The Operational Sales Management (OSM) by Xactly provides the sales leadership with a single source of truth that can integrate with their existing sales architecture. It helps in automating the management of day-to-day changes that occur regularly in the organization. OSM provides an integrated solution by combining data from various sources like NetSuite, Salesforce, and Incent, and provides access security and visibility to the leadership teams through forms and reports.
The OSM Models are used to store data and support the read/write operations during the planning process. The models can be created through the Model Manager tile in OSM, and they house data in tables in the database.
There are 2 types of Models that can be built in OSM:
- Multi-dimensional models
- Transaction tables
Multi-Dimensional Tables
A multi-dimensional model is created using a Measure dimension. The Measure dimension contains all the fields required for business modeling (like Quota Amount, seasonality, etc.). The model will be a combination of the measure dimension and all the other dimensions selected while creating the model.
Once the model is created, and fact tables are generated, the fact tables will be created with the name ‘Fact_’.
Below are the steps for creating a Model using a Model manager. We will use the Existing Business model as an example:
- First, we will create a Measure dimension by clicking on the ADD DIMENSION button.
Let us create the Measure_Quotas dimension and add the fields to the dimension as below:
2. Now, In the Models pane, click the ADD MODEL button. The Model Manager | New Dimension screen appears.
3. The name of the model should be typed in the Name field. The model names cannot contain special characters or spaces. We will give the name Existing Business to our model.
4. A measure dimension should be selected from the list in the Measure Dimension dropdown. We will select the Measure_Quotas dimension that we created above.
5. We can check the box for the Model to be Audited. If checked, it creates a table named ‘Audit_<table_name>’ in the backend, that stores all the information about the Model and the associated tools required to populate this data.
6. Select any other dimension required to be associated with this model in the Dimension field. We will select Time and Scenario.
7. Click the SAVE button. Click the SAVE button again when the confirmation dialog box appears. Clicking the CANCEL button will cancel the creation of a new Model.
8. Once the model is created, we should click on the cloud icon on the top-right corner of the page and then click Generate button to generate the Fact tables. Then wait for the confirmation dialog box which says that the Fat tables are generated successfully.
9. You can edit an already created model by clicking the EDIT button corresponding to the model. After editing the model, make sure to Generate the Fact tables.
10. To import data to the model, click on the cylindrical icon corresponding to the model. The Manage Data screen will appear.
11. By clicking on ‘CSV file’ or ‘TSV file’ buttons, the template for the data upload will be downloaded. This template needs to be filled up with all the Key data and upload by clicking on the Select button. Then click on the Upload button to upload the file.
12. Once the model is created and data is added, you can go to the backend to see if the tables are created. The Model Existing Business will have a fact table named ‘Fact_ExistingBusiness’ and all the data uploaded will be present in the dimension fields.
Transaction Tables
Transaction tables are standalone tables that can be used for storing data in OSM, data flows, or other purposes. Following are the steps to create a transactional table:
- In the Models pane, click the ADD TRANSACTION TABLE button. The Edit Transaction Table screen appears.
2. In the Model Name field, enter the name of the new model.
3. Click the ‘Load data’ on the save checkbox to enable data to be saved when the transaction table is saved. Click the ‘Truncate data’ checkbox to enable truncating of data being imported from a CSV file.
4. Click the SELECT button and select the .csv file. Select the .csv file and click the LOAD button. The transaction table opens with the data from the .csv loaded.
5. Click the Save button to save the transaction table.
6. Once saved, the transaction table will appear in the backend under the name Trans_<Model_Name>.
Pros of Models
- Models provide an easy-to-upload user interface for creating factual data in the system.
- It eliminates the possibility of adding incorrect data as Models UI only allows to upload of valid data.
- Models provide the option of auditing the data uploaded into the fact tables.
Cons of Models
- Models do not provide access security. So, if a Sales rep should not have access to the Model data, then it is better to use a custom table instead of the Models user interface.
- Models do not show all the data that was uploaded. Hence, it is difficult to validate the data that was uploaded.
- The more the number of fields added, the more difficult it becomes to manage the models.
Hence, it is important to consider the volume, performance, and budget for the project, to decide if we should use the Models user interface or go to the backend to create the custom tables. Projects with a smaller budget can use the Models from the user interface, while projects with a higher budget can make use of the custom tables.
