The ValQ Workflow

The ValQ workflow consists of four steps - Model, Plan, Simulate and Report – all of which are available as individual tabs at the top.

Tabs in ValQ

Let us see an overview of these tabs:

	TAB	PURPOSE
1	Model	Create models based on your business logic by leveraging ValQ's model building capabilities, functions and templates.
2	Plan	Adopt intelligent planning grid to perform budgeting, allocations, rolling forecast and time-series forecasting.
3	Simulate	Perform on-the-fly simulations, conduct scenario analysis and comparisons in tree/ table interface and also present them.
4	Report	Perform in-depth variance analysis including Top N and generate templated reports.

In Power BI service, Model and Plan tabs can be accessed by changing the mode from Read-Only to Edit (Click Edit at the top of Power BI service). This helps in data integrity by preventing multiple users from altering the model and plan grid.

Business users who require strict access permissions can use ValQ preferably in Power BI service than in a desktop version, so that they can make use of the default Power BI roles and access permission settings.

Users can also use the Enterprise edition for better user and data security.

What follows is a preview of these workflow items and we'll explore them in detail later.

ValQ can be used with other native and custom Power BI visuals, but throughout this guide, we will be using ValQ images in full-screen mode for the best experience.

Model

The Model tab helps the analyst or the planner bring a data model to life and build complex visuals without writing a single line of code.

Model Tab

While modeling, the user can leverage the Fields, Visualizations & Filters pane in Power BI to connect to data and configure the visual. By choosing appropriate formulas and functions, a fully functional model can be built. Further, templates help in scaling the model with ease.

Leveraging Model with Fields & Visualizations pane

Plan

The Plan tab is used to create new plans and budgets for business cycles, perform top-down and bottom-up analyses using goal seek, apply different allocation methods, and perform time series forecasting.

Plan Tab

Simulate

In the Simulate tab, you would be able to visualize the KPIs and identify their key drivers arranged in a tree-like fashion. From this tab, you can create new initiatives and scenarios, run simulations, and perform scenario comparisons. You can also present the results to your team using the Presentation option available.

Simulate Tab

Report

The Report tab allows the user to run advanced analysis such as variance analysis as well as download the results of the analysis as reports in a spreadsheet and PDF file.

Report Tab