Decision Analysis Glossary

This glossary started life in a 1988 paper by Samuel Holtzman, Decision Analysis and Influence Diagrams: Fundamental Concepts and Glossary, and is reproduced here with permission—thank you, Sam. Additions and updating for more modern terminology are by Graham Jeffery.

For more information, please see our decision analysis reading list and our recommended book: Decision Analysis for the Professional.

1 Action
2 Action Axiom
3 Addition
4 Admissibility
5 Affine Transformation
6 Aleatory
7 Aleatory Variable
8 Alternative
9 Appraisal
10 Arc
11 Arrow
12 Arrow Addition
13 Arrow Reversal
14 Assessment
15 Asymmetric Decision Basis
16 Attention-Focusing Axiom
17 Attention-Focusing Method
18 Axiom
19 Background of Understanding
20 Background State of Information
21 Barren Node
22 Basic Relevance Diagram
23 Basis Appraisal
24 Basis Development
25 Border Node
26 Calculation Node
27 Certain Equivalent
28 Chance Node
29 Chance Variable
30 Circumstances
31 Clairvoyant
32 Clairvoyant Test
33 Clarity Test
34 Coalescence
35 Commensurate
36 Conditional Independence
37 Conditional Probability Distribution
38 Conditioning Arc
39 Conditioning Arrow
40 Constraint
41 Context
42 Creating a Node
43 Cumulative Distribution Function
44 DA
45 Decision
46 Decision Analysis
47 Decision Analysis Cycle
48 Decision Analyst
49 Decision Basis
50 Decision Context
51 Decision Domain
52 Decision Equivalence
53 Decision Maker
54 Decision Maker’s Values
55 Decision Method
56 Decision Network
57 Decision Node
58 Decision Participant
59 Decision Relevance Diagram
60 Decision Situation
61 Decision Support System
62 Decision System
63 Decision Theory
64 Decision Tree
65 Decision Tree Network
66 Decision Variable
67 Decomposing a Node
68 Deleting
69 Dependence
70 Descriptive
71 Deterministic
72 Deterministic Analysis
73 Deterministic Assessment
74 Deterministic Basis
75 Deterministic Node
76 Deterministic Sensitivity Analysis
77 Deterministic Variable
78 Direct Assessment
79 Direct Neighbour
80 Direct Predecessor
81 Direct Successor
82 Directed Path
83 Disjoint Knowledge Map
84 Distribution
85 Domain
86 Dominating Alternative
87 DSS
88 Editing a Relevance Diagram
89 Evaluating a Relevance Diagram
90 Evaluation
91 Evocative Knowledge Map
92 Excess Distribution Function
93 Expansion
94 Expert
95 Exponential Utility Function
96 Flipping
97 Formulation
98 Frontier Node
99 Fungible
100 Generalised Removal
101 Generalised Reversal
102 HCF
103 Heuristic
104 Howard Canonical Form
105 ID
106 IDS
107 Immediate Neighbour
108 Immediate Predecessor
109 Immediate Successor
110 Important
111 Incipient Decision Relevance Diagram
112 Indicated Assessment
113 Indicated Variable
114 Indirect Assessment
115 Indirect Neighbour
116 Indirect Predecessor
117 Indirect Successor
118 Inference
119 Influence Diagram
120 Information
121 Informational Arrow
122 Intelligent Decision System
123 Joint Probability Distribution
124 Justifying a Decision Basis
125 KB
126 Knowledge Base
127 Knowledge Map
128 Linking
129 Lottery
130 Marginal Probability Distribution
131 Material
132 Maximum Expected Utility
133 MEU
134 Minimal Decision Relevance Diagram
135 Mining a Decision Basis
136 Money Pump
137 Mutual Independence
138 Natural Hedge
139 Neighbour
140 Net Present Value
141 No-Forgetting Arrow
142 No-Forgetting Condition
143 Node
144 Node Ordering
145 Node Removal
146 Norm
147 Normative
148 NPV
149 Numeraire
150 Objective Function
151 Optimising
152 Outcome
153 Ownership
154 Pairwise independence
155 PDF
156 Pedigree
157 Pertinent
158 PMF
159 Predecessor
160 Preferences
161 Prescriptive
162 Probabilistic
163 Probabilistic analysis
164 Probabilistic basis
165 Probabilistic inference
166 Probability density function
167 Probability distribution
168 Probability mass function
169 Probability theory
170 Profit lottery
171 Random variable
172 Range
173 RD
174 Reduction
175 Redundant knowledge map
176 Related
177 Relevance Diagram
178 Relevant
179 Removal
180 Reversal
181 Risk
182 Risk Attitude
183 Risk sensitivity
184 Risk tolerance
185 Risk-aversion coefficient
186 Risk-tolerance coefficient
187 Sensitivity analysis
188 Single-decision-maker condition
189 Situation
190 Stationarity
191 Stochastic
192 Stochastic assessment
193 Stochastic node
194 Stochastic sensitivity analysis
195 Stochastic variable
196 Substantive knowledge map
197 Successor
198 Time preference
199 Toy problem
200 Uncertain variable
201 Unconditional probability distribution
202 Unk-unk
203 Unknown unknown
204 Utile
205 Utility function
206 Value model
207 Value node
208 Value of clairvoyance
209 Value of control
210 Value of information
211 Value of wizardry
212 Values of a variable
213 Well-formed decision relevance diagram
214 Well-formed partial decision relevance diagram
215 Well-formed partial relevance diagram
216 Well-formed relevance diagram
217 Wisdom base
218 Wizard
219 Yin-yang

Search, View and Navigation

Additional Information