Decision Tree

Abstract

In the day to day job of a Network Manager at Bellsouth there are many decisions which have to be made. One such decision opportunity arose about one week ago. The question was what to do with a major cable which is in the way of a guard rail that the Department of Transportation is installing. In this paper, the decision on what to do with this cable will be solved using a decision tree. The discussion will include the major factors involved in making the decision and also show how the final decision was made.

Decision tree

The decision tree is an effective way to make a business decision; because you can write out multiple alternatives and different options that will go along with these alternatives. To show how effective the decision tree is, this paper will demonstrate how a Network Manager at Bellsouth will handle a situation that has come about due to the Department of Transportation (DOT) needing to add a guardrail to a road in which a major cable is in the way.

When using a decision tree one should start with the question, which in this case is what to do with the major cable. Then branch out from there with at least two options of what to do next. In this case there are three options: one would be to work with the DOT and move the cable as needed, two would be to replace the cable in another spot before the DOT started working, or three to hang this section of cable in the air. All three of these options are feasible, but only one is the best decision to make. The challenge is to come up with the best decision using the decision tree. And by diagramming the decision analytically the decision will be a more informed. (Hullett & Hillson, 2006).

These three options each need to be branched out twice more one branch for cost and the other branch for time. The first option: working with the DOT and moving the cable as needed is very cost efficient for my company because there would be no materials to buy and the only cost involved would be for the labor, so on the cost branch this is a good thing. The second issue of time is where there may be a problem. By working with the DOT moving the cable as needed means there would have to be scheduling involved and also they will have to wait on us to do our part before they can do theirs while on site. This means increased time and money for the DOT, so this is not a good option for them.

The second option, placing the cable in a new location out of there way would have to be considered using the time and cost method also. As far as the cost goes, this would be the most expensive for my company because it would take a great deal of time to move relocate the cable and also we would have to use more labor and have to pay for the new cable, which is expensive. As I said this would take more time to accomplish due to the fact the cable would need to be ordered and also it takes a while to line up a contractor to put the cable in a new location. So this is not a good option for my company, although it would be good for the DOT because they would have the cable out of there way and they could just put the guardrail anywhere they needed.

The third option, which was to place the cable in the air out of the way of the guardrail, will need to be analyzed by the factors of time and cost. First lets discuss