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What's coming next in IBM Planning Analytics 2.0.78 SC

News


Abstract

The following updates are available in release 2.0.78 SC of Planning Analytics.

Content

Planning Analytics Workspace
The following feature notices apply to Planning Analytics Workspace.

Rules must now be created and maintained on a modeling workbench

As of Planning Analytics Workspace 2.0.78, rules must be created and edited on a modeling workbench. All options to open or edit rules have been removed from the Databases tree in books.

If you are an administrator or modeler and you attempt to open a book that contains a rule in 2.0.78 or later, you receive a notification that rule editing must be performed on a workbench. You can click Open in workbench to immediately open the rule on a new workbench.


New experience view now on modeling workbench

The new experience view (or exploration) and new set editor are now available on the modeling workbench. Along with an improved look and feel, this new experience interface has several usability improvements and enhancements. Until now, the new experience interface was only available in Planning Analytics Workspace books. 

Important: All existing and new views on the workbench now use the new experience interface. 

Using the new experience view 

The new experience view offers flexible options to view, analyze, and organize data. Features in the new experience view are also now more accessible.

  • A more guided and intuitive experience 

    The new view's improved design offers a more guided experience without compromising its capabilities. For example, the new view now guides you to the drop zone when you drag a dimension to a different location in the grid.

    Moving dimensions

    You can use these menu icons in the view  Setting menu to:
    • See the cube in the data tree
    • Expand or collapse the overview
    • See benched dimensions
    • Select hierarchy, iconography, context information, and section headers to customize your view
    Each dimension tile in the view now has a menu icon next to it from which you can:
    • Open the set editor
    • Remove, replace, or add related hierarchy
    • Move the dimension to the bench
    • Manually move the dimension right or left, or to a row, column, or context
    • Limit the number of sets for a dimension (Customize sets)Dimension menu

    Depending on the number of dimensions or the size of the view, all dimensions might not display. 

    To see dimensions that are hidden from the view, click the More dimensions menu in the ContextRow, or Column area. 

    More dimensions

    From the More dimensions menu, you can drag dimensions to the ContextRow, or Column area and vice versa. You can also move dimensions that appear within the More dimensions menu. 

    You can click the menu next to the member's name to open the set editor, move the dimension to the bench, see move options, and more.

    More dimension menu

  • Target selecting toggle for asymmetric calculation

    The new Target selecting toggle is used to create an asymmetric calculation. You no longer need to select the individual button on the row or column headers to create an asymmetric calculation. Instead, enable Target selecting and select the members that you want to use in the asymmetric calculation. Right-click a selected member and click Calculation options.

    Target selecting in workbench

Using the new set editor 

The new set editor can be accessed only through the new view. If you open a set as a separate tab from the data tree, it still uses the classic interface. 

To open the set editor, click the menu icon next to a dimension in the view and select Open set editor.

Open set editor

You can also double click the dimension tiles or click the Set Editor icon in the dimension menu to open the set editor.

As with the new view, the new set editor offers an improved flow, a more intuitive experience, and flexible options to edit your set. 

  • Set menu

    With the Set menu, you can now change the set from within the set editor.

    Set menu in set editor

  • Improved MDX panel

    Click MDX to see the MDX panel and script. You can edit the script in the panel and click Commit to apply your changes to the current set.

    MDX panel in set editor

  • Settings menu

    The Settings menu offers options to customize the display for your set. 

    Enable Compact header under the General section to reduce the size of the set editor header and see more members.

    You can also remove icons from all members for a simplified display with the Icons property under General.

    Set editor settings

  • Multi-select activity display

    When you select multiple members in Available members or Current set, an activity bar now displays with your selection information and available options.

    Multi-select activity in set editor

  • Improved features
    The Search and Filter features in the new set editor are now more intuitive and improved for usability. The filter feature allows you to filter a set by one or more attributes to choose the available members that appear in the set. The search feature lets you search for members in the set editor. You can use both features to include members in a set that match specific criteria. 

    The new experience set editor also offers the ability to delete sets from within the set editor.

Approvals and Rejections in Plans 

Approvals and rejections are now available in the plans submission process. In addition, improvements to email notifications and the overall submission process make it easier to work with plans. 

When you create a plan, you can now add approvers for each contribution group. The assigned approvers have the authority to accept or reject submissions. This is an improvement over previous versions of Planning Analytics Workspace, where an owner or co-owner could only reset an unsatisfactory submission.

Event-triggered email is now sent to relevant plan users when any of the following events occur in a plan. The email includes details on the event and, when applicable, a link to the location in the plan where you can take further action or review more information.

Event
Email recipients
A plan step is opened
Members of all groups that are assigned to the step
A plan step is submitted
Approvers that are assigned to the group that has submitted the step

The plan owner and co-owners

A submitted step is rejected
The submitter of the rejected step
A submitted step is approved
The next in line approver, if any

The plan owner and co-owners

A co-owner is added to a plan The co-owner who was added to the plan
A group is added to a plan step All members of the group that was added to the step
An announcement is added to a plan Contributor members that are assigned to any open plan steps

For example, when a plan step is submitted, approvers who have been assigned to the group that submitted the step receive an email similar to this. The email would indicate the actual step name, step contributor name, and group name for the submission. The approver can click the Review submission button in the email to open the submission and either approve or reject it.

Email example

In addition, the submission process has been enhanced to provide more insight and options for owners, contributors, and approvers.

  • You can now assign one or more approvers to a plan step. Approvers review step submissions and determine the disposition of the submissions.   

    Approve or reject view

  • When you add an approver to a step, the approver name is prefixed with a number in the Approver list. These numbers represent an approval hierarchy. When approver 1 approves a submission, it is routed to approver 2, and so on until the last approver approves the submission. When approving or rejecting a submission, the approver can include a comment that is visible to plan participants.
  • If a submission is approved, the step remains closed for submissions to the group who submitted it.

    If a submission is rejected, the submitter receives a rejection email and the step is re-opened for the group who initially committed the submission. However, the assets included in the step are not reset; contributors can resume working on the assets in the same state they were in when the initial submission was made.

     Rejection email

  • The plan page shows the state of submissions for each step. A submission is not identified as completed until it has been approved.

    Plan submissions

    When no submission has been made for a step, the Submissions line does not include a status bar.

     The yellow indicator in the status bar represents the percentage of submissions that are pending approval. When all submissions for a step are approved, the status bar appears dark green. 

  • Each step includes a link to the Submissions page. You can click the link to view the submission log for the step. The log captures the history and comments for all submissions. You can use the Pending approval, Completed, and Waiting submission tabs to focus on submissions in any of those labeled states.

    Submissions log

    Plan owners can view all log entries while approvers can only see log entries for contributor groups they have been assigned to. Contributors can see only the log entries that apply to the group to which they belong.


Remote Desktop user accounts (Cloud only) 
Subscription administrators can now reset passwords for Remote Desktop user accounts from the new Welcome Kit settings page under Administration. Password reset can be done for a specific or all Remote Desktop users in an environment. 
Important: This password reset feature applies only to Remote Desktop user accounts that use rich tier components to access TM1 and does not apply to Planning Analytics Workspace users.

To reset password for a Remote Desktop user:

  1. On the Home page, click Administration.
  2. Click the Welcome Kit icon in the toolbar. 

    Welcome Kit on the Administration page
  3. On the Welcome Kit settings page, select an environment.
  4. From the list of modelers, select the user for whom you want to reset the password and click Reset password.

    If you want to reset the password for all users in that environment, select Reset password for all instead. Welcome Kit settings page

  5. A Reset password window opens.

    When you reset a password, a new welcome kit automatically downloads with the new password.

    If you are resetting passwords for more than one user (but not for all users) and do not want the welcome kit to download automatically upon each password reset, deselect the download option. Reset password window

    You can download the welcome kit after the password is reset for all your selections.

  6. Click Reset to reset the password.

You cannot reset the password for a user for whom a password reset is in process. However, you can reset password for other users in the same or a different environment.


Updated menus for rows, columns, and data cells in views

As part of the ongoing effort to standardize the Planning Analytics Workspace user experience, the menus for rows, columns, and data cells in the new experience view are now updated. 

There is no change in how the menu options function but the new design includes usability improvements. For example, a number of  menu options were renamed:
  • Create calculations is now Calculation options
  • Format values is now Format
  • Conditional format is now Conditional rules
Several menu options are now grouped so you can easily see all related options together. For example:
  • All sorting options are now under Sort
  • Word wrapping options (for Headers only) are under Text format
  • Show totals options are under Show totals

Header menu

Some grouped options also include hints within the menu allowing you to quickly see the selections that apply to the row, column, or data cell. 

Grouped menu options with hints


Adjust page size in books

You can now adjust page size in books with the new zoom feature. Select a preset size to see your content at that magnification level, or resize the page view to fit the page or fit to the width of your window. In both cases, the page size is responsive and automatically adjusts to fit the page or window when you resize your window. 

Note: The zoom feature works only in consumption mode.

Zoom feature in book

To use the zoom feature, make sure that the book is in Absolute layout. The zoom feature is not supported in books that use Relative layout position. 

You can change the layout position of a book in Edit mode on the General tab under Properties. Here, you can also set a default zoom value for your book so that it always opens in the selected size. 

Adjusting zoom properties

When you enter full screen mode, your zoom value is overridden and the page size changes to Fit to page to allow you to see the full contents of your page. However, you can still change your zoom value in full screen mode. Exit full screen mode to go back to the previously selected zoom value.
 


Enhanced data format feature

An enhancement to the data format feature in views now lets you quickly see the data format that was applied on a row, column, or an entire view. 

When you apply a built-in data format or custom format to a row, column, or the entire view, the pattern for that format is now retained in the Set custom format field under Custom format.

Pre-filled custom format

For built-in data formats, you can also see the applied format under Formats when you right-click the relevant row or column.

Applied format hint under Formats


Open set editor for a benched dimension

In new experience views (or explorations), you can now open the set editor for dimensions that are on the bench.

To open the set editor for a benched dimension, click the Bench icon in a view and double-click the dimension. You can also click the drop-down menu icon for the benched dimension and open the set editor from the menu.

Opening set editor for a benched dimension


Provide a direct path to a Planning Analytics Workspace folder 

You can now share a URL to your tabs that are labeled: SharedPersonalFavorites, and Recents. You can also share a URL to provide a direct path to a folder within your tabs. 

When you select tabs or select folders, the URL changes in your browser. The URL also changes in your browser when you select the breadcrumb links that are displayed under the tabs. 

Copy and paste the updated URL to share a direct path to a tab, folder, or breadcrumb link.


Enable email notifications in Planning Analytics Workspace Local

Planning Analytics Workspace Local now supports both SMTP and SendGrid email services.

To enable the email service, specify the following parameters in Planning Analytics Workspace Local configuration.

Email configuration parameters
ENABLE_EMAIL

Set this property to true to enable the email service in Planning Analytics Workspace Local. Either EMAIL_SMTP_URL or SENDGRID_API_KEY parameter must also be specified. If both parameters are specified, EMAIL_SMTP_URL is used.

Default: false

EMAIL_SMTP_URL

Use this parameter to enable the SMTP email service. The parameter specifies the SMTP server URL. The following are examples of such URLs:

smtps://username:[email protected]:587?ignoreTLS=true

smtps://username:[email protected]:465?secure=true&tls.rejectUnauthorized=false

smtps://[email protected]:465?secure=true&auth.type=OAuth2&auth.accessToken=your-token

If you specify this parameter, the SENDGRID_API_KEY is not used, even if it's specified.

Default: empty (no URL is specified)

SENDGRID_API_KEY
Use this parameter to enable the SendGrid email service. The parameter specifies the API key for the SendGrid email account.

Note: You might need to contact the email administrator for your organization to obtain the API key that is specific to your email service.

If you specify this parameter, specify also EMAIL_FROM, but don't specify EMAIL_SMTP_URL.

Default: empty (no API key is specified)

EMAIL_FROM Specifies the sender address if it is required by the email server. This parameter is mandatory when SENDGRID_API_KEY is specified.

After you specify these parameters in the configuration file (defaults.env or defaults.ps1) and run the paw.sh or paw.ps1 script, the Email tab becomes available in the user interface when you share a book or view.

Email tab enabled after configuration

For more information on configuring Planning Analytics Workspace Local, see Configure parameters.


Update to Planning Analytics Workspace Local installation on Windows Server 2016 

In Planning Analytics Workspace Local version 2.0.78 and later, the Docker service file is no longer bundled with the installation kit. In previous versions, Docker is a prerequisite for installing Planning Analytics Workspace Local on Windows Server 2016. 

When you now install Planning Analytics Workspace Local on Windows Server 2016, the installation script looks for Docker and if an existing version is not found, displays an error. To resolve the error and continue the installation process, you need to download Mirantis Container Runtime

Before Planning Analytics Workspace Local 2.0.78, the installation script used the Docker file that was bundled with Planning Analytics Workspace to continue installation if Docker was not found on your system.


Deprecation notice - process editor to be removed from books, available only on workbenches as of Planning Analytics Workspace 2.0.79

Starting with Planning Analytics Workspace 2.0.79, processes must be created and edited on a modeling workbench.
 
If you are an administrator or modeler and you attempt to open a process in a book in 2.0.79, you'll receive a notification that process editing must be performed on a workbench. You can click Open in workbench to immediately open the process on a new workbench.
 
Process deprecation notice
 

Deprecation notice for Planning Analytics Workspace Classic

The 'new experience' is a major update to the Planning Analytics Workspace user experience released as part of the 2.0.56 update in October 2020. The Planning Analytics Workspace new experience provides an updated look and feel, improved navigation, and better content management. It also introduces Applications and Plans, a dedicated modeling environment, and predictive forecasting capabilities.

The user experience in 2.0.55 and earlier releases is referred to as Planning Analytics Workspace Classic. Cloud environments provisioned before the 2.0.56 update could remain on Planning Analytics Workspace Classic, preview the new experience, or permanently switch to the new experience.

The IBM Planning Analytics team intends to remove the capability to remain on Planning Analytics Workspace Classic and preview the new experience during the August 2022 update. Planning Analytics Workspace environments that use the Classic experience will automatically be updated to the new experience as part of the August 2022 update (2.0.79). Planning Analytics cloud customers that use the Classic experience are encouraged to preview and switch to the new experience before August 2022.

If you are still using Planning Analytics Workspace Classic before the August 2022 update (2.0.79), administrators will see a deprecation notice banner on the home page when using Planning Analytics Workspace Classic or previewing the new experience. An administrator can click the More information link to view further details on the deprecation of Planning Analytics Workspace Classic.

deprecation notice

The deprecation notice is presented to each administrator upon login. One administrator dismissing the banner dismiss the banner only for that administrator; other administrators can still see the banner.
The banner will reappear with each new Planning Analytics Workspace release until an administrator completes the switch to the new experience.

This announcement does not impact Planning Analytics on-premises deployments.

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Document Information

Modified date:
12 July 2022

UID

ibm16590287