System Selection Decision Tree¶
Specification¶
The full specification below is extracted from Chapter 6: Passive and Basic Active Systems.
Type: workflow
**sim-id:** system-selection-decision-tree<br/>
**Library:** p5.js<br/>
**Status:** Specified
Purpose: Guide students through a series of decision criteria to arrive at a recommended system type for a given growing scenario. Reinforces the trade-off concepts from the chapter and gives students practice with decision-making reasoning.
Bloom Level: Evaluate (L5)
Bloom Verb: Recommend — students recommend a system type and justify the choice using trade-off criteria
Visual layout: Top-down flowchart with clickable decision nodes
Decision tree structure:
Root: "What is your primary crop?" → Leafy greens/herbs | Fruiting crops | Root crops | Propagation
Leafy greens/herbs branch:
→ "Do you have reliable electricity?" → Yes: "What is your budget?" → <$50: Kratky | $50-200: DWC | $200+: NFT
→ No: "Use Kratky — no electricity required" (terminal node)
Fruiting crops branch:
→ "Expected growth duration?" → Short cycle (<60 days): DWC | Long cycle (>60 days): Ebb-and-Flow or Drip
Root crops branch:
→ "Scale?" → Small/Home: Ebb-and-Flow | Large/Commercial: Aeroponics
Propagation branch:
→ "Speed priority?" → Max speed: Fogponics | Good enough: DWC clone bucket
Each terminal node (system recommendation) is clickable to open a panel with:
- System name and one-sentence description
- Estimated cost range to build
- Key strength and key weakness
- "Learn more" link pointing to relevant section in this chapter
Interactivity:
- Each decision diamond is hoverable to see the decision question in full
- Users can click "Reset" to start over from the root
- Previously-visited paths remain highlighted in a lighter color for comparison
- Each branch can be selected and re-selected to explore different paths
Visual style: Green for confirmed paths, gray for unexplored branches, teal for terminal recommendation nodes