Material

In decision analysis, a feature of the world is said to be material to a given decision if it is apparent that the decision could be sensitive to that element’s value—at least probabilistically. A decision element is said to be immaterial to the given decision if, despite being related to the decision, it is apparent that the decision could not be sensitive to that element’s value. In most cases, decision participants can reliably identify clearly immaterial decision elements; however, they are typically much less reliable at identifying clearly material decision elements. Decision analysis provides many tools (eg, deterministic sensitivity analysis) to help decision participants identify material decision elements.

See also: important, relevant and sensitivity analysis.