Tree of InfluenceGlossary
Definitions of every term used on this material.
5
- 5 Whys
- A related root-cause technique, not part of the Tree of Influence: ask "why?" about a problem, then about each answer, until you reach a cause you can act on. It follows one chain of causes. See Compared with other frameworks.
A
- Action / Intervention
- A node type for the stepping stones between problems and outcomes: concrete actions, deliberate interventions, and half-way problems. Drawn amber, with the marker
[A]. See Action / Intervention. - Anchor node
- The single node a group starts from in the origin pattern: a problem everyone knows, or an outcome everyone wants. See Origin pattern.
- Anti-pattern
- A common way a tree goes wrong. The reference describes three: solution-dumping, the shortcut, and runaway scale. See Solution-dumping.
- Arrow
- A directional connection between two nodes, pointing from source to target. Every arrow has exactly one head. Its line style shows its relationship. See Arrow styles.
- Artifact / Deliverable
- A node type for things that exist, should exist, or have been proposed: tools, systems, documents, policies. Artifacts can connect to any kind of node. Drawn indigo, with the marker
[D]. See Artifact / Deliverable. - Attacks
- A refined relationship: an artifact aims to resolve a specific problem. Drawn as a dotted arrow from the artifact to the problem. See Attacks.
B
- Blocked outcomes view
- A view of the full tree filtered to one outcome: every node without a path to that outcome is hidden. See Blocked outcomes view.
- Blocks / Impedes
- A refined relationship: the source prevents the target from being achieved. Drawn as a dashed arrow. See Blocks / Impedes.
- Branches
- In the tree metaphor, the action / intervention nodes that connect roots to leaves. See Colors and shapes.
C
- Causal loop diagram
- A related framework from systems thinking, not part of the Tree of Influence: quantities connected by arrows marked + or -, drawn to reveal feedback loops. See Compared with other frameworks.
- Cause-and-effect diagram
- See Ishikawa diagram.
- Causes
- See Influences.
- Challenge pattern
- A facilitation pattern: question a connection that looks too obvious, to find the conditions and hidden causes behind it. See Challenge pattern.
- Connect
- The fourth step of a session: draw directional arrows between nodes, and color each node as its type becomes clear. See Connect.
- Construction
- The open mode of building a tree, when any idea goes on the board, in any wording, with any kind of influence. Followed by refinement. See Core principles.
- Convergence pattern
- A facilitation pattern: look for connections between clusters the group has been treating as separate. See Convergence pattern.
- CRT
- See Current Reality Tree.
- Current Reality Tree
- A related framework from the Theory of Constraints, not part of the Tree of Influence: works backward from a list of undesirable effects, with if-then logic, to the one core problem most of them share. See Compared with other frameworks.
- Cycle
- Two or more nodes that seem to influence each other in a loop. A cycle is a sign of a hidden cause, not something to draw with special notation. See Cycles and graph shape.
D
- Decompose
- The sixth step of a session: break the highest-priority nodes into deep-dive sub-trees. Where the handoff from understanding to action begins. See Decompose.
- Deep-dive session
- A follow-up session that builds a deep-dive sub-tree around one node of the full tree, when the node needs more time than Decompose has. See Running a deep-dive session.
- Deep-dive sub-tree
- A view that decomposes one node of the full tree into its own tree. The node it comes from is drawn with a double border. See Deep-dive sub-tree.
- Defer-to-refinement move
- A way to handle disagreement during construction: hear both sides briefly, make a pragmatic call, and promise to revisit it during refinement. See Difficult situations.
- Deliverable
- See Artifact / Deliverable.
- Desired State / Outcome
- A node type for a condition the group wants to reach: a goal, a target, or a behavior people want to see. Drawn forest green, with the marker
[O]. See Desired State / Outcome. - Dual-anchor seeding
- Starting a session from two separate, unconnected lists, problems and outcomes, and discovering everything in between during the session. See Core principles.
E
- Evolution pattern
- A facilitation pattern for updating a tree: walk the previous version node by node and ask whether each one is still true, changed, or resolved. See Evolution pattern.
F
- Fault tree analysis
- A related engineering tool, not part of the Tree of Influence: breaks an undesired event down through AND and OR gates into the failures that could cause it, often with a probability for each. See Compared with other frameworks.
- Fishbone diagram
- See Ishikawa diagram.
- Five Whys
- See 5 Whys.
- Flow
- The direction a tree grows, from roots toward outcomes: bottom to top, or left to right. Every legend states it. See Orientation.
- Frame
- A labeled area that groups related nodes, such as a cluster or the parking lot. A reading aid with no meaning of its own. See Runaway scale.
- Fruit
- In the tree metaphor, the artifact / deliverable nodes: things the tree produces or carries. See Colors and shapes.
- Full tree
- The primary view: the whole problem space on one canvas. Every other view is derived from it or zooms into it. See Full tree.
G
- Group
- The third step of a session: cluster related and duplicate nodes without deleting any contribution. See Group.
- Group-then-rank
- A prioritization technique: group nodes by theme first, then rank the groups instead of voting on individual nodes. See Prioritize.
H
- Half-way problem
- An intermediate state that is partly a problem and partly progress, such as "Faster laptop setup." A variety of action / intervention. See Action / Intervention.
I
- Impact mapping
- A related planning tool, not part of the Tree of Influence: starts from one goal and lists the actors, the behavior changes, and the deliverables that could reach it. See Compared with other frameworks.
- Impedes
- See Blocks / Impedes.
- Influences
- The default relationship: the source has some effect on the target. Drawn as a solid arrow. "Leads to" and "causes" are drawn the same way. See Influences.
- Interrelationship digraph
- A related framework, not part of the Tree of Influence: a group draws influence arrows among a short list of issues, then counts them to find the key driver and the key outcome. See Compared with other frameworks.
- Intervention
- See Action / Intervention.
- Ishikawa diagram
- A related root-cause tool, not part of the Tree of Influence: one effect at the head, with its possible causes hanging from bones grouped into categories. Also called a fishbone or cause-and-effect diagram. See Compared with other frameworks.
L
- Leads to
- See Influences.
- Leaves
- In the tree metaphor, the desired state / outcome nodes: what the tree grows toward. See Colors and shapes.
- Legend
- The key that explains a tree: its node colors, arrow styles, text markers, flow, and context. Every tree has one. See The legend.
- Living document
- A tree kept in use across planning cycles and updated by removing, adding, and restructuring nodes and arrows, until it has done its job. See A living document.
M
- Minimum viable tree
- What a diagram needs to count as a Tree of Influence: nodes, directional arrows, a construction process that moves from open contribution toward refinement, and a legend. See Minimum viable tree.
N
- Node
- One element of the problem space, written on a sticky note or rectangle. Its type comes from its role in the tree, not from its wording. See Colors and shapes.
- Node type
- The role a node plays: root / problem, action / intervention, desired state / outcome, or artifact / deliverable. Shown by color. See Colors and shapes.
O
- Opportunity solution tree
- A related product discovery tool, not part of the Tree of Influence: one desired outcome at the top, with opportunities, solutions, and assumption tests below it. See Compared with other frameworks.
- Orientation
- Which way a tree is drawn: vertical, with roots at the bottom, or horizontal, with roots on the left. See Orientation.
- Origin pattern
- A facilitation pattern: start from a single anchor node and expand outward from it. See Origin pattern.
- Outcome
- See Desired State / Outcome.
P
- Parking lot
- An area of the board for nodes that do not fit yet, such as solutions or out-of-scope ideas. Nodes are parked, not deleted, and can return to the tree later. See Group.
- Pre-seeding
- Placing known problems, outcomes, and work in progress on the board before a session, as hypotheses for the group to react to. See Prepare.
- Prepare
- The first step of a session, done by the facilitator beforehand: set up the board, the legend, and the parking lot, and pre-seed the board. See Prepare.
- Prioritization pattern
- A facilitation pattern: read voting results together with the group and discuss the surprises, not just the tallies. See Prioritization pattern.
- Prioritize
- The fifth step of a session: participants vote or rank to show which nodes matter most. See Prioritize.
- Problem
- See Root / Problem.
- Problem tree
- A related planning tool from international development, not part of the Tree of Influence: one core problem in the trunk, its causes as roots, and its effects as branches. See Compared with other frameworks.
- Promote-the-tension move
- A way to handle disagreement that reveals a circular or two-way relationship: turn the tension into a new node or pattern to investigate. See Difficult situations.
R
- Refinement
- The mode after construction, when the group sorts, types, and sharpens what is on the board, and introduces refined arrow styles if they matter. See Core principles.
- Relations diagram
- See Interrelationship digraph.
- Relationship
- The meaning of an arrow. There are three: influences, the default, and the optional refinements blocks / impedes and attacks. See Arrow styles.
- Review
- A session that brings an existing tree back to a group and updates it: resolved problems are removed, new nodes are added, and arrows are redrawn. See Evolving the tree.
- Root / Problem
- A node type for a problem, root cause, or undesirable current state. Drawn dark brown, with the marker
[P]. See Root / Problem. - Roots
- In the tree metaphor, the root / problem nodes: hidden, foundational, and where the tree grows from. See Colors and shapes.
- Runaway scale
- An anti-pattern: the tree grows too large for anyone to read. See Runaway scale.
S
- Seed
- The second step of a session: participants fill the board with a high volume of diverse nodes, without judging them. See Seed.
- Shape variant
- An optional accessibility aid: a different node shape for each type, documented in the legend. See Accessibility considerations.
- Shortcut
- An anti-pattern: the tree collapses into direct problem, action, outcome paths with no depth. See The shortcut.
- Solution-dumping
- The most dangerous anti-pattern: the board fills with solutions instead of problems, and the tree ends up confirming plans the group already had. See Solution-dumping.
- Starter board
- A digital board set up before a session, with a legend, node colors, default arrow, and a parking lot already in place. See Starter boards.
- Sticky note
- The physical or digital note a node is written on. Every node uses the same shape. See Colors and shapes.
- Strategy map
- A related tool from the Balanced Scorecard, not part of the Tree of Influence: strategic objectives in 4 perspectives, linked by arrows of cause and effect. See Compared with other frameworks.
T
- Text marker
- A short label inside a node that names its type without color:
[P],[A],[O], or[D]. See Accessibility considerations. - Theory of change
- A related planning and evaluation tool, not part of the Tree of Influence: maps backward from a long-term goal through the preconditions needed to reach it. See Compared with other frameworks.
- Tree
- Written in lowercase, a specific diagram someone built: "your tree," "the onboarding tree." See Minimum viable tree.
- Tree of Influence
- A diagramming and facilitation technique for mapping how problems, actions, and desired outcomes influence each other. Always capitalized and written in full. See What it is and is not.
U
- Untyped node
- A node whose type has not been decided yet, left white or uncolored. Valid during construction. See Colors and shapes.
V
- Version
- A saved copy of a tree, labeled with its date or planning cycle. Saved versions are kept unchanged; only the current version is edited. See A living document.
- View
- A perspective on the problem space: the full tree, a blocked outcomes view, or a deep-dive sub-tree. See Full tree.
- Vote
- A mark a participant places on a node they consider important, during Prioritize. Drawn as a dot. See Prioritize.
Z
- Zoom pattern
- A facilitation pattern: treat a single node as its own tree, to see what is inside it. See Zoom pattern.