From McKinsey & Company problem-solving practice, given its discipline by Barbara Minto (The Pyramid Principle, 1978 edition) and documented by Ethan M. Rasiel (The McKinsey Way, 1999).
Breaks a large question into branches that do not overlap and together cover it, down to pieces small enough to investigate, producing a work plan for the analysis.
When to reach for it
When a problem is too big to tackle whole and the team needs to split it into a complete set of questions it can answer.
How it runs
- Write the governing question or hypothesis in one exact sentence.
- Brainstorm the first level of branches.
- Test the branches: no overlaps, nothing missing.
- Split each branch again until every leaf is answerable.
- Assign and sequence the analysis for each leaf.
- Roll up the findings, and redraw the tree when it proves wrong.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
Go to the source
- The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking, Minto International, revised second edition; the first edition is undated in library catalogs, 1978
- The McKinsey Way, 1999