IBM Planning Analytics Training Courses

Master planning, budgeting, forecasting, analysis and scorecarding with Planning Analytics

IBM Planning Analytics is a planning, budgeting, forecasting and analysis solution, available for deployment on premise or in the cloud. Built on the technology of IBM Cognos TM1, it helps organisations automate manual, spreadsheet-based processes and link financial plans to operational tactics.

Our IBM certified trainers have years of experience and you will leave our courses confident and prepared.  We offer an introductory course designed for anyone who wants to start using Planning Analytics but has no prior knowledge of dimensional concepts or Planning Analytics, though to course which provide an understanding of how to build reporting and planning models in TM1 with confidence.  

  • IBM Planning Analytics - Introduction

    One Day Course

    Course Overview

    This is course provides people of all levels with an introduction to Planning Analytics (PA) and the benefits it brings to reporting and planning processes.  

    This is designed for anyone who wants to start using Planning Analytics for building models as well as non-developers seeking a basic understanding. This assumes that you have no prior knowledge of dimensional concepts or Planning Analytics.

    1:  Overview and Getting Started

    • IBM Analytics - Architecture Overview
    • IBM Planning Analytics components
    • Dimensional concepts

     

    2:  Build a Simple Planning Model

    • Build dimensions
    • Build subsets
    • Create a cube
    • Create a cube view
    • Spreading techniques to enter budget data
    • Rules
    • Feeders
    • Import data with processes

     

    3:  Create Reports & Budget Forms in Excel

    • Planning Analytics for Excel
    • Different report types
    • Create a P&L Report
    • Swap rows and columns
    • Set editor
    • Drill down

     

    4:  Create Reports & Budget Forms in the Web

    • Planning Analytics Workspace
    • Create a P&L report
    • Add a single cell number
    • Create a selector widget
    • Create a visualisation
    • Synchronise objects
    • Input budget data

     

    5:  Publish Excel Reports to the Web

    • Publish the Planning Analytics for Excel report
    • Use Excel report in the Web

     

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  • IBM Planning Analytics - Developer

    Three Day Course

    Course Overview

    This course provides an understanding of how to build reporting and planning models in TM1 with confidence.  This is an in-depth course covering all aspects of the software to enable developers to build new cubes, create applications, manage security, use Architect and Performance Modeller, administration and much more.  

    This is designed for anyone who wants to start using TM1 for building models. It is assumed that you have basic knowledge of TM1, as covered in the IBM Planning Analytics - Introduction course.

     

    1:  IBM Planning Analytics Introduction

    • IBM Analytics architecture overview
    • IBM Planning Analytics components

     

    2:  Model Build Requirements

    • Understanding the IBM Planning Analytics development lifecycle
    • Review the development requirements for a course model build

     

    BP&F requirements

    • Budget and qtrly forecast cycle
    • Sales planning
    • Driver based P&L planning
    • Central overheads planning
    • Currency translation
    • Plans secured for each country manager
    • Visibility of the status of each contributor
    • Centralised planning for group finance
    • User to update actuals on demand via a button
    • Scenario analysis
    • Commentary

     

    Reporting requirements

    • P&L report based on dynamic current period
    • Excel and web based reports
    • Top 10 reports
    • Ad-hoc reporting
    • Currency translation
    • Import source data from mixture of csv and directly from systems

     

    3:  Building Dimensions Manually

    • Using the dimension editor
    • Element formats
    • Element weights
    • Element attributes
    • Manual sort order

     

    4:  Building Dimensions using TI Processes

    • Using TI processes
    • Specifying a data source
    • Defining variables
    • Creating additional variables using calculations
    • Automatic sort order
    • Specifying dimension hierarchy levels
    • Data source structures - balanced levels vs ragged (parent child source)
    • Advanced scripting
    • ODBC data source connections
    • Element attributes
    • Creating more than one hierarchy

     

    5:  Subsets

    • Creating a dynamic subset
    • Default subsets

     

    6:  Building Cubes

    • Dimension order
    • Object naming conventions
    • Create a Sales cube
    • Create a P&L cube
    • Create a Currency cube
    • Create a Parameter cube
    • Adding a new dimension to an existing cube

     

    7:  Import Data into Cubes

    • Importing from CSV and ODBC
    • Defining data source to cube mappings
    • Accumulate vs Stored Values
    • Specifying a zero out view
    • Removing redundant variables to speed up the import
    • Creating a parameter
    • Advanced scripting

     

    8:  Cube Rules/Calculations

    • Create currency calculations
    • Create driver based P&L calculations
    • Create relative time calculations
    • Create variance and variance % calculations
    • Rules precedence
    • Integrating data between two cubes
    • Create a dynamic 'Current Period' calculation
    • Create rule to pull actuals dynamically into forecast
    • Numeric vs string rules
    • Feeders

     

    9:  Create Reports

    • Create a P&L report in Excel (Planning Analytics for Excel)
    • Create a P&L report in Web (Planning Analytics Workspace)
    • Creating a picklist in a cube cell
    • Creating a dynamic top 10 report
    • Create report with a button to import/refresh data
    • Publishing Excel reports to Web (Planning Analytics Workspace)

     

    10:  Security

    • Adding users and groups
    • Security access privilege types
    • Securing cubes
    • Securing dimensions
    • Securing processes
    • Securing chores
    • Element and cell security

     

    11:  Create Applications (Planning User Interface)

    • Different application types
    • Building the application front end views
    • Creating an approval hierarchy / application workflow
    • Securing applications
    • Deploying applications
    • Application workflow statuses
    • Enter data as a contributor and reviewer
    • Data spreading techniques
    • Sandboxes (scenario analysis)
    • Commentary

     

    12:  Administration

    • Message log
    • Documentation
    • Chores / Scheduling jobs

     

  • IBM Planning Analytics - Analyst

    One Day Course

    Course Overview

    IBM Planning Analytics encompasses IBM Planning Analytics Workspace and IBM Planning Analytics for Excel. This course will show you how to use both tools to create reports and dashboard from your data.  This is designed for anyone who wants to start using Planning Analytics for reporting and analysis (self-service for ad hoc queries, building dashboard multi-tabbed reports for wide audience consumption)

    1:  IBM Planning Analytics Introduction

    • IBM Analytics architecture overview
    • IBM Planning Analytics components
    • Dimensional concepts

     

    2:  Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) - Enter and Submit data

    • Navigating the interface
    • Explore existing PAW reports/books
    • Create a new PAW book
    • Simple data entry
    • Data spreading techniques
    • Rolling back (undoing) data entries
    • Sandboxes
    • Commentary

     

    3:  Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) - Build Reports

    • Edit a view
    • Tracing cell calculations
    • Editing subsets
    • Charts and visualisations
    • Snap commands
    • Suppress zeros
    • Adding a filter
    • Adding calculations
    • Adding large single numbers to the canvas (singletons)
    • Synchronising widgets
    • Conditional formatting

     

    4:  Planning Analytics for Excel

    • Different report types
    • Connecting to a Planning Analytics server
    • Exploring data in Exploration views
    • Changing element display names
    • Nesting elements
    • Editing subsets
    • Adding new rows/columns
    • Asymmetric nesting
    • Filtering values
    • Creating sandboxes
    • Spreading data
    • Commentary
    • Creating a list

     

    5:  Planning Analytic Workspace - Enhancing Dashboards

    • Adding text boxes, shapes and buttons
    • Formatting visualisations
    • Chat function
    • Sharing dashboards
    • Exporting to different formats