Ask HN: How to ask the right questions?
Hey all,
Maybe this is a strange question but I am going to ask it anyway.
As a software engineer working with different type of stakeholders all the time, it is imperative to ask the right questions that get the right information out.
In an attempt to understand this whole process and communicate better, I have created an exercise for myself. Here it how it goes.
Imagine you come across a machine that knows everything and can answer ANY question in the world completely truthfully and elaborately. But you can ask ONLY 3 short questions. What questions do you ask to get as much information out of this machine?
Questions like "What are the answers to all the questions in the universe?" are invalid.
I have been trying to formulate my 3 questions to get as much information out of the machine but it seems surprising hard given that each question I ask can be interpreted in several ways. For instance "How did we get here?" in an attempt to find out the history of the universe but it can be interpreted by the machine in many different ways and I don't have any means to say "Oh but I meant ....."
It would be great if you guys can contribute with your 3 questions, why ask those specific questions and what do you hope to get out of them etc.
Thanks all! This is not the exercise you need. Stakeholders aren't machines knowing the answer to any question, even if they think they do. Some good methods: The technique called “Five Why’s” developed by Toyota. http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/geremiah Socratic questioning used by a lot of scientist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_questioning You are absolutely right, they don't but I start with the assumption that they do and I just need to ask the right questions. I direct my imagination into another channel. I think about what stakes each stakeholder holds and imagine what the project looks like from their perspective. Then I ask questions that tune my imagined perspective to their perspective and questions that help me address what is important from their perspective. Essentially, I try to develop domain expertise via empathy. Good luck. This seems to be popular in hacker culture - http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html I'm derping around right now, so why the hell not? 1. What are you trying to do? 2. Why do you need me? 3. Why do I need you?