Short Description Custom attributes let you adapt Hive9 to your organization's terminology and tracking needs. This article covers the design choices to make before adding them.
What this article answers
- The kinds of custom attributes available.
- Design choices that matter most.
- Where Custom Success Manager input is helpful.
What custom attributes do
Custom attributes are extensible fields you add to Plans, Campaigns, Programs, Tactics, Line Items, and other objects. They turn Hive9 into your organization's view of the world.
Examples:
- Region on tactics.
- Business Unit on plans.
- Channel on tactics.
- Approver (a user reference) for routing.
- Vendor on PR lines.
- Anything specific to your taxonomy.
Attribute types
Hive9 supports several attribute types:
- Text box — free-text.
- Single-Select dropdown — pick one value from a list.
- Multi-Select dropdown — pick multiple values from a list.
- Numeric — number values.
- Currency — money values.
- Date — calendar dates.
- User reference — points at a Hive9 user.
The type you choose depends on the attribute's purpose. For categorical data (Region, Business Unit), dropdowns are best. For free-form notes, text boxes work. For routing approvals, user references.
Design choices that matter
Dependencies
Attributes can depend on each other. The classic example: Region → Country. Selecting Region narrows the available Countries.
Dependencies improve data quality (you can't pick a US state for a Canadian tactic) but add maintenance complexity. Design them carefully.
Multi-select cost and CVR proportions
Multi-select attributes let you assign proportions of cost and CVR (performance) per selected value:
- Default: equally divided.
- Manually adjustable; total must equal 100%.
- Cost and CVR can be assigned independently.
This is powerful for region-split tactics and multi-channel campaigns. Use it intentionally.
Roll-up
Some custom attributes are configured to roll up from lower levels to higher levels (Tactic values surface on Program / Campaign / Plan grids). Decide which attributes need roll-up before configuring.
Required vs optional
Attributes marked required (with an orange asterisk) must be filled before objects can be submitted for approval — not before creation. This lets users save drafts with missing data and complete the required fields when ready to submit.
Custom ordering
You control where attributes appear in the Inspection Window. Group related attributes together. Put high-frequency-edit attributes at the top.
Mappable to integrations
Custom attributes can be mapped to fields in integrated systems (CRM, marketing automation). Plan this when designing — naming conventions and types matter for clean integration mapping.
When to ask CSM for help
Some attribute configurations are complex enough to benefit from CSM involvement:
- Formula-driven attributes — lookup, text manipulation, numeric, currency calculations, attributes driving dependencies.
- Complex dependency chains — three or more levels of dependent attributes.
- Integration-mapped attributes — to ensure clean sync with your CRM or marketing automation.
- Roll-up rules — when you want non-default aggregation behavior.
Tactic Type and the "revert" gotcha
When you change a Tactic Type on an existing tactic, Hive9 reverts Planned Cost and initial stage to the new Tactic Type's defaults from the Model. Custom values you set are lost. Decide your Tactic Type before populating other fields.
Common questions
How many custom attributes can I have? There's no hard limit, but each one adds to form length and data complexity. Most healthy instances have 10–30 active custom attributes — not 100s.
Can I delete a custom attribute? Yes, but it's destructive — existing values are lost. Mark deprecated attributes as Inactive or hide from forms before deleting.
Where do I create custom attributes? Settings → Custom Attributes (or under a Custom Object area, depending on your instance). CSM usually drives initial setup.
Will renaming an attribute break dashboards? Possibly — dashboards that filter or segment on the attribute by name can break. Coordinate renames with your CSM if dashboards depend on the attribute.
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