MECE

(Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive)

Helps you sort things out so everything has its own clear place and you've covered all the bases.

How to implement

Mutually Exclusive
When categorizing or breaking down information, make sure that each category or item is distinct and doesn’t overlap with any other category or item.

Collectively Exhaustive
Ensure that your set of categories or items covers all possible aspects or elements of the topic you are analyzing or the problem you are trying to solve.

Example

Let’s say we’re categorizing customer feedback. Using MECE:

[Mutually Exclusive]: We could have categories like ‘Feature Requests,’ ‘Bug Reports,’ and ‘Usability Issues.’ A single piece of feedback should ideally only fit into one of these categories.

[Collectively Exhaustive]: To be collectively exhaustive, we might also need categories like ‘Positive Feedback,’ ‘Pricing Concerns,’ and ‘Other’ to ensure that all types of feedback are captured and no feedback is left unclassified.