In This Article
Understanding No Impact on Benefit
How It Works for Variable Nodes
When to Use No Impact on Benefit
Alternative for KPI nodes: Baseline vs Actual
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 enabled by default but you can now choose whether to apply this behavior through a configurable setting. 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:
- When creating or editing a KPI node in the Value Driver Tree, open the edit node settings
- Locate the "Benefit Calculation" section from the edit node options
- Select "No Impact on Benefit"
- Save the changes

Alternative Method - Through Import:
- Use the Idea Value Driver Tree Import template
- In the "Benefit Calculation Method" column, enter "No Impact On Benefits"
- 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, you can now control whether historical values should align with Actual values (No Impact on Benefit) or use the original default values from the connected KPI. This is managed through a configurable checkbox setting.
Configuring the Setting:

- On Edit mode of a variable node, locate the checkbox labeled "Set Historical Baseline and Target values to Actual"
- The checkbox is enabled by default (preserving the original No Impact behavior)
- To use original default KPI values for all periods, uncheck the box
- Click on the information icon (ⓘ) next to the checkbox to view the tooltip explanation
Understanding the Checkbox Behavior:
Aspect | Checkbox ON (Default) | Checkbox OFF |
Historical 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 | Historical Baseline and Target values are sourced from the connected KPI |
Current 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 | All values (Baseline, Target, and Actual) are sourced from the connected KPI for all time periods |
Result | No variance or benefit impact from historical periods | Historical values contribute to benefit calculations using original KPI data |
How It Affects Different Views:
View | Time Period | Checkbox ON | Checkbox OFF |
Baseline View | All periods | Default Baseline and Target values sourced from the KPI | Default Baseline and Target values sourced from the KPI |
|
| The checkbox setting does not affect the Baseline view | The checkbox setting does not affect the Baseline view |
Variance View | Historical months | Target value = historical month Actual value | Target value sourced from the KPI |
| Current and future months | Target value sourced from the KPI | Target value sourced from the KPI |
Benefit View | Historical months | Baseline value = historical month Actual value (no benefits) | Baseline value sourced from the KPI |
| Current and future months | Baseline value sourced from the KPI | Baseline value sourced from the 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:
- Enable the checkbox (Set Historical Baseline and Target values to Actual) when:
- You want to track metrics for informational purposes without historical periods affecting benefit calculations
- Historical performance should not impact current initiative benefits
- You need visual simplicity in your VDT while maintaining clean benefit reporting
- You are using Variable nodes for calculations and data flow within the VDT
Disable the checkbox when:
- You want historical values to contribute to benefit calculations
- You need to track actual performance against original targets and baselines across all time periods
- You want to use Variable nodes for their visual simplicity while maintaining full benefit calculation accuracy
- You need comprehensive variance and benefit analysis including historical periods
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.
Summary
Aspect | KPI Node | Variable Node |
Setting Requirement | Configurable via toggle (Baseline vs Actual is enabled by defausl | Configurable via checkbox (enabled by default) |
Can Be Changed | Yes, can be changed to "Baseline vs Actual" at any time | Yes, checkbox can be toggled on/off |
Configuration Method | Via node settings or import template | Via "Set Historical Baseline and Target values to Actual" checkbox |
Default Setting | "Baseline vs Actual" | Checkbox ON - "No Impact on Benefit" for historical values |
Baseline View | Default Baseline and Target values sourced as is from the KPI | Default Baseline and Target values sourced as is from the KPI |
Variance View - Target | Target value = Actual value (no variance) | Checkbox ON: Target value = MTD Actual value from KPI (historical months only) |
Benefit View - Baseline | Baseline value = Actual value (no benefits) | Checkbox ON: Baseline value = MTD Actual value from KPI (historical months only) |
Historical Values | Target value = Actual value; Baseline value = Actual value | Checkbox ON: Baseline and Target automatically updated to equal MTD Actual value |
Current and Future Month Values | Target value = Actual value; Baseline value = Actual value | Baseline, Target, and Actual sourced from connected KPI (regardless of checkbox state) |
Impact on Outcome Node | No impact on outcome node's variance or benefit values | Checkbox ON: No impact on outcome node's variance or benefit values for historical months |
Alternative Setting | "Baseline vs Actual" (default) | Checkbox can be disabled to use KPI values for all periods |