DataTables

1. Recipes
Vol. 1 : Excel Data Tables
© 2022 Coherent, All rights reserved.

2. Data tables in Excel allow you to try out
multiple values in calculations and can
be used for projections or "what if..."
Scenarios.
This allows you to create a data model
where you can see the impact of
changing one, or more, variables.
What are they?
For example
I sell my product at two price
points; a premium price and a
standard price.
If I sell 100 items in a month
how much difference will it make
if I sell 60% at the premium price
versus 75%?
© 2022 Coherent, All rights reserved.

3. Why should I use them with Spark?
Data tables are great for allowing your
end users to tweak a model to find out the
impact of certain changes.
You can specify some of the key fields for the
data table as Spark inputs which, when
changed, will then update the data table.
Once you have your data table you can
tag it up as a range output and present
the results in your Spark API!
© 2022 Coherent, All rights reserved.

4. Step 1
Setting the scene...
In this scenario we're selling tickets to
an event, and we want to know how
many tickets we should sell as VIP
tickets.
The first thing we do is layout a
basic model to calculate how much we
can make selling at one percentage
point...
© 2022 Coherent, All rights reserved.

5. Step 2
Single variable data table...
Next we can set up a single variable data table to model what happens if we
change the percentage of VIP tickets.
Create the framework for your data
table using the possible percentages as
row labels and a reference to the current
total as a header.
Your data table area, head over to the
"Data" tab on the menu bar and select:
"What-If Analysis" -> "Data Table"
Set your
"Column input
cell" to be the
percentage of
VIP tickets
sold...
...and there you have your data
table!
You could tag your percentage
input and your table output but
what if you wanted to adjust
the price of the VIP ticket too?
© 2022 Coherent, All rights reserved.

6. Step 3
A two variable data table...
With two variables for our data table we can look at not only changing the
percentage of tickets sold but also the profit margin of the VIP tickets. This helps us
to find the least risky and most profitable scenario.
First, we adjust the framework
by moving the total across a
column and adding new
headers for the premium ticket
price options.
Then, select the new framework,
back to the data tab and:
"What-If Analysis" -> "Data Table"
Don't just set the column
input but we also set the row
input and we use the VIP
ticket profit field...
...and there we have it! A two
variable data table that can
be used for simple models to
see the effect of changing
two values in your model.
© 2022 Coherent, All rights reserved.

7. 1. Create your model
2. Work out your variables
3. Make your framework
4. Go to "What-If Analysis" and set your inputs
5. Tag your inputs (Xinput_) and outputs
(Xoutput_)
6. Import to Coherent Spark!
© 2022 Coherent, All rights reserved.
Try it out!