TimberTrek: Exploring and Curating Sparse Decision Trees with Interactive Visualization
Zijie J. Wang, Chudi Zhong, Rui Xin, T. Takagi, Zhi Chen, Duen Horng Chau, Cynthia Rudin, Margo Seltzer
Abstract
Given thousands of equally accurate machine learning (ML) models, how can users choose among them? A recent ML technique enables domain experts and data scientists to generate a complete Rashomon set for sparse decision trees-a huge set of almost-optimal inter-pretable ML models. To help ML practitioners identify models with desirable properties from this Rashomon set, we develop Tim-bertrek, the first interactive visualization system that summarizes thousands of sparse decision trees at scale. Two usage scenarios high-light how Timbertrek can empower users to easily explore, compare, and curate models that align with their domain knowledge and values. Our open-source tool runs directly in users' computational notebooks and web browsers, lowering the barrier to creating more responsible ML models. Timbertrek is available at the following public demo link: https: //poloclub. github. io/timbertrek.