In this article, we discuss the important aspects of User Administration and Routings in Pivot Forecasting. We aim to provide an understanding of how to manage user accounts, set up permissions, and customize user interactions with models.
We will begin with User Administration, and thereafter cover Routings.
User Administration
User maintenance can be accessed by clicking on Admin → User → Users.
Once selected, a form will be presented which can be used to:
Create new users
Change existing user details
Delete users
View Last login
Take note of the following important points:
Login names should be the user’s email address.
Passwords must be at least 8 characters and contain at least 1 number, 1 upper-case, 1 lower-case and 1 special character.
New users are to click the Forgot Password link to set their passwords.
Date format should be set as US, ISO or European and the locale must be selected.
Check remaining boxes according to license type.
Pivot Forecasting allows for a default of 5 power user licenses, 0 collaborator licenses and unlimited read-only user licenses. Power users have full functionality. Collaborators have a limited set of functionality that is generally appropriate for users simply needing to update their forecasts. Read only users are able to view everything but are not able to make changes. Before setting up users, the license agreement must be reviewed to determine how many of each type the company has purchased. See examples below of the settings a read-only user and collaborator user might have. Users must be named users and logins cannot be shared by multiple users.
Read-only Settings Example
By default, a license will be read-only.
Collaborator Settings Example
While collaborator licenses are not part of the default configuration, they can be added for users requiring less functionality than a power user (such as salespeople). Users with a collaborator license must have the Collaborator box checked, as shown in the image below.
Users can have access turned on or off for:
Promotions: turn off to not allow promotions to be entered.
Conversions: turn off to not allow converting to other units of measure and to hide the Finance panels.
Change Dashboards: turn off to lock down dashboards. Users cannot change existing dashboards or create new ones.
Export Data: turn off to not allow exporting from the Export menu option. Forecast Spreadsheet is always available for export.
Note: The Supply Planning, Links and Capacity Planning boxes should be left unchecked as these are not related to Pivot Forecasting.
Any user(s) can be configured to receive emails sent automatically from the Pivot Forecasting server when the nightly job runs. The email lists each step and indicates if it completed successfully or aborted.
For this setting, add the user’s email address and check the appropriate boxes:
All Problems: user only receives emails with abort status. Good for admins.
All Actions: user receives all success and abort emails. This is not recommended in most cases.
Always enter the user’s email even if they will not receive notifications. This is important so that they can reset their password if they forget it.
Click the Excel button on the Users form to export a list of all users. The list is useful to determine which users are set up and how and whether or not they are actively using Pivot Forecasting. The export includes:
Login name and email address
Last date/time user logged in
Access per user
Routings
This can be accessed by clicking on Admin → User → Routings.
Routings define how a user will interact with a model. A routing must be created for each model-user relationship. They are a key part of the users’ workflow, since they determine:
Which forecast row in Pivot Forecasting will store their “Final Forecast.”
Which parts of the model they can see.
Which measures they can save to or edit.
Let’s discuss the fields found on the Routings pop-up.
Final Forecast Measure determines where a user’s forecasts are stored and shared with other users. Take note of the below with regard to this field:
Final Forecast: Power users often finalize to the Final Forecast row, and these forecasts are imported into the user’s inventory app.
Reference Measure(s): For users that are providing input, but not determining the final plan, such as salespeople (collaborators).
None: For read-only users or any users that are not updating forecasts in the selected model.
Model filters limit the data in a model a user can see to only what is defined in the filter. Filters can be defined by a single value or by more complex criteria. See examples below.
Single criteria filter example:
Multi criteria filter example (uses Optional Filter SQL field):
Write access can be turned on for users to allow them to enter values in selected measures. Use caution to only give users the access that they need.
Power users: typically most boxes checked as shown on the image below.
Collaborators: little write access needed. May be limited to Saved Adjustments, Promotions and the Collaborator Forecast.
Reference measures: checked only if users need to make amendments to these fields; unchecked if used for archived forecasts or any other static measure that users should not update.
The “Maintain” options are always turned off for Pivot Forecasting.
Once a routing has been created for a user/model, it can be copied and reused with slight modifications for fast, time-saving setup of similar routings.
To do this, a model routing can be created for a power user, with all the options carefully set, and then saved by clicking on the Save button. From the top list, the saved user routing can be selected.
The Copy button can then be clicked. Either the Model or the Login must be changed, as indicated by the *. The model should be changed to apply the same settings for the same user to another model. The Login should be changed to apply the same setting to another user for the same model. Other changes can be made as needed.
By understanding the tools available for user administration and routings, user accounts and privileges can be efficiently maintained while ensuring secure and personalized access to Pivot Forecasting.