IBM Cognos TM1

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Excel MAXIFS and MINIFS

July 12, 2022 by Lee Lazarow Leave a Comment

Many of you know that Excel’s MAX function will define the largest value within a range. And many of you also know that Excel’s SUMIFS function will allow you to merge IF checks into your sum formulas. But did you know that Excel has a function called MAXIFS which merges these two concepts together?

The MAXIFS function is used to determine the largest number within a range that satisfies one or more conditions.

The syntax of the function is:

=MAXIFS (max_range, criteria_range1, criteria1 [,criteria_range2, criteria2] [..])

Max_range
- This is required
- This defines the range to search
Criteria_range1
- This is required
- This defines the range to perform the IF check
Criteria1
- This is required
- This defines the criteria of the IF check
Criteria_range2 and Criteria2
- These are optional
- These allow you to have multiple IF checks
- You can have more than 2 criteria

The following example shows how to define the maximum value for Lee.

Other iterations of this formula include MINIFS, AVERAGEIFS and COUNTIFS.

Revelwood has worked with IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 for more than 27 years. We’ve partnered with hundreds of companies on the design, development, maintenance and updates of IBM Planning Analytics applications, across every industry. Have a challenge with Planning Analytics / TM1? We can help you!

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: PAW Escape Character

July 5, 2022 by Tara Byrnes Leave a Comment

Have you ever been in a situation where you have an element name with an apostrophe (or two) in IBM Planning Analytics? Examples of this might entail last names such as “O’Connor” or “O’Sullivan”?

Although IBM best practices specify that the apostrophe is a special character to avoid in object and element names, in many instances you’ll see an apostrophe used in your data source (especially in names and brand names).

Planning Analytics confuses the apostrophe as a single quote … which is a special character used to define literal strings. You can resolve this situation by using an “escape character.” An escape character invokes an alternative interpretation on the characters which follow.

The Planning Analytics escape character sequence defines 2 single quotes together as the equivalent of 1 single quote.

Example:

‘O’’Connor’ will display as ‘O’Connor’

This escape sequence can be used in both Rules and Turbo Integrator processes.

This approach will allow your use of O’Connor to properly work instead of causing you to convert it into “oh darn”!

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Dynamic Subsets Based on a Cube

June 28, 2022 by Dillon Rossman Leave a Comment

Did you know you can use MDX to create dynamic subsets based on cube values in IBM Planning Analytics? In our example we will only show companies with net sales greater than 30,000,000 in the selected year.

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An MDX statement that can provide this result may look something like this:

{FILTER({TM1SUBSETALL([bpmCompany])},[bpmFinance].([bpmScenario].CurrentMember, [bpmDepartment].CurrentMember,[bpmAccount].[Net Sales],[bpmCurrency].CurrentMember,[bpmPeriod].CurrentMember,[bpmFinance_Msr].[Balance Post-Alloc]) > 30000000 )}

The components of this statement are:

FILTER({abc}),[Cube].([Dim1].[Value],[Dim2].[Value]…) > 30000000 )
- Filter set ABC to only show members with a value greater than 30,000,000 for the intersection defined in the section after the comma
TM1SUBSETALL([bpmCompany])
- Grab all members within the bpmCompany dimension
[bpmFinance]
- The cube being used for the data
([bpmScenario].CurrentMember, [bpmDepartment].CurrentMember,[bpmAccount].[Net Sales],[bpmCurrency].CurrentMember,[bpmPeriod].CurrentMember,[bpmFinance_Msr].[Balance Post-Alloc])
- The intersection used to get the cube value
- This is like a DBRW formula in the sense that we are defining a view by listing every dimension and providing a member within that dimension
  - CurrentMember will grab whatever element is selected in the cube view for that dimension
  - The other dimensions are using a specific member that we always want to filter by

Below you will see only companies with net sales greater than 30,000,000 for the “Balance Post-Alloc” measure remain in the bpmCompany subset. This will dynamically update as selections for other dimensions are changed.

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IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Excel CubeDimensionCountGet Function

June 21, 2022 by Lee Lazarow Leave a Comment

Have you ever written a TurboIntegrator process and needed to know how many dimensions are in a specific cube? Maybe you want to loop through each dimension to create a zero out view. You can do this by using the TABDIM function and searching for the first blank result, or you can simply use the CubeDimensionCountGet function.

The syntax of the function is:

CubeDimensionCountGet (CubeName)

This function will result in a numeric value that tells the number of dimensions within the cube.

Other uses of this code will allow you to define the number of arguments needed for a CELLPUT command, compare the number of dimensions between multiple cubes, or replicate an existing cube.

This approach will simplify your code by eliminating the need to create a loop.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: PAW Chart Multicolors

June 14, 2022 by Revelwood Leave a Comment

One of the visualizations in Planning Analytics is a column chart. This type of chart is a good way to compare items since all the lines are in proportion to each other.

An easy way to create a column chart is to simply create an exploration and change the visualization into a column chart. Here is an example of a stacked exploration that compares companies by scenarios and the related column chart:

Chart, histogram

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This chart is great since it’s easy to compare the high and low values. However, it’s very hard to differentiate the sub-categories since all columns are the same color. In this case, it’s hard to compare Actuals vs. Final Budget.

You can configure your chart to use multiple colors via the following steps:

While in Edit mode, single click on your chart widget.

Select the option for “Fields” at the top, right corner. Not all visualizations use fields, so this may appear blank if you have not yet converted your widget to a chart.

Move the applicable dimension from the Length category into the Color category. In my example, color is associated with the scenario dimension.

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Once moved, the same chart will look like this:

Chart, bar chart

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This approach will allow you to use your color palettes (defined within the properties) to differentiate the dimensions within your stacked column chart and make your analyses easier.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: NumberToStringEx

June 7, 2022 by Revelwood Leave a Comment

IBM Planning Analytics has the ability to export data to flat files with the use of the ASCIIOUTPUT and TEXTOUTPUT functions. However, these two functions will only accept string variables. That means that numeric data will first need to be converted to string before exporting. Most developers know about the NumberToString function, which converts numbers to string, but there’s another function that is more powerful.

NumberToString does not apply any formatting to the numbers. This will work fine if the export is meant to be consumed by another system. However, if your export has an audience, you may want your report to have consistent and pleasing formatting. Here’s where the NumberToStringEx function can come in handy.

The NumberToStringEx function has four parameters: Value, Number Format, Decimal Separator, and Thousands Separator. The number format uses the same structures as the custom formatting in Excel. Here’s an example of the function with the results:

NumberToStringEx( 1750.34892, ‘$#,0.00’, ‘.’, ‘,’)

$1,750.35

As you can see, the NumberToStringEx function eliminates the need to round your numbers prior to conversion as well as concatenating special characters after conversion.

NumberToStringEx also allows for dual formatting of positive and negative numbers. Just like in Excel, you will need to separate the two using a semicolon. This eliminates any IF conditions you’ll need to use to format numbers if you had used the NumberToString function.

NumberToStringEx( -1750.34892, ‘$#,0.00;($#,0.00)‘, ‘.’, ‘,’)

($1,750.35)

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Planning Analytics Workspace Process Editor Function Help

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Excel OFFSET Function

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: The SCAN Function

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: WildcardFileSearch

May 31, 2022 by Revelwood Leave a Comment

Depending on your business process, you may need to load similar data from multiple files. One such example is loading headcount from different HR systems. This may be necessary if your company has gone through a merger. Another example is if you have forecast data coming from several managers in operations that don’t have access to IBM Planning Analytics. Instead of manually combining the files, you can use the WildcardFileSearch TurboIntegrator function to easily loop through all of the files.

The WildcardFileSearch function allows TurboIntegrator processes to search for files within a folder. WildcardFileSearch requires 2 parameters: Path and PriorFileName. The Path can include ‘?’ and ‘*’ as wildcard characters. The ‘?’ is the wildcard for 1 character while ‘*’ is the wildcard for one or more characters. The PriorFileName tells the function were to begin the search. If this parameter is blank, the search begins with the first file in the Path. Below is an example of this function:

WILDCARDFILESEARCH( ‘C:\TM1Server\Files\TM1_*.csv’, ‘TM1_20220301.csv’)

In this example, the function will return the first filename that begins with “TM1_” and ends in “.csv” in the “C:\TM1Server\Files\” folder that occurs after the “TM1_20220301.csv” file.

IBM Planning Analytics, powered by TM1, is full of new features and functionality. Need advice? Our team here at Revelwood can help. Contact us for more information at info@revelwood.com. We post new Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks weekly in our Knowledge Center and in newsletters!

Facing an IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 Talent Shortage?

May 25, 2022 by Revelwood Leave a Comment

There’s plenty of news about “The Great Resignation” or the talent shortage/war. In some cases, the challenge is not in finding someone, but in finding the right skills. This is particularly true for companies searching for people with IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 skills. There is a deep talent pool but tapping that talent can sometimes be expensive and resource intense. It’s a months-long journey.

You might consider choosing to go with a contractor or freelancer. This may initially sound like the quickest and easiest way to solve the problem… until you hit a wall with your procurement department. Often contractors and freelancers do not have the business set up that meets procurement’s requirements. Or, if that is not a problem, you can run into the challenge of having your TM1 contractor/freelancer disappear on you.

Revelwood can help! We have recently launched a Staff Augmentation service. Maybe your TM1 administrator is taking on a new role. Maybe your administrator will be out for a few months on parental leave. This is where you can easily work with one of our Planning Analytics / TM1 experts to fill that hole – however long you may need them.

Here are some recent examples of how and why companies using Planning Analytics / TM1 turned to Revelwood for staff augmentation:

A global manufacturing company had their TM1 administrator resign. Revelwood had a team member ready to go the following week. This allowed for a one-week knowledge transfer, followed by a smooth start.
A leading consumer product business was starting a major Planning Analytics project and needed significant staff augmentation to both maintain and redesign the system. A Revelwood team of developers was brought in to supplement their in-house team.
A Fortune 50 energy company was struggling to hire an internal Planning Analytics / TM1 developer. They engaged a Revelwood team member who understood both the business needs and the technology needs to help prepare for their budget season.

Whether or not you’ve worked with us in the past, you’ll have access to experienced and proven Planning Analytics / TM1 developers and designers. We have 27 years of experience with TM1 – and will satisfy all of your procurement department’s requirements.

Think of us as the best team you have access to – experts ready to be called up when you need them!

Contact John Pra Sisto to learn more about our Staff Augmentation service.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Planning Analytics Workspace Visualization Axis

May 24, 2022 by Dillon Rossman Leave a Comment

Did you know you are able to create custom axis labels for IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) visualizations? Below is a column visualization that shows periods on the x-axis and a net income amount on the y-axis. As you can see, a generic description appears for both titles.

While this generic wording does properly define the axis, you may to change the wording of the titles to something more user friendly.

While in “Edit” mode for your PAW book, click on your visualization then click “Properties” in the top right corner.

Within the “Properties” menu, click on the “Visualization” tab then expand the “Axis” section.

Scroll down until you see “Item axis title” and “Value axis title”.

The “Item axis title” corresponds with the x-axis, and the “Value axis title” corresponds with the y-axis. This may change based on the visualization selected. We can use this approach to create a more user friendly description on each axis such as to “Month” and “Net Income $”.

We now have custom axis labels. You are also able to customize the font, color, and orientation of these labels.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Excel MAXIFS and MINIFS

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: PAW Escape Character

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Dynamic Subsets Based on a Cube

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Excel CubeDimensionCountGet Function

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: PAW Chart Multicolors

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: NumberToStringEx

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: WildcardFileSearch

Read More IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

Facing an IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 Talent Shortage?

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Planning Analytics Workspace Visualization Axis

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

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