eHow Logomoney section
  • Saving & Spending
    • Budgeting
    • Banking
    • Credit
    • Cards
    • Loans
  • Real Estate
    • Buying a Home
    • Home Loans
    • Selling a Home
  • Careers
    • Career Advice
    • Land the Job
    • Work for Yourself
  • Your Business
    • Starting a Business
    • Managing Employees
    • Running a Business
  • Insurance
    • Insurance Basics
    • Auto Insurance
    • Life Insurance
  • Retirement
    • Get Started
    • Plan Ahead
    • Make It Last
  • More eHow
    • home
    • style
    • food
    • money
    • health
    • mom
    • tech
Featured:
Allergies
Grilling Guide
eHow Now Blog
  1. eHow
  2. Business
  3. Management
  4. Decision Trees

Decision Trees

RSS
  • How to Draw a Decision Tree in Excel

    Decision trees can be drawn in Microsoft Excel by starting out with a base decision cell and drawing lines and arrows to new cells. Discover how to use decision trees to summarize goals of a particular business with help from a software developer in this free video on tech support.

  • Decision Trees in Microsoft Project

    A decision tree is a tool for picking between multiple alternatives. If you run an investment fund, for instance, you may have to select between a cautious, slow-growth strategy or invest in higher-risk, high-growth stocks. Decision trees help evaluate and determine the best option. You can use decision trees in conjunction with Microsoft Project.

  • Open Source Decision Tree Application on the Mac

    A decision tree is a tool for choosing between several courses of action. You can craft a decision tree using paper and pencil, but multiple software programs give the power to do it on the computer. If you want to make your decisions on a Mac, there are open-source programs you can use to form decision trees and carry out the calculations to compare different outcomes.

  • How to Build a Decision Tree in Java Open Source

    Since Sun Microsystems releases Java as an open source platform, Sun versions of the development kit (JDK) can be considered open source. Because of this, open source programmers can utilize standard Java libraries for any program. This means that the basics of Java programming can go towards open or closed source applications. For example, you can develop a very basic Java decision tree using free Java tools such as the JDK.

  • How to Calculate Expected Value in Decision Trees

    Decision tress help you make investment decisions, maximizing your profits and predicting possible losses. A decision tree is a graphical display of the initial investment in a decision and the potential gains, losses and chance to achieve either. Once you know how to calculate the expected value of each decision, you can use this information to determine which investments have the greatest chance to earn the most money in return for the investment. This technique is effective for any decision that requires an initial investment and has a number of predictable conclusions.

  • How to Create Decision Tree Problems

    Life is full of choices. The longer you live, the more choices you'll face. Many times, people become overwhelmed by the complexity or quantity of these decision points. However, analyzing these options need not be intimidating. According to the website Decision Making Confidence, decision points (or trees) are predictive models of pending decisions used to graphically organize information about possible options, consequences and end values.

  • What Are the Benefits of the Decision-Tree Analysis?

    If executives are trying to decide whether to develop a new product line or open a new company branch abroad, decision-makers might turn a decision tree to help make the choice. Decision trees are visual analysis tools that assess risks, costs and possible rewards. Traditional decision trees have rectangular nodes, with offshoots representing controlled choices, and circular nodes, with arms showing uncertain events. Decision trees make it possible to consider multiple decision criteria at once.

  • In a Standard Normal Distribution, What Is the Mean Value & Standard Deviation?

    A normal distribution is a statistical graph used to help interpret data. The mean of the graph is the middle value, or the average of the set of data. The standard deviation is the value describing the spread of the data, or how far the data falls from the mean value.

  • The Purpose of Statistical Analysis: Mean & Standard Deviation

    If you ask two people to rate the same painting, one may like it and the other may hate it. Their opinion is subjective and based on personal preference. What if you needed a more objective measure of acceptance? Statistical tools such as mean and standard deviation allow for the objective measure of opinion, or subjective data, and provide a basis for comparison.

  • How to Create a Contingency Plan Using a Simple Decision Tree

    Part of successful decision-making is preparing for the future, even when the future remains uncertain. Whether you're a business owner planning your next project or a person plotting possible career choices, contingency planning using a decision tree allows you to evaluate possible outcomes or circumstances and to arrive at a reasoned plan of action before events overtake you. Using a decision tree when planning also helps you anticipate problems and helps you direct your steps toward the outcome you'd most like to have happen.

  • Decision Tree Strategy

    Decision making is part of running a business, managing a project or handling your own finances and lifestyle. While many different skills play into decision making, a formal analysis can help make big decisions easier to contemplate and less risky to resolve. A decision tree is one such strategy based on expected and possible outcomes.

  • What Are the Weaknesses of a Decision-tree Analysis?

    A decision tree is a classifying tool used by management in an organization to make a decision. Using decision-tree analysis, a manager makes a decision based on a set of rules. The actual diagram takes the form of a tree, containing and organizing all the relevant information to make the decision.

  • How to Isolate Silos in the Strategic Contingencies Theory

    Strategic contingencies theory posits that a business unit, or department or group, that is less substitutable, more pervasive and demand the most immediacy contains all the power in a business. However, this unit's own uncertainty variables render contingency strategies based on the units performance unsustainable. If they were to fail, the entire business would shut down. Therefore, businesses must identify similar "silos" of power and create solutions to integrate the unit or units into the whole of the business.

  • How to Use a Decision Tree in a Family Business

    Unlike other businesses, the decisions made in a family business can have a more personal impact on the overall well being of the involved members. Therefore, it is critical that each decision, small or large, be made by reviewing all the possible risks and assumptions. Using a decision tree will help making decisions easier and more thorough. A decision tree is a diagram that lay outs each decision and the possible outcomes. Mind Tools explains that decision trees help you to form a balanced picture of the risks and rewards associated with each possible course of action.

  • How do I Choose a Statistical Analysis Decision Tree?

    Part of designing a solid research project is choosing the statistical analyses. One way to approach this task is to use a decision tree. If you are addressing multiple questions in your project, you will need to use the decision tree for each of them.

  • How to Create a Decision Tree Method

    Use of a decision tree method takes the guesswork out of making important decisions and provides consistency throughout your organization or business. One well-known user of the decision tree method is the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you fill out your own tax return, it is very likely that you have used one or more of their worksheets, which employ decision trees. These decision trees are charts with a series of questions that are answered either "yes" or "no." The user answers the first question, and if the answer is "no," the user is told to stop. The user…

  • Decision Tree Training

    Economic or managerial analysis typically involves the use of decision making tools. One common tool is the decision tree, which involves detailing different decision outcomes based on the variables involved in business opportunities.

  • How to Build a Decision Tree

    Decision trees can be used in any professional field in which a number of factors need to be weighed and considered in order to reach a definitive decision that promotes a certain action, for example, the addition of a new product to an existing product line, budgetary adjustments and business model restructuring. The building of a decision tree is only the beginning of your decision making process, as a thorough analysis of the tree is necessary once it's built.

  • Simple Example of a Decision Tree

    Decision trees are used in both personal and professional settings. A decision tree can help you choose between two or more courses of action. By creating a visual image of your options and illustrating the possible consequences of your choices, a decision tree can provide a clear picture of the problem and its solutions.

  • The Disadvantages of a Decision Tree

    Decision trees are a graphical representation of different opportunities or decisions a business owner or manager can make regarding her company’s operations. This graph gets its name from the tree-branch design that owners and managers use to assess various business opportunities. The chart typically attaches a percentage value indicating the likelihood an event will occur. Although this method can present information in a detailed manner, it can present some disadvantages for owners and managers.

  • Decision Tree Resources

    A decision trees is a diagrammatic tool used to make business decisions. Decision trees are particularly effective when the problem at hand has multiple stages and possible outcomes leading to a level of uncertainty. Decision trees steer business owners away from playing the guessing game and allow them to see the bigger picture. Find out how to use decision trees, evaluate a decision tree and where to find decision tree software that integrates with existing platforms.

  • Effectiveness of a Decision Tree

    Though not everyone knows what a decision tree is, many people use a basic form of it to help decide on a course of action. It can be an effective tool in the thinking process because it helps the user arrange his ideas in an orderly fashion.

  • Decision Tree Tutorial

    A Decision Tree is a thinking tool you use to help yourself or a group make a decision by considering all of the possible solutions and their outcomes. It looks like a tree on its side, with the branches spreading to the right. Each branch is a possible solution with its outcomes branching out from it. If you use this tool with a group, it is best to draw it on a board so everyone can see it while you talk.

  • How to Create a Plan Using the Decision Tree Method

    Making the right decisions can be critical in many situations, especially when it comes to business. The decision-making process is not always an easy one. However, there are a variety of tools and techniques available to help make this process a little bit easier. Using a decision tree to create a plan of action is one such technique.

  • How to Construct a Decision Tree

    A decision tree is a tool that can help an individual or business to make choices about any given situation. It helps to identify the risks or possible effects of a certain course of action and also helps to identify alternatives to that courses of action. Constructing a decision tree is one way to help make quality decisions about business investments, career choices or simply buying a new car.

  • Decision Trees Explained

    When you're faced with a decision that has a lot of possible outcomes, picking your course of action can be confusing. A decision tree is an analytical tool that helps you choose a course of action. The structure of a decision tree allows you to view how different decisions will affect the final outcome. Businesses have found them particularly useful in evaluating strategies, projects and business opportunities.

  • Decision Tree Method

    Decision tree method is an analytical approach to making decisions, especially those that have the potential to be risky or costly. The method uses a graphic, known as a decision tree, that presents a set of competing alternatives as separate "branches." This schematic diagram allows managers, analysts and decision makers to map out complex sequences of decisions and strategy alternatives.

  • Strategic Policy Analysis

    Strategic policy analysis is a vital part of the strategic planning process for organizations large and small. The analysis process enables corporations, public and private agencies and other entities to explore various policy options for achieving their long-term goals. Methods of strategic policy analysis consider internal and external factors to craft a pathway to success.

  • How to Boost Decision Trees

    A decision tree is a managerial tool that helps corporate managers quantify the potential outcomes of management decisions. A boosted decision tree is an advanced type of graphical model that incorporates the odds of various outcomes occurring as well as the potential payoffs for each of those outcomes. Unlike a standard decision tree, a boosted decision tree contains multiple decision points with multiple possible outcomes for each decision point. By incorporating the probabilities and expected payoffs of each possible outcome, a boosted decision tree allows managers to rank decision paths according to the highest expected value. Boosted decision trees create…

  • How Do Decision Trees Work

    A decision tree is a managerial tool that helps corporate managers quantify the potential outcomes of management decisions. A decision tree is a type of graphical model that incorporates the odds of various outcomes occurring as well as the potential payoffs for each of those outcomes. Decision trees create an easily understood structure for evaluating complex decisions and are particularly useful in helping managers decide between various strategies, projects or investment alternatives. Decision trees are widely used in situations in which resources are limited and the prioritization of opportunities is critical.

  • Decision Tree Definition

    Decision trees are are graphs people use to see all the possible outcomes of a decision. Also called "tree diagrams," they help you make a decision.

  • Why Are Decision Trees & Tables Important?

    Decision tables (or logic tables) and decision trees (or decision diagrams) describe the conditions associated with particular actions or decisions, together with the relevant constraints. Decision tables depict decision rules as rows and conditions as columns, with each cell representing the required action. Decision trees show conditions and actions in a sequence (like a flow chart); decision points are represented as diamonds and actions as boxes (Gottesdiener, 2002).

  • How to Write a Run Book

    Runbooks are used most often in information technology departments, and are a reference for computer system administrators. Runbooks are typically compiled by top management supervisors and generally include information in a decision-tree format, outlining every possible scenario.

ehow.com
  • About eHow
  • How to by Topic
  • How to Videos
  • Sitemap

Copyright © 1999-2012 Demand Media, Inc.
Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the eHow Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Ad Choices en-US

Business Finance
Verisign seal