Definition of 'relevant' in decision reports

Decision reports show every value that is relevant to the result of a rule. This topic describes the definition of what constitutes a 'relevant' value.

Rule 1: A value is relevant if changing it could cause the conclusion of the rule to change

Example 1:

A if

B and

C

If B is true and C is false, then A is false. In the decision report:

B is not shown because no matter what you change it to, C's value of false keeps A false.
C is shown because you could change it to true, and A would become true .

Example 2:

Result = InstanceSumIf(Relationship, Condition, Value)

With the following sets of conditions and values, the result is 50.

Condition1 = true
Value1 = 50
Condition2 = false
Value2 = 100

Condition1, Value1, and Condition2 are all relevant due to Rule 1. Value2 is not relevant because no matter what it is set to, the false of Condition2 stops it from having any effect.

Rule 2: Where a set of values are not relevant individually (via Rule 1) but could cause the conclusion to change if they change together, then all values in the set are considered relevant

This is intended to cover situations where attributes are equally relevant to the conclusion, with neither one being enough to actually have an effect if it changes. Using Example 1 above, if B and C are both false, then A is false. Changing either B or C independently does not change the conclusion, so Rule 1 does not apply. However, you could change both of them to true, and it would change the conclusion, so because of Rule 2, they are both considered relevant.

Rule 3: Where the result is unknown, all values that could be relevant if unknown values became known, are considered relevant

Example 1:

A = B + C

If B is unknown and C is 5, then the result is unknown. In the decision report:

B is relevant because if it changed (to become known), it would affect the outcome (Rule 1)
C is relevant because if B became known, it would be relevant to the outcome (Rule 3)

No special consideration of uncertainty is required - handling for uncertainty falls naturally out of the above rules.

Example 2:

A = B + C

If B is uncertain and C is unknown, then the conclusion is uncertain. No matter what value C becomes, A will always be uncertain. In the decision report:

B is relevant, because if B changed to be unknown, then A would become unknown (Rule 1).
C is not relevant, because even if it becomes known, it cannot become relevant.