Influence diagram

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aGrUM

interactive online version

In [1]:
import math

import pyagrum as gum
import pyagrum.lib.notebook as gnb

Build a Influence Diagram

fast build with string

In [2]:
gum.fastID("A->*B->$C<-D<-*E->*G->H->*I<-D")
Out[2]:
A A B B A->B D D I I D->I C C D->C H H H->I B->C E E E->D G G E->G G->H

bgum format file

In [3]:
diag = gum.loadID("res/diag.bgum")
gnb.showInfluenceDiagram(diag)
../_images/notebooks_21-Models_InfluenceDiagram_6_0.svg
In [4]:
diag
Out[4]:
chanceVar1 chanceVar1 chanceVar2 chanceVar2 chanceVar1->chanceVar2 utilityVar1 utilityVar1 chanceVar1->utilityVar1 decisionVar2 decisionVar2 chanceVar2->decisionVar2 decisionVar3 decisionVar3 chanceVar2->decisionVar3 chanceVar3 chanceVar3 chanceVar5 chanceVar5 chanceVar3->chanceVar5 chanceVar4 chanceVar4 chanceVar4->chanceVar5 utilityVar2 utilityVar2 chanceVar5->utilityVar2 decisionVar1 decisionVar1 decisionVar1->chanceVar1 decisionVar2->chanceVar4 decisionVar2->utilityVar1 decisionVar3->chanceVar3 decisionVar4 decisionVar4 decisionVar4->utilityVar2

the hard way :-)

In [5]:
F = diag.addChanceNode(gum.LabelizedVariable("F", "F", 2))
diag.addArc(diag.idFromName("decisionVar1"), F)

U = diag.addUtilityNode(gum.LabelizedVariable("U", "U", 1))
diag.addArc(diag.idFromName("decisionVar3"), U)
diag.addArc(diag.idFromName("F"), U)
gnb.showInfluenceDiagram(diag)
../_images/notebooks_21-Models_InfluenceDiagram_9_0.svg
In [6]:
diag.cpt(F)[{"decisionVar1": 0}] = [0.9, 0.1]
diag.cpt(F)[{"decisionVar1": 1}] = [0.3, 0.7]

diag.utility(U)[{"F": 0, "decisionVar3": 0}] = 2
diag.utility(U)[{"F": 0, "decisionVar3": 1}] = 4
diag.utility(U)[{"F": 1}] = [[0], [5]]

Optimization in an influence diagram (actually LIMID)

In [7]:
oil = gum.loadID("res/OilWildcatter.bgum")
gnb.flow.row(oil, gnb.getInference(oil))
Out[7]:
TestResult TestResult Drilling Drilling TestResult->Drilling OilContents OilContents OilContents->TestResult Reward Reward OilContents->Reward Testing Testing Testing->TestResult Testing->Drilling Cost Cost Testing->Cost Drilling->Reward
structs MEU 22.50 (stdev=87.46) Inference in   0.43ms TestResult 2026-08-18T12:00:02.844625 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Drilling 2026-08-18T12:00:02.949749 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ TestResult->Drilling OilContents 2026-08-18T12:00:02.880741 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ OilContents->TestResult Reward Reward : 32.50 (87.46) OilContents->Reward Cost Cost : -10.00 (0.00) Testing 2026-08-18T12:00:02.922861 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Testing->TestResult Testing->Cost Testing->Drilling Drilling->Reward

Inference in the LIMID optimizing the decisions nodes

In [8]:
# a function to show results on decision nodes T and D
def show_decisions(ie):
  gnb.flow.row(
    ie.optimalDecision("Testing"),
    ie.optimalDecision("Drilling"),
    f"$${ie.MEU()['mean']:5.3f}\\ (stdev : {math.sqrt(ie.MEU()['variance']):5.3f})$$",
    captions=["Strategy for T", "Strategy for D", "MEU and its standard deviation"],
  )
  gnb.flow.row(
    ie.posterior("Testing"),
    ie.posteriorUtility("Testing"),
    ie.posterior("Drilling"),
    ie.posteriorUtility("Drilling"),
    captions=[
      "Final decision for Testing",
      "Final reward for Testing",
      "Final decision for Drilling",
      "Final reward for Drilling",
    ],
  )


ie = gum.ShaferShenoyLIMIDInference(oil)
ie.makeInference()
show_decisions(ie)

Graphical inference with evidence and targets (developped nodes)

In [9]:
gnb.sideBySide(
  oil,
  gnb.getInference(oil, evs={"TestResult": "closed"}),
  gnb.getInference(oil, evs={"TestResult": "open"}),
  gnb.getInference(oil, evs={"TestResult": "diffuse"}),
  oil,
  gnb.getInference(oil, evs={"OilContents": "Dry"}),
  gnb.getInference(oil, evs={"OilContents": "Wet"}),
  gnb.getInference(oil, evs={"OilContents": "Soaking"}),
  ncols=4,
)
TestResult TestResult Drilling Drilling TestResult->Drilling OilContents OilContents OilContents->TestResult Reward Reward OilContents->Reward Testing Testing Testing->TestResult Testing->Drilling Cost Cost Testing->Cost Drilling->Reward
structs MEU 77.50 (stdev=104.73) Inference in   0.19ms TestResult 2026-08-18T12:00:03.442864 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Drilling 2026-08-18T12:00:03.562959 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ TestResult->Drilling OilContents 2026-08-18T12:00:03.501645 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ OilContents->TestResult Reward Reward : 87.50 (104.73) OilContents->Reward Cost Cost : -10.00 (0.00) Testing 2026-08-18T12:00:03.539013 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Testing->TestResult Testing->Cost Testing->Drilling Drilling->Reward
structs MEU 22.86 (stdev=104.98) Inference in   0.22ms TestResult 2026-08-18T12:00:03.834014 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Drilling 2026-08-18T12:00:04.049060 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ TestResult->Drilling OilContents 2026-08-18T12:00:03.882376 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ OilContents->TestResult Reward Reward : 32.86 (104.98) OilContents->Reward Cost Cost : -10.00 (0.00) Testing 2026-08-18T12:00:03.925530 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Testing->TestResult Testing->Cost Testing->Drilling Drilling->Reward
structs MEU 20.00 (stdev=103.92) Inference in   0.20ms TestResult 2026-08-18T12:00:04.359809 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Drilling 2026-08-18T12:00:04.470026 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ TestResult->Drilling OilContents 2026-08-18T12:00:04.409541 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ OilContents->TestResult Reward Reward : 20.00 (103.92) OilContents->Reward Cost Cost : 0.00 (0.00) Testing 2026-08-18T12:00:04.445197 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Testing->TestResult Testing->Cost Testing->Drilling Drilling->Reward
TestResult TestResult Drilling Drilling TestResult->Drilling OilContents OilContents OilContents->TestResult Reward Reward OilContents->Reward Testing Testing Testing->TestResult Testing->Drilling Cost Cost Testing->Cost Drilling->Reward
structs MEU 0.00 (stdev=0.00) Inference in   0.21ms TestResult 2026-08-18T12:00:04.803052 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Drilling 2026-08-18T12:00:04.894140 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ TestResult->Drilling OilContents 2026-08-18T12:00:04.841278 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ OilContents->TestResult Reward Reward : 0.00 (0.00) OilContents->Reward Cost Cost : 0.00 (0.00) Testing 2026-08-18T12:00:04.871662 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Testing->TestResult Testing->Cost Testing->Drilling Drilling->Reward
structs MEU 50.00 (stdev=0.00) Inference in   0.21ms TestResult 2026-08-18T12:00:05.143911 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Drilling 2026-08-18T12:00:05.228482 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ TestResult->Drilling OilContents 2026-08-18T12:00:05.173362 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ OilContents->TestResult Reward Reward : 50.00 (0.00) OilContents->Reward Cost Cost : 0.00 (0.00) Testing 2026-08-18T12:00:05.195948 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Testing->TestResult Testing->Cost Testing->Drilling Drilling->Reward
structs MEU 200.00 (stdev=0.00) Inference in   0.24ms TestResult 2026-08-18T12:00:05.468130 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Drilling 2026-08-18T12:00:05.581521 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ TestResult->Drilling OilContents 2026-08-18T12:00:05.493056 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ OilContents->TestResult Reward Reward : 200.00 (0.00) OilContents->Reward Cost Cost : 0.00 (0.00) Testing 2026-08-18T12:00:05.562154 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Testing->TestResult Testing->Cost Testing->Drilling Drilling->Reward

Soft evidence on chance node

In [10]:
gnb.showInference(oil, evs={"OilContents": [0.7, 0.5, 0.8]})
../_images/notebooks_21-Models_InfluenceDiagram_18_0.svg

Forced decision

In [11]:
gnb.showInference(oil, evs={"Drilling": "Yes"})
../_images/notebooks_21-Models_InfluenceDiagram_20_0.svg

LIMID versus Influence Diagram

The default inference for influence diagram actually an inference for LIMIDs. In order to use it for classical (and solvable) influence diagram, do not forget to add the sequence of decision nodes using addNoForgettingAssumption.

In [12]:
infdiag = gum.fastID("Chance->*Decision1->Chance2->$Utility<-Chance3<-*Decision2<-Chance->Utility")
infdiag
Out[12]:
Chance Chance Decision1 Decision1 Chance->Decision1 Decision2 Decision2 Chance->Decision2 Utility Utility Chance->Utility Chance2 Chance2 Chance2->Utility Chance3 Chance3 Chance3->Utility Decision1->Chance2 Decision2->Chance3
In [13]:
ie = gum.ShaferShenoyLIMIDInference(infdiag)
try:
  ie.makeInference()
except gum.GumException as e:
  print(e)
[pyAgrum] Fatal error: This LIMID/Influence Diagram is not solvable.
In [14]:
ie.addNoForgettingAssumption(["Decision1", "Decision2"])
gnb.sideBySide(ie.reducedLIMID(), ie.junctionTree(), gnb.getInference(infdiag, engine=ie))
Chance Chance Decision1 Decision1 Chance->Decision1 Decision2 Decision2 Chance->Decision2 Utility Utility Chance->Utility Chance2 Chance2 Chance2->Utility Chance3 Chance3 Chance3->Utility Decision1->Chance2 Decision1->Decision2 Decision2->Chance3
InfluenceDiagram Chance-Chance2-Decision1-Decision2 (0):Chance,Chance2,Decision1,Decision2 Chance-Chance2-Decision1-Decision2+Chance-Chance2-Chance3-Decision2 Chance,Chance2,Decision2 Chance-Chance2-Decision1-Decision2--Chance-Chance2-Decision1-Decision2+Chance-Chance2-Chance3-Decision2 Chance-Chance2-Chance3-Decision2 (1):Chance,Chance2,Chance3,Decision2 Chance-Chance2-Decision1-Decision2+Chance-Chance2-Chance3-Decision2--Chance-Chance2-Chance3-Decision2
structs MEU 27.33 (stdev=12.38) Inference in   0.25ms Chance 2026-08-18T12:00:07.739526 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Decision1 2026-08-18T12:00:07.808760 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Chance->Decision1 Utility Utility : 27.33 (12.38) Chance->Utility Decision2 2026-08-18T12:00:07.940323 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Chance->Decision2 Chance2 2026-08-18T12:00:07.853571 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Decision1->Chance2 Chance2->Utility Chance3 2026-08-18T12:00:07.892914 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Chance3->Utility Decision2->Chance3

Customizing visualization of the results

Using pyagrum.config, it is possible to adapt the graphical representations for Influence Diagram (see the notebook 99-Tools_configForPyAgrum.ipynb).

In [15]:
gum.config.reset()
gnb.showInference(infdiag, engine=ie, size="7!")
../_images/notebooks_21-Models_InfluenceDiagram_26_0.svg

Many visual options can be changed when displaing an inference (especially for influence diagrams)

In [16]:
# do not show inference time
gum.config["notebook", "show_inference_time"] = False
# more digits for probabilities
gum.config["notebook", "histogram_horizontal_visible_digits"] = 3

gnb.showInference(infdiag, engine=ie, size="7!")
../_images/notebooks_21-Models_InfluenceDiagram_28_0.svg
In [17]:
# specificic for influence diagram :
# more digits for utilities
gum.config["influenceDiagram", "utility_visible_digits"] = 5
# disabling stdev for utility and MEU
gum.config["influenceDiagram", "utility_show_stdev"] = False
# showing loss (=-utility) and mEL (minimum Expected Loss) instead of MEU
gum.config["influenceDiagram", "utility_show_loss"] = True

gnb.showInference(infdiag, engine=ie, size="7!")
../_images/notebooks_21-Models_InfluenceDiagram_29_0.svg
In [18]:
# visual changes for influence diagram and inference
gum.config.reset()
gum.config.push()  # keep the current state
gum.config["notebook", "graph_rankdir"] = "LR"
gnb.sideBySide(infdiag, gnb.getInference(infdiag, engine=ie, targets=["Decision1", "Chance3"]))
Chance Chance Decision1 Decision1 Chance->Decision1 Decision2 Decision2 Chance->Decision2 Utility Utility Chance->Utility Chance2 Chance2 Chance2->Utility Chance3 Chance3 Chance3->Utility Decision1->Chance2 Decision2->Chance3
structs MEU 27.33 (stdev=12.38) Inference in   0.51ms Chance Chance Decision1 2026-08-18T12:00:10.169010 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Chance->Decision1 Utility Utility : 27.33 (12.38) Chance->Utility Decision2 Decision2 Chance->Decision2 Chance2 Chance2 Decision1->Chance2 Chance2->Utility Chance3 2026-08-18T12:00:10.215564 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Chance3->Utility Decision2->Chance3
In [19]:
# more visual changes for influence diagram and inference
gum.config.pop()  # back to the last state

# shape (https://graphviz.org/doc/info/shapes.html)
gum.config["influenceDiagram", "chance_shape"] = "cylinder"
gum.config["influenceDiagram", "utility_shape"] = "star"
gum.config["influenceDiagram", "decision_shape"] = "box3d"

# colors
gum.config["influenceDiagram", "default_chance_bgcolor"] = "green"
gum.config["influenceDiagram", "default_utility_bgcolor"] = "MediumVioletRed"
gum.config["influenceDiagram", "default_decision_bgcolor"] = "DarkSalmon"

gum.config["influenceDiagram", "utility_show_stdev"] = False

gnb.sideBySide(infdiag, gnb.getInference(infdiag, engine=ie, targets=["Decision1", "Chance3"]))
Chance Chance Decision1 Decision1 Chance->Decision1 Decision2 Decision2 Chance->Decision2 Utility Utility Chance->Utility Chance2 Chance2 Chance2->Utility Chance3 Chance3 Chance3->Utility Decision1->Chance2 Decision2->Chance3
structs MEU 27.33 Inference in   0.54ms Chance Chance Decision1 2026-08-18T12:00:10.814819 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Chance->Decision1 Utility Utility : 27.33 Chance->Utility Decision2 Decision2 Chance->Decision2 Chance2 Chance2 Decision1->Chance2 Chance2->Utility Chance3 2026-08-18T12:00:10.866981 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.11.1, https://matplotlib.org/ Chance3->Utility Decision2->Chance3
In [ ]: