Spring21 Release Notes

Structured Planning: Generating Workforce Planning Budget Report

Now, in Standard Reports, when you run the Workforce Planning Budget Report, for the By Compensation Item and By Compensation Item and Position view options, the application will consider Home Budget Entity while generating the report instead of considering two different budget entities for these Views.

The following image shows the Workforce Planning Budget Report screen.

How Does the Functionality Work

When you select Workforce Planning Budget Report from the standard reports list and click Run, you can select the required Scenario, Budget Entity, and View to generate a detailed report.

When you select the By Compensation Item or By Compensation Item and Position view options, the report gets generated based on the Home Budget Entity. Prior to this release, when you selected the By Compensation Item as the View option, the report was generated based on the Position Budget Entity.

In Practice: Generating the Report

1. Go to Reports > Standard Reports, select Workforce Planning Budget Report and click Run.

   

2. Select Scenario, Budget Entity, and View, and click Run. The report will be generated based on your selection of View and Budget Entity.

   

Structured Planning: Selecting Compensation Items in Add and Edit Compensation Items Window

With the introduction of a new user-friendly interface with this release, you can select and unselect multiple compensation items for Calculating Total Wages in the Workforce Planning Setup > Compensation Items in the Add Compensation Item and Edit Compensation Item window.

Add Compensation Items Window:

You can use the updated selection control to search compensation items and select multiple or all compensation items from the drop-down list.

The following image shows the new selection control of the Add Compensation Item window.

How does the functionality work

When you add compensation items for calculating total wages, you can search and select the required compensation items from the drop-down list. You can either select multiple compensation items or all based on your requirement. The Select All option can also be used to unselect compensation items. The selected compensation items are displayed on the screen.

For example, if you select Salary, Bonus, and Allowance compensation items from the drop-down list, the screen will display these items with separators between them.

In Practice: Selection of Compensation Items

1. Go to Workforce Planning Setup > Compensation Items > Add Compensation Item and click Compensation Basis.

   

2. Select %Wages from the Compensation Basis drop-down list.

3. Search or select compensation items from the drop-down list and then click Save.

   

Edit Compensation Items Window:

You can use the updated selection control to edit the existing compensation items list and add new compensation items from the drop-down list by searching and selecting either one or multiple compensation items.

The following image shows the new selection control of the Edit Compensation Items window.

How does the functionality work

When you edit compensation items for calculating total wages, you can search and select the required compensation items from the drop-down list. You can either select multiple compensation items or all based on your requirement. The Select all option can also be used to unselect existing compensation items from the drop-down list. The selected compensation items are displayed on the screen.

In Practice: Editing Compensation Items

1. Go to Workforce Planning Setup > Compensation Items, select a compensation item and click Edit.

   

2. In the Edit Compensation Item screen, click Compensation Basis.

3. Edit the existing compensation items list by searching and selecting Compensation Items from the drop-down list and then click Save.

   

Structured Planning: Selecting Compensation Items in Add and Edit Employee Types Window

With the introduction of a new user-friendly interface with this release, you can map and unmap multiple compensation items in the Workforce Planning Setup > Employee Types in the Add Employee Type and Edit Employee Type window.

Add Employee Type Window:

You can use the updated selection control to search compensation items and select multiple or all compensation items from the drop-down list.

The following image shows the new selection control for compensation items in the Add Employee Type window.

How does the functionality work

When you add employee type, you can search and select the required compensation items from the drop-down list. You can either select multiple compensation items or all based on your requirement. The Select All option can also be used to unselect compensation items. The selected compensation items are displayed on the screen.

For example, if you select Salary, Bonus, and Allowance compensation items from the drop-down list, the screen will display these items with separators between them.

In Practice: Selection of Compensation Items

1. Go to Workforce Planning Setup > Employee Types > Add Employee Type.

   

2. Enter values for Employee Type Code and Employee Type Name.

3. Search or select compensation items from the drop-down list and then click Save.

   

Edit Employee Type Window:

You can use the updated selection control to edit the existing compensation items list and add new compensation items from the drop-down list by searching and selecting either one or multiple compensation items.

The following image shows the new selection control for compensation items in the Edit Employee Type window.

How does the functionality work

When you edit compensation items, you can search and select the required compensation items from the drop-down list. You can either select multiple compensation items or all based on your requirement. The Select All option can also be used to unselect existing compensation items from the drop-down list. The selected compensation items are displayed on the screen.

In Practice: Editing Compensation Items

1. Go to Workforce Planning Setup > Employee Types, select an employee type and click Edit.

   

2. In the Edit Employee Type screen, update the values for Employee Type Code and Employee Type Name.

3. Edit the existing compensation items list by searching and selecting Compensation Items from the drop-down list and then click Save.

   

Structured Planning: Pop-up Message Introduced across all the windows in Workforce Planning Setup

Now, an alert message will be displayed when a user leaves a page without saving the changes. You can now see this message across the following windows in Workforce Planning Setup:

• Workforce Defaults

• Workforce Attributes

• Compensation Items

• Compensation Groups

• Employee Types

• Payplans

• User Access

Business Value

This functionality will allow users to save their changes before switching to another tab and reducing the chances of losing their data.

Dynamic Planning: Update to the SpotlightXL Add-In

If you have automated installation for SpotlightXL, then there is nothing you need to do as the update will be done automatically.

If you manually install SpotlightXL and related updates, then you must access the Installation Guide and download the latest update.

Dashboards: New Select All Check box in Filters

A new Select All checkbox is added to the Global and Chart Filters. This option applies to all Global and Chart filters in the Edit screen and Run screen. You can use this option to select dimensions and reporting options that are available in the caret drop-down. You can use this feature to select or unselect all the listed members in the caret drop-down.

Business Value

It reduces the effort of selecting individual dimensions or reporting areas. If the list is long, you can easily select or unselect all the options if required.

In Practice: Accessing the Select/Unselect All check box

1. Go to Dashboards.

2. Open any Dashboard.

3. Click on any Global or Chart Filters.

4. You can view the Select All option to choose all the dimension members or reporting areas. This option is also visible when you open any Dashboard in the Edit Mode.

   

Dashboards: New Reset User Selection Option

A new Reset User Selection option is added in the More options section of a Dashboard in the edit screen. You can use this option to reset the selections made by the users with whom the dashboard is shared and reset the values that you have set in Global and Chart filters. When you select this option, all the filter selections (Global and Chart level) made by other users in the dashboard are cleared, and when they run the dashboard, the latest Global and Chart filters set by you are applied to their Charts until further modification.

In Practice: Accessing the Reset User Selection option

1. Go to Dashboards and select any dashboard.

2. Click Edit.

3. Update the Global or Chart level filters.

4. Click the More Options icon in the Menu Bar.

5. Select the Reset User Selection option so that the changes you made are reflected in other users' dashboard.

   

Dashboards: New Set Default Page Option

A new Set Default Page option has been added to the dashboard menu bar. You can select this option to set your dashboard landing page preference.

• Last Viewed Dashboard - When you set this as your preference and navigate to the Dashboard section, you will view the previously accessed dashboard on your dashboard landing page. This option is selected by default.

• Dashboard Listing - When you set this as your preference and navigate to the Dashboard section, you will view all the dashboards you can access listed on the dashboard landing page. All or Favorites page is displayed based on the last user access.

In Practice: Accessing the Set Default page option

1. Go to Dashboards.

2. On the Dashboard landing page menu bar, click the Set Default Page icon.

   

Platform: Date Filter Enhancement

Now, the Start Month and End Month fields are displayed by default for all Scenarios in Export Data. Previously, these fields were displayed only when you selected Actual from the Scenarios list. These fields are mandatory for Actual scenarios. For other scenarios, if you don't select the date range, the complete scenario data will be exported.

In Practice: Accessing the Date Filter Enhancement

1. Go to Maintenance > Data Integration > Export Data.

2. Provide the required information on the Export Data Setup page. You can provide the following details in each section:

   - Setup File Format:

   1. File Type - Select the file format for the exported file.

   2. Data Format - Select the order in which the data should appear in the exported file.
      - Setup Columns and Order:

   1. Column

   2. Header Name

   3. Value

3. Click Save and Next. The Export Data page appears. You can view the Start Month and End Month fields here.

   

Platform: Clear Data Enhancements

Now, when you download the Clear Data file from the notification you see after clearing (deleting) the data, the downloaded ZIP file will have the CSV files for each quarter in the selected period for Clear Data. This change enhances the performance of the Clear Data feature.

Previously, when you exported the Clear Data file to your system, the downloaded ZIP file would contain one CSV with complete data.

Following is the screenshot of the downloaded zip file which contains the Clear Data CSV files of a scenario from Nov 2016.

The data is cleared sequentially from the bottom (last quarter) of the selected time period to the top (first quarter) to avoid nulls or voids in the data. The date format in the exported CSV files is changed as follows:

• Old format example - ClearData_Export_01272021185256.csv

• New format example - ClearData_Export_322202190700PM (UTC+0530).csv

Similar updates are made in the Job Manager screen to show the details about the Clear Data action performed by any user.

When you view the Detail Log of the Clear Data action, the details of each quarter in the selected time period are displayed along with their respective statuses.

Platform: Exception Report Enhancements

In Data Load Rules, while loading the data through Load Data, if there are any exceptions and the data load has failed, you can view the data load exception report. Following changes are made in the exception report:

• The Download Exceptions button is renamed to Export Exceptions.

  

• Update to the exceptions limits.

  

Platform: User Security Update

Now, you will not have the Support ID column in the User Security Standard Report. We have removed the Zendesk support in User Security Standard Report and migrated to Salesforce. Do the following to take advantage of the update:

1. Go to Maintenance > Reports > Standard Reports.

2. Select User Security and click More > Deploy Reports.

3. Run the report from the Standard Reports interface or from the location it was deployed to within the File Cabinet.

4. Select a user from the User list and click Run.

Platform: Deprecation of the option to Hide Logo on Application Selection Page

Now, you will not have the option to hide the application logo even on the Application Selection page. Previously, you could go to Maintenance > Admin > Customize Branding > Configurations > Application Logo and choose the Hide on the Application Selection page option, which has now been deprecated.

Due to this deprecation the Planful logo will mandatorily appear on the Application Selection page.

Following is the screenshot of the latest version of the Customize Branding options.

Following is the screenshot of the previous version of the Customize Branding options.

Platform: Reduced Banner Height

The banner height has been reduced to provide more application real estate to the users.

Platform: Enhanced the Notifications Panel

We have enhanced Planful’s notifications panel for look, feel, and added the delete functionality. The following is a list of the enhancements made to the notification panel.

• The notification readability has been improved. The event name and area of the application where the event occurred are clearly distinguishable.

• The notification panel has also been enhanced to provide the ability to delete a notification from the panel itself. Previously, you had to click See all Notifications and then delete the desired notification from the Notifications list. You can now directly click on the delete button (x) displayed upon hovering over the notification.

• You can also differentiate between read and unread notifications. The unread notifications will appear with a grey background color.

• You will now be able to see the date and time of the notification on the panel even for the latest notifications.

Platform: Enhanced the Scenario Process Menu Option

We have enhanced Planful’s unprocessed scenarios menu option for look and feel. You will be able to see a new See All option to navigate to the Process Reporting Area. The notification readability has been improved. The scenario name, status, and last processed date are more distinguishable with this enhancement.

Platform: Enhanced the Help Menu Option

We have enhanced Planful’s Get Help icon for better readability and ease of access. You can find all help and support related resources under one header.

If you are a Support User, you will see the following Support options.

If you are a Support Administrator, you will see the following Support options.

Platform: Added on-demand access to Release Highlights through the What's New option under Get Help

You can now click on What’s New under the Resources header of the Get Help icon to see the latest updates in any given release. This functionality provides you with an on-demand access to the release highlights for every latest release.

Predict: Enhanced the Signal Context Pop-up

Now, the Signal Context pop-up window shows the Upper and Lower ranges in the form of a shaded area called the Predicted Range. The Signal context table has been moved below the graph for better viewability. To view the historical actuals data on the graph you can toggle on the historical actual graph lines by clicking on the Actual data label below the graph as before.

Predict: Added the ability to comment on the Signal Context Pop-up

Now, you can right-click on any cell in the first row (scenario row) of the Signal context table and provide a comment specific to that cell. This functionality helps you collaborate with colleagues or peers to collectively address potential anomalies.

You can also type ‘+’ and mention the name of the colleague you would like to collaborate with.

You can choose to assign the comment as a task to a collaborator.

Once you have commented on a cell, a blue comment icon will appear on the top right corner of that cell. You can click that icon to view the comment trail on that cell.

Only the assignee of a task can mark it as complete. Only the creator of the comment can delete the comment. Once a comment has been resolved, the blue comment icon will automatically disappear from the cell.

Business Value

This functionality provides you the flexibility and ease of assigning a task to any user. The dynamic commentary functionality lets the users collaborate with colleagues or peers to collectively address potential anomalies in the projections or be in consensus with them for any conscious exceptions considered while planning.

In Practice: Dynamic Commentary

1. Go to the Signal Context pop-up of any Signal. Right-click on any cell of the scenario row where you want to add a comment.

2. Click Comment. The Leave a comment pop-up appears.

3. You can leave a comment or add other collaborators by using +. You can use + to mention a collaborator on a comment or assign a comment as a task to the collaborator.
    After typing "+" and the starting alphabet of a username a drop-down list of all the active users whose names begin with that alphabet is displayed.

   Note:

   The collaborator should be an active user of the Planful application.

4. If you choose to assign a task to a collaborator, you need to do the following.

   - Enable the Assign to <username> checkbox

   - Fill in the following details:

   1. Title of the task

   2. Due date of the task

   3. Priority level of the task

      Once you have filled in these details, you can click Create Task. You can view the task in the Task Manager.

      Or, if you choose to leave a comment by just mentioning the user without assigning any task, you can click Comment.

      A blue comment icon will appear on the top right corner of that cell. You can click that icon to view the comment trail on that cell.

Predict: Optimized the Model Training time

Now, the time required for model training has been drastically reduced after applying advanced optimization techniques. Previously, model training for heavy data sets could take anywhere between one to two hours or more. This optimization has reduced the turnaround time to a matter of minutes.