Overview

Adding a VDT Definition allows you to specify the properties of your VDT and then apply these properties to more than one VDT where required.


Adding a VDT Definition

The are 2 ways to add a new VDT Definition.


  1. On Value Hound: click on the +Add VDT button located on the right side of the screen and select +Add Definition

  2. On Administration: select VDT Definition under the VDT section of Administration. Select the +Add button located on the top-right corner to add a new VDT definition.


VDT Definition Settings

After clicking +Add, this will open the VDT Definition Settings screen, as shown below, which will allow you to enter details of the new definition.

On the Settings screen, you can enter the 1Description of your VDT Definition (enter the Name of the VDT Definition when creating a new definition). Under the Fields section, you can input the 2Name as well as the 3Reference of the field. The Reference property is a unique identifier of the field used in the expression for calculated properties. These fields will appear on the VDT nodes.


You can then select the 4Type associated with your field. The available field types to choose from are: Actual, Baseline, Calculated, Custom Target, and Target.

Actual - Indicates that the values for this field are derived from input KPIs/calculations based on actual input values.
Baseline - Indicates that the field represents the current/baseline value for all nodes.
Calculated - Indicates that this field’s value is derived from some combination of other field values. Allows for capturing an expression to specify how this field is calculated. This expression is global across all nodes in the VDT. An example of a field would be variance = actual - target.

Custom Target - Indicates that the field represents a configured future/target value for all nodes. These targets are configured on the Portfolio/Organisational Structure configuration and can be obtained from a KPI.

Target - Indicates that the field represents a future/target value for all nodes.

  • Selecting Actual, Baseline, or Target field types gives you the option to also select the Period for which the values will be displayed in this field type. This will be the sum of the values within the selected period. You can choose between Yesterday, This Week, Last Week, This Month, Last Month, YTD, Last Year, Custom or Manual.
  • Select the Calculated field type if the field is to be calculated and specify the expression using the references set for the field. 

    This calculated field will use the expression specified to calculate the value of the calculated field on the KPI node


  • Select the Custom Target field type if the field is to be a Custom Target. Specify the type of Custom Target for this field, as well as the Period associated with the value of this field type. The value of the custom target can be obtained from a KPI or override the value from the KPI with a custom value.


You can also select the 5Primary Value checkbox if you would like to designate one primary Baseline, Actual, and Target field essential for calculating the node status. (Note: this option is deactivated for Calculated field types).

If the VDT is added to the VDT library, the Fields that have Primary Value selected will be added to any constant nodes in the tree. A warning message will be displayed before you could add this tree to the VDT library

Note: a VDT definition needs to have at least one Actual, Baseline and Target field


The 6Expression field displays the expression of a Calculated field (NOTE: this option is disabled for all other field type options)


You can use the 7icons displayed on the right side of the field input to either edit an existing field or delete it from the list. To add a new field, click on the 8+Add button located at the bottom. Once complete, click on the 9Save button located at the top to save your changes.