issue-tree

# Issue Tree: Structure Before You Solve A classic McKinsey-style tool for splitting one messy problem into three separate jobs: finding the cause, planning the work, and picking an action. Most problem discussions fail before anyone opens a doc, because the team never agreed which of those three jobs it was doing. Someone proposes a fix while another person is still arguing about the cause. Nobody notices, because both look like "talking about the problem." ## When to activate - User says "issue tree", "why tree", "how tree", "structure this problem", "break this down", "root cause" - A metric is off and nobody has agreed on the cause yet ("activation is down, what do we do") - A deliverable needs a workplan and the pieces are still tangled ("we need a PRD but I don't know where to start") - Multiple options are on the table and none has been ranked ("should we do A or B or C") - Before invoking `prioritize` or `prd` on a problem that has not been framed yet ## Step 1: Name the actual question first Do not build a tree until this is answered. Ask the user directly if it is not obvious from context: **"Do you need to find a cause, build a plan, or pick an action?"** That question maps to exactly one tree. Building the wrong tree, or all three before deciding which is needed, is the failure this skill exists to prevent. | If the user needs to... | Build a | Root question shape | Leaves are | Output | |---|---|---|---|---| | Explain why a metric moved | **Why-tree** | "...