Positive (+) value drivers describe the specific, favorable, economic impacts that your offering's functional benefits provide to your customer. Uncovering value drivers requires a solid understanding of this customer's business model. 

Value drivers should point to specific functional areas of this customer's business, and should answer the question: "How does this functional benefit help my customer make more money?"

Value drivers can be created by:

• Adding and calculating a custom value driver.
• Selecting an existing one from a library.

Value drivers can be added and edited in all three modules (value modeling, price setting, and value communication). In the value modeling module, value drivers can be accessed on the second tab, (+)Value Drivers, or on the sixth tab, Summary.

This article will focus on how to add and edit value drivers from the (+)Value Drivers tab in the value modeling module only. However this process will be the same elsewhere.

Adding a Custom Value Driver

To add a new custom value driver, select the "Add Custom" link in the value driver section.

This will open a value driver formula box that will become a new positive value driver for your offering. Below is a new value driver for an offering for our example company, Superior Red Paint.

The value driver formula box contains the following:

Value Driver name

• "New Value Driver" is the default name for new value drivers. To edit value driver names, click on the existing name in this formula box and type in a new name.

Add variable

• Use this link to add a new or existing variable to your value driver.
• As you begin to type the variable name, the type-ahead functionality will list below existing variables from either the value model or libraries that match it. Either select a type-ahead variable or continue typing until a unique variable is created.
  • Note: an existing variable will automatically pull in data already associated with it. Changing data of an existing variable will also change the data of that same variable everywhere else that it appears.
• The system will automatically assign a variable type (i.e., currency, percentage or numeric) based on the name. This can be changed as appropriate. See below

Formula section

• Define the formula in the Formula section.
  • Use letters at left of data input field (e.g., a, b, c) to refer to specific variables that you have added
  • Use standard mathematical operators: + - * / ^ ( )
    • You may also use constants, including decimals.
    • For example: ( (a+b) * 0.75 ) - (c/a) + d^3

Use custom value

• Check the box to override the value driver formula and enter an estimated quantified value as an input.

Unit of measure

• Select the appropriate unit of measure for your calculation. The default unit is the Customer Unit that you defined on the Start tab, but you can choose any unit defined in the Units & Currency dialog.

Notes

• Optional field to add any explanation related to value drivers or to enter notes for other users working on the value model.

The following describes functionality menu related to variables, which is accessed by the down arrow to the right of the data field (see below).

The key parts are:

Toggle Type

• Defines the variable type, currency, percentage or numeric. The system will automatically assign a variable type based on the name, but the type can be changed by clicking. The specific currency is defined from the More button, Units & Currency.

Set Precision

• Sets the decimal display from 0 to 6 places.

Convert to Subformula

• Click to make the variable into a subformula. The subformula will be shaded and indented. Use variable letters to define the mathematical logic just like formula. Note that variables within a subformula will be relabeled a, b. c.
  • Subformulas can be expanded or contracted by clicking the “fx” The current expand/collapse state will save.

Convert to Choice

• Click to make the variable into a choice dropdown. A new dialog will open prompting you to 1) add at least one choice 2) select a default choice for your dropdown 3) enter unique values associated with each choice.
• Choice variables will factor into calculations as the value of the selected choice. For example, if choices "Yes" and "No" are created, with a value of 0 and 1, respectively, a dropdown selection of "Yes" will be valued as 1 and "No" will be valued as 0.

Make Unique

• Use if the variable name is used in other places within this model, but requires different data in each place.
• Note the variable name will be appended with a number, much like a copy of a document on your computer. You may then edit the name of the variable as described above without affecting the other version.

Find Data

• Use to search for data outside the current value model. It will open a Find Data dialog where the variable name (and matches) will be displayed and sorted by relevance. You can filter selections by Libraries, Value Models, Value Propositions or Unique Value Propositions. You can then Select to add the data to your model.

Edit Medidata

• Use to document Source and Notes related to the variable/data.

Edit Tags

• Use to add or edit variable tags. Tags are used to organize display of variables. See Tags

Lock/Unlock

• Variables that are locked cannot be changed by Sales users. You have the option to lock within a minimum/maximum range. Note: the default setting is Unlocked.

Remove

• Removes variable from the formula. However the variable will remain on the list of variables regardless of whether used in other calculations.