Related: What If · Settings › Market Equation


Purpose

A market equation step can own sub-steps, recursively. Example:

Revenue
└── = Traffic
├── × Conversion Rate
│   ├── = Add to Cart Rate
│   └── × Cart to Order Rate
└── × AOV

Two problems this solves:

  1. Funnel stages that are themselves small equations can stay nested instead of being flattened by hand into level-0 steps.
  2. A step that is not a simple ratio has no valid dimensional decomposition — splitting it by dimension would be wrong. Sub-steps give a valid decomposition axis (Split by › Sub-steps).


Not the same as Sub-pillars

  Sub-steps Sub-pillars
What Nested structure of the market equation Synthetic checkpoints drawn on the waterfall
Changes the KPI math? Yes No
How to create Market Equation card editor Right-click → Add pillar
Docs This page Settings › Waterfall › Pillars


Card editor

Open Settings › Market Equation. Steps are shown as an indented card outline (same interaction pattern as dimension hierarchy):

  • The total / Main KPI is the first card; children are indented below.
  • Operator joining siblings (=, ×, +, …) sits in the gutter when each child is used once; otherwise edit the formula on the card (names in brackets, e.g. [Add to Cart Rate]).
  • Hover a card for actions: Edit this step, Add a sub-step, indent / outdent / reorder, delete.
  • Edit this step (or click the card label) opens the detail panel: name, formula (numerator / denominator or equation over children), optional unit, focus dimension, excluded dimensions, emoji.
  • Shortcuts make it a product / a sum remain available at the top right.
  • Validation: errors (blocking) vs warnings (e.g. duplicate numerators in a product) are shown with distinct colours on the banner, card, and field.

Expand the settings panel to full width when editing a deep tree.


Step types (what you can drill)

Type Meaning Drill on waterfall
Basic Leaf ratio (numerator / denominator) Dimensions as usual
Simplifiable Product / sum / result equal to a source column Dimensions and Sub-steps
Non-simplifiable Any other composite Sub-steps only (dimensions are excluded automatically)

Composite steps that simplify are computed like a plain ratio for the rest of the pipeline (mix / performance, covariance, simulation). Non-simplifiable composites keep an empty numerator and resolve their value from the sub-step tree.


Split by Sub-steps on the waterfall

On a composite step bar (typically in Steps then Dimensions):

  1. Right-click the bar → Split by… › Sub-steps.
  2. The bar opens into its child sub-steps; impacts are rescaled to the parent step.
  3. Global covariance stays defined at the top equation — it is not re-derived inside the sub-tree.

For a non-simplifiable step, Sub-steps is the only split entry offered.


Tips

  • Prefer meaningful step names — formulas reference steps by name, and names must be unique among steps (the Main KPI may reuse a step label).
  • Use Sub-steps when a ratio is itself a mini-funnel; use Sub-pillars when you only need a storytelling checkpoint.
  • Combine with What If to simulate an impact on a nested step.


See also