| Rule | 1 | 2 | 3 | ... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter runs? | Y | Y | N | |
| Smell gas? | Y | N | - | |
| Dead battery | - | - | X | |
| Out of gas | - | X | - | |
| Flooded | X | - | - |
Rule 1 in this decision table could be translated to the following if...then rule: If the starter runs and you smell gas then the car is flooded
| Analytical support devices (continued): | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Decision tables are useful for documenting rules, confirming them with the
expert and making sure all combinations of conditions have been considered in
building the knowledge base.
A decision table consists of a condition stub listing the attributes that
may affect a decision and an action stub that lists possible decisions. Rules
are written vertically and indicate the values of the condition attributes that
will result in a specific decision. A dash in a condition or action cell means
the attribute in that row is not relevant to the rule defined by that column.
Rule 1 in this decision table could be translated to the following if...then rule: If the starter runs and you smell gas then the car is flooded | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||