How to Create and Use a Relationship Assessment Matrix

Once the ARPEDIO Matrix package is installed and your template is configured, you can create a Relationship Matrix directly from any Account or Opportunity record. The first time you open a matrix it will be a clean slate, with an N/A score and no stakeholders or team members added yet.

Opening the matrix

On the record page, locate the ARPEDIO component and click the Matrix button. This can be done from both Account and Opportunity record pages.

Understanding the matrix structure

The Relationship Matrix is built around two axes. Stakeholders form the rows, and your internal team members form the columns. The intersections between them represent the relationships between each pairing.

The Matrix score measures the current state of completeness of your stakeholder map. It is influenced by three factors:

• The number of stakeholders identified across the different stakeholder types, for example Approver, Business Buyer, and User Influencer.
• Your level of engagement with each stakeholder, covering access, meeting cadence, and their level of support for your solution.
• The intensity of relationships between each stakeholder and your team members, for example how many team members have an excellent relationship with a given stakeholder.

Scores range from 0, where no stakeholders have been identified, to 5, representing the ideal state of the stakeholder map. The score calculation rules are configured by your ARPEDIO Admin. Click the Guide button to see what actions can drive the score upward.

Adding stakeholders

Stakeholders are added per stakeholder type using the small + button next to the relevant stakeholder type group.

1. Click the + button next to the appropriate stakeholder type.
2. Define what you want to search by, then find the contact.
3. Set the Stakeholder Type for the contact.
4. Choose whether the contact should be included in the Org Chart.
5. Click Add to add them to the Matrix.

You can search for contacts associated with the current account, or enable the Search Other Accounts slider to find contacts across your entire Salesforce org, including external consultants and contacts not directly linked to the account. To create a net new contact directly from this screen, click Create New.

When adding a stakeholder, you must assign them to the main attribute group used to organise stakeholders in the matrix. Your ARPEDIO Admin may also have configured additional required attributes to be filled in at this stage.

Adding internal team members

Click the small + button in the top right corner of the Matrix to add internal team members. Team members can be existing Salesforce users in your org or non-Salesforce users. Non-Salesforce users will display a warning indicating they are not a Salesforce user.

When a new team member is added, a default relationship is automatically assigned to all existing stakeholders. The default relationship value is defined by your ARPEDIO Admin.

Using the matrix

Click any rectangle in the grid to change the data shown. Relationships between team members and stakeholders are assessed by clicking the intersection between them.

The available relationship options, for example Good, Building, or Must Avoid, are defined by your ARPEDIO Admin, who also configures the rules for how these relationships influence the overall score. Having a number of stakeholders with a strong relationship to multiple team members will increase the Matrix score.

Switching views

Use the view selector in the top centre of the screen to switch between the following views:

Relationships View is the default grid showing relationship scores between internal team members and stakeholders.

Details View shows specific attribute details about each stakeholder. Click any cell to update the data, in the same way as the Relationships view. Your ARPEDIO Admin defines which attributes are available here.

Activity View displays Salesforce activity data between internal Salesforce users and the stakeholder. You can toggle totals on or off and set a date range for the activity data shown.

Notes View provides free text fields for capturing relevant stakeholder information that cannot be stored or displayed elsewhere, including general notes about the overall matrix.

Filtering and navigation

• In the top left corner, use the attribute selector to filter the left-hand side of the Matrix by a specific attribute.
• In the top right corner, the Guide shows recommendations for improving the overall Matrix score, along with descriptions of attributes and relationship types if your ARPEDIO Admin has configured them.
• Click the Org Chart button to navigate directly to the Org Chart for this record.
• From the dropdown, you can access Chatter or download the Matrix as a formatted Excel file.

Matrix action manager

The Action Manager is embedded directly into the Matrix Assessment and provides a streamlined way to manage actions needed to improve the Matrix score.

Click the arrow icon when first opening a Matrix Assessment to open the Action Manager. The Action Manager consists of two sections.

Suggested actions

The first section displays Suggested Actions linked to the current Matrix Assessment. These are configured in the assessment backend and provide actionable steps based on the Matrix guide.

• Suggested Actions are generated from a rules list tied to your assessment configuration.
• When you complete an assessment and satisfy the condition for a given rule, the corresponding Suggested Action disappears automatically.
• Any unsatisfied rules remain visible in the Suggested Actions section.

To convert a Suggested Action into a tracked action:

1. Click the green button on the Suggested Action and select Add Action.
2. A Salesforce Task creation window will open, with the Suggested Action title pre-populated in the Subject field.
3. Fill in the relevant fields and click Save.

Actions

The second section displays Salesforce Tasks linked to the current Matrix Assessment record, shown as actions. This gives a full overview of all outstanding actions for that record.

• Use the arrows next to field titles to sort actions.
• Select an action using the checkbox to the left to close it or delete it.
  • Closing an action prompts you to set the task status to Completed.
  • Deleting an action removes the task record entirely after confirmation.
• Click the subject field of any action to open the full Salesforce Task record.
• Actions can also be created directly using the Action button in the top right corner of the Action Manager.