My work encompasses a lot of ideation and problem definition. Taking time to think deeply, away from technology, away from focus on solutions, lets project participants adopt a beginner's mind. A decision tree, or "How and Why" tree, provides a visual and interactive method for diverse teams to illuminate their ideas and more thoroughly frame their needs before diving in to a potentially ill suited (and expensive) solution. I've used exercises like this in my design thinking training and with clients and creative teams for years to great effect.