Running a Model in SAP SuccessFactors Incentive Management

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to create and run a model.

Overview of Modeling

Each fiscal year, most compensation teams introduce changes and updates to plans to reflect changes in the company’s sales strategies. For example, a new product may be introduced, prices and costs may change, and compensation elements such as commission rates and bonuses may fluctuate. To approach these challenges, it is helpful to have a method to test the effects of changes to a plan without having to create a new plan in the production environment. This can be done in Incentive Management using Modeling.

Modeling helps administrators test out different compensation plan scenarios before implementing them, to ensure that proposed changes align with the company's goals and yield the desired outcomes. The modeling tool provides a detailed analysis at both the macro and micro-levels. It allows administrators to see the big-picture impact, as well as the individual payee-level effects. By using historical sales data, the tool can predict the outcomes of proposed changes accurately.

Most importantly, running a model has no effect on production data, which allows compensation planners to run scenarios securely with no risk of affecting current payouts.

Modeling empowers compensation administrators to:

  • Modify plans and simulate the effects of proposed changes before making changes to upcoming plans.
  • Model individual or selected plans.
  • Make informed decisions to maximize business outcomes.

After designing a model scenario, users can perform a Model Run. A Model Run uses the Pipeline engine to generate model period data from historical primary measurements based on the specifications you provide as you build the model.

Setting Modeling Permissions

To access Modeling, the user must belong to a role that grants access to the Modeling workspace. As with other roles, this access can include Read, Workspace, Create, Update, and Delete options.

Components that can be Adjusted in a Model

The following components can be adjusted when creating a model:

  • Rules
  • Rate tables
  • Fixed Values
  • Formulas
  • Territories
  • Lookup Tables
  • Variables

Setting the Source Periods for a Model

The "Source Date for Model" refers to the period range from which actual data is obtained and model data is created. A source period serves several main functions: it enables determining which plans can be incorporated into the model; it provides historical organization and classification reference data for the model; and it supplies historical transaction or measurement data that can be used as an input to the model, alongside simulated or projected data.

The model calculation results are generated within the Source period, but under the specific context of the model; therefore, the results do not affect production data.

Create and Run a Model

Steps

  1. Launch the Modeling application.

    1. Select Modeling from the application menu.

  2. Create a new model.

    1. Select Create New Model.

      The Modeling feature open, with the Create New Model button highlighted.

    2. Enter a name and description for the model and select Next.

      The Model Name section where you can add the model name and description.

    3. Select the calendar and the source date range for the model. The source range is the dataset that the model will use as a baseline. The more periods included in the source data, the more accurate the model will be. In the example here, the 12-month period of 2026 is used as the source data.

    4. Select the plan to model.

      A new model in the Modeling application, with the Add Plan menu open and the 2025 Sales Representative Plan highlighted.

    5. Expand the list of elements of the plan.

      A new model in the Modeling application, with the 2025 Sales Representative Plan selected, displaying the list of components to add to the model.

    6. Select the rule elements for which you would like to make a change.

    7. Update the values to model. For example, in the following image, Bikes in Motion is considering changing the quarterly quotas by updating the Fixed Value.

      A new model in the Modeling application, with a fixed value selected, showing how new values are applied to the model for the fixed value.

    8. Select Save.

  3. Run the model.

    1. Select Run Model.

    2. Select Proceed.

    3. Select the start and end dates for the model calculation run.

    4. Select whether to run for all plans or only for the currently selected plan.

      The Run Model dialog box, with the Period Start and Period End populated.

    5. When the model is complete, select View Report.

    6. To view a breakdown by user, select Show → By User.

      The Model report. The Show menu is open, and By User is selected.

    7. By default, only the measurement is displayed. To see the updated commission, select Model Report By → Incentive.

      The Model report. The Model Report By menu is open, and Incentive is selected.

Summary

  • Modeling in SAP SuccessFactors Incentive Management allows developers to test of different compensation plan scenarios without affecting production.
  • Modeling provides detailed analysis of both big-picture impact and individual payee-level effects using historical sales data.
  • Users can perform a Model Run to generate period data from historical primary measurements.
  • To create and run models, users need to belong to a role with permission to access the Modeling workspace.

Learning

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