Home → Troubleshooting → @RISK for Excel: Simulation → Same Input Appears Twice in Tornado Graph
Applies to: @RISK 5.x–7.x
In my tornado graph, I see that two of the bars have the same label. Why is this happening, and how can I fix it?
This occurs because you have two inputs with the same name. This can happen in several ways. You might have actually assigned the same name to both inputs. More likely, you didn't assign names to the two inputs, and @RISK gave them default names based on nearby text.
To solve the problem, open the Model Window and find the inputs with duplicate names. Click in the Name column for one or both of them, and enter the desired name.
Are the same-named inputs in the same cell? In that case, you might actually want to combine them. Here are some guidelines:
Are you modeling a risk that may or may not occur, with a range of possible severities? You might have a formula like=RiskBernoulli(0.4)*RiskTriang(10,25,40)
or=IF(RiskBinomial(1,0.4)=1, RiskTriang(10,25,40), 0)
(It could be any continuous distribution, not just RiskTriang.) To model a maybe-yes-maybe-no risk, RiskCompound is a better choice:=RiskCompound(RiskBernoulli(0.4),RiskTriang(10,25,40))
The RiskCompound counts as one input, not three, so it simplifies your tornado graphs. Using a different discrete distribution in RiskCompound models risks that may occur multiple times, as explained in Combining Probability and Impact (Frequency and Severity).
Do you have some other formula where you want the tornado chart to use the formula result, not the individual distributions? In that case, wrap the formula in a RiskMakeInput, like this:=RiskMakeInput( formula, RiskName(inputname))
See Combining Inputs in a Sensitivity Tornado.
See also:
last edited: 2018-06-28