature updates and enhancements in our April 2025 official release notes. The information below offers supplemental information to that post. UX New UX for Models section in Administration The Models section in Administration has been redesigned with a more intuitive interface. Tenant…