How to use the PPT issue tree template, as included in
2020 Delivery’s ‘Fast Effective Projects’ capability building programme
What is this tool?
PowerPoint instructions
An issue tree breaks the question down (from the PDS) into manageable chunks. This creates clear,
separate workstreams and gives you confidence that you’ve looked at the full extent of the problem
 This issue tree is created using PPT’s
‘SmartArt’ illustration feature using
a ‘Horizontal Hierarchy’ layout to
create a horizontal tree
When to use this tool?
Keep iterating the tree throughout the project as you develop the answer – the first draft will help
unlock the key questions and lead to hypotheses, which in turn will allow the next iteration of the
issue tree to get to the heart of the problem
Tips for structuring the issues
 Ensure the questions at each level (a vertical cut) are independent and complete (aka ‘MECE’
(Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive). This avoids workstreams becoming tangled or
important analyses being missed
 You’ve reached the right level of disaggregation when the questions are specific enough to assign
as workstreams. Remember, the tree doesn’t have to be perfect – just good enough to lead to a
workplan. Also, don’t go beyond ~4 levels of the tree – you want workstreams, not detail
 Use existing frameworks where appropriate – e.g., for financial profit, the first level might be
‘revenues’ and ‘costs’
 Aim to capture existing preconceptions/myths so they can be discussed.
 Focus on content, not process – “What data are available?” and “How should we evaluate
options?” are not valid questions for solving the problem. “By how much can productivity be
improved?” is
 Either copy across the tree object to
your own presentation, or insert the
same SmartArt type directly
 When you click on the tree, a text
box will appear to the left where you
can easily edit text and use TAB and
ENTER to create new lines (boxes)
and indent them to the level you
want
 Also, when you click on the tree, the
two ‘Smart Art Tools’ tabs will
appear in the ribbon so you can
format and design the tree as you
wish
 You can also double ‘ungroup’ to
convert to normal shapes
Tool summary videos
are available at:
Find more tools
and templates at:
http://www.youtube.com/2020Delivery
www.2020delivery.com/services/capability-building/resources
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - you may use and share this file, but please attribute it to www.2020delivery.com
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<Message> – e.g., “We have selected six independent
workstreams to explore the question”
<Question (from PDS) >
EXAMPLE ISSUE TREE
Sub-question
(use “tab” to
indent to 4th level)
….
Sub-question
..
…
Sub-question
….
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - you may use and share this file, but please attribute it to www.2020delivery.com
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