My last few blog posts have discussed modeling inefficiencies when building your models. In this blog, I wanted to share some thoughts about how the practices I’ve previously written about can continue throughout your models once they’ve been built.
Firstly, we all know that frequently, the people who build models aren’t always the ones who need to use the data for analytics or wider decision making. A next-generation modeling solution should help people in different business groups understand your models and data, meaning they can make informed business decisions. Being able to create interactive presentation views to easily show findings really improves model worth and the ability to add real value to a business on a wider scale. It also improves efficiency, meaning there’s no time wasted trying to interpret findings. A hugely valuable feature of Quantrix means that users can create ‘what if’ analyses on models due to the interactive nature of presentation views without changing formulas.
Once you’ve created your model, another common challenge is keeping the same model up to date, eliminating having multiple versions of the same model and making sure it remains error free once it’s been returned. I think we are all guilty of having multiple versions of the same document – and sometimes losing track of which one is actually the most up to date version with naming conventions such as “Model 1” “Model 1 Final” “Model 1 Final 2” etc. Being able to share models easily and securely should definitely be a top priority for a modeling solution. In Quantrix, our Qloud-based system allows secure and simple sharing capabilities to ensure model validity is maintained, even when shared. You can set both user roles and permissions, meaning users only see the part of the model that’s relevant to them, as well as setting editing permissions right down to a single cell. It’s therefore impossible for someone to ‘fat-finger’ a formula and introduce errors to your model. Checking models over and over again once you’ve shared them really isn’t very efficient.
Lastly, the ability to work together in the same model is hugely valuable. Even being able to see when someone else is working on a model and having your editing capabilities paused means that everyone is always working on the latest version of the model. Taking it one step further, being able to have multiple users editing at the same time, whilst being able to chat within a model and see each user’s location means you no longer need to send models back and forth, eliminating errors creeping in and enhancing user collaboration.
Unfortunately, with traditional spreadsheets, the challenges don’t just stop once you’ve finally built your model. Instead, they carry large amounts of risk when trying to share and collaborate. These are just a few of many reasons why so many a now looking for a next-generation full modeling solution. Our Qloud solution is really simple, so simple in fact that we don’t even offer training on it! If you want to find out more about how Quantrix can help you share, collaborate and improve model value across business – please feel free to reach out.
By Holly Perry
