> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://oculon.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Compare scenarios

> Compare scenarios to understand what changed, why it changed, and which branch should guide the next decision.

Scenario comparison helps you answer one question clearly: what changed, and how much does it matter? In Oculon, compare should be treated as a first-class review workflow, not just a secondary reporting feature.

![Scenario comparison view in Oculon showing scenario-to-scenario differences](https://mintcdn.com/oculon/X89F3z_YFDceIY6n/images/getting-started/fr-scenario-compare.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=X89F3z_YFDceIY6n\&q=85\&s=ae6c5cfe8c753104b84ef221d93b154c)

## What compare is for

Compare is most useful when it supports an actual decision.

Common examples include:

* current forecast versus approved budget
* working scenario versus `Main Scenario`
* a draft case versus a locked baseline
* one departmental assumption versus another

## Start with the right baseline

A comparison only feels useful when the baseline is clear.

In most cases, the right starting points are:

* `Main Scenario` as the shared default branch
* a locked or approved scenario used as a stable checkpoint

If the baseline itself is unclear, the comparison quickly becomes noisy.

## Compare across the right surfaces

The current scenario story assumes comparison should behave consistently across:

* tables
* charts
* boards

That consistency matters because users often review the same scenario question in more than one surface. The explanation should not change just because the visualization changed.

## Keep the comparison focused

Good comparisons stay narrow enough to tell a story.

Start with:

* the few metrics that drive the decision
* the time periods that matter
* the dimensions that explain the variance

If too many unrelated changes are mixed together, the result becomes hard to interpret and harder to merge safely later.

## Compare before governance actions

Compare is especially helpful before:

* merging a scenario
* locking a scenario as an approved baseline
* deleting or retiring an older branch

That is often the last moment to confirm the branch still means what the team thinks it means.

## Related pages

* [Merge scenarios](https://oculon.mintlify.site/docs-new/scenarios/merge-scenarios)
* [Scenario best practices](https://oculon.mintlify.site/docs-new/scenarios/scenario-best-practices.md)
* [What is a scenario](https://oculon.mintlify.site/docs-new/scenarios/what-is-a-scenario.md)
* [Compare in views](https://oculon.mintlify.site/docs-new/views/compare-in-views.md)


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.