| Article ID: | iaor20062388 |
| Country: | United States |
| Volume: | 2 |
| Issue: | 3 |
| Start Page Number: | 144 |
| End Page Number: | 147 |
| Publication Date: | Sep 2005 |
| Journal: | Decision Analysis |
| Authors: | Howard Ronald A., Matheson James E. |
| Keywords: | history |
Since the invention of influence diagrams in the mid-1970s, they have become a ubiquitous tool for representing uncertain situations. This single diagram replaced awkward manipulations of decision trees and nature's trees with a single representation that displays both the sequential and informational structure of decisions. The diagram permits high-level graphic communication, clear assessments and computation in a single graphical system. This retrospective discusses the evolution and application of influence diagrams.