Intelligent reasoning and management decision making with grey rough influence diagrams

Abstract

Purpose Influence diagrams (IDs) have been widely applied as a form of knowledge expression and a decision analysis tool in the management and engineering fields. Relationship measurements and expectation values are computed depending on probability distributions in traditional IDs, however, most information systems in the real world are nondeterministic, and data in information tables can be interval valued, multiple valued and even incomplete. Consequently, conventional numeric models of IDs are not suitable for information processing with respect to imprecise data whose boundaries are uncertain. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The grey system theory and rough sets have proved to be effective tools in the data processing of uncertain information systems, approximate knowledge acquisition and representation are also the objectives in intelligent reasoning and decision analysis. Hence, this study proposes a new mathematical model by combining grey rough sets with IDs, and approximate measurements are used instead of probability distribution, an implicational relationship is utilized instead of an indiscernible relationship, and all of the features of the proposed approach contribute to deal with uncertain problems. Findings The focus of this paper is to provide a more comprehensive framework for approximate knowledge representation and intelligent decision analysis in uncertain information systems and an example of decision support in product management systems with the new approach is illustrated. Originality/value Collaboration of IDs and grey rough sets is first proposed, which provides a new mathematical and graphical tool for approximate reasoning and intelligent decision analysis within interval-valued information systems.