Anaplan Snapshotting Learning App User Guide

Transcription

1 Anaplan Snapshotting Learning App User Guide For Public Use Last updated: May 19, 2016 Prepared by ZS Associates ZS Associates

2 Overview Background Snapshotting is a common technique used to store data in an Anaplan model while avoiding the use of the Versions feature. Our training covers multiple snapshotting approaches as well as documentation guidelines to make the process more transparent and repeatable. Snapshotting is one of the concepts taught as part of ZS's Center of Excellence for Anaplan learning. To download the Snapshotting Learning App, please visit the following link for the Anaplan App Hub. Please note, you must have access to an Anaplan workspace before you can access the app. Additional Info For additional information about ZS Associates and Anaplan, please visit: For additional trainings or assistance with Anaplan implementations, please contact: zs.anaplan@zsassociates.com 2014 ZS Associates 2 Document Name

3 Snapshotting Definition Snapshotting is a technique used for two specific purposes: - To hardcode specific calculations so that they are static - To store those values somewhere in your model One of the main drivers for using snapshotting (as opposed to having all of your data values actively calculated) is to limit usage of Anaplan s memory. Having too many calculations or using Anaplan s Versions functionality can put significant strain on the model and cause model processing to run very slowly. Unlike Versions, which can potentially double the size of the model, snapshotting allows you to be much more specific about which data you want to copy. By hardcoding certain calculations and only storing the values you need, you avoid increasing the model size and you mitigate the impact of potential size increases in the future. For all snapshotting cases, consider using a purge process if the data you are storing becomes too large in size. Use Cases Three common use cases exist for Snapshotting: 2014 ZS Associates 3 Document Name

4 Case 1: Using Snapshots to avoid using Versions Exercise Objective: - Create a snapshot process for the Long Range Forecast that allows you to model scenarios based on different assumptions - Do not use Anaplan s Versions functionality Exercise Background: - Your scenario adjustments are fairly complex - You have a specific scenario output in mind and do not need to save the entire model to represent a scenario - You do not want to use the Anaplan s versions functionality - You potentially will have a lot of snapshots to deal with Key Steps Required: 1. Determine what data you want to include in each snapshot / saved scenario 2. Determine your snapshot cadence & frequency, create list to represent it 3. Create a snapshot module, dimensioned by the snapshot cadence list 4. Run an import action from within destination module 5. Incorporate snapshotting into your standard process Exercise Steps: Step 1: Determine what data you want to include in each snapshot / saved scenario Open the module named Long Range Forecast This module will represent the data you want to save with each scenario Note that the module includes both input and output values, all of which we want saved 2014 ZS Associates 4 Document Name

5 Step 2: Create a list to represent your snapshot cadence or maximum For some snapshot processes you will want a regular cadence (for example, weekly), and in those situations, it makes sense to name your list items based on that cadence (Week 1, Week 2, etc.) For this exercise, we will assume there is no regular cadence, but there is a maximum amount of scenarios we want to store in the model. The maximum amount for this exercise will be 10 Create a new list named Scenarios Add 10 items with the Scenario prefix to the list. Step 3: Create a snapshot module, dimensioned by the snapshot cadence list Create a new module, representing where you will store all of your snapshots, and title it Long Range Forecast Scenarios The easiest way to do this is to Use Anaplan s Copy Module feature and to copy your original Long Range Forecast module Within the Modules list, highlight the module in question and click Copy 2014 ZS Associates 5 Document Name

6 Title it Long Range Forecast Scenarios Since we want this module to be blank, remember to uncheck the box for Include cell data in module copy Once the new module has been created, delete the formulas within the module so it is completely blank. And finally, apply the Scenarios list to the module you just created. The easiest way to do this is to go to your modules list, and add the list in question in the Applies To field ZS Associates 6 Document Name

7 You now have a destination module to store your snapshots. Step 4: Run an import action from within destination module While still in your newly created Long Range Forecast Scenarios module, return to Pivot View Then click: - Data Import - Select Connect to Anaplan Model - Select the same model that you are using - Select the module you want to import from, in this case Long Range Forecast 2014 ZS Associates 7 Document Name

8 If you ve structured your modules the same way, the proper mappings should populate automatically Make sure that Scenarios is set to Ask each time import is run This allows you to designate which scenario you import the data into each time Click Run Import For this Exercise, select Scenario 1 as the destination of the forecast data. The import should complete without errors The No Data lines will have been ignored 2014 ZS Associates 8 Document Name

9 Refer back to the Long Range Forecast Scenarios module It should now be populated with inputs (all blue text) and should have no formulas Step 5: Incorporate snapshotting into your standard process Create a new dashboard called Long Range Forecast Planning Add a title to your dashboard and format it as Heading 1 Publish your original Long Range Forecast module to this dashboard Go to Settings Actions Select New Action Process Create a new process named Save Scenario With the Save Scenario process highlighted, click on Edit 2014 ZS Associates 9 Document Name

10 Find the import action you created in Step 4 within the Edit interface and add it to the process With the Save Scenario process highlighted, select View Publish to Dashboard Long Range Forecast Planning Your dashboard should now look like this Add help text to describe the intended usage of this interface 2014 ZS Associates 10 Document Name

11 Case 2: Using Snapshots to hardcode summary values derived from a large data set Exercise Objective: - Save the summary values from a large data set without storing the data at the lowest level of granularity - Specifically, the Estimated Potential values at the Region level, at the end of every single month - Data will be at the Monthly level of detail and we will need to capture the entire timescale Exercise Background: - Assume you have a large set of data that is being updated periodically - You do not need to snapshot the entire model every period, only a summary of that data Key Steps Required: 1. Determine what data you want to include in each snapshot / saved scenario 2. Create a saved view representing the summarized data you want to save 3. Determine your snapshot cadence & frequency, create list to represent it 4. Create a summary snapshot module, dimensioned by the snapshot cadence list 5. Run an import action from within destination module 6. Incorporate snapshotting into your standard process Step 1: Determine what data you want to include in each snapshot / saved scenario Open the module named Estimated Potential We know from the objective that we want to snapshot the Estimated Potential line item. Step 2: Create a saved view representing the summarized data you want to save Re-pivot the data so that Account Assignment (L5) is in Rows, and Line Items is in Pages 2014 ZS Associates 11 Document Name

12 Right click the list items in the pivot view and select Select Levels to show Limit the levels shown to just Region (L2) 2014 ZS Associates 12 Document Name

13 Re-pivot the data again to have Line Items in the Rows Right click the line items to the left and hide Active Assignment?. Based on the requirement, we don t need to snapshot this line item. Hiding this in the saved view prevents us from getting import errors. If you re-pivot back to the original view (with line items on the pages and Account Assignment (L5) in the rows) and scroll to Jan 15, your view should look like this ZS Associates 13 Document Name

14 Click on View Save As Save the View as Estimated Potential Region View Step 3: Determine your snapshot cadence & frequency, create list to represent it We need to create a list that allows for snapshots every month Create a list named Snapshot Cadence Add placeholders for every month in ZS Associates 14 Document Name

15 Step 4: Create a summary snapshot module, dimensioned by the snapshot cadence list This is the one step that is slightly different than the previous exercise Create a new module that will represent where you store your snapshotted data Pages: - Region (L4) (this is the level of detail we are snapshotting at) - Snapshot Cadence (this represents the placeholder in which you store your snapshots) Columns - Time Line Items - Estimated Potential Repivot your data so that Region is in Rows and Snapshot Cadence and Line Items are in Pages 2014 ZS Associates 15 Document Name

16 Save this as the default view for the module Step 5: Run an import action from within destination module While still in your newly created Estimated Potential Region Summary module, return to Pivot View Then click: - Data Import - Select Connect to Anaplan Model - Select the same model that you are using - Select the Saved View radio button - Select Estimated Potential Region View 2014 ZS Associates 16 Document Name

17 Once you get to the import screen you ll need to update a couple of the mappings Map Region (L2) to Account Assignment (L5) this mapping will work, even though the two are technically different, because Region (L2) is part of the same nested hierarchy as Account Assignment (L5) Map Snapshot Cadence to Ask each time import is run you ll want to designated the monthly placeholder your data goes into each time you snapshot 2014 ZS Associates 17 Document Name

18 Go to the Region (L2) mapping tab and check that all the regions are mapping correctly Go to the last tab of the input interface and check that the Estimated Potential line items are mapping appropriately 2014 ZS Associates 18 Document Name

19 The import should complete without errors. The ignored items are the quarterly and annual summary values. Open up your snapshot storage module. Starting with Jan 15, your data should look like this: Step 6: Incorporate snapshotting into your standard process Create a new dashboard called Administrator View Add a title to your dashboard and format it as Heading ZS Associates 19 Document Name

20 Add another subtitle to your dashboard, named Monthly Tasks and format it as Heading 3 Go to Settings Actions Select New Action Process Create a new process named Run Monthly Snapshot With the Run Estimated Potential Snapshot process highlighted, click on Edit Find the import action you created in Step 4 within the Edit interface and add it to the process With the Save Scenario process highlighted, select View Publish to Dashboard Administrator View Your dashboard should now look like this: 2014 ZS Associates 20 Document Name

21 Add help text to describe the intended usage of this interface 2014 ZS Associates 21 Document Name

22 Case 3: Using Snapshots to track changes to a list item Exercise Objective: - Create a process that will periodically snapshot the Employees list to provide the ability to track list property changes over time Exercise Background: - Lists are two dimensional and therefore do not inherently contain a timescale dimension - Does require periodic snapshotting to make work if snapshotting does not occur, process can break down - In some ways, snapshotting a list can act as an alternative to using effective dating to track changes to a list - Remember to think about how to handle the change scenarios to this list, particular adding and removing people from the list Key Steps Required: 1. Determine what data you want to include in each snapshot / saved scenario 2. Determine your snapshot cadence & frequency, create list to represent it 3. Create a snapshot storage module, dimensioned by the snapshot cadence list 4. Run an import action from within destination module 5. Create a variance report to track when changes to the list have occurred 6. Incorporate snapshotting into your standard process Step 1: Determine what data you want to include in each snapshot / saved scenario For this exercise, the data we want to snapshot is everything in the Employee list. This is all the properties that are associated with that list. Assume that we want to include the hierarchy information as well. Step 2: Determine your snapshot cadence & frequency, create list to represent it We need to create a list that allows for snapshots every month. For this exercise, because our model is already set to month, we ll use the model s timescale as our cadence. Additionally, using time to represent your cadence is required if you want to calculate changes between different periods. Therefore, no need to create an other list. Step 3: Create a snapshot storage module, dimensioned by the snapshot cadence list Create a module named Employee Snapshot Storage that will match all the list items you want to capture ZS Associates 22 Document Name

23 Pages: - Employees Columns - Time (this represents the placeholder in which you store your snapshots) Line Items - Start Date - Term Date - Transfer Date - Title - Manager - Product Department - Geo (L1) Text - Region (L2) Text - Branch (L3) Text Go into Blueprint Mode and adjust the formats for each line item to the specifications indicated below: 2014 ZS Associates 23 Document Name

24 Re-pivot the data so that Time is in Pages, Employees is in Rows, and Line items is in Columns. This shouldn t affect the import process, but it makes the view easier to understand. Save this view as the default view for this module. Click on View Save As Check Save as default view for module Click Save 2014 ZS Associates 24 Document Name

25 Step 5: Run an import action from within destination module Within the Employee Snapshot Storage module, within the regular view Click Data Import Connect to Anaplan Model Connect to your own model and select the Employees list Adjust the import to the following settings: Ask each time import is run Time Column 1: Employees Employees (Column Headers) Employee Snapshot Storage Line Items 2014 ZS Associates 25 Document Name

26 Check the Employees tab to make sure your line items are mapping properly. The destination module is dimensioned by the list you are importing from, so Anaplan should map these automatically ZS Associates 26 Document Name

27 Check the Employee Snapshot Storage Line Items tab to make sure that your line items are mapping properly. Because you named them exactly the same between list and destination module, Anaplan should map it automatically. Click Run Import in the lower right hand corner. Select Jan 15 from the timescale as the period to store your data. The import will complete properly but show an error message ZS Associates 27 Document Name

28 This is because Parent and Code exist in the list, but are not valid being imported over into the module. (If you do not want have these errors occur, you can setup a new module, that essentially is the same as your list, and import from that module instead. This new module would not have a Parent nor Code line item and therefore you wouldn t see the errors. However, for the sake of simplicity and to keep the focus on snapshotting for this exercise, we will import directly from the list.) 2014 ZS Associates 28 Document Name

29 Check the Employee Snapshot Storage for the month of Jan 15 to make sure that the data imported correctly. Step 6: Create a variance report to track when changes to the list have occurred Create a new module named Employee Snapshot Changes The intent is to create a module that shows all values that changed from snapshot to snapshot. In this example, we ll create a report that shows just the new value after a change has occurred. In practice, you may want to consider showing both the original value and the new value. Pages: - Employees Columns - Time Line Items - Change? - Start Date - Term Date - Transfer Date - Title - Manager - Product Department - Geo (L1) Text - Region (L2) Text - Branch (L3) Text 2014 ZS Associates 29 Document Name

30 Update the format of each line item. Outside of the Change? line item, these line item formats should match up with the formats of the Employee Snapshot Storage module. Therefore, you can copy and paste them over ZS Associates 30 Document Name

31 Now write the formula to check for changes between snapshots of the Employee list. Formula Deconstruction IF PREVIOUS(Employee Snapshot Storage.Start Date) = Employee Snapshot Storage.Start Date This formula compares the prior period snapshotted value of the Start Date to the current period value of Start Date THEN BLANK ELSE If the two are the same (ie no change has occurred) then show a blank; otherwise show the current period value for Start Date Employee Snapshot Storage.Start Date Continue writing this formula for every other line item in the module. To be efficient, the only thing that changes from row to row is the line item definition within the formula. See the highlighted sections below. (Remember to add single quotes around the hierarchy related line items) 2014 ZS Associates 31 Document Name

32 IF PREVIOUS(Employee Snapshot Storage.Start Date) = Employee Snapshot Storage.Start Date THEN BLANK ELSE Employee Snapshot Storage.Start Date Now write the formula for the Change Boolean. The purpose of this line is to show a checkmark if any change has occurred (ie if any of the change line items are populated) Please note the image below is truncated Formula Deconstruction ISNOTBLANK(Start Date) OR ISNOTBLANK(Term Date) OR ISNOTBLANK(Transfer Date) OR The logic for this formula is fairly simple in that it checks if any of the line items mentioned are not blank. If they are not blank, a change has occurred and the Boolean is active. If they are all blank, then no change for that person has occurred and the Boolean is unchecked. ISNOTBLANK(Title) OR ISNOTBLANK(Manager) OR ISNOTBLANK(Product Department) OR ISNOTBLANK('Geo (L1) Text') OR ISNOTBLANK('Region (L2) Text') OR ISNOTBLANK('Branch (L3) Text') 2014 ZS Associates 32 Document Name

33 Now to check the report, we will simulate 3 changes and check them on the Employee Snapshot Changes Report. - Terming Tadamitsu Carrow - Transferring Remy Deomampo - Adding Kyle Heller Term Tadamitsu Carrow - Within the Employee List, add a Term Date of 1/31/2015 for Tadamitsu Carrow Transfer Remy Deomampo from Seattle to San Mateo - Within the Employee List, add a Transfer Date of 1/31/2015 for Remy Deomampo - Open the Rep (L4) list in Tree View and move Remy Deomampo from Seattle to San Mateo; this can be done by manually dragging the entry over with your mouse Your new hierarchy will look like this: 2014 ZS Associates 33 Document Name

34 Adding Kyle Heller - Add the following details for his entry o Code: 101 o Start Date: 1/31/2015 o Title: Sr. Sales Rep o Manager: Abhishek Selmi o Product Department: Apollo - Assign him to the hierarchy o Go to the Rep (L4) list o With Glasgow selected, click Insert 2014 ZS Associates 34 Document Name

35 o Add a new entry as a child of Glasgow o Your new hierarchy will look like this o For the new entry, change the Display Name to Kyle Heller and update his Sales Role to Strategic Account Exec 2014 ZS Associates 35 Document Name

36 Go back to the Employees list, and you ll see that Kyle s hierarchy information will be populated. Go to the Settings Actions 2014 ZS Associates 36 Document Name

37 Find the import action you created in Step 4 Run the Action again This time, set the destination time period for Feb 15 The import will complete with the same errors mentioned before. Go back to the Employee Snapshot Changes module Adjust the pivot so that Time is in Pages, Line Items is in Columns, and Employees is in Rows 2014 ZS Associates 37 Document Name

38 Apply a filter to the module, so that you only show rows where the Change? Boolean is marked active. This filters the report to only show records that have changed from month to month. Adjust the timescale period of the module to Feb 15. You should now only see the three changes we made tracked in this report ZS Associates 38 Document Name

39 Save this as the default view for the module. Step 7: Incorporate snapshotting into your standard process (If you completed the previous exercise, you can leverage the same dashboard created for process administration) Create a new dashboard called Administrator View Add a title to your dashboard and format it as Heading 1 Add another subtitle to your dashboard, named Monthly Tasks and format it as Heading 3 Go to Settings Actions Select New Action Process Create a new process named Run Employee Snapshot With the Run Employee Snapshot process highlighted, click on Edit Find the import action you created in Step 5 within the Edit interface and add it to the process 2014 ZS Associates 39 Document Name

40 With the Run Employee Snapshot process highlighted, select View Publish to Dashboard Administrator View Your dashboard should now look like this: Add help text to describe the intended usage of this interface As a final suggestion, consider publishing the Employee Snapshot Changes module to the Administrator View dashboard ZS Associates 40 Document Name

41 Please note: if this were a real-life situation, we d consider combining both import actions into the same process, to streamline the interface and ensure that all required snapshots occur every month. Process Considerations - No employees should be deleted from the list; termed employees must still show up in this list with an end date; if you were to completely delete an item from the employee list, it would not show up in the change report - All hierarchy change related transfers have to have an associated Transfer date; the date does not appear automatically and needs to be populated manually - Changes can only appear if the snapshot occurs - Every time you snapshot, and select a timescale period to snapshot into, you are essentially effective dating the Employee list by that timescale period 2014 ZS Associates 41 Document Name