Stop calling every data or information graph a decision model.

🛑 Stop calling every data or information graph a decision model.

A decision model is not just a graph.

A decision model is an explicitly designed structure that represents:
• What the business decision is about
• How anyone should go about it

Decision modeling has a standard: Decision Model and Notation (DMN).

💣 If your model is not conformant with DMN, it is not a decision model. Period.

DMN introduces the Decision Requirements Diagram (DRD), which allows organizations to explicitly define:
• Decisions
• Inputs
• Knowledge sources
• Dependencies and rationale

Yes, DRDs can be extended and evolved to support more dynamic and advanced decision logic.

💥But if there is no executable DRD, no explicit decision semantics, and no clear decision intent, then what you have is just a graph, not a decision model.

Decision graphs based on DRDs are not visual doodles! They are executable, with full decision logic behind them, including:
• Business rules
• Machine learning models
• Calculations
• And more

Words matter.
Standards matter.
Clarity matters.

Read more:
https://lnkd.in/g5F9wtsW

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posted here.

Published January 13th, 2026 at 07:30 am