In order of best to worst, the ways to be MECE are: algebraically, procedurally, conceptually, segmenting, and opposite words.
Algebraic
By definition, the variables are independent and together they fully describe the whole. Some trivial examples:
- Force = Mass x Acceleration
- Profit = Revenue - Expenses
- Mass of Ants in an anthill = number of ants x weight of each ant
Procedural
A step by step process flow from beginning to end. As an example, if you wanted to MECE the environmental impact from a car, you could account for it by looking at:
Gathering raw materials → Manufacture → Sale → Operation & Maintenance → Disposal
For projects, the chronology is:
Initiation → Planning → Execution → Delivery → Post Delivery (people always forget about this one!)
Conceptual
Sort of a roll your own MECE structure. There is usually no right MECE, but there can be wrong ones. Some examples:
- Security = Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability
- When dealing with people, seek first to understand, then be understood
- People’s personalities can be broken down along: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, extraversion
Segmenting
You take some population (of anything, not just humans), and divide it up along some attribute, like age, gender, or geography. Even though it is ranked fourth (second to last), in a way it is actually the worst because it is both unlikely to be insightful and people seem to be unreasonably drawn to this MECE method over the others (probably because it requires so little thinking).
Opposite Words
Something is either this or that:
- Someone is open minded or closed minded
- The food is kosher or treif