Build the Problem Tree Before the Project List

At 1330, four partners say "the market access problem is security." The notes also mention drainage, checkpoint hours, vendor fees, and rumors about favoritism. A project list now would solve the loudest branch. MECE issue trees make a messy problem mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. In civil-affairs assessments, teams often collect anecdotes faster than they structure the problem. MECE prevents double counting, hidden gaps, and premature solutions. It turns a broad claim like water is bad into source, access, quality, governance, security, and maintenance branches so the team can test what is actually driving harm. Field example: Ravi builds a…

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