Tree of Influence
Menu: Reference

Full tree

The whole problem space on one canvas.

Purpose

Map the whole problem space in one picture: every known problem, action, outcome, and artifact, and how they influence each other.

When to create it

Always. The full tree is the primary view, built during the main session. Every other view starts from it.

What it contains

All node types in use and all their arrows, laid out with roots at one end and outcomes at the other.

The full onboarding tree 9 nodes and 8 arrows: 5 root / problem, 2 action / intervention, 2 desired state / outcome. A text version follows the diagram. [P]Documentation isout of date [P]Each teamonboardsdifferently [P]Setting up alaptop takes aweek [P]Senior peoplehave no time tomentor [A]Automate laptopsetup [P]New hires areafraid to askquestions [A]Assign each newhire a buddy [O]New hires shipsomething intheir firstmonth [O]New hires feelwelcome andconfident Legend [P] Root / Problem [A] Action / Intervention [O] Desired State / Outcome Flow: roots (bottom) → outcomes (top).
Diagram as text: The full onboarding tree

Nodes:

  • Root / Problem: "Documentation is out of date"
  • Root / Problem: "Each team onboards differently"
  • Root / Problem: "Setting up a laptop takes a week"
  • Root / Problem: "Senior people have no time to mentor"
  • Root / Problem: "New hires are afraid to ask questions"
  • Action / Intervention: "Automate laptop setup"
  • Action / Intervention: "Assign each new hire a buddy"
  • Desired State / Outcome: "New hires ship something in their first month"
  • Desired State / Outcome: "New hires feel welcome and confident"

Arrows:

  • "Each team onboards differently" influences "Documentation is out of date"
  • "Setting up a laptop takes a week" influences "Automate laptop setup"
  • "Senior people have no time to mentor" influences "New hires are afraid to ask questions"
  • "Senior people have no time to mentor" influences "Assign each new hire a buddy"
  • "Documentation is out of date" influences "New hires ship something in their first month"
  • "Automate laptop setup" influences "New hires ship something in their first month"
  • "New hires are afraid to ask questions" influences "New hires feel welcome and confident"
  • "Assign each new hire a buddy" influences "New hires feel welcome and confident"

For trees with more than about 30 nodes, group related clusters into labeled frames, such as "Deployment" or "Team dynamics." Frames are a reading aid only. They carry no meaning of their own and do not need a legend entry.

How it relates to the full tree

It is the full tree. The blocked outcomes view and deep-dive sub-trees are derived from it or zoom into it.

Example

The largest observed full tree mapped the technical debt of a whole product line: about 90 nodes and 100 connections on a single page. It stayed readable because related nodes were clustered in frames.

When you don't need it

You always need it. For very large problem spaces, though, the full tree may become a reference map while the group works mostly in focused views.