Teaching Decision Tree Classification Using Microsoft Excel

Data mining is concerned with the extraction of useful patterns from data. With the collection, storage, and processing of data becoming easier and more affordable by the day, decision makers increasingly view data mining as an essential analytical tool. Unfortunately, data mining does not get as much attention in the OR/MS curriculum as other more popular areas such as linear programming and decision theory. In this paper, we discuss our experiences in teaching a popular data mining method (decision tree classification) in an undergraduate management science course, and we outline a procedure to implement the decision tree algorithm in Microsoft Excel.