How I Built It: Upload Anaplan data — account hierarchy and key accounts

saibandaru

Author: Saikrishna Bandaru is a Certified Master Anaplanner and Sr. Anaplan consultant.

In this video, I demonstrate how to create a user-friendly Anaplan UX page that allows end users to upload or update specific data directly into Anaplan. The example covers account mapping, enabling users to mark accounts as "strategic" and verify if they are part of the Anaplan hierarchy. This feature improves accessibility, reduces file-based imports, and simplifies end-user interactions with Anaplan models. This approach will inspire and educate Anaplan model builders on enabling user-specific inputs directly in the UX!

Key takeaways:

1. Learn how to design a user-input-friendly UX Page in Anaplan.
2. Understand how to link modules and line items for editable grids.
3. Enable dynamic updates for account data and strategic flagging.
4. Integrate action buttons to streamline updates and clear inputs.
   

Check out the video below, and I’ve also included step-by-step instructions below the video!

https://play.vidyard.com/szA41smLBQoKcRWDCmaz91

Step-by-step instructions for the page

Page overview

1. Purpose — This page allows users to:
   
   1. Update account mapping details.
      
   2. Mark accounts as "Strategic".
      
   3. Verify if accounts are part of the existing Anaplan hierarchy.
      
2. Design:
   
   1. Editable grid with action buttons for user interaction.

Components of the page

1. Instructions section (top):
   
   1. Brief guidance for users to ensure clarity.
      
   2. Sample: "Enter or update account details in the grid below. Use the 'Update Accounts' button to save changes or 'Clear User Inputs' to reset the grid."
2. Action buttons (middle):
   
   1. Update accounts button: Executes an Anaplan action to update the backend module.
      
      1. Linked to a process or action defined in Anaplan (e.g., 'Update Account Mapping').
         
   2. Clear user inputs button: Clears all user-entered data in the grid.
3. Editable grid (bottom):
   This grid connects to an Anaplan input module. Key columns:
   
   1. Account code: Editable for users to enter account identifiers.
      
   2. Account name: Editable input for account names.
      
   3. L3 Region of account: Editable input for regional information.
      
   4. Strategic account? (Checkbox): Allows users to mark an account as "Strategic".
      
   5. Account is in Anaplan hierarchy? (Read-only): Displays a Boolean value to indicate if the account exists in the hierarchy.

Back-end setup in Anaplan

1. Input module:
   Create a module to capture user inputs with line items:
   
   1. Account code (Text or Number format).
      
   2. Account name (Text).
      
   3. L3 Region of account (Text or List format).
      
   4. Strategic account? (Boolean format).
      
   5. Account in hierarchy? (Boolean, Read-only, derived via LOOKUP).
      
2. Actions:
   
   1. Update accounts:
      
      1. Import action to push changes from the input module to the target data module.
         
   2. Clear Inputs:
      
      1. Delete action or reset user inputs within the input module.

Summary of the video — learnings

1. Show how users can input account data directly into the editable grid.
2. Demonstrate marking accounts as strategic using checkboxes.
3. Execute the "Update accounts" button to reflect changes.
4. Use the "Clear user inputs" button to reset the input fields.
5. Validate updates and explain back-end processes briefly.
   

Best practices to highlight in the video

1. Use clear labels and tooltips for user guidance & Ensure buttons trigger intuitive actions.
   
2. Leverage Boolean indicators to validate existing data (like "Account in Hierarchy?") & Design UX to align with user needs for simplicity and efficiency.
   

Questions? Leave a comment!