13. Decision Trees

• Must have a clearly articulated Decision to be made
• Start at the Highest Level of Decisions to be made
• Work Left to Right
• Work through Successive Layers of Detail
• Add Weights, Dollars, Risks, Values, if appropriate

COMMENTARY

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Decision Trees are powerful visual tools for logically breaking down problems and decisions into their component pieces. A second strength is that empirical data such as estimates costs, savings, risks, etc. can be associated with each branch on the tree. Therefore a relative cost between alternatives can be calculated.

The primary weakness to Decision Trees is that they are difficult to revise. Visio Chart programs provides some support for drawing and re-drawing Decision Trees

Resources:

No specific references are applicable to this course. Decision Tree processes are most often documented in general management practices books or in works related to Total Quality Management (TQM).

More Detail . . .