In This Article

Overview

Understanding No Impact on Benefit

How It Works for KPI Nodes

• Enabling the Setting:
• Alternative Method - Through Import:
• What Happens:

How It Works for Variable Nodes

• Automatic Application:
• Historical Values (Previous Months):
• Current Month:

When to Use No Impact on Benefit

• For KPI Nodes:
• For Variable Nodes:

Alternative for KPI nodes: Baseline vs Actual

Summary

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Overview

The "No Impact on Benefit" feature allows you to include nodes in your Value Driver Tree (VDT) for tracking and monitoring purposes without affecting the initiative's overall benefit calculations. This feature operates differently depending on the node type: for KPI nodes, it must be manually enabled by the user, while for Variable nodes, it is automatically applied by design. Understanding how this feature works ensures that your VDT accurately reflects which metrics contribute to benefits and which serve purely informational purposes.

Note: The "No Impact on Benefit" setting affects both KPI nodes and Variable nodes in the Variance and Benefit views. It does not affect the Baseline view.

Understanding No Impact on Benefit

When "No Impact on Benefit" is applied to a node, the node continues to track and display performance values (Baseline, Target, and Actual), but changes in the node's performance do not generate calculated benefits for the initiative. This allows you to include metrics in your VDT for monitoring and informational purposes without affecting the initiative's overall benefit value.

How It Works for KPI Nodes

For KPI nodes, the "No Impact on Benefit" setting must be manually enabled by the user:

Enabling the Setting:

1. When creating or editing a KPI node in the Value Driver Tree, open the edit node settings
2. Locate the "Benefit Calculation" section from the edit node options
3. Select "No Impact on Benefit" 
4. Save the changes
   
   
   

Alternative Method - Through Import:

1. Use the Idea Value Driver Tree Import template
2. In the "Benefit Calculation Method" column, enter "No Impact On Benefits"
3. If left blank during import, the system defaults to "Baseline vs Actual"
   
   
   

What Happens:

• In the Baseline view, the view remains the same where the Baseline and Target values are sourced as is from the KPI
  
  
  
• In the Variance view, the Target value is set equal to the Actual value, resulting in no variance value for the KPI node
  
  
  
• In the Benefit view, the Baseline value is set equal to the Actual value, resulting in no benefits for the KPI node (Baseline - Actual = 0)
  
  
  
• Performance tracking remains active
• The initiative's overall benefit and variance value is not affected by the KPI node's performance

How It Works for Variable Nodes

For Variable nodes, the "No Impact on Benefit" behavior is inherently applied automatically to historical monthly values —no user action or setting configuration is required.

Automatic Application:

• No setting needs to be enabled or configured
• This behavior cannot be changed or disabled
• The setting applies to the Variance and Benefit views, but not the Baseline view
  • Baseline View: The Baseline and Target values remain unchanged and are displayed as sourced from the KPI
    
    
    
  • Variance View: The Target value is set equal to the historical month Actual value
    
    
    
  • Benefit View: The Baseline value is set equal to the historical month Actual value, resulting in no benefits
    
    
    

Historical Values (Previous Months):

• The system automatically updates all Historical Baseline and Target Values to be the same as the historical MTD (Month-to-Date) Actual value on the Variance and Benefit view
• This ensures historical periods show consistent values without generating benefit calculations

Current Month and Future Months:

• The system displays the Variable node's current and future months' Baseline, Target, and Actual values as sourced from the connected KPI on the Baseline, Variance and Benefit view
• These values reflect real-time data from the linked KPI

When to Use No Impact on Benefit

For KPI Nodes:

• You want to track a KPI's performance for monitoring purposes only
• The KPI is informational and should not affect financial benefit and variance calculations
• You need to include a KPI in the VDT structure but don't want it to influence the initiative's value
• The KPI serves as a leading indicator or reference metric rather than a direct benefit driver

For Variable Nodes:

• Variable nodes automatically have this behavior applied
• They are designed for calculations and data flow within the VDT without contributing to benefits or variance
• No action is needed as this is the default and only behavior for Variable nodes

Alternative for KPI nodes: Baseline vs Actual

The alternative Benefit Calculation Method is "Baseline vs Actual", which is the default setting for KPI nodes. When using "Baseline vs Actual," the system calculates benefits by comparing the node's baseline value against its actual performance, and these benefits contribute to the overall initiative benefit value.

Note: Variable nodes do not have this alternative setting—they always operate with "No Impact on Benefit" behavior for historical monthly values.

Summary

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