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MECE: 6 Rules for Case Interview

Frameworks
While most famous for its use in management consulting, MECE is a magic problem-solving
principle that can be used anywhere, anytime, and by anyone.

This de몭nitive guide will explain what MECE is, why MECE is important in problem-solving,
and how you can be MECE. There will also be tips and tricks, application of MECE in
consulting resume and case interview.

What does MECE mean?

MECE (pronounced “mee-see”) is short for Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive. MECE
is a principle for breaking down items into small pieces. “Mutually exclusive” means no
overlap between each piece, while “collectively exhaustive” means all the pieces combined
form the original item without any gap.

“MECE framework” is a common misnonym – MECE itself is not a framework, but a principle
for frameworks. When a problem-solving framework is MECE, its branches must not have any
overlap while covering all possible root causes.
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Why is MECE important?

MECE is extremely important in problem-solving because it ensures complete coverage of
the problem, helping to identify all possible root causes to ensure maximum-impact
solutions. It also prevent e몭ort duplications, saving time and resources. In other words, the
problem is solved with the highest e몭ectiveness and e몭ciency.

A very non-MECE segmentation, for instance, is to divide the students in a university into
“male students” and “freshmen”. If the university tried to conduct a school-wide student
survey this way, they would waste resources surveying each male freshmen twice, yet still
failing to attain the feedback from all students (e.g: females sophomore were not included).
A MECE segmentation in this case can be based on gender (male/female) or seniority
(freshman/sophomore/junior/senior); either way, every student will be surveyed once only,
maximizing the results while minimizing the resources consumed.

And heck, MECE makes you sound smart and logical. That alone is already enough for me to
keep reading. For all the bene몭ts that the MECE principle provide, it is a central pillar of
consulting/case interview problem-solving, a must-know for every aspiring management
consultant – which is why in the Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program, I emphasize
this concept repeatedly both in case videos and the exercises.
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MECE principle – 2 basic rules

Let’s follow the footsteps of Joe, a hypothetical senior intern, hoping to land a job at the
White Cinema.

So, one day, Joe is called upon to address a problem regarding customer feedback: a
series of anonymous negative reviews due to sound quality.

Joe suspects that the majority of customers are happy with the sound. There are just a
few particular seats with bad sound quality (and he is right, it is the center-rear part
where a few directional speakers have broken down; but he doesn’t know that yet, of
course).

The cinema has 144 seats; rows are numbered 1-12 front-to-rear, and columns are
marked A-L left-to-right; they are further arranged in nine 4×4 blocks, marked I-IX from
left to right and from front to rear (the problematic block is VIII). The question is: How
should he divide the seats?
Mutually Exclusive – ME
This is just a fancy word for “No Overlap”. Each sub-branch must be clearly separated from
all others. In the White cinema example here, here is a bad way to break down:

There is a clear overlapping area. Those seats in the center blocks would be accounted for
twice in any analysis conducted using this breakdown.

Collectively Exhaustive – CE
As with Mutually Exclusive, the term Collectively Exhaustive is also just a fancy word for “No
Gap”. All components adding up must be exactly equal to the original sum. In the White
cinema example here, if one breaks down all seats into: Left and Center seats, the whole
Right area would be missing and hence a gap.

Notice that a collectively exhaustive set must NOT exceed the intended sample space. So
block number (I, II, III, …, XII) is NOT collectively exhaustive since blocks X, XI and XII do not
belong in the original set.
Mutually Exclusive (ME) vs Collectively Exhaustive (CE) –
Which is more important?
When mutual exclusivity (ME) is violated, Joe may over-analyze and duplicate e몭ort in one
area. People often think of this as a lack of e몭ciency.
When collective exhaustivity (CE) is violated, Joe on the other hand may completely miss out
on an area. He may never solve the problem if the root-cause lies in the missing area. People
often think of this as an e몭ectiveness issue.

However, in many situations, each of ME and CE standing alone can also help with both
e몭ciency and e몭ectiveness. A non-ME analysis may also lead to non-CE. And a non-CE one
can as well cause consultants to analyze over and over the same area without 몭nding the
root-cause -> ine몭cient.

This sounds cliche, but true nonetheless: both ME and CE are equally important.

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MECE principle – 4 hidden rules

Parallel items
The 몭rst “hidden rule” of MECE is all items have to belong on the same logical level.

If Joe divides the seating area into 8 rows (1 to 8) and 3 blocks (VII, VIII, IX), technically he is
being very MECE. However, comparing the average sound quality scores of rows with those
of blocks can be extremely confusing.
What Joe should do to make his MECE approach truly practical, in this situation, is to
segment the seats by either rows, columns or blocks, and not mix these categories.

Joe’s problem is still fairly simple, so even with non-parallel items, he might still be able to
solve it. The issue, however, exacerbates with larger data sets – try comparing the average
GDP per capita of the whole Eurasia (Europe and Asia) with every other individual country
and see if you can draw any meaningful insights out of it.

Orderly list
Have you ever felt slightly irritated when the previously ascending numbers on a street
suddenly mix up? That is because your brain subconsciously and you consciously expect
things to be orderly.

The same rule applies to the MECE principle, in which items should be arranged in a logical
fashion to extract the most bene몭ts.

Coming back to our previous example, assume Joe decides to use the blocks as the basis for
his MECE analysis; would it be easier for him to analyze each block from I to IX, or to do so in
no particular order?

The magic “Rule of Three”

The “Rule of Three” states that sets of three items are the most intuitive to the human mind,
making such information easy to store and process; small sets of items are also less time-
consuming to describe. This is why we have stories such as “The Three Musketeers” instead
of “Five Hundred Musketeers”.
In a MECE framework, the number of items on each level should be around 3 (2 and 4 are
okay). Once you hit 5, things will start to get a little confusing for you and your audience.

In Joe’s example, he should divide the seating area into three large sections – Front, Middle,
and Rear – each further divided into three blocks. This way, it will take him 몭ve analyses to
몭nd out that Block VIII is problematic – three fewer than if he analyzes one block at a time.
No interlinking items
Any issue tree will not be truly MECE if items on the same level are interdependent. If there is
interdependence between the items, one root cause will manifest in many di몭erent
symptoms across the board, making it more di몭cult to locate the said root cause.

A classic example of this would be to break down revenue into unit price and sales volume.
While generally considered MECE, these two items are interlinked – changes in price often
lead to changes in volume – so technically, they are not mutually exclusive.

However, it is practically di몭cult to avoid this 100% in real-life situations. This will be further
demonstrated down below.
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MECE tips & tricks

Use MECE frameworks

Frameworks are pre-existing and intuitive templates used to draw issue trees. Most
frameworks out there are already very MECE. So using those in case interviews and problem-
solving is a good place to start; at least you don’t have to worry about the MECE thing.
Disclaimer: blindly applying inappropriate frameworks can be counter-productive. We talk
about that in great detail in the framework infographic article.

To avoid that potential problem, here are 몭ve friendly and perfectly MECE mini-frameworks
that you can safely use in many many situations:

Internal and External: Mainly used for structuring information surrounding an entity

Quantitative and Qualitative: Particularly useful in evaluations.

Cost and Bene몭t: Commonly used in decision-making.

Cause and E몭ect: Mostly used to analyze events.

Before vs After: Frequently used for evaluating the e몭ectiveness of actions or levers.
You probably have heard about more complex frameworks as well. Those are also great tools
to use, as long as you know when and how to use or customize them to 몭t with each
particular context – which is part of what I teach in the Case Interview End-to-End Secrets
ProgramCase Interview End-to-End Secrets Program.

Use MECE language

The MECE nature of your issue tree depends a lot on how it is presented, speci몭cally the
wording you choose.

For example, in writing this Section titles, I was trying to decide between 2 options:

How to think MECE

How to speak MECEUse MECE frameworks

Use MECE languageBoth options look structured and easy to read. But when mixing them
together, the look and sound of them get seriously worse.

Use MECE frameworks

How to speak MECE

Or even when you use another version:

Frameworks help with MECE

How to speak MECE

Notice this in your writing and speaking. You will signi몭cantly improve communication
e몭ectiveness!
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MECE – practice exercises

To help you understand the MECE principle and its use even further, here are some short
exercises for you to practice:

EXERCISE

Exercise 1:

Are these segmentations MECE? If not, explain why, then correct.

Continents of the world: Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Asia

Forms of transportation: Land transport, sea transport, air transport

Parts of the human body: Head, torso, belly, arms, legs

Countries in the UK: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

Parts of a supply chain: Input, output

Exercise 2:

Segment each of the following information in 3 di몭erent ways, and be as MECE as possible:

Attributes of a car
 Types of food

Aspects of a country

Exercise 3:

How can drug problems be reduced?

Exercise 4:

How would you assess the environmental impact of motorbikes in your country

Exercise 5:

What should Apple do to increase sales of iPhones?

Exercise 6:

How should a restaurant devise its menu strategy?

Exercise 1. Are these segmentations MECE? If not, explain why, then correct.

1. Continents of the world: Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Asia

Answer: No, because Eurasia overlaps with Asia, while Australia and Antarctica are not
present;

MECE version: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica.

2. Forms of transportation: Land transport, sea transport, air transport

Answer: Yes, this segmentation is MECE

3. Parts of the human body: Head, torso, belly, arms, legs

Answer: No, because “torso” overlaps with “belly”

MECE version: Head, torso, arms, legs

4. Countries in the UK: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

Answer: No, Ireland refers to a now-independent country outside the UK, while Northern
Ireland, which is inside the UK, is not mentioned.

MECE version: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland

MECE version: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland

5. Parts of a production chain: Input, output

Answer: No, the middle “Production” part is missing.

MECE version: Input, Production, Output

Exercise 2. Segment each of the following information – be as MECE as possible:

1. Attributes of a car

Answer: Visual appearance, technical speci몭cations, price

2. Types of food

Answer: Animal-based food, plant-based food

3. Aspects of a country

Answer: Land, people, state

Exercise 3. How can drug problems be reduced?

A MECE approach:

The questions can be broken down into “How to reduce the quantity of drug use?” and “How
to reduce the impact of drug use?”

Then a deeper MECE segmentation should be:

1. How to reduce the amount of drug use?

- How to reduce supply of drugs?

- How to reduce demand for drugs

2. How to reduce the impact of drug use?

- How to help users recover from drugs? 

- How to reduce the dangers?

- How to reduce side-e몭ects (e.g. gangs, crime)?

Exercise 4. How would you assess the environmental impact of motorbikes in your country?
Exercise 4. How would you assess the environmental impact of motorbikes in your country?

With this questions, you can be MECE by assessing the life cycle of a motorbike like this:
"How motorbikes impact the environment?"

Car Environmental Impact:

- Material: raw materials + 몭nished product + maintenance

- Fuel: fuel production + fuel consumption

- Infrastructure: road system + urbanization

Exercise 5. What should Apple do to increase sales of iPhones?

With this question, you can approach it using the 3C&P/Business Situation framework:
company, competition, customers, and products. Using frameworks is one of the easiest
ways to be MECE, but sometimes overuse of frameworks could lead to unnecessary
information. So be careful when using frameworks!

When applying 3C&P framework, it should be like this:

- What are customers looking for when they decide to buy a phone?

- What is the competition doing and what is their strategy?

- What is the company – Apple – capable of?

- How is iPhone (Apple’s product) vs their competition?

Exercise 6. With this question, an insightful approach should be to divide the menu type into:
breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. Dinner and lunch might have the same dishes but you
should think of the menu as a whole, not by dishes.

Self-practice is great, especially when you practice with Case Interview E2E Program.
Meanwhile, to even maximize your practice progress, it’s best to 몭nd a professional coach
who can help you learn from your mistakes. At MConsultingPrep, we make it happen for you.

You and your coach will together practice further exercises, making sure you completely
understand the MECE principle and 몭exibly apply it in di몭erent situations. 
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Applying MECE in consulting resumes

Now if you are applying for a consulting job, your resume has to be absolutely MECE in every
way possible (Consultants are obsessed with MECE). In our Resume Toolkit program, I
caught MECE mistakes over and over again. All of these can be easily avoided if you pay just
a little attention. Here, let’s look at some examples.

2-4 bullet points for each position is about the optimal. Have 4 for important
jobs/positions and 2 for the weaker ones. Don’t do 5-bullets sections nor single-bullet
ones.

Present your background in a logical order; place the most recent and impactful details
on top.

Be very consistent with the content and format of your resume. Example: Make sure all
section titles are similarly formatted and all descriptions start with parallel wordings.

Each bullet should also imply a mini structure. Everybody reading it should easily picture
Each bullet should also imply a mini structure. Everybody reading it should easily picture
a super MECE issue tree behind.
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Applying MECE in case interviews

Finally, you made your way to the 몭nal battleground: Case Interview. This is where the MECE
mindset will be tested to the limit. The interviewer will push and challenge you, while
evaluating at the same time. Nobody can fake MECE in such situations. It has to be in your
DNA.

When you should be 100% MECE

Here are a few places your MECE mentality will be most exposed:

The moment you start speaking! How do you open? How do you say the Map habit? How do
you propose a framework? What to say when receiving data? How do you speak to the CEO?
Etc. It’s important to develop your own perfectly crafted personal scripts early on and be
comfortable saying them with ease. Examples of mine can be found in the Case Interview
comfortable saying them with ease. Examples of mine can be found in the Case Interview
End-to-End Secrets Program.

Moreover, it would be best if you could ask for more advice from ex-consultants. When
practicing with these experienced coaches, you’ll recognize when you should be 100% MECE
and when not, and receive quality feedback on your areas of improvement. Connect with your
coach now!

Hiring Decision is Made Within the First 5 Minutes. …

Watch later Share

When you draw your issue tree! In terms of substance, here’s where MECE is needed the
most. Working with a non-MECE issue tree very likely sends you to the stuck situations. What
if the root-cause lies in the “Gap” areas where your issue tree missed out? This video talks
about that in greater detail.

Stuck in a Case Interview? Is the Game Over?

Watch later Share
When you deliver solutions! The game is not over after root-causes are identi몭ed. Solutions
need to be comprehensive and distinctive, a.k.a: MECE.

When you should NOT be 100% MECE

Believe it or not, the best interviewees don’t always follow the MECE principles and in certain
situations, non-MECE is more e몭ective and e몭cient (the key is to know when):

Before the beginning of an issue tree: This is usually at the beginning of any case
interview. You are just given a short context and a case objective. Don’t jump straight into
a structured and MECE issue right away; you will most likely draw a bad issue and have to
몭x it later.
Try to buy time and get to know the context as much as you can before committing to one
몭xed structure.

Near the end of the issue tree: This is when you have tested and analyzed deep into your
issue tree and the magical root-cause is almost found. You don’t want to waste any more
time breaking the particular branch further. If you can smell the potential root-cause,
attack it and identify it!

But how do you do it elegantly?

Overwhelm interviewers with other consulting traits.

Announce ahead for being non-MECE

Say things like:

“Before diving deeper into this branch of the issue tree, I would like to ask a few questions
about its surrounding context, so I can get a ‘feel’ for the situation and draw a spot-on
issue tree. Does that sound good to you?”

“Before diving deeper into this branch of the issue tree, I would like to ask a few questions
about its surrounding context, so I can get a ‘feel’ for the situation and draw a spot-on
issue tree. Does that sound good to you?”

If you want even more insights on how to ace consulting case interviews, subscribe to the
Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program, or check out this article below – it’s a
comprehensive guide I have crafted from my experience at McKinsey for both beginners and
experienced case interviewees.
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MECE principle – Drawbacks

A strict MECE approach alone may not isolate the root-cause

A MECE issue tree works if each root cause of the problem is isolated squarely in one branch;
a “wrong” issue tree leaves one root cause present in many branches at the same time.

In the White Cinema example, if the sound problem occurred not just in the center-rear, but
in all centerline blocks, Joe would not 몭nd out the root cause by segmenting the seating area
into horizontal sections, as it would manifest in all branches at the same time!
Instead, an appropriate way to segment the seating area would be Left, Centerline, Right –
this will put the root cause squarely within one branch – the Centerline section.

It is undoubtedly frustrating to 몭nd yourself in such situations; fortunately, there are a few
ways to help you avoid it:

Develop your intuition for relevant kinds of problems by improving knowledge and
acquiring 몭rst-hand experience.

Gather as much background data as possible to get the “feel” for the problem before
diving in.

Align early and frequently with the interviewer when doing cases, and try to read their
reactions to detect if you are taking the wrong route.

Be constantly aware of this pitfall and regularly double-check your approach.

Interlinking items
Sometimes, it is ridiculously impractical to try and eliminate the links between items to
achieve a “true” MECE issue tree; this is because many relevant concepts in those situations
are inherently interdependent.

To analyze a country’s present state, for example, you may look into aspects such as
governance, demography, economy, culture, and military. Unsurprisingly, these aspects are
deeply interrelated, so they are not truly MECE; however, this approach is still relevant
because it produces a lot of meaningful insights about a country.

Irrelevant items
Suppose you want to buy a new car, and you decide to analyze cars based on their country of
origin; you also happen to dislike all Chinese things, so you will never buy a Chinese car.

Chinese cars in this issue tree are irrelevant. You will never choose a Chinese one, to begin
with, so why waste your e몭ort?

Fragmented segmentation
The “size” of an item within a sample space, when analyzed with a MECE method, can be
extremely lopsided, to a degree that parallel structure may need to be sacri몭ced for ease of
information recording, processing, and presentation.

Examples can be seen in the ongoing COVID-19, where there are countries with more
con몭rmed cases than entire continents and those with only a handful of cases. One good
way to conveniently present such fragmented data is to group “small” items together,
e몭ectively creating a higher-level item and violating the parallel rule (e.g.: US, Asia, Europe,
Others).

Desirable redundancy
In small businesses, it is not uncommon to have the roles of the sta몭 member overlapping,
especially in areas crucial to the business’s operations. This is often done to prevent
disruptions in case of manpower shortages.

With a MECE approach, you can design very lean solutions; however, in some cases, strict
mutual exclusivity is not desirable because it precludes redundancy necessary for some
contingency plans.
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Fun facts about MECE

Barbara Minto – the inventor of the MECE principle – stated that the acronym is supposed
to be pronounced “meece”, as in “Greece”. Everybody has been doing it wrong all this
time!

Barbara Minto also stated that she drew inspiration from Aristotle – MECE comes from
old ideals that have existed for two millennia.

The “CE” part in MECE is sometimes interpreted as Completely Exhaustive – this term is
itself not MECE because “complete” is synonymous with “exhaustive” (“Completely
 Complete?”).

Read next

Case Interview 101: The Online Guidebook

This article will give you fundamental concepts of the case interview and instant-result tips that…
help you land an o몭er at top consulting 몭rms!

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