Spring cleaning: A step-by-step guide to optimizing your model

EkaterinaGarina

Author: Ekaterina Garina is a Certified Master Anaplanner and EPM Consultant at Keyrus.

Does your Anaplan model feel cluttered with too many line items and modules, making it difficult to find anything? Are you dealing with redundant calculations? Need a little optimization? Or perhaps you have a large model that needs restructuring? Spring cleaning is the answer!

Where to start?

Before diving into a deep clean, the biggest challenge is knowing where to begin. I like to approach this in two sweeps. First, clean up all the obvious areas — removing what is clearly unnecessary. Then, dig deeper into the structure and logic to optimize efficiency.

Before making any changes, always create revision tags (if your model is in ALM) and back up your model by making a copy. Regular backups throughout the process ensure you can revert changes if needed and prevent data loss or unintended disruptions to workflows and integrations.

First sweep: The essentials

1. Start with UX and integration
   
   1. Review pages and cards with stakeholders to identify outdated elements that can be removed or improved.
      
   2. Make a list of all published modules and line items.
      
   3. Check all cards to identify which line items are used as filters and drivers—this can take time, but it’s worth the effort.
      
   4. Check scheduled integrations to eliminate redundant jobs.
      
   5. Review all processes and actions, including those published on pages and used in integrations.
2. Back to the model
   
   1. Delete unused processes, actions, and data sources (in that order).
      
   2. Organize the Actions tab: Rename actions for clarity, reorder them logically, and group related actions into processes.
      
   3. Delete all unused views. If your setup allows, assign a unique code to each view and include it in the action name. This makes it easier to track and delete obsolete views.
      
   4. Set a default module view with a clear, structured "show all" layout.
      
   5. Go through remaining views and create a list of line items used as filters.
      
   6. Organize Dynamic Cell Access (DCA) modules separately, including all relevant DCA line items in the list.
      
   7. Now that you have a comprehensive list of all used and published line items (in addition to the ‘Referenced by’ column), you can begin deleting obsolete modules and line items.
      
   8. Standardize module and line item names and organize them for consistency.
      
   9. Review general lists, ensuring proper naming and order while removing unused ones.
      
   10. General lists should not contain calculated properties unless there’s a strong justification.

Second sweep: Deep optimization

1. Filter optimization
   
   1. Move all filter line items into dedicated filter modules.
      
   2. Identify and remove duplicate filters, merging where possible.
      
   3. Ideally, each card on a UX page should have only maximum of one filter on rows and one on columns. This simplifies adjustments—modifying just one line item can update the entire view. To achieve this, break down filter calculations into separate line items and then combine them into a final filter line item.
2. System module refinement
   . Move all attribute line items into system modules for better organization.
3. Formula and calculation optimization
   
   1. Export a grid with all line items in the model to review formulas.
      
   2. Check that aggregation functions (SUM, AVERAGE, etc.) are not used with LOOKUP, as this negatively impacts performance.
      
   3. Minimize the use of:
      
      1. NEXT/PREVIOUS
         
      2. RANKCUMULATE
         
      3. TIMESUM
         
      4. FINDITEM on large datasets
         
   4. Separate text functions from other calculations to improve performance.
      
   5. In IF formulas, ensure that the most common result appears first to optimize processing speed.
      
   6. Ensure there are no hardcoded values in formulas to improve scalability.
4. Final cleanup
   . Check and delete unused versions, snapshots, and other obsolete list elements.
   

Regular maintenance of your Anaplan model is essential for maintaining efficiency, improving performance, and ensuring usability. A well-structured model is much easier to navigate, loads faster, and reduces unnecessary complexity. By following this two-step spring cleaning process, you not only remove clutter but also improve the long-term sustainability of your model.

Take the time to clean up now, and future you will thank you for a faster, leaner, and more organized Anaplan experience.

NoahJ

This is an awesome checklist, thanks for presenting it!!