My Anaplan Certification Journey
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. - Benjamin Franklin
These words by Benjamin Franklin are true reflection of Anaplan's Academy course as the course not only provide the theoretical knowledge but also gives a hand on experience of building the models. So the first question is What is Anaplan and what are the models that I am talking about. Anaplan is a cloud based platform that enables planning. Models include a full business use case. What is a business use case? It is an issue that an Anaplan model is built to address. Most often, these are areas such as: Territory and Quota , Sales and Operations, or even Supply Chain Planning.
Level 1 Training Program - I started the Anaplan learning journey with the Level 1 certification course and entered the world of Anaplan. The course covers all the basics from basic navigation to model building steps in an interactive way. The short video lessons along the way also makes the learning more fun and addictive. The way course is structured makes it easy to follow along and build the model and if you are facing a difficulty in understanding any topic you can go back to the course any number of times or take help from Anapedia. In Level 1 Model Building, I got a chance to create a new model, set the Time and Version dimensions, create lists, modules, and line items, import data, use functions and module line item references to build formulas, build User Experience pages with charts and graphs, and review user and role permissions and access settings. After all the model building activities are finished there comes the time to take the certification and once you are done with it voila you are Level 1 certified.
Level 2 training program - Level 1 gives a glimpse of the road ahead for level 2. Level 2 course is the advance version of Model building and make the journey a bit more difficult but again the structure of the course and the mini lessons provides the base that we need to build the model effectively. In Level 2 course, we will learn more advanced model building techniques and practices that one should follow, as well as utilize the skills that we have learned earlier in Level 1 program. The Level 2 program is organized into three sprints - like a real project and the challenges that come along with it. In each sprint we have to complete some user stories like we do in a project to focus on the need of users. There is lot to learn from the Anaplan academy in order to build the efficient models and the course makes it easier to do so. There are lot of things that I like about Anaplan some of them being the ease of navigation from one element to another and different segments for the model building requirements. After all the hard work of creating models and completing all the lessons there again comes the time to give the certification exam and become Level 2 certified. I was bit nervous this time but again I succeeded in qualifying the exam.
The Anaplan Way -In order to get Anaplan Certified Model Builder tag we need to complete one more course i.e The Anaplan Way. What is Anaplan Way? Anaplan is a unique software and requires a different approach to go forward. The Anaplan way includes all major stages during an execution of any project. The Anaplan Way methodology will help the team quickly build models that hone in on the customer's most important requirements. The Anaplan Way cornerstones provide the basis that is required for an execution of a project. These cornerstones should be put in action during each stage. They are:
- Process: The process that the Anaplan model supports.
- Data: All the data components required.
- Model: All the stages of the model [Design, Build, and Testing].
- Deployment: A plan to make sure that the Anaplan model and new business process are embraced in the corporation.
After completing this course you are now Anaplan Certified Model Builder and your certificate is ready to be downloaded.
New User Experience - After completing the Level 2 now I am moving forward and excited to complete Level 3 certification. On my way I came across the new UX as I have completed my level 2 training with the classic dashboard. With its intuitive approach, clean look and streamlined navigation, the New User Experience makes it easier for end users to use Anaplan to do their jobs, and it's easier for builders to create tools for them. The new UX includes different page types to meet a variety of needs, can access data across the organizations models and is responsive to different sized devices from mobile and tablets through large projection screens. The new UX moves the classic dashboard to a new generation of dashboards where it gives a new look and feel to the dashboard elements and makes it more pleasing to the eyes.
As the Chinese Proverb says that Learning is like rowing upstream, not to advance is to drop back. I continue my journey with Anaplan to become a Master Anaplanner. Looking forward to new challenges and new learning that awaits me.