issue tree

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File:An issue tree showing how a company can increase profitability.png

An issue tree, also called logic tree, is a graphical breakdown of a question that dissects it into its different components vertically and that progresses into details as it reads to the right.{{cite book |last=Chevallier |first=Arnaud |date=2016 |title=Strategic thinking in complex problem solving |location=Oxford; New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190463908 |oclc=940455195 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190463908.001.0001 }}{{rp|47}}

Issue trees are useful in problem solving to identify the root causes of a problem as well as to identify its potential solutions. They also provide a reference point to see how each piece fits into the whole picture of a problem.{{cite web |date=July 2004 |title=Strategy survival guide: Issue trees |url=http://interactive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/survivalguide/skills/s_issue.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217163843/http://interactive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/survivalguide/skills/s_issue.htm |website=interactive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk |location=London |publisher=Prime Minister's Strategy Unit |archive-date=2012-02-17 |access-date=2018-10-06 }} Also available in [http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20060213205515/http://strategy.gov.uk/downloads/survivalguide/downloads/ssg_v2.1.pdf PDF format].

Types

According to professor of strategy Arnaud Chevallier, elaborating an approach used at McKinsey & Company,Chevallier's writings (such as {{harvnb|Chevallier|2010a}} and {{harvnb|Chevallier|2016|pp=243, 265}}) cite an earlier McKinsey publication that discusses issue maps among other problem-solving techniques: {{cite tech report |last1=Davis |first1=Ian |last2=Keeling |first2=David |last3=Schreier |first3=Paul |last4=Williams |first4=Ashley |date=August 2007 |title=The McKinsey approach to problem solving |type=McKinsey Staff Paper 66 |location=New York |institution=McKinsey & Company |pages=9–13 }} Other earlier McKinsey-related publications discuss issue trees too, such as: {{cite book |last1=Rasiel |first1=Ethan M. |last2=Friga |first2=Paul N. |date=2002 |title=The McKinsey mind: understanding and implementing the problem-solving tools and management techniques of the world's top strategic consulting firm |series=McKinsey trilogy |volume=2 |location=Chicago, IL |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=0071374299 |oclc=47092065 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/mckinseymindunde00rasi_0/page/11 11–29] |url=https://archive.org/details/mckinseymindunde00rasi_0/page/11 }} there are two types of issue trees: diagnostic ones and solution ones. Diagnostic trees break down a "why" key question, identifying all the possible root causes for the problem. Solution trees break down a "how" key question, identifying all the possible alternatives to fix the problem.See also the how–why diagrams in: {{cite book |last1=Culmsee |first1=Paul |last2=Awati |first2=Kailash |date=2013 |orig-year=2011 |chapter=Visualising complexity |title=The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices: the reality of managing complex problems in organisations |location=Bloomington |publisher=iUniverse, Inc. |isbn=9781462058549 |oclc=767703320 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CUgasLvgvdEC&pg=PA159 159–167] |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CUgasLvgvdEC&pg=PA159 }}

Rules

Four basic rules can help ensure that issue trees are optimal, according to Chevallier:{{cite web |last=Chevallier |first=Arnaud |date=2 July 2010a |title=Build issue trees: diagnosis trees and solution trees |url=https://powerful-problem-solving.com/build-issue-trees/ |website=powerful-problem-solving.com |access-date=2018-10-06 }} See also: {{cite web |last=Chevallier |first=Arnaud |date=14 December 2010 |title=Be insightful |url=https://powerful-problem-solving.com/be-insightful/ |website=powerful-problem-solving.com |access-date=2018-10-06 }}

Consistently answer a "why" or a "how" question
Progress from the key question to the analysis as it moves to the right
Have branches that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE)
Use an insightful breakdown

The requirement for issue trees to be collectively exhaustive implies that divergent thinking is a critical skill.{{cite web |last=Chevallier |first=Arnaud |date=6 July 2010b |title=Diverge effectively in your thinking |url=https://powerful-problem-solving.com/diverge-effectively-in-your-thinking/ |website=powerful-problem-solving.com |access-date=2018-10-06 }}

Applications

=In management interviews=

Issue trees are used to answer questions in case interviews for management consulting positions.{{cite book |last=Cheng |first=Victor |date=2012 |chapter=The issue tree |title=Case interview secrets: a former McKinsey interviewer reveals how to get multiple job offers in consulting |location=Seattle, WA |publisher=Innovation Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/caseinterviewsec0000chen/page/73 73–102] |isbn=9780984183524 |oclc=803397971|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/caseinterviewsec0000chen/page/73|chapter-url-access=registration}} A quantitative type of question, the market sizing question, requires the interviewee to estimate the size of a data group such as a specific segment of a population, an amount of objects, a company's revenues, or similar.{{cite web |title=Market sizing |url=https://www.gradinterviewprep.com/market-sizing |website=gradinterviewprep.com |access-date=2019-07-31}} The candidates are expected to use a structured and logical method of arriving at their answer, and using an issue tree provides a diagram to aid the candidate's logical reasoning. Issue trees are used for other types of case interview questions as well.

issue tree

Types

Rules

Applications

=In management interviews=

See also

References

Further reading