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MECE principle
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<h2 id="common-uses">Common uses</h2> <p>Strategy consultants use MECE problem structuring to break down client problems into logical, clean buckets of analysis that they can then hand out as work streams to consulting staff on the project. </p><p>Similarly, MECE can be used in technical problem solving and communication. In some technical projects, like <a href="/facts/Six_Sigma/ctasMp3w">Six Sigma</a> projects, the most effective method of communication is not the same as the problem solving process. In Six Sigma, the <a href="/facts/DMAIC/uHRFl7tx">DMAIC</a> process is used, but executive audiences looking for a summary or overview may not be interested in the details. By reorganizing the information using MECE and the related SCQA storytelling framework, the point of the topic can be addressed quickly and supported with appropriate detail. The aim is more effective communication.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="criticisms">Criticisms</h2> <p>The MECE concept has been criticized for not being exhaustive, as it does not exclude superfluous/extraneous items.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>Also, MECE thinking can be too limiting as mutual exclusiveness is not necessarily desirable. For instance, while it may be desirable to classify the answers to a question in a MECE framework so as to consider all of them exactly once, forcing the answers themselves to be MECE can be unnecessarily limiting.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>Another attribute of MECE thinking is that, by definition, it precludes redundancies. However, there are cases where redundancies are desirable or even necessary.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="acronym-pronunciation">Acronym pronunciation</h2> <p>There is some debate regarding the pronunciation of the acronym MECE. Although it is pronounced by many as /ˈmiːsi/,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> the author insisted that it should be pronounced as /miːs/.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Proof_by_cases/bTuwLV7R">Proof by cases</a> or case analysis</li> <li><a href="/facts/Partition_of_a_set/VeP9g8CA">Partition of a set</a> for a mathematical treatment</li> <li><a href="/facts/Work_breakdown_structure/JNyogLTk">Work breakdown structure</a> for application in project management</li> <li><a href="/facts/Algebraic_data_type/Fn9KhnAb">Algebraic data type</a> in programming, which makes it possible to define analogous structures</li> <li><a href="/facts/Carroll_diagram/GFj6JzC7">Carroll diagram</a> in logic, which divides a set into partitions of attributes</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Spencer, Tom (30 January 2013). "MECE Framework". tomspencer.com. Consulting Frameworks. <a href="http://www.tomspencer.com.au/2013/01/30/mece-framework/" target="_blank">http://www.tomspencer.com.au/2013/01/30/mece-framework/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Minto, Barbara. "MECE: I invented it, so I get to say how to pronounce it". McKinsey Alumni Center. Retrieved 2019-08-29. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/alumni/news-and-insights/global-news/alumni-news/barbara-minto-mece-i-invented-it-so-i-get-to-say-how-to-pronounce-it" target="_blank">https://www.mckinsey.com/alumni/news-and-insights/global-news/alumni-news/barbara-minto-mece-i-invented-it-so-i-get-to-say-how-to-pronounce-it</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Minto, Barbara. "MECE: I invented it, so I get to say how to pronounce it". McKinsey Alumni Center. Retrieved 2019-08-29. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/alumni/news-and-insights/global-news/alumni-news/barbara-minto-mece-i-invented-it-so-i-get-to-say-how-to-pronounce-it" target="_blank">https://www.mckinsey.com/alumni/news-and-insights/global-news/alumni-news/barbara-minto-mece-i-invented-it-so-i-get-to-say-how-to-pronounce-it</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Pruitt, W. Frazier (May 2020). "Some Assembly Required". asq.org. ASQ. Retrieved 25 September 2020. <a href="https://asq.org/quality-progress/articles/some-assembly-required?id=2fdaca65b02a4686b5a0e185f126e906" target="_blank">https://asq.org/quality-progress/articles/some-assembly-required?id=2fdaca65b02a4686b5a0e185f126e906</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>van Gelder, Tim (June 4, 2010). "What is MECE, and is it MECE?". timvangelder.com. <a href="http://timvangelder.com/2010/06/04/what-is-mece-and-is-it-mece/" target="_blank">http://timvangelder.com/2010/06/04/what-is-mece-and-is-it-mece/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"MECE vs ICE". faculty.msb.edu. Homa Help Site. Archived from the original on 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2014-11-12. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190307034410/http://faculty.msb.edu/homak/HomaHelpSite/webhelp/Content/MECE%20vs%20ICE.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190307034410/http://faculty.msb.edu/homak/HomaHelpSite/webhelp/Content/MECE%20vs%20ICE.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Chevallier, Arnaud (2016). Strategic Thinking in Complex Problem Solving. Oxford, UK; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 78. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190463908.001.0001. ISBN 9780190463908. OCLC 940455195. <a href="9780190463908" target="_blank">9780190463908</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Cavano, Katharina (3 April 2016). "3 Steps to a Faster Moving Sales Pipeline". www.business2community.com. <a href="https://www.business2community.com/sales-management/3-steps-faster-moving-sales-pipeline-01500869" target="_blank">https://www.business2community.com/sales-management/3-steps-faster-moving-sales-pipeline-01500869</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Minto, Barbara. "MECE: I invented it, so I get to say how to pronounce it". McKinsey Alumni Center. Retrieved 2019-08-29. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/alumni/news-and-insights/global-news/alumni-news/barbara-minto-mece-i-invented-it-so-i-get-to-say-how-to-pronounce-it" target="_blank">https://www.mckinsey.com/alumni/news-and-insights/global-news/alumni-news/barbara-minto-mece-i-invented-it-so-i-get-to-say-how-to-pronounce-it</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>