OpenDI Glossary
OpenDI Glossary
This glossary provides our agreed-to definitions of "terms of art" in DI, to reduce ambiguity and increase clarity, reducing confusion, as we work together.
Action
The behavior that implements a Choice that has been made with the intent of achieving an Outcome. Actions are enacted by Decision Maker(s) once Decision Making is complete.
For example, an Action might be to budget $3,000 for marketing activities. This Action would follow after making the Choice for this specific budget, out of a range of possible budgets encapsulated in a Lever.
Compare this to the examples given for Choice and Lever.
Note:
Unlike in a process model, DI does not model a series of actions, tasks, or choices, but rather addresses the consequences of Actions over which the Decision Maker has no further control after the Action is taken. In our example, we think through the consequences of the marketing budget decision during the DI process, but tasks taken to spend that money are modeled using non-DI approaches like a project schedule.
Note:
There are things we do that aren't actions in the DI sense. For instance, we might gather some data, talk to employees, or commute to work and back. In the DI context, we talk about Actions in a specific sense as one of several choices we might make.
Action-to-Outcome Exploration
The process of using forward simulation to explore how different values of actions lead to different intermediates and outcomes.
Without DI, most action-to-outcome exploration is done "in your head", imagining the consequences of various actions you might take. DI says, "let's use a computer to help with that process", providing this exploration through a user interface or performed overnight in a batch setting.
Application Programmer Interface (API)
A software interface with well-defined inputs, outputs, and behavior that allows a program like a CDD simulator to use the services of another independently developed piece of software like a Technology Service implementing a Decision Asset.
Assumption
In decision modeling or decision simulation, an assumption is an external factor about which we have some uncertainty.
Causal Chain
A cause-and-effect path through a Causal Decision Diagram starting at a Lever (Action) and ending at an Outcome.
Note that in DI, there are varying levels of what we mean by "causal" in a causal chain. When we first elicit causal chains from subject-matter experts, we can honestly say that they are more "causal-ish" than anything else, because people aren't great at separating causation from correlation, and because they sometimes mix in the fact that 3 and 5 "cause" 7 if we add them together - ways of causal thinking that don't fit a strict formalism.
In DI, we find it's important to capture these "causal-ish" chains, and then to refine them as needed into software, when ends up being more constrained and formal.
Causal Decision Diagram (CDD)
A diagram that shows theDecision Elements, linked by Causal Chains, pertinent to a Decision.
See also: Causal Decision Model (CDM), which is a computer implementation of the CDD.
For an introduction to CDD concepts, see this article by Mark Zangari.
Causal Model
An analytical or software model that provides qualitative or quantitative information about a Dependency or Causal Chain.
Examples include machine learning models, statistical models, and economic models.
Causal Decision Model (CDM)
A computerized representation of a Causal Decision Diagram (CDD).
Choice
One selection from the options encapsulated in a Lever.
Choices are later implemented as Actions taken by the Decision maker.
For example, "we will invest $3,000 in marketing" is a choice.
Compare this to the examples given for Action and Lever.
Collaboration Tool
An interactive whiteboard where a distributed team can collaborate on building a CDD.
Examples include:
Computational Resource
Resources necessary for decision simulation, managed and used by Decision Simulation Managers and Decision Simulation Builders.
Examples include:
- Hardware resources
- GPUs
- CPUs
- Server space
- Computation time
Convergent Thinking
Synonymous with Analytical thinking, and somewhat like Kahneman's System 2, it means thinking carefully through some reasoning process.
Compare to Divergent Thinking.
Decision
In the context of DI, a decision is about Actions leading to Outcomes.
Understanding a decision means understanding causal relationships in Causal Chains.
Note:
The word "decision" has other meanings in the world, most often a decision to label or predict something, like a picture of a cat or tomorrow's weather. These are not action-to-outcome decisions, and so are different (but still important!).
Decision Approach
A high-level methodology that guides the decision-making process.
Sometimes approaches may be presented as dichotomies.
Examples include:
- Data-driven vs. intuitive
- Autocratic vs. collaborative
Decision approaches may inform and contribute to a decision at a high level, or guide the use of certain Decision Elements. If a particular decision approach is important for a decision, it should be documented in a Decision Artifact.
Decision Approach Register
A record linking documentation about Decision Approaches with their associated CDD(s).
Decision Artifact
Any important piece of documentation for a decision.
Examples include:
- CDD(s) created for the decision
- Documentation about the Decision Approach
- Other Decision Documents
Decision Artifacts Repositories Register
A register listing all repositories used to store Decision Artifacts, what artifacts belong in which repository, who curates each repository, and instructions for submitting artifacts to the repository.
Decision Assessment
In the Decision Assessment process, the Decision Team identifies concerns and decides how they may deal with the risk each concern creates (accept/mitigate/avoid).
Areas of concern may include uncertainty, provenance, bias for Decision Elements. It is important to consider concerns that you know exist, as well as ones you can infer exist from your CDD.
Decision Element
The types of decison elements are as follows:
- Lever
- External
- Outcome
- Goal
- Constraint
- Intermediate
- Dependency
Decision Element Assessment Register
A record of Decision Uncertainties for a CDD.
Decision Asset
An asset that can inform a Decision.
Decision Assets may or may not exist before the decision making process has begun. Decision Assets can include data, information, and human knowledge, as well as statistical, machine learning, behavioral, cognitive, mathematical, and other models.
Decision Asset Register
A record of Decision Assets for a CDD.
Decision Customer
The person responsible for setting up the boundaries and goals for decision making. The Decision Team answers to the Decision Customer, who may or may not be on the team itself.
Note:
The Decision Maker and the Decision Customer may or may not be the same. The Decision Customer requests the decision. They may or may not delegate making the decision to the Decision Team, The Decision Team Leader, or someone else, or they may retain decision making and use the Decision Team as advisors.
Because the Decision Customer does not interact with OpenDI software in ways that are different than any other role, their role is not formally described in this document.
Decision Document
Any documents that captures the rationale for the decision and the work done by the Decision Team.
Decision Frame
Constraints, boundaries, and/or requirements for the decision that come from outside of the Decision Team.
Decision Maker
The person who actually makes the decision, that is the person who at some point takes an irrevocable Action (or Actions) that begin a cause-and-effect chain that are intended to eventually lead to Outcome(s).
This role is described in Roles and User Stories.
Note:
The Decision Maker and the Decision Customer may or may not be the same. The Decision Customer requests the decision. They may or may not delegate making the decision to separate Decision Makers, or they may retain decision making and use the Decision Team as advisors.
Decision Making
The process of utilizing the CDD to put in place everything the Decision Maker(s) need to make the decision and take Action.
This includes adding existing Decision Assets to the CDD, understanding uncertainties and constraints, modeling decision behavior, and determining the Approaches the Decision Maker will use to make the decision.
Decision Modeling
The process of creating a CDD that models the decision, showing the chains of dependencies that lead from actions to outcomes and allowing Decision Maker(s) to align about the decision rationale.