Decision tree

In decision theory[?] (for example risk management), a decision tree is a graph of decisions and their possible consequences, (including resource costs and risks) used to create a plan to reach a goal. Decision trees are constructed in order to help with making decisions.

In machine learning, a decision tree is a predictive model; that is, a mapping of observations about an item to conclusions about the item's target value. Each inner node corresponds to variable; an arc to a child represents a possible value of that variable. A leaf represents the predicted value of target variable given the values of the variables represented by the path from the root. The machine learning technique for inducing a decision tree from data is called decision tree learning, or (colloquially) Decision Trees.