How to create a decision tree within MindTouch

Getting started

The first thing to do before applying any changes to MindTouch is to map out your decision tree so that you have the structure setup to use in MindTouch.  Here is a sample decision tree that we will use for this tutorial:

• Main Page with Categories
  • UI error
    • Error codes
      • 500 error
      • 400 error
    • Visual errors
      • Navigation missing
      • Elements out of place
  • Server error
    • Performance
    • Backups
  • API error
    • Posting to API
    • Retrieving from API

This is just a rough structure that we can use to show the setup.  Now that you have the structure, you can start creating it in MindTouch.  Depending on how many steps you have, you may want to use the MindTouch Desktop Connector (part of the Desktop Suite), which allows for quick creation of pages.  You can then create the page structure as it is above.  

Implementing Navigation Flow

Once you have the page structure in place and some content on the page, you can condense the selections to make it easier for the agent to navigate through the options.  Before implementing, map out the flow that you want for your users to follow, as well as the number of options that will be available to them.  For this example, I'm going to have a main page that has the top 3 categories: UI error, Server error, and API error.  When the agent clicks on any of these categories, they will then be taken to a page that has the sub categories.  I'll use the UI error category to demonstrate.  When the agent clicks on "UI error", they will be presented with the Error Codes and Visual Errors. They can then continue to drill into these subsets to find the error that works for them.  At the top of the page, there is a breadcrumb trail where the agent can easily jump up a level if the solution didn't work for them:

This will give you the basic structure necessary to create a decision tree.  Depending on your application of MindTouch, there are numerous customization options from solution rating by the agent, condensed solutions within a page to reduce navigation, and advanced search to suggest solutions (to name a few).  If you are interested in deploying a decision tree using MindTouch, contact your sales representative and they will help you implement the perfect solution.