Customer Based Forecasting Hyperion Planning Web Form Building Good Practices

September 2011

CBF - Form creation Good Practices

Naming convention for forms: Generic format for a form name: PT XXYY Description Vx (Example: CBF TS60 Enter renewal rates adjustments D1) 1. PT: Plan type the form is built on (CBF) 2. XX: Business unit or process using this form (TS for Target Setting) 3. YY: progressive number of the form; ideally in increases of 5 or 10, so, if an additional form is required between two existing ones, the new one can be set in the right place (60) 4. Description: verbose description of the functionality of the form (Enter renewal rates adjustments) 5. Vx: version of the form, useful, for example when alternative layouts are being considered, additionally, this can be a prefix like D for draft of F for final (D1) In cases where the model is not particularly complicated, points 1 and 2 can be omitted Organisation in folder structure Group forms by Business Unit, process or functionality Use separate folders for forms being part of a composite one

CBF - Form creation Good Practices

Instructions: Which purpose the form serves: enter or review; what is supposed to be entered or reviewed and against what Where the data in this form are going to be used in the application and how If applicable, any business rule attached and how it will calculate the data (potentially use the instructions of the rules itself) Highlight the use of User Variables These instructions can be reused in creating the task list
Format: Form: Description: Instructions: <Form Name (see the specifications of the standard for this name)> <Specification of the Form's Objective> <Input the instructions that the users must follow to use this form>

/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Author: <Name and Last Name of the Person generating the Form> Date: <Form Creation Date under the DD/MM/YYYY format> Modification: <Name and Last Name of the Person modifying the Form> Date: <Form Modification Date> Related: <Name of the associated HBR, if this is the case> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

CBF - Form creation Good Practices

Dimension layout: Point of View: single selection member, hide dimensions only if necessary Page: Order of dimensions: this should be consistent across all the forms so the users become familiar with it The following list is an indication of the order of the dimensions when in the Page. If the dimension exists on the grid or POV, move to the next one in the list:

Use Please Select a xxx member as first member in the list Rows / Columns: balance between efficacy in visualisation / user experience and final size of the form; consider the size of the form for all users i.e. for the user which will see the maximum number of members Consider nesting dimensions (like a pivot table in excel)

CBF - Form creation Good Practices

Generic considerations: Use of composite/tabbed forms or splitting one form in multiple ones to improve readability or easing comparison when dimensionality does not allow synopsis Always use the Alias (or Alias + Name, but never name only) Use the Suppress Missing option for review forms Use the View Only for review forms Member selection: MINIMISE the selection of individual members Use multidimensional functions Consider having members identified dynamically: alternate hierarchies UDAs Attribute Dimensions User Variables Substitution variables

CBF - Form creation Good Practices

With User Variable Without User Variable

CBF - Form creation Good Practices

Formatting: Number of decimals by account type (suggested): Where relevant, use Validation Rules
Minimum Maximum Currency 0 0 Non Currency 2 2 Percentage Values 2 2

Business Rules Always Use members on data form Set Run on save for entry forms, if heavy calculations are associated, i.e. takes long time to run, it is advisable to trigger it manually Tick hide prompts if users are not familiar with the data model and the process