Dialogbaum

Dialogbaum, or dialogue tree, is a graphical or abstract representation of possible conversations between a user and a system. In fields such as conversation design, interactive fiction, and customer-support tooling, a dialog tree helps map the pathways of communication. The root node denotes the initial state; from there, branches lead to nodes that pose questions, present options, perform actions, or encode contextual conditions. Edges reflect possible user inputs or system responses, and leaves mark endpoints such as solutions, completed tasks, or conversation termination. Dialog trees can be purely deterministic or incorporate policy-driven or probabilistic decisions.

Typical components are nodes, edges with conditions, actions, and context attributes. Simple trees can be linear, while more complex designs use nested branches to model multi-turn interactions. In practice, dialog trees support clear, testable flows, coverage of common intents, and straightforward localization. They also provide a foundation for other architectures such as state machines or modular dialog managers; in some cases, trees are converted into more scalable representations or hybrid systems.

Construction and maintenance require domain knowledge, user intents, and anticipation of edge cases. Designers iteratively build, validate with scenarios, and prune or merge branches to control complexity. In modern systems, dialog trees often coexist with data-driven or generative approaches, serving as explicit guardrails or reusable templates.

Related concepts include decision trees, flowcharts, finite-state machines, and narrative branching in games. The term Dialogbaum is used in German-language contexts to denote this structured approach to guiding conversation.