Planners Lab

The Planners Lab

The Planners Lab is a modeling and visualization application written and distributed by GRW Studios, Inc., Omaha, Nebraska. The software is for Microsoft Windows. It operates as both a desk top application and as a web product. It features model building using simple algebraic equations and drag and drop visualization. The product was released in 2006.

History

The founder of the Planners Lab software previously developed and distributed the Interactive Financial Planning System (IFPS). IFPS was very popular as a main frame product in the 1980’s and was the dominant financial planning system for academics, businesses, and government. The Planners Lab has a modeling language similar to IFPS.

Modeling

Most Planners Lab models are for forecasting over some time horizon such as quarters or years. Columns (time periods) can also be non related events such as Machine A and Machine B however that is not the usual situation.

The user describes the structure of a model however they wish. The model layout is in a tree structure with nodes. Any number of nodes and level of nodes (sub nodes) can be created. This allows the breaking up of a model into pieces that have some commonality such as a node for expenses. Templates can be created, saved and shared.

Modeling assumptions are in the form of simple algebraic equations. The equations describe how variables are expected to behave over time. Variable names are on the left hand side of an equation and data and/or computational procedures on the right hand side. Both sides of the equations are designed by the user and in their own words.

The Planners Lab has several "keywords" which are short hand procedures for uses such as repeating data over columns, referring to data in another part of a model, computing Net Present Value, and several more.

Model building in the Planners Lab is different than building spreadsheets where computations are described in a matrix with column and row references.

Visualization

Visualization of model outputs is performed by dragging chart type icons onto the stage and then dragging and dropping a variable name(s) onto chart type. This style of interactive visualization is done “on the fly” including asking what if and goal seek type questions. Layouts of any combination of chart types can be created and saved for use as an interactive dashboard that is similar to other dashboards except that the data are "alive" and reflect cause and effect relationships. This is possible because the data source is a simulation model vs. a data base of static and non related numbers.

Export to Excel

Models can be exported to create live Excel spreadsheets, i.e., not a table with static numbers. Also, changes in Excel spreadsheeets can be imported back to the Planners Lab to update the assumptions in a Planners Lab model. Integrity of variable names, data, and computations is retained.

Free Software

The Planners Lab is available for no cost to academics world wide. This can be accessed via the Teradata University Network at www.teradatauniversitynetwork.org and from www.plannerslab.com. The software is also available for no cost to Technology Incubators and their tenants world wide. For information on this contact grwagner@mail.unomaha.edu.

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