Decision table

Decision table
See also
Selection process in conditions of certainty and uncertainty Sensitivity analysis Decision point Linear programming Documented procedure Quality of information Decision tree Decision making Information and decision making

Decision tables are one of the basic techniques used in solving problems and decision making. Using decision table one can in a concise way specify, under predetermined conditions, what actions should be taken. Decision table is a specific way of describing a set of related decision rules.

Source: (S. Wrycza, 1996, pp. 121)

Example decision table to determine the size of discounts to customers. Source: (T.Witkowski 2000, p 284)

Structure of decision table

Each table is divided into four main fields (S. Wrycza 1996, s. 120-121):

1. Conditions - formulation of the necessary conditions in the process of deciding, the definition of variables affecting the decision process,
2. Actions - decisions, listing all the possible actions that can be executed on the assumption that specific combination of conditions contained in the first field of the array occurred,
3. Selection criteria - there are presented all the states of individual conditions, indicators, values, Symbol placed in this field indicates whether the condition has been fulfilled or not (usually used symbols: "1" condition fulfilled, "0" condition is not met, "-" the condition is not significant).
4. Action selection - contains symbols identifying that particular action should be performed (used symbols "X" - action should be taken, "-" actions should not be taken)

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of decision tables:

• They provide a clear and concise way to represent decision rules and conditions.
• They make it easy to identify and understand the relationships between conditions and actions.
• They can handle complex decision-making scenarios with multiple conditions and actions.
• They can be used to test different scenarios and evaluate the outcomes of different decisions.

Disadvantages of decision tables:

• They can become complex and difficult to read and understand for large and complex decision-making scenarios.
• They may require significant effort to set up and maintain.
• They may not be suitable for all types of decision-making scenarios, such as those that involve continuous variables or probabilistic outcomes.
• They may not be able to fully capture the nuances of human decision-making and may not be able to replicate the reasoning process.

References

• Wang, G. Y., Yu, H., & Yang, D. C. (2002). Decision table reduction based on conditional information entropy. CHINESE JOURNAL OF COMPUTERS-CHINESE EDITION-, 25(7), 759-766.

Author: Krzysztof Wozniak