Engaged members like you make the Community great! Your contributions help Anaplanners succeed in their Connected Planning journey.
Best Practices
Hear from Anaplan experts on the best ways to use the platform.
Featured Content
Check out the latest best practice article covering the two main settings related to how data is aggregated in Anaplan: Top Level Item and Parent Hierarchy.
Read Full Article
The Planual provides a systematic set of standards for model building on the Anaplan platform. The rules in it are designed produce the most efficient, usable, and scalable Anaplan models, while dram...
Read Full Article
You may have heard about a model called a data hub, but perhaps you aren’t confident that you understand the fundamentals, primary functions, or considerations when architecting one. There are three ...
Read Full Article
Learn how to organize your model into logical parts to give you a well-designed model that is easy to follow, understand and amend at a later date
Read Full Article
PLANS is the new standard for Anaplan modeling—“the way we model.” This covers more than just the formulas and includes and evolves existing best practices around user experience and data hubs. It is...
Read Full Article
Not seeing recent Articles?
Get latest Articles
Using line item subsets (LISS) can shorten formulas, making a solution more dynamic, scalable, maintainable—increasing model health and performance.
In this article, we describe how to easily extract Anaplan data with QlikView and use it in your analytics dashboards.
In part three of the series, learn more about data loss and how to remedy it should it happen.
An import action section can quickly become disorganized, making ongoing management challenging. Learn why and explore steps to take to prevent this from occurring.
Following announcements on the global strategic partnership between Anaplan and Google Cloud, we are pleased to unveil a new connector.
New Best Practice! This article works through how to manage the product lifecycle (governance, development, and maintenance) of your models, as well as apps built in the New UX.
This article provides a detailed approach of how to invoke Anaplan Rest API using Java Spring Boot Framework.
Learn some techniques for testing changes prior to deploying changes to production.
In the first of this 3-part series, learn about ALM compatibility and pitfalls.
During project implementation, it’s important to plan for a key component that may be overlooked—keeping the model clean and tidy.
Looking at transitioning from Classic to UX? The U.S.E.R. methodology can be your guide in this journey.
HyperModels extend calculation engine capabilities so users can increase scale to expand new use cases, manage historical and external data, forecast further, and model more scenarios.
Follow our UX team's recommendations and guidelines to leverage the UX to its fullest potential.
One important thing to consider about data is the format of the time that the source system has. This article explains the formats Anaplan can accept in an import and those which it cannot.
We give you some ideas about how to use the Excel and PowerPoint add-in in a creative way to achieve your business goals.
We focus on how you can better govern the Office add-ins (Excel and PowerPoint) in your company, especially about versions and file management, as well as installation and upgrade.
We focus on how to set up your Anaplan model and your connections with the Excel add-in for performance and reliability.
We focus on how to set up your Anaplan model and your connections with the PowerPoint add-in for performance and reliability.
We focus on best practices for using Excel and PowerPoint themselves.
The native DocuSign integration with Anaplan makes it simple to share information. Learn how a script can help simplify the process even more.
Learn how to use the new Time Labelling functionality whilst preserving your existing filters
This article explains the different scenarios and the implications of marking imports and import data sources as production data.
The ordering of list subsets can sometimes seem mysterious. Learn more about how to group subsets of lists, making them easier to find.
Develop a cohesive strategy for Anaplan roles with this visual comparison of Model Builder, Page Builder, and MyPages capabilities.
In this article, find timely and relevant detail on Anaplan's UX in the form of FAQs and analogies to ramp-up faster.
Power BI is a popular reporting tool, and this article will describe how to implement it with Anaplan Rest API version 2.0.
Forms are a new input mechanism added to the Anaplan UX that allow you to create simple, intuitive input forms that feel familiar to end users and submit data directly into your models.
New Best Practice—compare values in a TEXT formatted line item and identify the values that occur more than once (duplicates).
Hierarchy Management - Learn how to change the master data with no Impact on the hierarchy and the financials.
This guide will walk through the Time Setting in Anaplan models, as well as some best practice recommendations on automating the current time period to simplify formulas and dashboard views.
As an ad planner, sales representative, or merchandise planner, you might be interested in planning your sales or invoices using tier pricing. This solution will address a user-story that allows you ...
This user-story will provide a solution using a one-year model that uses a 445-monthly calendar.
An often requested output of a trade promotions use case is to understand sales between two specific dates— be it days, weeks, or months.
Best practices help you use the platform in the best way possible. In this example, learn how to set up a count based on an attribute.
When using CUMULATE over a list, performance can be impacted with large cell counts. CUMULATE over time is an alternative to consider.
Determining whether a List Item appears in a Subset isn't always standard. This Best Practice illustrates how to make that determination, elegantly.
Following the principles of D.I.S.C.O., this latest Best Practice takes an in-depth look at the ability to effectively achieve a forward-looking solution.
Calculating the difference between two dates is a common requirement. Learn more about the best practice for calculating the difference between two days/two months.
This article helps out to keep the model clean, optimized and secured. Simple tips, short and crispy solutions are given.
Check out the latest best practice article covering the two main settings related to how data is aggregated in Anaplan: Top Level Item and Parent Hierarchy.
Migrating from the classic SFDC platform to the Lightning platform can create issues with some Anaplan models. This article covers issues with SFDC objects and the steps to correct them.
Check out the latest best practice detailing how to clear data in Anaplan—from the basic to the programmatic—giving you all the flexibility needed for targeted clearing.
Line item subsets are one of the most powerful and efficient features in Anaplan, yet one of the least understood. The COLLECT() function is probably the only “black box” function within Anaplan as i...
Learn how using ratio can solve the problem of showing costs as positive numbers whilst subtracting them from totals
As described in the Authentication API documentation, an authentication token is needed to issue requests with API 2.0. The request for a token is made to:
https://auth.anaplan.com/token/authen...
This article covers the necessary steps to update the iPaaS connectors for HyperConnect/Informatica Cloud, Dell Boomi, Mulesoft and SnapLogic. See the article A Guide to CA Certificates in Anapl...
As a business operations manager on the Anaplan on Anaplan (AoA) team—an internal team, focused on bringing Connected Planning to life within Anaplan—I help to oversee our internal Anaplan model ecos...
What are the benefits and drawbacks of using Versions instead a General List
The Planual provides a systematic set of standards for model building on the Anaplan platform. The rules in it are designed produce the most efficient, usable, and scalable Anaplan models, while dram...
You may have heard about a model called a data hub, but perhaps you aren’t confident that you understand the fundamentals, primary functions, or considerations when architecting one. There are three ...
What is Pre-Allocation in Lists?
Pre-allocation in lists is a mechanism in Anaplan that adds a buffer to list lengths. It is not added by default for lists; it becomes enabled when a role is set on a...
How do we keep our users in the Anaplan platform to do their work which requires a high level of advanced customization, faster and more easily than their previous Excel environment? The solutio...
Learn how small changes can lead to dramtic improvements in model calculations
Overview
The following is a guide for the new Statistical Forecasting Calculation Engine Models (monthly and weekly). It includes enablement videos, practice data import exercise, model doc...
Creates the Java KeyStore required for Anaplan Connect 1.4
What happens to History when I delete a user from a workspace?
I recently posted a Python library for version 1.3 of our API. With the GA announcement of API 2.0, I'm sharing a new library that works with these endpoints. Like the previous library, this supports...
As a model builder, you have to define line item formats over and over. Using a text expander/snippet tool, you can speed up the configuration of modules.
When you add a new Line Item, Anaplan s...
Filters can be very useful in model building and are widely used, but they can come at the expense of performance—often very visible to users through their use on dashboards.
Performance can also hit...
This article covers the necessary steps for you to migrate your Anaplan Connect (AC) 1.3.x.x script to Anaplan Connect 1.4.x. For additional details and examples, refer to the latest Anapla...
Learn how to organize your model into logical parts to give you a well-designed model that is easy to follow, understand and amend at a later date
Dynamic Cell Access (DCA) controls the access levels for line items within modules. It is simple to implement and provides modelers with a flexible way of controlling user inputs. Here are a few...
Reducing the number of calculations will lead to quicker calculations and improve performance. However, this doesn’t mean combining all your calculations into fewer line items, as breaking calculatio...
Little and Often
Would you spend weeks on your budget submission spreadsheet or your college thesis without once saving it?
Probably not.
The same should apply to making developments and setting...
Imagine This Scenario:
You are in the middle of making changes in your development model and have been doing so for the last few weeks. The changes are not complete and are not ready to synchronize. ...
Imagine the Following Scenario:
You need to make regular structural changes to a deployed model (for example, weekly changes to the switchover date). You can make these changes by setting revision ta...
If you’re familiar with Anaplan, you’ve probably heard the buzz about having a data hub and wondered why it’s considered a “best practice” within the Anaplan community. Wonder no more. Below, I will ...
Assume the following Non-Composite list, ragged hierarchy, needs to be set to Production Data.
We need to refer to the ultimate parent to define the logic calculation. In the example, we have assume...
Anaplan API: Communication failure <SSL peer unverified: peer not authenticated>
This is a common error if a Customer Server is behind a proxy or firewall.
The solution is to have the cus...
You can interact with the data in your models using Anaplan's RESTful API. This enables you to securely import and export data, as well as run actions through any programmatic way you desire. The API...
Problem to solve:
As an HR manager, I need to enter the salary raise numbers for multiple regions that I'm responsible for.
As a domain best practice, my driver-based model helps me to enter raise g...
Summary
This article describes the technique to dynamically filter specific levels of a hierarchy on a dashboard and provides a method to select and visualize hierarchies on a dashboard.
Details
This...
Overview
These dashboards are absolutely critical to good usability of a model. Dashboards are the first contact between the end users and a model.
What SHOULD NOT be done in a landing...
Note that this article uses a planning dashboard as an example, but many of these principles apply to other types of dashboards as well.
Methodology
User Stories
Building a useful planning dashboard...
Deal with Monthly Dashboards
Many FP&A dashboards will need to display all 12 months in the current year, as well as Quarter, Half, and Total Year totals. Doing this is likely to create a ve...
Model Load:
A large and complex model such as 10B cells can take up to 10 minutes to load the first time it's in use after a period of inactivity of 60 minutes.
The only way to reduce the load time i...
Details of known issues
Challenge
Recommendations
Performance issues with long nested formulas
Need to have a long formula on time as a result of nested intermediate calculations.
I...
Overview:
A dashboard with grids that includes large lists that have been filtered and/or sorted can take time to open. The opening action can also become a blocking operation; when this happens, you...
Overview
Imports are blocking operations: To maintain a consistent view of the data, the model is locked during the import, and concurrent imports run by end-users will need to run one after the oth...
General Recommendations
It is important as model calculations increase to ensure that the calculations and structures are as optimal as possible. Easy checks include:
Ensure the dimension order in t...
The process of designing a model will help you:
Understand the customer’s problem more completely
Bring to light any incorrect assumptions you may have made, allowing for correction before building ...
It is important to understand what Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) enables clients to do within Anaplan.
In short, ALM enables clients to effectively manage the development, testing, depl...
PLANS is the new standard for Anaplan modeling—“the way we model.” This covers more than just the formulas and includes and evolves existing best practices around user experience and data hubs. It is...
Thinking through the results of a modeling decision is a key part of ensuring good model performance—in other words, making sure the calculation engine isn’t overtaxed. This article highlights some i...
Note: While all of these scripts have been tested and found to be fully functional, due to the vast amount of potential use cases, Anaplan does not explicitly support custom scripts built by our cust...
Dimension Order Affects Calculation Performance
Ensuring consistency in the order of dimensions will help improve the performance of your models. This consistency is relevant for modules and individu...
Personal dashboards are a great new feature that enables end users to save a personalized view of a dashboard. To get the most out of this feature, here are a few tips and tricks.
Tidy Up Dashboards
...
If you have a multi-year model where the data range for different parts of the model varies, (for example, history covering two years, current year forecast, and three planning years) then Time Range...
L'application Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) vous permet maintenant de vous approprier les clés de chiffrement de vos données de modèle. Si vous avez accès à l'outil Anaplan Administration, vous pouvez ch...
Summary
Anaplan Connect is a command-line client to the Anaplan cloud-based planning environment and is a java-based utility that is able to perform a variety of commands, such as uploading and downl...
Making sure that production data lists are correctly marked within a model is a key step to setting up and using Application Lifecycle Management (ALM). This guide will provide a solution to how...
This article provides the steps needed to create a basic time filter module. This module can be used as a point of reference for time filters across all modules and dashboards within a given model.
T...
Using line item subsets (LISS) can shorten formulas, making a solution more dynamic, scalable, maintainable—increasing model health and performance.
In this article, we describe how to easily extract Anaplan data with QlikView and use it in your analytics dashboards.
In part three of the series, learn more about data loss and how to remedy it should it happen.
An import action section can quickly become disorganized, making ongoing management challenging. Learn why and explore steps to take to prevent this from occurring.
Following announcements on the global strategic partnership between Anaplan and Google Cloud, we are pleased to unveil a new connector.
New Best Practice! This article works through how to manage the product lifecycle (governance, development, and maintenance) of your models, as well as apps built in the New UX.
This article provides a detailed approach of how to invoke Anaplan Rest API using Java Spring Boot Framework.
Learn some techniques for testing changes prior to deploying changes to production.
In the first of this 3-part series, learn about ALM compatibility and pitfalls.
During project implementation, it’s important to plan for a key component that may be overlooked—keeping the model clean and tidy.
Looking at transitioning from Classic to UX? The U.S.E.R. methodology can be your guide in this journey.
HyperModels extend calculation engine capabilities so users can increase scale to expand new use cases, manage historical and external data, forecast further, and model more scenarios.
Follow our UX team's recommendations and guidelines to leverage the UX to its fullest potential.
One important thing to consider about data is the format of the time that the source system has. This article explains the formats Anaplan can accept in an import and those which it cannot.
We give you some ideas about how to use the Excel and PowerPoint add-in in a creative way to achieve your business goals.
We focus on how you can better govern the Office add-ins (Excel and PowerPoint) in your company, especially about versions and file management, as well as installation and upgrade.
We focus on how to set up your Anaplan model and your connections with the Excel add-in for performance and reliability.
We focus on how to set up your Anaplan model and your connections with the PowerPoint add-in for performance and reliability.
We focus on best practices for using Excel and PowerPoint themselves.
The native DocuSign integration with Anaplan makes it simple to share information. Learn how a script can help simplify the process even more.
Learn how to use the new Time Labelling functionality whilst preserving your existing filters
This article explains the different scenarios and the implications of marking imports and import data sources as production data.
The ordering of list subsets can sometimes seem mysterious. Learn more about how to group subsets of lists, making them easier to find.
Develop a cohesive strategy for Anaplan roles with this visual comparison of Model Builder, Page Builder, and MyPages capabilities.
In this article, find timely and relevant detail on Anaplan's UX in the form of FAQs and analogies to ramp-up faster.
Power BI is a popular reporting tool, and this article will describe how to implement it with Anaplan Rest API version 2.0.
Forms are a new input mechanism added to the Anaplan UX that allow you to create simple, intuitive input forms that feel familiar to end users and submit data directly into your models.
New Best Practice—compare values in a TEXT formatted line item and identify the values that occur more than once (duplicates).
Hierarchy Management - Learn how to change the master data with no Impact on the hierarchy and the financials.
This guide will walk through the Time Setting in Anaplan models, as well as some best practice recommendations on automating the current time period to simplify formulas and dashboard views.
As an ad planner, sales representative, or merchandise planner, you might be interested in planning your sales or invoices using tier pricing. This solution will address a user-story that allows you ...
This user-story will provide a solution using a one-year model that uses a 445-monthly calendar.
An often requested output of a trade promotions use case is to understand sales between two specific dates— be it days, weeks, or months.
Best practices help you use the platform in the best way possible. In this example, learn how to set up a count based on an attribute.
When using CUMULATE over a list, performance can be impacted with large cell counts. CUMULATE over time is an alternative to consider.
Determining whether a List Item appears in a Subset isn't always standard. This Best Practice illustrates how to make that determination, elegantly.
Following the principles of D.I.S.C.O., this latest Best Practice takes an in-depth look at the ability to effectively achieve a forward-looking solution.
Calculating the difference between two dates is a common requirement. Learn more about the best practice for calculating the difference between two days/two months.
This article helps out to keep the model clean, optimized and secured. Simple tips, short and crispy solutions are given.
Check out the latest best practice article covering the two main settings related to how data is aggregated in Anaplan: Top Level Item and Parent Hierarchy.
Migrating from the classic SFDC platform to the Lightning platform can create issues with some Anaplan models. This article covers issues with SFDC objects and the steps to correct them.
Check out the latest best practice detailing how to clear data in Anaplan—from the basic to the programmatic—giving you all the flexibility needed for targeted clearing.
Line item subsets are one of the most powerful and efficient features in Anaplan, yet one of the least understood. The COLLECT() function is probably the only “black box” function within Anaplan as i...
Learn how using ratio can solve the problem of showing costs as positive numbers whilst subtracting them from totals
As described in the Authentication API documentation, an authentication token is needed to issue requests with API 2.0. The request for a token is made to:
https://auth.anaplan.com/token/authen...
This article covers the necessary steps to update the iPaaS connectors for HyperConnect/Informatica Cloud, Dell Boomi, Mulesoft and SnapLogic. See the article A Guide to CA Certificates in Anapl...
As a business operations manager on the Anaplan on Anaplan (AoA) team—an internal team, focused on bringing Connected Planning to life within Anaplan—I help to oversee our internal Anaplan model ecos...
What are the benefits and drawbacks of using Versions instead a General List
The Planual provides a systematic set of standards for model building on the Anaplan platform. The rules in it are designed produce the most efficient, usable, and scalable Anaplan models, while dram...
You may have heard about a model called a data hub, but perhaps you aren’t confident that you understand the fundamentals, primary functions, or considerations when architecting one. There are three ...
What is Pre-Allocation in Lists?
Pre-allocation in lists is a mechanism in Anaplan that adds a buffer to list lengths. It is not added by default for lists; it becomes enabled when a role is set on a...
How do we keep our users in the Anaplan platform to do their work which requires a high level of advanced customization, faster and more easily than their previous Excel environment? The solutio...
Learn how small changes can lead to dramtic improvements in model calculations
Overview
The following is a guide for the new Statistical Forecasting Calculation Engine Models (monthly and weekly). It includes enablement videos, practice data import exercise, model doc...
Creates the Java KeyStore required for Anaplan Connect 1.4
What happens to History when I delete a user from a workspace?
I recently posted a Python library for version 1.3 of our API. With the GA announcement of API 2.0, I'm sharing a new library that works with these endpoints. Like the previous library, this supports...
As a model builder, you have to define line item formats over and over. Using a text expander/snippet tool, you can speed up the configuration of modules.
When you add a new Line Item, Anaplan s...
Filters can be very useful in model building and are widely used, but they can come at the expense of performance—often very visible to users through their use on dashboards.
Performance can also hit...
This article covers the necessary steps for you to migrate your Anaplan Connect (AC) 1.3.x.x script to Anaplan Connect 1.4.x. For additional details and examples, refer to the latest Anapla...
Learn how to organize your model into logical parts to give you a well-designed model that is easy to follow, understand and amend at a later date
Dynamic Cell Access (DCA) controls the access levels for line items within modules. It is simple to implement and provides modelers with a flexible way of controlling user inputs. Here are a few...
Reducing the number of calculations will lead to quicker calculations and improve performance. However, this doesn’t mean combining all your calculations into fewer line items, as breaking calculatio...
Little and Often
Would you spend weeks on your budget submission spreadsheet or your college thesis without once saving it?
Probably not.
The same should apply to making developments and setting...
Imagine This Scenario:
You are in the middle of making changes in your development model and have been doing so for the last few weeks. The changes are not complete and are not ready to synchronize. ...
Imagine the Following Scenario:
You need to make regular structural changes to a deployed model (for example, weekly changes to the switchover date). You can make these changes by setting revision ta...
If you’re familiar with Anaplan, you’ve probably heard the buzz about having a data hub and wondered why it’s considered a “best practice” within the Anaplan community. Wonder no more. Below, I will ...
Assume the following Non-Composite list, ragged hierarchy, needs to be set to Production Data.
We need to refer to the ultimate parent to define the logic calculation. In the example, we have assume...
Anaplan API: Communication failure <SSL peer unverified: peer not authenticated>
This is a common error if a Customer Server is behind a proxy or firewall.
The solution is to have the cus...
You can interact with the data in your models using Anaplan's RESTful API. This enables you to securely import and export data, as well as run actions through any programmatic way you desire. The API...
Problem to solve:
As an HR manager, I need to enter the salary raise numbers for multiple regions that I'm responsible for.
As a domain best practice, my driver-based model helps me to enter raise g...
Summary
This article describes the technique to dynamically filter specific levels of a hierarchy on a dashboard and provides a method to select and visualize hierarchies on a dashboard.
Details
This...
Overview
These dashboards are absolutely critical to good usability of a model. Dashboards are the first contact between the end users and a model.
What SHOULD NOT be done in a landing...
Note that this article uses a planning dashboard as an example, but many of these principles apply to other types of dashboards as well.
Methodology
User Stories
Building a useful planning dashboard...
Deal with Monthly Dashboards
Many FP&A dashboards will need to display all 12 months in the current year, as well as Quarter, Half, and Total Year totals. Doing this is likely to create a ve...
Model Load:
A large and complex model such as 10B cells can take up to 10 minutes to load the first time it's in use after a period of inactivity of 60 minutes.
The only way to reduce the load time i...
Details of known issues
Challenge
Recommendations
Performance issues with long nested formulas
Need to have a long formula on time as a result of nested intermediate calculations.
I...
Overview:
A dashboard with grids that includes large lists that have been filtered and/or sorted can take time to open. The opening action can also become a blocking operation; when this happens, you...
Overview
Imports are blocking operations: To maintain a consistent view of the data, the model is locked during the import, and concurrent imports run by end-users will need to run one after the oth...
General Recommendations
It is important as model calculations increase to ensure that the calculations and structures are as optimal as possible. Easy checks include:
Ensure the dimension order in t...
The process of designing a model will help you:
Understand the customer’s problem more completely
Bring to light any incorrect assumptions you may have made, allowing for correction before building ...
It is important to understand what Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) enables clients to do within Anaplan.
In short, ALM enables clients to effectively manage the development, testing, depl...
PLANS is the new standard for Anaplan modeling—“the way we model.” This covers more than just the formulas and includes and evolves existing best practices around user experience and data hubs. It is...
Thinking through the results of a modeling decision is a key part of ensuring good model performance—in other words, making sure the calculation engine isn’t overtaxed. This article highlights some i...
Note: While all of these scripts have been tested and found to be fully functional, due to the vast amount of potential use cases, Anaplan does not explicitly support custom scripts built by our cust...
Dimension Order Affects Calculation Performance
Ensuring consistency in the order of dimensions will help improve the performance of your models. This consistency is relevant for modules and individu...
Personal dashboards are a great new feature that enables end users to save a personalized view of a dashboard. To get the most out of this feature, here are a few tips and tricks.
Tidy Up Dashboards
...
If you have a multi-year model where the data range for different parts of the model varies, (for example, history covering two years, current year forecast, and three planning years) then Time Range...
L'application Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) vous permet maintenant de vous approprier les clés de chiffrement de vos données de modèle. Si vous avez accès à l'outil Anaplan Administration, vous pouvez ch...
Summary
Anaplan Connect is a command-line client to the Anaplan cloud-based planning environment and is a java-based utility that is able to perform a variety of commands, such as uploading and downl...
Making sure that production data lists are correctly marked within a model is a key step to setting up and using Application Lifecycle Management (ALM). This guide will provide a solution to how...
This article provides the steps needed to create a basic time filter module. This module can be used as a point of reference for time filters across all modules and dashboards within a given model.
T...
What are the benefits and drawbacks of using Versions instead a General List
Power BI is a popular reporting tool, and this article will describe how to implement it with Anaplan Rest API version 2.0.
The Planual provides a systematic set of standards for model building on the Anaplan platform. The rules in it are designed produce the most efficient, usable, and scalable Anaplan models, while dram...
Learn how small changes can lead to dramtic improvements in model calculations
You may have heard about a model called a data hub, but perhaps you aren’t confident that you understand the fundamentals, primary functions, or considerations when architecting one. There are three ...
This article helps out to keep the model clean, optimized and secured. Simple tips, short and crispy solutions are given.
HyperModels extend calculation engine capabilities so users can increase scale to expand new use cases, manage historical and external data, forecast further, and model more scenarios.
Summary
This article describes the technique to dynamically filter specific levels of a hierarchy on a dashboard and provides a method to select and visualize hierarchies on a dashboard.
Details
This...
Line item subsets are one of the most powerful and efficient features in Anaplan, yet one of the least understood. The COLLECT() function is probably the only “black box” function within Anaplan as i...
During project implementation, it’s important to plan for a key component that may be overlooked—keeping the model clean and tidy.
How do we keep our users in the Anaplan platform to do their work which requires a high level of advanced customization, faster and more easily than their previous Excel environment? The solutio...
In the first of this 3-part series, learn about ALM compatibility and pitfalls.
Thinking through the results of a modeling decision is a key part of ensuring good model performance—in other words, making sure the calculation engine isn’t overtaxed. This article highlights some i...
Follow our UX team's recommendations and guidelines to leverage the UX to its fullest potential.
The process of designing a model will help you:
Understand the customer’s problem more completely
Bring to light any incorrect assumptions you may have made, allowing for correction before building ...
Best practices help you use the platform in the best way possible. In this example, learn how to set up a count based on an attribute.
Develop a cohesive strategy for Anaplan roles with this visual comparison of Model Builder, Page Builder, and MyPages capabilities.
This guide will walk through the Time Setting in Anaplan models, as well as some best practice recommendations on automating the current time period to simplify formulas and dashboard views.
Note: While all of these scripts have been tested and found to be fully functional, due to the vast amount of potential use cases, Anaplan does not explicitly support custom scripts built by our cust...
Following the principles of D.I.S.C.O., this latest Best Practice takes an in-depth look at the ability to effectively achieve a forward-looking solution.
Learn how to organize your model into logical parts to give you a well-designed model that is easy to follow, understand and amend at a later date
Reducing the number of calculations will lead to quicker calculations and improve performance. However, this doesn’t mean combining all your calculations into fewer line items, as breaking calculatio...
This article explains the different scenarios and the implications of marking imports and import data sources as production data.
This user-story will provide a solution using a one-year model that uses a 445-monthly calendar.
PLANS is the new standard for Anaplan modeling—“the way we model.” This covers more than just the formulas and includes and evolves existing best practices around user experience and data hubs. It is...
Learn some techniques for testing changes prior to deploying changes to production.
Hierarchy Management - Learn how to change the master data with no Impact on the hierarchy and the financials.
In this article, find timely and relevant detail on Anaplan's UX in the form of FAQs and analogies to ramp-up faster.
An often requested output of a trade promotions use case is to understand sales between two specific dates— be it days, weeks, or months.
Overview
The following is a guide for the new Statistical Forecasting Calculation Engine Models (monthly and weekly). It includes enablement videos, practice data import exercise, model doc...
New Best Practice! This article works through how to manage the product lifecycle (governance, development, and maintenance) of your models, as well as apps built in the New UX.
Imagine This Scenario:
You are in the middle of making changes in your development model and have been doing so for the last few weeks. The changes are not complete and are not ready to synchronize. ...
This article provides a detailed approach of how to invoke Anaplan Rest API using Java Spring Boot Framework.
The ordering of list subsets can sometimes seem mysterious. Learn more about how to group subsets of lists, making them easier to find.
As an ad planner, sales representative, or merchandise planner, you might be interested in planning your sales or invoices using tier pricing. This solution will address a user-story that allows you ...
In part three of the series, learn more about data loss and how to remedy it should it happen.
An import action section can quickly become disorganized, making ongoing management challenging. Learn why and explore steps to take to prevent this from occurring.
We focus on how to set up your Anaplan model and your connections with the Excel add-in for performance and reliability.
Determining whether a List Item appears in a Subset isn't always standard. This Best Practice illustrates how to make that determination, elegantly.
Check out the latest best practice detailing how to clear data in Anaplan—from the basic to the programmatic—giving you all the flexibility needed for targeted clearing.
I recently posted a Python library for version 1.3 of our API. With the GA announcement of API 2.0, I'm sharing a new library that works with these endpoints. Like the previous library, this supports...
Dimension Order Affects Calculation Performance
Ensuring consistency in the order of dimensions will help improve the performance of your models. This consistency is relevant for modules and individu...
Summary
Anaplan Connect is a command-line client to the Anaplan cloud-based planning environment and is a java-based utility that is able to perform a variety of commands, such as uploading and downl...
Learn how using ratio can solve the problem of showing costs as positive numbers whilst subtracting them from totals
Using line item subsets (LISS) can shorten formulas, making a solution more dynamic, scalable, maintainable—increasing model health and performance.
Filters can be very useful in model building and are widely used, but they can come at the expense of performance—often very visible to users through their use on dashboards.
Performance can also hit...
Dynamic Cell Access (DCA) controls the access levels for line items within modules. It is simple to implement and provides modelers with a flexible way of controlling user inputs. Here are a few...
Overview
Imports are blocking operations: To maintain a consistent view of the data, the model is locked during the import, and concurrent imports run by end-users will need to run one after the oth...
Following announcements on the global strategic partnership between Anaplan and Google Cloud, we are pleased to unveil a new connector.
One important thing to consider about data is the format of the time that the source system has. This article explains the formats Anaplan can accept in an import and those which it cannot.
Learn how to use the new Time Labelling functionality whilst preserving your existing filters
When using CUMULATE over a list, performance can be impacted with large cell counts. CUMULATE over time is an alternative to consider.
As a business operations manager on the Anaplan on Anaplan (AoA) team—an internal team, focused on bringing Connected Planning to life within Anaplan—I help to oversee our internal Anaplan model ecos...
If you’re familiar with Anaplan, you’ve probably heard the buzz about having a data hub and wondered why it’s considered a “best practice” within the Anaplan community. Wonder no more. Below, I will ...
This article provides the steps needed to create a basic time filter module. This module can be used as a point of reference for time filters across all modules and dashboards within a given model.
T...
Forms are a new input mechanism added to the Anaplan UX that allow you to create simple, intuitive input forms that feel familiar to end users and submit data directly into your models.
Calculating the difference between two dates is a common requirement. Learn more about the best practice for calculating the difference between two days/two months.
Looking at transitioning from Classic to UX? The U.S.E.R. methodology can be your guide in this journey.
We give you some ideas about how to use the Excel and PowerPoint add-in in a creative way to achieve your business goals.
Note that this article uses a planning dashboard as an example, but many of these principles apply to other types of dashboards as well.
Methodology
User Stories
Building a useful planning dashboard...
If you have a multi-year model where the data range for different parts of the model varies, (for example, history covering two years, current year forecast, and three planning years) then Time Range...
In this article, we describe how to easily extract Anaplan data with QlikView and use it in your analytics dashboards.
Check out the latest best practice article covering the two main settings related to how data is aggregated in Anaplan: Top Level Item and Parent Hierarchy.
This article covers the necessary steps for you to migrate your Anaplan Connect (AC) 1.3.x.x script to Anaplan Connect 1.4.x. For additional details and examples, refer to the latest Anapla...
Little and Often
Would you spend weeks on your budget submission spreadsheet or your college thesis without once saving it?
Probably not.
The same should apply to making developments and setting...
As described in the Authentication API documentation, an authentication token is needed to issue requests with API 2.0. The request for a token is made to:
https://auth.anaplan.com/token/authen...
Assume the following Non-Composite list, ragged hierarchy, needs to be set to Production Data.
We need to refer to the ultimate parent to define the logic calculation. In the example, we have assume...
Overview
These dashboards are absolutely critical to good usability of a model. Dashboards are the first contact between the end users and a model.
What SHOULD NOT be done in a landing...
Deal with Monthly Dashboards
Many FP&A dashboards will need to display all 12 months in the current year, as well as Quarter, Half, and Total Year totals. Doing this is likely to create a ve...
Model Load:
A large and complex model such as 10B cells can take up to 10 minutes to load the first time it's in use after a period of inactivity of 60 minutes.
The only way to reduce the load time i...
Details of known issues
Challenge
Recommendations
Performance issues with long nested formulas
Need to have a long formula on time as a result of nested intermediate calculations.
I...
Overview:
A dashboard with grids that includes large lists that have been filtered and/or sorted can take time to open. The opening action can also become a blocking operation; when this happens, you...
New Best Practice—compare values in a TEXT formatted line item and identify the values that occur more than once (duplicates).
What is Pre-Allocation in Lists?
Pre-allocation in lists is a mechanism in Anaplan that adds a buffer to list lengths. It is not added by default for lists; it becomes enabled when a role is set on a...
What happens to History when I delete a user from a workspace?
Imagine the Following Scenario:
You need to make regular structural changes to a deployed model (for example, weekly changes to the switchover date). You can make these changes by setting revision ta...
You can interact with the data in your models using Anaplan's RESTful API. This enables you to securely import and export data, as well as run actions through any programmatic way you desire. The API...
Problem to solve:
As an HR manager, I need to enter the salary raise numbers for multiple regions that I'm responsible for.
As a domain best practice, my driver-based model helps me to enter raise g...
General Recommendations
It is important as model calculations increase to ensure that the calculations and structures are as optimal as possible. Easy checks include:
Ensure the dimension order in t...
It is important to understand what Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) enables clients to do within Anaplan.
In short, ALM enables clients to effectively manage the development, testing, depl...
Personal dashboards are a great new feature that enables end users to save a personalized view of a dashboard. To get the most out of this feature, here are a few tips and tricks.
Tidy Up Dashboards
...
We focus on how you can better govern the Office add-ins (Excel and PowerPoint) in your company, especially about versions and file management, as well as installation and upgrade.
We focus on best practices for using Excel and PowerPoint themselves.
We focus on how to set up your Anaplan model and your connections with the PowerPoint add-in for performance and reliability.
Making sure that production data lists are correctly marked within a model is a key step to setting up and using Application Lifecycle Management (ALM). This guide will provide a solution to how...
The native DocuSign integration with Anaplan makes it simple to share information. Learn how a script can help simplify the process even more.
Migrating from the classic SFDC platform to the Lightning platform can create issues with some Anaplan models. This article covers issues with SFDC objects and the steps to correct them.
This article covers the necessary steps to update the iPaaS connectors for HyperConnect/Informatica Cloud, Dell Boomi, Mulesoft and SnapLogic. See the article A Guide to CA Certificates in Anapl...
Creates the Java KeyStore required for Anaplan Connect 1.4
As a model builder, you have to define line item formats over and over. Using a text expander/snippet tool, you can speed up the configuration of modules.
When you add a new Line Item, Anaplan s...
Anaplan API: Communication failure <SSL peer unverified: peer not authenticated>
This is a common error if a Customer Server is behind a proxy or firewall.
The solution is to have the cus...
L'application Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) vous permet maintenant de vous approprier les clés de chiffrement de vos données de modèle. Si vous avez accès à l'outil Anaplan Administration, vous pouvez ch...
Using line item subsets (LISS) can shorten formulas, making a solution more dynamic, scalable, maintainable—increasing model health and performance.
In this article, we describe how to easily extract Anaplan data with QlikView and use it in your analytics dashboards.
In part three of the series, learn more about data loss and how to remedy it should it happen.
An import action section can quickly become disorganized, making ongoing management challenging. Learn why and explore steps to take to prevent this from occurring.
This article provides a detailed approach of how to invoke Anaplan Rest API using Java Spring Boot Framework.
Learn some techniques for testing changes prior to deploying changes to production.
Following announcements on the global strategic partnership between Anaplan and Google Cloud, we are pleased to unveil a new connector.
In the first of this 3-part series, learn about ALM compatibility and pitfalls.
During project implementation, it’s important to plan for a key component that may be overlooked—keeping the model clean and tidy.
Looking at transitioning from Classic to UX? The U.S.E.R. methodology can be your guide in this journey.
HyperModels extend calculation engine capabilities so users can increase scale to expand new use cases, manage historical and external data, forecast further, and model more scenarios.
Follow our UX team's recommendations and guidelines to leverage the UX to its fullest potential.
One important thing to consider about data is the format of the time that the source system has. This article explains the formats Anaplan can accept in an import and those which it cannot.
This article provides the steps needed to create a basic time filter module. This module can be used as a point of reference for time filters across all modules and dashboards within a given model.
T...
Learn how to use the new Time Labelling functionality whilst preserving your existing filters
The native DocuSign integration with Anaplan makes it simple to share information. Learn how a script can help simplify the process even more.
This article explains the different scenarios and the implications of marking imports and import data sources as production data.
Develop a cohesive strategy for Anaplan roles with this visual comparison of Model Builder, Page Builder, and MyPages capabilities.
In this article, find timely and relevant detail on Anaplan's UX in the form of FAQs and analogies to ramp-up faster.
The ordering of list subsets can sometimes seem mysterious. Learn more about how to group subsets of lists, making them easier to find.
Power BI is a popular reporting tool, and this article will describe how to implement it with Anaplan Rest API version 2.0.
New Best Practice! This article works through how to manage the product lifecycle (governance, development, and maintenance) of your models, as well as apps built in the New UX.
We focus on how you can better govern the Office add-ins (Excel and PowerPoint) in your company, especially about versions and file management, as well as installation and upgrade.
We focus on best practices for using Excel and PowerPoint themselves.
We give you some ideas about how to use the Excel and PowerPoint add-in in a creative way to achieve your business goals.
We focus on how to set up your Anaplan model and your connections with the Excel add-in for performance and reliability.
We focus on how to set up your Anaplan model and your connections with the PowerPoint add-in for performance and reliability.
Forms are a new input mechanism added to the Anaplan UX that allow you to create simple, intuitive input forms that feel familiar to end users and submit data directly into your models.
New Best Practice—compare values in a TEXT formatted line item and identify the values that occur more than once (duplicates).
Hierarchy Management - Learn how to change the master data with no Impact on the hierarchy and the financials.
This guide will walk through the Time Setting in Anaplan models, as well as some best practice recommendations on automating the current time period to simplify formulas and dashboard views.
As an ad planner, sales representative, or merchandise planner, you might be interested in planning your sales or invoices using tier pricing. This solution will address a user-story that allows you ...
This user-story will provide a solution using a one-year model that uses a 445-monthly calendar.
An often requested output of a trade promotions use case is to understand sales between two specific dates— be it days, weeks, or months.
Best practices help you use the platform in the best way possible. In this example, learn how to set up a count based on an attribute.
When using CUMULATE over a list, performance can be impacted with large cell counts. CUMULATE over time is an alternative to consider.
Following the principles of D.I.S.C.O., this latest Best Practice takes an in-depth look at the ability to effectively achieve a forward-looking solution.
Determining whether a List Item appears in a Subset isn't always standard. This Best Practice illustrates how to make that determination, elegantly.
Calculating the difference between two dates is a common requirement. Learn more about the best practice for calculating the difference between two days/two months.
Check out the latest best practice article covering the two main settings related to how data is aggregated in Anaplan: Top Level Item and Parent Hierarchy.
This article helps out to keep the model clean, optimized and secured. Simple tips, short and crispy solutions are given.
Migrating from the classic SFDC platform to the Lightning platform can create issues with some Anaplan models. This article covers issues with SFDC objects and the steps to correct them.
Check out the latest best practice detailing how to clear data in Anaplan—from the basic to the programmatic—giving you all the flexibility needed for targeted clearing.
Line item subsets are one of the most powerful and efficient features in Anaplan, yet one of the least understood. The COLLECT() function is probably the only “black box” function within Anaplan as i...
Learn how using ratio can solve the problem of showing costs as positive numbers whilst subtracting them from totals
As described in the Authentication API documentation, an authentication token is needed to issue requests with API 2.0. The request for a token is made to:
https://auth.anaplan.com/token/authen...
This article covers the necessary steps to update the iPaaS connectors for HyperConnect/Informatica Cloud, Dell Boomi, Mulesoft and SnapLogic. See the article A Guide to CA Certificates in Anapl...
As a business operations manager on the Anaplan on Anaplan (AoA) team—an internal team, focused on bringing Connected Planning to life within Anaplan—I help to oversee our internal Anaplan model ecos...
What are the benefits and drawbacks of using Versions instead a General List
The Planual provides a systematic set of standards for model building on the Anaplan platform. The rules in it are designed produce the most efficient, usable, and scalable Anaplan models, while dram...
You may have heard about a model called a data hub, but perhaps you aren’t confident that you understand the fundamentals, primary functions, or considerations when architecting one. There are three ...
What is Pre-Allocation in Lists?
Pre-allocation in lists is a mechanism in Anaplan that adds a buffer to list lengths. It is not added by default for lists; it becomes enabled when a role is set on a...
How do we keep our users in the Anaplan platform to do their work which requires a high level of advanced customization, faster and more easily than their previous Excel environment? The solutio...
Learn how small changes can lead to dramtic improvements in model calculations
Overview
The following is a guide for the new Statistical Forecasting Calculation Engine Models (monthly and weekly). It includes enablement videos, practice data import exercise, model doc...
Creates the Java KeyStore required for Anaplan Connect 1.4
What happens to History when I delete a user from a workspace?
I recently posted a Python library for version 1.3 of our API. With the GA announcement of API 2.0, I'm sharing a new library that works with these endpoints. Like the previous library, this supports...
As a model builder, you have to define line item formats over and over. Using a text expander/snippet tool, you can speed up the configuration of modules.
When you add a new Line Item, Anaplan s...
Filters can be very useful in model building and are widely used, but they can come at the expense of performance—often very visible to users through their use on dashboards.
Performance can also hit...
This article covers the necessary steps for you to migrate your Anaplan Connect (AC) 1.3.x.x script to Anaplan Connect 1.4.x. For additional details and examples, refer to the latest Anapla...
Learn how to organize your model into logical parts to give you a well-designed model that is easy to follow, understand and amend at a later date
Dynamic Cell Access (DCA) controls the access levels for line items within modules. It is simple to implement and provides modelers with a flexible way of controlling user inputs. Here are a few...
Reducing the number of calculations will lead to quicker calculations and improve performance. However, this doesn’t mean combining all your calculations into fewer line items, as breaking calculatio...
Little and Often
Would you spend weeks on your budget submission spreadsheet or your college thesis without once saving it?
Probably not.
The same should apply to making developments and setting...
Imagine This Scenario:
You are in the middle of making changes in your development model and have been doing so for the last few weeks. The changes are not complete and are not ready to synchronize. ...
Imagine the Following Scenario:
You need to make regular structural changes to a deployed model (for example, weekly changes to the switchover date). You can make these changes by setting revision ta...
If you’re familiar with Anaplan, you’ve probably heard the buzz about having a data hub and wondered why it’s considered a “best practice” within the Anaplan community. Wonder no more. Below, I will ...
Assume the following Non-Composite list, ragged hierarchy, needs to be set to Production Data.
We need to refer to the ultimate parent to define the logic calculation. In the example, we have assume...
Anaplan API: Communication failure <SSL peer unverified: peer not authenticated>
This is a common error if a Customer Server is behind a proxy or firewall.
The solution is to have the cus...
You can interact with the data in your models using Anaplan's RESTful API. This enables you to securely import and export data, as well as run actions through any programmatic way you desire. The API...
Problem to solve:
As an HR manager, I need to enter the salary raise numbers for multiple regions that I'm responsible for.
As a domain best practice, my driver-based model helps me to enter raise g...
Summary
This article describes the technique to dynamically filter specific levels of a hierarchy on a dashboard and provides a method to select and visualize hierarchies on a dashboard.
Details
This...
Overview
These dashboards are absolutely critical to good usability of a model. Dashboards are the first contact between the end users and a model.
What SHOULD NOT be done in a landing...
Note that this article uses a planning dashboard as an example, but many of these principles apply to other types of dashboards as well.
Methodology
User Stories
Building a useful planning dashboard...
Deal with Monthly Dashboards
Many FP&A dashboards will need to display all 12 months in the current year, as well as Quarter, Half, and Total Year totals. Doing this is likely to create a ve...
Model Load:
A large and complex model such as 10B cells can take up to 10 minutes to load the first time it's in use after a period of inactivity of 60 minutes.
The only way to reduce the load time i...
Details of known issues
Challenge
Recommendations
Performance issues with long nested formulas
Need to have a long formula on time as a result of nested intermediate calculations.
I...
Overview:
A dashboard with grids that includes large lists that have been filtered and/or sorted can take time to open. The opening action can also become a blocking operation; when this happens, you...
Overview
Imports are blocking operations: To maintain a consistent view of the data, the model is locked during the import, and concurrent imports run by end-users will need to run one after the oth...
General Recommendations
It is important as model calculations increase to ensure that the calculations and structures are as optimal as possible. Easy checks include:
Ensure the dimension order in t...
The process of designing a model will help you:
Understand the customer’s problem more completely
Bring to light any incorrect assumptions you may have made, allowing for correction before building ...
It is important to understand what Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) enables clients to do within Anaplan.
In short, ALM enables clients to effectively manage the development, testing, depl...
PLANS is the new standard for Anaplan modeling—“the way we model.” This covers more than just the formulas and includes and evolves existing best practices around user experience and data hubs. It is...
Thinking through the results of a modeling decision is a key part of ensuring good model performance—in other words, making sure the calculation engine isn’t overtaxed. This article highlights some i...
Note: While all of these scripts have been tested and found to be fully functional, due to the vast amount of potential use cases, Anaplan does not explicitly support custom scripts built by our cust...
Dimension Order Affects Calculation Performance
Ensuring consistency in the order of dimensions will help improve the performance of your models. This consistency is relevant for modules and individu...
Personal dashboards are a great new feature that enables end users to save a personalized view of a dashboard. To get the most out of this feature, here are a few tips and tricks.
Tidy Up Dashboards
...
If you have a multi-year model where the data range for different parts of the model varies, (for example, history covering two years, current year forecast, and three planning years) then Time Range...
L'application Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) vous permet maintenant de vous approprier les clés de chiffrement de vos données de modèle. Si vous avez accès à l'outil Anaplan Administration, vous pouvez ch...
Summary
Anaplan Connect is a command-line client to the Anaplan cloud-based planning environment and is a java-based utility that is able to perform a variety of commands, such as uploading and downl...
Making sure that production data lists are correctly marked within a model is a key step to setting up and using Application Lifecycle Management (ALM). This guide will provide a solution to how...