There are different default values used in FlexTool. When the user keeps the field empty, FlexTool takes the default values which are present and visible only with the Spine Interface but absent in the Excel interface.
For example, a user might keep a penalty value empty assuming it would be zero. However, there might be some non-zero default assumptions for penalty value in that case.
It'd be good to have the option of having a default value for a parameter somewhere in Excel file for the user to see.