MECE Issue Tree
Use $ARGUMENTS as initial context.
When to use this skill
- Diagnosing root causes in performance decline or execution failures.
- Structuring strategic questions into mutually exclusive branches.
- Creating a prioritized analysis plan before data deep-dives.
- Aligning teams on problem scope and ownership.
Required inputs
- Problem statement, metric, and baseline.
- Scope boundaries (segment, geography, time horizon).
- Available data and decision deadline.
Workflow
- Convert the request into one decision-oriented problem statement.
- Select tree type: driver, process, option, or hypothesis tree.
- Build 2-3 levels of MECE branches with parallel labels.
- Run formal checks for overlap, gaps, and level-mixing.
- Prioritize branches by impact, controllability, and learning speed.
- Translate top branches into an analysis backlog with owners and timing.
Ask-first questions
Ask up to 3 questions before building the tree:
- Which metric and baseline define the problem severity?
- What scope is explicitly in or out?
- What decision must this tree support?
Assumption policy
- Proceed if data is incomplete, but list assumptions in a dedicated section.
- Tag assumptions with confidence and validation path.
- Do not invent branch evidence; flag unknowns explicitly.
Output contract
Always produce these sections in order:
- Context
- Decision or Recommendation
- Analysis
- Risks
- Next Actions
- Assumptions
Guardrails
- No branch overlap at the same level.
- No mixing causes and outcomes in one branch layer.
- No "other" bucket unless unavoidable and quantified.
- Keep branch naming at equivalent abstraction depth.
Resources
references/issue-tree-patterns.md- Tree patterns and branch design rules.references/mece-checks.md- Validation gates and failure diagnostics.templates/issue-tree.md- Decision-ready tree template.examples/issue-tree-example.md- Golden example with partial information.
Keywords
issue tree, MECE, root cause, problem structuring, analysis backlog, driver tree