🔍 Analysis tools

Issue tree

Break one big question into smaller ones you can answer.

An issue tree starts with the key question at the top and branches into sub-questions, each MECE, until every leaf is something you can check with data.

It's the ‘structure’ interviewers ask you to draw.

How to break it down

Why are profits down?

Revenue down?

Costs up?

Market-wide?

🧮 Example

‘Why are ticket sales down?’ → fewer shows, fewer seats sold per show, or lower price per seat.

🎯 Interview tip

Go 2–3 levels deep, no more. Then prioritise the branch the data points to.

Used in

Consulting cases Operations cases M&A cases Product Strategy cases Marketing cases

Learn next

MECE

Mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive — no overlaps, no gaps.

Driver tree

A maths version of an issue tree.

Hypothesis-driven thinking

Start with a guess, then test it.

The Case Flex weekly

One concept. One case breakdown. One practice prompt. Every week, in simple words.

Practise Issue tree in a real case

An AI interviewer runs you through a case, pushes back, and scores your reasoning. Free to start.

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