issue-tree-builderlisted

# Issue Tree Builder ## When to use Use this once the key question is set and the team needs to break it into parts it can actually work on. It is the right skill when a question is too big to answer directly, when work risks overlapping or leaving gaps, or when nobody can say which analysis to do first. The issue tree is the backbone that connects the question to the workplan. ## What it does It builds a MECE decomposition of the key question. Mutually Exclusive means branches do not overlap; Collectively Exhaustive means together they cover the whole question with no gap. The skill produces either an issue tree (neutral sub-questions) or a hypothesis tree (each branch stated as a claim to be proved or disproved), then ranks branches by impact so effort flows to the parts that most move the answer. ## Method The skill applies MECE decomposition with a deliberate choice of logic at each level. 1. Place the key question at the root. Use the single decision-shaped question from problem definition. If there is no clean key question, stop and define one first; a tree built on a fuzzy root will be fuzzy everywhere. 2. Choose the decomposition logic for level one. Pick the structure that best fits the question: - Formula or algebraic break (for example, profit = volume times price minus cost) when the question is quantitative. - Conceptual or component break (for example, demand-side vs supply-side) when drivers are qualitative. - Process or stage break (for example,