How to Add a Dropdown Field in SAS Model Risk Management End-to-End (Video Walkthrough)

When your model inventory grows, free-text fields become a liability. Every user describes things differently, which makes it difficult to filter, report on, or audit consistently. A dropdown field solves this by enforcing a standardized set of values — every model is classified the same way, and that data becomes immediately useful in inventory views and reports. This post walks through how to add a new dropdown field called x_model_purpose to the Model page in SAS MRM, end-to-end.

What You'll Need

Administrative or Super User access to SAS MRM (Settings → Data Load)
Access to SAS Risk Cirrus Builder
An Excel workbook to serve as your data loader file

Prerequisites: Loaders That Must Already Exist

Before you can register a dropdown field, the following loaders must already be in place in your SAS MRM environment:

- SourceSystems — Defines the source system codes used to identify where configuration data originates. You will need to define a custom source system code for your Named List in this loader.

- Registrations — Registers the object types in SAS MRM, such as Model, Finding, or Document. The registration.id value referenced in your RegistrationFieldDefinitions sheet must correspond to an existing registration.

If any of these are missing, your data load will return errors during the preview step. Resolve prerequisite loaders first.

PART ONE: Data Loaders

(view in My Videos)

Step 1: Plan Your Dropdown Options

Before building anything, decide on the values your dropdown will offer. For x_model_purpose, the goal is to standardize how model intent is captured across the inventory. For this walkthrough, the dropdown options are:

Option Code	User-Facing Label
`X_PURPOSE_CREDIT_RISK`	Credit risk assessment / scorecard
`X_PURPOSE_CECL`	Loss estimation / allowance (CECL, ECL)
`X_PURPOSE_STRESS_TESTING`	Stress testing / capital planning
`X_PURPOSE_FRAUD`	Fraud detection
`X_PURPOSE_DEMO`	Demonstration / prototype / training

Naming convention: Option codes must start with X_. This is a required naming convention for custom options.

Step 2: Build the Data Loader Workbook

Create a new Excel workbook — for example, mrm_model_purpose_dropdown_loader.xlsx and add the following five worksheets, named exactly as shown (case-sensitive):

SourceSystems
RegistrationFieldDefinitions
NamedLists
NamedListOptions
NamedListTranslations

Each sheet is covered below.

Sheet 1: SourceSystems

A custom source system code is required when creating a new Named List. It must be no more than thirty alphanumeric characters and cannot use reserved words or special characters.

Column	Value
`sourceSystem.sourceSystemCd`	`XMRM`
`sourceSystem.name`	`XMRM`

This source system code (XMRM) will be referenced in the NamedLists sheet. If your organization already uses a custom source system code, use that instead.

Sheet 2: RegistrationFieldDefinitions

This is where you register x_model_purpose with a new field type. Because the field definition already exists as string, this loader will update the type to optionCd and link it to the Named List you are about to create.

Column	Value	Notes
`registration.sourceSystemCd`	`RCC`	References the source system for the Model object registration
`registration.id`	`Model`	The object this field belongs to
`registrationFieldDefinitions.name`	`x_model_purpose`	Must begin with x_
`registrationFieldDefinitions.type`	`optionCd`	Required for dropdown fields
`registrationFieldDefinitions.multiValued`	`FALSE`	`FALSE` = single select dropdown. `TRUE` = multi-select.
`registrationFieldDefinitions.listName`	`x_modelPurpose`	References the Named List defined in the next sheet. Required when type is `optionCd`.
`registrationFieldDefinitions.maxLength`	(leave blank)	Optional
`registrationFieldDefinitions.globalSearchEnabled`	(leave blank)	Only valid for `string` and `html` types
`registrationFieldDefinitions.description`	`Primary Model Purpose`	Optional. Not currently surfaced in the product UI.

Sheet 3: NamedLists

This sheet creates the Named List container that the dropdown will draw its options from.

Column	Value	Notes
`namedList.sourceSystemCd`	`XRM`	Must match the source system defined in the SourceSystems sheet
`namedList.id`	`x_primary_model_purpose`
`namedList.listName`	`x_modelPurpose`	Referenced by `registrationFieldDefinitions.listName`
`namedList.sortMode`	`options`	Controls how dropdown options are ordered. `options` = order as defined in the list. `labels` = alphabetical by label. Defaults to `labels` if left blank.

Sheet 4: NamedListOptions

This sheet defines the selectable values for the dropdown. Add one row per option.

`namedList.listName`	`namedList.optionCd`
`x_modelPurpose`	`X_PURPOSE_CREDIT_RISK`
`x_modelPurpose`	`X_PURPOSE_CECL`
`x_modelPurpose`	`X_PURPOSE_STRESS_TESTING`
`x_modelPurpose`	`X_PURPOSE_FRAUD`
`x_modelPurpose`	`X_PURPOSE_DEMO`

Sheet 5: NamedListTranslations

This sheet provides the user-facing labels for each option code, per language. For a single-language environment, use en.

`namedList.listName`	`namedList.optionCd`	`namedListTranslations.languageCd`	`namedListTranslations.label`
`x_modelPurpose`	`X_PURPOSE_CREDIT_RISK`	`en`	Credit risk assessment / scorecard
`x_modelPurpose`	`X_PURPOSE_CECL`	`en`	Loss estimation / allowance (CECL, ECL)
`x_modelPurpose`	`X_PURPOSE_STRESS_TESTING`	`en`	Stress testing / capital planning
`x_modelPurpose`	`X_PURPOSE_FRAUD`	`en`	Fraud detection
`x_modelPurpose`	`X_PURPOSE_DEMO`	`en`	Demonstration / prototype / training

Step 3: Load the Data into SAS MRM

With your workbook complete, navigate to Settings → Data Load in SAS MRM.

Upload your Excel workbook
Set Processing mode to Preview results
Review the preview output and resolve any errors
Re-select the file and rerun with Process all valid records

PART TWO: SAS Risk Cirrus Builder

(view in My Videos)

Step 1: Add the Field in SAS Risk Cirrus Builder

With the data loaded, you now need to add the field definition in SAS Risk Cirrus Builder to reflect the new dropdown type and wire it to the Named List.

Open SAS Risk Cirrus Builder from the Applications menu → Manage Risk Solutions → SAS MRM solution card
Expand the navigation menu using the double arrows in the bottom left
From the left navigation menu, hover over Objects → Model object and click the pencil icon to open Edit an Object
Expand the Fields header and locate x_model_purpose
Update the field with the following values:
- Identifier: x_model_purpose
- Label: Primary Model Purpose
- Input type: Dropdown
- Named List ID: x_modelPurpose
- Check the box next to Pull from Cirrus Objects. This will allow you to take the options from the data loader sheet, so you don't have to enter the values manually.
- Searchable: true
- Sortable: true
View the options that populate from the data loader sheet:

Label	Value
Credit risk assessment / scorecard	`X_PURPOSE_CREDIT_RISK`
Loss estimation / allowance (CECL, ECL)	`X_PURPOSE_CECL`
Stress testing / capital planning	`X_PURPOSE_STRESS_TESTING`
Fraud detection	`X_PURPOSE_FRAUD`
Demonstration / prototype / training	`X_PURPOSE_DEMO`

Click OK, then OK again to close the Edit an Object window
Click Save and add a commit message, such as: Added x_model_purpose as a new dropdown field

Step 2: Validate the Dropdown

Click Manage Versions
Under Solution releases, select the version you want to preview
Click Preview. This opens the commit in a new window
Navigate to the Models page and open any model record
Under the Details tab, locate the Primary Model Purpose field. It should now appear as a dropdown with your defined options

Step 3: View the Field on the Models Inventory Page

Open Models from the navigation menu
Click the Columns button on the right side to open column options
Confirm that Primary Model Purpose is available as a column

Step 4: View the Field on the Model Page

Open a random model
Under Details, find the Model Purpose field
Confirm that Primary Model Purpose is available
Change the selection to one of the dropdown options, e.g Demonstration / prototype / training
Click Save. This saves the dropdown selection for this new field, so it can be used in the reports.

PART THREE: Viewing the Dropdown Field in the Dashboard Report

With x_model_purpose now a standardized dropdown, the values being entered across your model inventory are consistent and reportable. The next step is surfacing this field in your SAS Visual Analytics dashboard, so model purpose becomes visible where governance decisions actually happen.

(view in My Videos)

Step 1: Confirm the Field Is Not Yet in the CAS Data Table

Before the new field can appear in a dashboard report, it needs to be loaded into the CAS in-memory data tables that reporting draws from.

From the Applications menu, go to Manage Data and open the in-memory data tables
Open the Model data table and review the available columns
Search for purpose (the field will not appear)

The CAS data tables are populated by ETL scripts. Until the relevant script is run, new field data is not available for reporting.

Step 2: Run the Load Live Data ETL Script

The Load Live Data script populates the data used by the board (live) report. The Load Historical Data script populates the trend report. For this walkthrough, run Load Live Data.

Navigate to SAS Environment Manager
Go to Jobs and Flows → Scheduling
Right-click on the Load Live Data script and click Execute
Wait for the script to complete successfully

You can also run this script from SAS Studio if preferred.

Step 3: Verify the Field Appears in the Data Table

Return to Manage Data and refresh the Model data table
Search for purpose
Confirm that both the raw value column and the translated version (tr_ prefix) are now present

Step 4: Add the Field to the SAS Visual Analytics Report

Open the dashboard report in SAS Visual Analytics. This is the same report displayed in SAS MRM
Open a new page in the report
Add a List Table data object
In the Data panel on the left, select the Model data table
Search for purpose and locate the Primary Model Purpose translated column
Drag Primary Model Purpose onto the list table
Add any additional columns as needed (e.g., Model Name, Object ID)
Apply a filter to show records where Primary Model Purpose has a value
Save the report

Once saved, return to SAS MRM, refresh the dashboard, and the Primary Model Purpose field will be visible in the report.

Conclusion

Adding a custom dropdown field to SAS MRM involves three distinct layers working together. You built the data loader workbook by defining the source system, registering the field, creating the Named List, and loading the options and labels. You then registered the field in SAS Risk Cirrus Builder, wired it to the Named List, and placed it on the Model page. Finally, you confirmed the dropdown is visible on individual model records, available as a column in the Models inventory, and surfaced in the dashboard report.

The result is a standardized x_model_purpose field that every user interacts with the same way — making your model inventory cleaner, more consistent, and ready for reporting.

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