One connected example
Question: Why did profit fall?
Issue tree: Did revenue fall, did cost rise, or did both happen?
Workstreams: One person analyzes revenue; another analyzes cost.
Hypothesis: Profit mainly fell because weekday customer volume declined.
Synthesis: Profit fell primarily because weekday volume dropped, not because pricing weakened; restore weekday traffic before cutting service.
Don't confuse the structures
The issue tree helps find the answer. The Minto Pyramid helps communicate the answer. They can look similar because both are hierarchical, but they begin from opposite directions.
Thinking and communication terms
Minto Pyramid Principle: an answer-first communication structure with the main conclusion at the top, supporting reasons below, and evidence beneath each reason.
Governing thought: the single main answer or recommendation.
Key line: the small set of supporting reasons immediately below the governing thought.
SCQ or SCQA: situation, complication, question, and answer; a way to establish why a decision is required.
Issue tree: a hierarchy that breaks a large question into smaller answerable questions.
Hypothesis tree: a structure that breaks a provisional answer into conditions that must be tested.
MECE: mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive; a diagnostic for unnecessary overlap and missing areas.
Synthesis: a concise statement of answer, reasons, evidence, risk, and next step.
Project terms
Scope: the decision, questions, activities, boundaries, deliverables, and timing covered by the project.
Workstream: a defined branch of work with a question, owner, evidence, output, and deadline.
Deliverable: the agreed output, such as a recommendation, model, implementation plan, dashboard, workshop, or system.
Stakeholder: a person or group affected by or able to influence the decision.
Steering committee: senior client group that reviews progress and makes or approves important decisions.
PMO: project or program management office that coordinates plan, dependencies, risks, and reporting.
Baseline: current measured state used for comparison.
Target state: intended future operating condition.
Pilot: limited test before wider implementation.
Change management: work required to help people adopt a new process, system, structure, or behavior.
Business-analysis terms
Market size: total demand or revenue under a stated definition and period.
Market share: company activity divided by the defined market.
Unit economics: revenue and cost associated with one customer, transaction, product, or operating unit.
Fixed cost: cost that doesn't change directly with short-term volume within a relevant range.
Variable cost: cost that changes with activity.
Capacity and utilization: maximum output and the percentage currently used.
Working capital: operating current assets minus operating current liabilities, with definition depending on the analysis.
Sensitivity: result of changing one or a small number of assumptions.
Scenario: coherent set of assumptions describing a possible future.
Staffing and career terms
Engagement manager or project leader: person responsible for day-to-day project leadership, team integration, and client coordination.
Partner or managing director: senior leader responsible for client relationship, quality, commercial outcome, and firm leadership.
Generalist: consultant who works across sectors or functions before specializing or as a career model.
Specialist or expert: professional with deeper domain or technical focus.
Staffing: process of assigning people to projects.
Utilization: proportion of available time assigned to billable or defined client work.
Bench: period between client assignments, with expectations varying by firm.
Titles and meanings differ among firms. The plain-language function should be understood before the label.