Technique 2.88 Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive (MECE)

Introduction

MECE is an important principle in logic tree construction, ie

Mutually exclusive = the branches of the tree do not overlap, or contain parts or elements of the same factor or component, ie the core concept of each tribe or branch of the problem is self-contained, not spreading across several branches

Mutually exhaustive = holistically your tree contains all of the elements of the problem, not just some of them. If you are missing parts, you may deny yourself the opportunity to identify the solution to your problem.