Five best practices that will keep your Anaplan model organized and save you time

Are you an Anaplanner looking to hone your skills? Look no further! Whether you are new to Anaplan or a seasoned model builder, these five best practices from Anaplan model builder Elizabeth Schaffer will show you how to leverage features to keep your Anaplan models organized so you can save time. Because at the end of the day, we all want to get the job done faster and better.

5 best practices for leveraging features to stay organized and save time

1. Create a clear path to planning

2. Never get lost, and always know where to go. Use Functional Areas to group dashboards and modules separately. Not only will this allow quick access to dashboards and make assigning user access a breeze, but it will also enable you to show and hide contents with ease. The new navigation panel feature enables a step-by-step navigation path, allows users to check where they are in the process, and the ability to collapse the panel when desired for a wider view of the dashboard.

3. Name your modules with purpose

4. What’s in a name? Everything. Each module serves a purpose whether it is used for input, export, mapping, or staging. Think about these purposes when using the naming convention to keep all of your modules unique and easily identifiable. This upfront organization will save you time later.

5. Reorder lists and actions in your modules

6. Do you like maintaining a logical order? Maintaining a logical order of the “lists” and “actions” in your modules will enable an intuitive and efficient experience when navigating within your model. Again, a little upfront thought about which organization makes the most sense for your model will go a long way in saving time in the long run.

7. Keep your backbone strong

8. As a model builder, the “actions” are a key part of the model’s backbone. Use a combination of numbers, letters, and locations to name “actions” and make processes easy to identify (see Figures 1 and 2). Also be sure to include the source and the destination location, as that will help you navigate to the correct action every time. Then if you have to find action to edit, you’ll be able to do so.

   

   Figure 1

   

   Figure 2

9. Have a naming party with your team

10. From the very beginning, have a plan for your naming conventions. Order a pizza, get some umbrella drinks, and gather your team to make sure the key partners involved in building the model are on the same page. This will ensure that everyone uses familiar terminology and that all users can do their work efficiently.

We hope you find these Anaplan best practices help you stay organized and efficient in your Anaplanning. We look forward to bringing you more useful best practices in the future!