As part of the Compact Development process, the Team undertook Results-Focused Analysis, in an attempt to drill down to the root causes of the problems facing Malawi. This involved detailed discussions with stakeholders to develop Problem Trees, which mapped out the issues.

Following the development of the problem trees, the team went on to develop objective trees to outline the objectives which were used to scope the projects.

Soon after the September 2008 National Forum, the Core Team proceeded with the project analysis phase.

The initial list of constraints to growth included the following :
a) Access to reliable power;
b) High transport costs and inefficient international transport corridors;
c) Access to water for both industry and domestic use;
d) lack of technical skills for industry.

The team focused on further analysis and project scoping of these sectors.