The interactive tree builder

You can generate a tree model automatically, where the algorithm decides the best split at each level, or you can use the interactive tree builder to take control, applying your business knowledge to refine or simplify the tree before saving the model nugget.

  1. Create a flow and add one of the decision tree nodes: C&R Tree, CHAID, or QUEST.
    Note: Interactive tree building is not supported for Tree-AS or C5.0 trees.
  2. Double-click the node to open its properties. On the Fields tab, select target and predictor fields and specify additional model options as needed. For more information, hover your mouse over the available tool-tips.
  3. On the Objective tab, under What do you want to generate?, select Launch interactive tree builder.
    Figure 1. Launching the interactive tree builder
    Launching the interactive tree builder
  4. Click Save and then run the node to launch the interactive tree builder.
    Figure 2. Interactive tree builder
    Interactive tree builder

The current tree is displayed, starting with the root node. You can edit and prune the tree level-by-level and access gains, risks, and related information before generating one or more models.

Comments

  • With the C&R Tree, CHAID, and QUEST nodes, any ordinal fields used in the model must have numeric storage (not string). If necessary, the Reclassify node can be used to convert them.
  • Optionally, you can use a partition field to separate the data into training and test samples.
  • As an alternative to using the tree builder, you can also generate a model directly from the modeling node as with other models. See the topic Building a tree model directly for more information.