Decision tables organize data and link conditions and actions together, simplifying decision-making. They can be used for programming and business decisions, and are divided into four quadrants. The condition and action sections are evaluated, and a rules checklist is used to find the correct combination of actions. The creator must decide on the most relevant conditions and rules to include.
A decision table offers a succinct way to organize data and link conditions and actions together. It is sometimes used as an alternative to flowcharts and switch-case instructions. Decision tables can be simple or complex and are often used to address complicated programming and business decisions by presenting conditions and actions in a simple and elegant form.
The decision table is generally divided into at least four quadrants. The simplest example has two rows and two columns. The upper left quadrant houses the conditions, while the upper right quadrant is used to outline the rules and condition alternatives. The lower left quadrant, meanwhile, contains the actions and the lower right the rules of the action. Decision tables vary slightly from these four basic quadrants.
The condition row is used to evaluate the situation. For example, a table can be used to diagnose a problem with a television. The first column in the top left section of the table may simply say “conditions”, while the second column is split into several rows with one condition per row. Television conditions may include: no signal, no picture, dim backlight, and no sound.
The action section, on the other hand, describes possible solutions to the problems outlined in the conditions. The first column will simply say ‘actions’, while the second is broken up into rows containing the actions the person can take. For television this could include: checking the aerial cable, checking the plug and adjusting the volume control.
A common addition to the table is the rules checklist. A simple checklist would contain Y for Yes and N for No. There is a column of rules for each of the possible combinations of conditions. For example, if there are four conditions for television, then there are 16 possible combinations of Y and N. If there are only three conditions, there will be eight possible combinations.
The person using the decision table will cross out, search, or mark the Y’s from the list of conditions to find which of the combinations is correct. Depending on the conditions met, there will be Xs marked next to the actions that need to be taken. This means that the decision table directly simplifies the decision-making process.
In order to develop a well-balanced decision table, the creator must decide on the most relevant conditions to list. There is no limit to the number of conditions that can be listed, but each additional one adds to the number of rule combinations used to decide what actions should be taken. The rules should also be limited to those most relevant to the conditions listed.
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