5. Planning and Designing Models

Evidence from involvements of hundreds of financial modeling suggests the majority of models built have no planning involved. There are some cases where there really is no need. But as a financial modeler, at some point, you will need to have some coherent plan for your models, particularly when working on a project where the modeling is only one aspect, such as being on a bid or in a transformation program. It is critical to understand not just how to build models but also how to fulfill all the aspects of planning. This way, you will provide a final model that meets and exceeds user expectations. This chapter continues from Chapter 4 on modeling life cycle and will take you through how to plan a model and also how to design a model.