Decision path Explainable AI (XAI); Machine Learning
noun phrase
Definition: The sequence of internal nodes, feature tests, and branch choices traversed by a decision-tree model for a given input from the root to a leaf, thereby showing how the prediction is reached for that instance. In XAI contexts, the decision path is used as a local, instance-level explanation of tree-based predictions [Samek 2017].
Example in context: “For inner nodes, the algorithm follows the decision path for x if the split feature is in S, and takes the weighted average of both branches if the split feature is not in S.” [Van den Broeck et al. 2022]
Synonyms / variants: tree path; root-to-leaf path
Related terms: decision tree; local explanation; rule path; Tree SHAP; feature attribution