Influence diagram

<p>An influence diagram (ID) (also called a relevance diagram, decision diagram or a decision network) is a compact graphical and mathematical representation of a decision situation.  It is a generalization of a <a href="/facts/Bayesian_network/Ry31vq6T">Bayesian network</a>, in which not only <a href="/facts/Bayesian_inference/tEpK3zLx">probabilistic inference</a> problems but also <a href="/facts/Decision_making/NbJYprSw">decision making</a> problems (following the <a href="/facts/Expected_utility/EboBlw1D">maximum expected utility</a> criterion) can be modeled and solved.
</p><p>ID was first developed in the mid-1970s by <a href="/facts/Decision_analysis/J2gxEMpa">decision analysts</a> with an intuitive semantic that is easy to understand. It is now adopted widely and becoming an alternative to the <a href="/facts/Decision_tree/XDVeGlkJ">decision tree</a> which typically suffers from <a href="/facts/Exponential_growth/m4yEqKJ7">exponential growth</a> in number of branches with each variable modeled.  ID is directly applicable in team decision analysis, since it allows incomplete sharing of information among team members to be modeled and solved explicitly.  Extensions of ID also find their use in <a href="/facts/Game_theory/zkEIj1ya">game theory</a> as an alternative representation of the <a href="/facts/Game_tree/qQX93S4l">game tree</a>.
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Influence diagram open-in-new

Influence diagram