How Advanced MDX Transformed a 110-Sheet Model
🚀 One Developer’s Journey with Advanced MDX
Transforming complex models doesn’t always require rebuilding everything from scratch. Sometimes, it just takes the right skills - and the confidence to apply them.
That’s exactly what happened when Helen Ward, TM1 Developer at John Crane, completed the Advanced MDX in PAW course with Cubewise EDU.
📊 The Challenge: 110 Excel Sheets
Helen was managing a large Excel-based financial model - 110 sheets tracking multiple reports across P&L, Balance Sheet, and Supplementary Schedules.
“I had some ideas going into the course of what I wanted to do with MDX, and I’ve been able to achieve those. As I was going through the lessons it sparked lots of ideas.”
Helen Ward, TM1 Developer at John Crane
Updating and maintaining such a large Excel model was a challenge, and Helen knew MDX could help streamline her reporting in Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW).
👩🎓 The Learning Experience
Helen chose the self-paced Advanced MDX in PAW course to gain practical skills she could apply directly to her TM1 models.
Here’s what made the experience stand out:
1️⃣ Hands-On Learning
The lessons are designed to be practical, showing how MDX applies to real TM1 models.
2️⃣ Idea Generation
Working through the exercises, Helen discovered new ways to approach existing models and generated ideas for future enhancements.
3️⃣ Mentoring Support
One of the highlights was the 1:1 mentoring session with Van Zyl. Helen brought questions from her own model and explored solutions in real time.
“Having the mentoring session with Van Zyl was very useful. I collected the questions I had from doing the training and was able to correct a misunderstanding that helped to improve what I was coding. I was also able to ask questions to get ideas of what I could try next to improve and expand on what I’d learnt.”
Helen Ward, TM1 Developer at John Crane
🔄️ The Outcome: 110 Sheets ➡️ 8 Pages
The results speak for themselves. Helen successfully replicated the 110-sheet Excel model into an 8-page PAW dashboard, covering the same information but in a far more dynamic and maintainable way.
She applied what she learned about user preferences, dynamic subsets, and automation to switch seamlessly between P&L, Balance Sheet, and Supplementary Schedules.
“I’ve been really pleased with what I’ve been able to build in our production environment following this course. It’s opened my eyes as what is possible and I’m going to be using these new skills for many applications. I’ve managed to replicate a huge Excel model of 110 sheets using in a PAW dashboard using only 8 pages covering the same information, using user preferences learnt in the course to switch the account subsets from P&L to Balance Sheet to Supplementary Schedule sets along with some other automation.”
Helen Ward, TM1 Developer at John Crane
💡 Why This Matters
Helen’s story highlights what Advanced MDX training should deliver:
✔️ Skills are immediately applicable to real TM1 models
✔️ Mentoring allows you to correct mistakes and explore new approaches
✔️ The course inspires creativity for dashboards, reporting, and automation
Advanced MDX isn’t just about writing expressions - it’s about unlocking smarter, more efficient ways to manage your models.
🎯 Ready to Transform Your PAW Dashboards?
If you’re managing complex Excel models and wondering how to modernise them, this course shows what’s possible.
Practical skills. Real outcomes. Smarter TM1 models.
Have questions? Email edu@cubewise.com and we’ll be happy to help.
