Relationships Tab
The Relationships tab is where you see—and refine—the causal structure your Digital Twin discovered. It's a comprehensive view of every cause-and-effect relationship in your model, with tools to edit, resolve ambiguities, and ensure the graph accurately reflects reality.
Causal discovery algorithms do heavy lifting, but they're not omniscient. Sometimes they can't determine which direction a relationship goes. Sometimes they find spurious connections. The Relationships tab is where human judgment meets algorithmic output.
(SCREENSHOT: Relationships tab showing the full list of causal relationships with editing controls)
The Relationship List
The main view shows all discovered causal relationships:
Columns:
Source
The causing variable
Target
The affected variable
Strength
How strong the relationship is (0-1)
Direction
Arrow showing causal direction
Actions
Edit, flip, or remove the relationship
Searching
Use the search box to filter relationships by variable name. Useful when you have many variables and want to focus on specific ones.
(SCREENSHOT: Relationship list with search filtering applied)
Directional vs. Bidirectional Edges
Causal discovery produces two types of edges:
Directional Edges (A → B)
The algorithm is confident that A causes B. These edges are ready to use.
Bidirectional Edges (A ↔ B)
The algorithm knows A and B are related but couldn't determine which causes which. This happens when:
The data doesn't provide enough information to distinguish direction
Both directions are statistically plausible
The variables are symmetric in their relationship
Bidirectional edges must be resolved before the model can be fully trained.
(SCREENSHOT: Mixed list showing directional and bidirectional edges with different indicators)
CPDAG Resolution
When your graph contains bidirectional edges, the model is in a "CPDAG" state (Completed Partially Directed Acyclic Graph). The Relationships tab helps you resolve these.
Resolution Panel
Unresolved edges appear in a dedicated section:
For each pair, decide which direction makes sense
Click the arrow button to set the direction
Repeat for all unresolved edges
Making Direction Decisions:
Consider:
Temporal order – Does one typically happen before the other?
Domain knowledge – Which direction makes business/physical sense?
Mechanism – Can you explain how A would cause B, or B would cause A?
Example:
If you see marketing_spend ↔ brand_awareness, you'd likely resolve it as marketing_spend → brand_awareness because spending on marketing leads to awareness, not vice versa.
(SCREENSHOT: CPDAG resolver showing unresolved edges with direction buttons)
Editing Relationships
Beyond resolution, you can modify the graph directly:
Adding a Relationship
Click Add Relationship
Select source variable
Select target variable
The edge is added to the graph
Use this when you know a relationship exists that the algorithm missed.
Removing a Relationship
Find the relationship in the list
Click the delete icon
Confirm removal
Use this when a discovered relationship is spurious or doesn't make domain sense.
Flipping Direction
Find the relationship
Click the flip icon
The direction reverses (A → B becomes B → A)
Use this when the algorithm got the direction wrong.
(SCREENSHOT: Relationship editing controls with add, delete, and flip buttons)
Cycle Detection
Causal graphs must be acyclic—you can't have A → B → C → A. The Relationships tab detects and highlights cycles:
Cycle Warning
If your edits create a cycle, a warning appears showing:
Which relationships form the cycle
Which edges need to change to break it
Resolving Cycles
Identify which relationship is incorrect
Remove or flip it to break the cycle
The warning disappears when the graph is acyclic
(SCREENSHOT: Cycle detection warning showing problematic edges)
Saving Changes
When you modify relationships:
Creating a New Version
Major edits create a new version:
Make your changes
Click Save Changes
A new version is created with your modifications
The model retrains on the new graph
What Gets Versioned:
Added relationships
Removed relationships
Direction changes
CPDAG resolutions
(SCREENSHOT: Save changes button with version creation confirmation)
Graph Visualization
While the list view is primary, you can also visualize the graph:
Graph View Toggle
Switch between list and graph views to see relationships spatially. The graph view shows:
Nodes as variables
Edges as causal connections
Directions as arrows
Interacting with the Graph
Click nodes to see their connections
Hover edges to see strength
Drag to rearrange layout
(SCREENSHOT: Graph visualization showing nodes and directed edges)
Best Practices
Resolve Systematically
Work through unresolved edges methodically. Don't skip around—you might create cycles.
Involve Domain Experts
Share the relationship list with people who understand the business domain. They can often quickly identify wrong directions.
Document Decisions
When you flip or add relationships based on domain knowledge, note why. This helps future users understand the model.
Verify After Changes
After making edits, check the Evaluation Tab to see if model quality improved or degraded.
Next Steps
Once relationships are resolved and verified:
Check the Path Analysis Tab to see causal flows
Review the Evaluation Tab for model performance
Run Simulations to test scenarios
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