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An issue tree, also called a 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.
Issue trees are useful in problem solving to identify the root causes of a problem as well as to identify its potential solutions. They are a popular tool with the strategic consultancies, including McKinsey & Company[1].
Issue trees have four basic rules[2]:
- They consistently answer to "why" or "how"
- They progress from the key question to the analysis
- They use a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive breakdown
- They use an insightful breakdown
"Why" trees are diagnostic or root-cause analysis trees; these are sometimes called fault trees[3]. They answer to a "why" key question by breaking it down into its various dimensions and breaking each dimension into details. They are similar to Ishikawa diagrams although they progress into details as they read from the left to the right. These trees also incorporate the 5 whys approach as they breakdown the key question, each jump to the right corresponding to a level of why.
Issue trees can take a long time to create, sometimes days[4].
References
edit- ^ Watanabe, Ken. (2009). Problem Solving 101, Portfolio.
- ^ http://powerful-problem-solving.com/build-logic-trees
- ^ Craig M. (2000). Thinking Visually. Thomson.
- ^ http://www-diva.eng.cam.ac.uk/energy/mpjteaching/issues/issue_tree/issue_tree.html
External links
edit- How to build logic trees [1]