Issue Trees: Deconstruct Problems, Not Symptoms
An issue tree maps a problem's potential root causes. It's used in consulting and debugging to break down vague questions like 'Why is revenue down?' into testable hypotheses.
An issue tree is like a family tree for a problem, mapping all potential root causes to avoid just treating symptoms. It's essential in consulting and product for breaking down vague questions ('Why is engagement down?') into specific, testable hypotheses. The key is making branches MECE (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive) to ensure a complete and non-overlapping analysis. The most common mistake is failing this MECE test, leading to wasted effort or missed root causes.
Read the original → Wikipedia: Issue tree
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