Understanding Scenario Setup

This guide discusses the Scenario Setup application page as well as supporting functionality.

Create different types of scenarios, which represent versions of a budget or forecast for a fiscal year. Create scenarios for current and future trends, test assumptions with changing drivers, and more accurately ensure that revenue is properly estimated. The analysis of scenarios allows analysts to improve financial performance and analyse company financial trends.

Access the Scenario List page by navigating to Maintenance > Admin > Scenario Setup.

Description of Fields on the Scenario List Page

Scenarios are protected from being updated through Scenario Edit while any user is in Input Mode in a template for that scenario. A lock is put on the scenario until the user saves and exits the template to ensure data integrity. A typical edit might be changing the projection start date in a Forecast Scenario. If there is an open template while this change is being made in the scenario, the template data structure and the scenario data structure may be out of sync; meaning that closed and open periods wouldn't match. Saving the template could cause unknown results in the scenario. If you try to edit a scenario while a template is open in Input Mode, you will get an error message saying "Scenario Setup cannot be updated as the scenario or related artifact is in use. Please try again later". This applies to Offline Planning as well. A lock is placed on a scenario if Offline Planning is used to check out a template. The lock won't unlock until either the user checks the template back in or an admin selects Undo Check Out for the template in the Planning Control Panel.

A description of fields available on this page is provided:

Ribbon

Add/Edit Scenarios - Scenarios are protected from being updated through Scenario Edit while any user is in Input Mode in a template for that scenario. A lock is put on the scenario until the user saves and exits the template to ensure data integrity. A typical edit might be changing the projection start date in a Forecast Scenario. If there is an open template while this change is being made in the scenario, the template data structure and the scenario data structure may be out of sync; meaning that closed and open periods wouldn't match. Saving the template could cause unknown results in the scenario. If you try to edit a scenario while a template is open in Input Mode, you will get an error message saying "Scenario Setup cannot be updated as the scenario or related artifact is in use. Please try again later" . This applies to Offline Planning as well. A lock is placed on a scenario if Offline Planning is used to check out a template. The lock won't unlock until either the user checks the template back in or an admin selects Undo Check Out for the template in the Planning Control Panel.

Delete - Delete old and unused scenario and remove it from all the reference scenarios. If a scenario failed or if the status of a scenario is Failed, it will be automatically deleted by the application. You do not need to delete failed scenarios manually. Failed scenarios are deleted once every week on Sunday at 8 AM UTC.
You can delete reference scenarios in addition to deleting unused or inactive scenarios.

To delete a reference scenario:

1. Go to Maintenance > Admin > Scenario Setup.

2. Select the scenario that you want to delete.

3. Click the Delete icon. A confirmation dialog box appears.

4. Click Delete.

If the deleted scenario is used as a reference in any of the following items, the scenario references will be deleted and replaced with the word “None ” on the Edit Scenario page:

• In a Compare Scenario

• In History Scenarios for Cash Flow

• In Data Trends

• In Closed Periods

• In Seeding as a source scenario

• In a History Scenario

For all references except for Data Seeding, a new reference scenario can be selected.

Limitation:

You cannot delete Actual and Default scenarios.

Copy - Scenarios are copied in the cloud, which means you can continue working while the processing takes place. Once complete, a notification appears in the application and an email is sent.

Process - As we have added auto synchronization of tasks based on foundational adjustments, you do not need to manually synchronize the information for an existing scenario from the Scenario List page. After you click Save, the application automatically synchronizes the scenarios that have been modified. Ensure that you refresh the Task Manager page to view the updated information. As a safety net, the manual synchronization option is still be available.

Three Verticle Dots

Scenario Actions

• Forward - New scenarios have a status of Scenario being created. These scenarios are not available to budget end-users via the Planning Control Panel for input until forwarded. Forward scenarios to make them available for template mapping or data loads. Actual and Default scenarios do not need to be forwarded.

To forward a scenario:

1. Access the Scenario List page by navigating to Maintenance > Admin > Scenario Setup.

2. On the Scenario List page, select the scenario and click the three vertical dots.

3. Click the Forward option. The scenario will be updated to a status of "Scenario Forwarded".

• Lock/Unlock - Lock a scenario to prevent data modifications. Administrators typically lock scenarios to prevent budget users from editing them. When templates are mapped to a locked scenario, they cannot be deleted. The Delete button is removed for locked scenarios to ensure data integrity.

To delete a template from a locked scenario:

1. Select the locked scenario associated with the template you want to delete.

2. Click the three vertical dots and select Unlock.

3. Navigate to the Template List page (Maintenance > Templates > Planning Templates).

4. Select the template you want to delete and click the Delete button.

To lock a scenario:

1. Access the Scenario List page by navigating to Maintenance > Admin > Scenario Setup.

2. On the Scenario List page, select the scenario and click the three vertical dots.

3. Select Lock.

To unlock a scenario:

1. Select the scenario.

2. Click the three vertical dots.

3. Select Unlock.

• Global Data Input - Input data for budget entities into the template. Global fields are budget assumptions used for budget calculations. Global field values are maintained by scenario. The Global Data Input page allows you to input global field values for each budget entity in the yellow shaded cells. The global values will be pulled automatically by system-defined formulas within the budget templates based on the budget entity and scenarios against which the template is opened. This step is optional and may not be required for all the scenarios. Global Field Data Input can be performed at any stage of the budgeting process. The list of Global Fields available is populated from the Global Fields added on the Global Field page accessed by navigating to Maintenance > Templates > Global Fields.

• Refresh Closed Period Data - For Forecast scenarios, synchronize Actuals data with closed periods data.

• Refresh Preloaded Data - Synchronize budget data with a Preloaded Budget scenario.

• Unprocess/Process WFP Employees - For processed employees, this action returns all processed employees to a state of "unprocessed" in the Workforce template for the selected scenario.

• Reset All - Move a scenario and all its associated templates and budget entities to an In Progress state.

To reset a scenario:

1. Go to Maintenance > Admin > Scenario Setup to access the Scenario List page.

2. Select the scenario associated with the templates and entities that you want to reset to an In Progress state.

3. Click the three vertical dots and select Reset All.

   • Maintenance - Maintenance allows Admin users to control when Maintenance is performed on a Scenario and/or Template. Template and/or Scenario Maintenance includes any type of modification to the setup. For example, an Admin might want to enable compare scenarios, add additional compare scenarios, or change the scenario due date for a scenario. For templates, an Admin user might want to change the look of the template by adding borders or change the number of decimals displayed. For detailed information, see the Performing Scenario/Template Maintenance topic below.

Other Actions

• User Access - Manage user access for each scenario. Alternatively, from the User Management page (accessed by navigating to Maintenance > Admin > User Management), select a user and select Scenario Access.

• Documents - Attach the following types of documents: Text, Word, PDF, Excel, Power Point, Images. Documents might include:

  • Instructions

  • Assumptions in the currency budget cycle

  • Summary of targets

• Seeding Exception Report - The application logs the cases when formulas could not be transposed and provides this information in the form of an Exception report. This report contains details such as Scenario, Entity, Template, Column and Period references, Source Value, Destination Formula, and Destination Value. This report specifies details about the Values in Source Scenario and the replaced Value and Formula in the Target Scenario.

Scenario Types

• Budget - Use with a fiscal year budget scenario.

• Forecast - Use with a fiscal year forecast scenario.

• Plan - Use for enhanced "intelligent" seeding.

• Actual - A system defined scenario that holds the actual data of the legal entities organized by fiscal years.

• Default - The common scenario used to add all templates to, which can then be mapped to other scenarios.

• Preloaded Budget - Use when finalized budgets exist outside of Planful. Load these budgets into the Planful application using Data Integration functionality. For example, if the preloaded budget is created for FY-2017, the budget data from 2017 (1stApril-2016 to Mar 2017 - assuming the fiscal year starts on April 1st) can be loaded to the Budget module using Data Integration. Reporting currency calculations are not applicable for Preloaded Budget scenarios.

Performing Scenario / Template Maintenance

Admin users have the ability to perform Maintenance on a scenario and/or template without having to track down every user and ensure each user has exited the template and/or scenario. Admin users control when Maintenance is performed on a template and / or scenario.

In Practice: Scenario / Template Maintenance

Follow the steps below to perform Maintenance on a scenario and/or template:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Admin > Scenario Setup.

2. Select the scenario that you want to perform maintenance on. In this example it is the 2017 Plan scenario (shown in the image below).

3. Click the More list-box and select Maintenance.
   

4. Select the amount of time (in minutes) prior to the start of Maintenance.

5. Enter a message to application users in the Message text box. An example is shown below.
   

6. Click Trigger Maintenance. The message is sent to all users who are working with the scenario. It will display on their screen informing the users about the upcoming maintenance activity. Users will be asked to Save and Exit the scenario prior to the commencement of Maintenance.

   Once Maintenance starts, the scenario is locked preventing users from performing additional actions. The icon shown in the image below indicates that the scenario is under Maintenance.

   

   If a user tries to perform an action on a template that is under Maintenance, a message is displayed.:

7. The Admin user can now perform Maintenance on the scenario selected and/or mapped templates as needed.

8. Once updates are complete, save all changes and adjustments, and return to the Scenario List page.

9. Select the scenario and click More > Maintenance.

10. A message is displayed asking if you want to end scenario maintenance. Click STOP MAINTENANCE (shown below). Ending maintenance unlocks the Scenario / Template. At this point, users can work on the Scenario / Template.
    

Scenario Locking for Shared Mode Enabled Applications

This feature is for customers with applications where Shared Mode is enabled. For information on what Shared Mode is, click here. If you are not sure if your application has Shared Mode, please contact Planful Support.

To prevent the Consolidation Process and a Data Load Rule from executing on the same scenario simultaneously, Scenario Lock functionality is in place.

How It Works

When a Data Load Rule and the Consolidation Process are executed, the first one to be initiated will acquire a lock at the Scenario level preventing the second process from executing on the same scenario until the first process is complete. For example, let's say a second process is initiated before the first one completes, the system will wait 10 minutes before canceling the second process. Note that information on status (canceled, completed and queued processes) is available in Cloud Scheduler. During the 10 minutes, the second process will automatically attempt to execute every 30 seconds to acquire a hold on the scenario. If the scenario lock is acquired by the second process (meaning that the first process completes within the 10 minutes) then it will execute and complete. If the scenario is not acquired by the second process within 10 minutes (meaning that the first process takes longer to complete), then it will be canceled and you can retry the process later.

Application Behavior

You can run Data Load Rules synchronously and/or asynchronously.

Behavior When Running Asynchronous Data Load Rules

• Asynchronous Data Load Rules run in cloud and are executed via Cloud Scheduler.

• Asynchronous Data Load Rules have a limit of one process per application. So when two Data Load Rules are executed by the same or different users (on the same or two different scenarios), they are queued in the Cloud Scheduler and executed one after another.

Behavior When Running Synchronous Data Load Rules

• Synchronous Data Load Rules run instantaneously and you cannot continue to work in the application until completion.

• You will not see entries in the Cloud scheduler. You will see entries in the Data Load History.

• Two different users can run a Data Load Rule independently at the same time as long as each is run for a different scenario. If the same scenario, subsequent process will fail and result in an error.

Behavior When Running a Combination of Synchronous and Asynchronous Data Load Rules

• You can run Data Load Rules asynchronously and synchronously within the same application. If an asynchronous is running and a synchronous Data Load Rule is initiated for a different scenario, both will be executed.

• If an asynchronous Data Load Rule is running and a synchronous Data Load Rule is initiated for the same scenario, the synchronous Data Load Rule will fail immediately.

• If a synchronous Data Load Rule is running and an asynchronous Data Load Rule is initiated for the same scenario, the asynchronous Data Load Rule will be queued in the Cloud Scheduler (the Status will be ‘running’ while waiting). The wait time is ten minutes, after which the application cancels the queued process.

Behavior When Running Consolidation Process Scenarios

• If a Consolidation Process is running and a synchronous Data Load Rule is initiated for a different scenario, both will be executed.

• If a Consolidation Process is running and a synchronous Data Load Rule is initiated for the same scenario, the synchronous Data Load Rule will fail immediately.

• If a Consolidation Process is running and an asynchronous Data Load Rule is initiated for a different scenario, both will be executed immediately in Cloud Scheduler.

• If a Consolidation Process is running and an asynchronous Data Load Rule is initiated for the same scenario, the asynchronous Data Load Rule will be queued in the Cloud Scheduler (the Status will be ‘running’ while waiting). The wait time is ten minutes, after which the application cancels the queued process

• If an asynchronous or a synchronous Data Load Rule is running and a Consolidation Process is initiated for the same scenario, the Consolidation Process will be queued in the Cloud Scheduler (Status will be ‘running’ while waiting). The wait time is ten minutes, after which the application cancels the queued process.