Ask questions- intro

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I have mentioned in the intro post of the experimental methods that there are usually five steps for a complete research project: 
  1. ask questions
  2. generate hypothesis
  3. experiment/research and collect information
  4. data analysis
  5. reject/accept hypothesis and form a conclusion. 
And then the cycle will start again if there is a follow-up question. 
And because I have been using this method for so long (more than 10 years), it comes so naturally and almost acts as a reflex action. As quick as your calf tightens when someone knocks on your knees. So it takes more time than I thought it would in the first place to explain how this method works in real life, as I want to break it down to as detailed as possible so that it would be easy for you to practice. 
This is the first post of Ask Question series.

Monday in GV is the application, then Ask questions is basic

“Ask questions” is a very broad topic and it can be used almost under any scenario and in any industry, no matter whether you manage a whole business or a single product. This is very similar to the methods on the market which you have probably read or tried, such as the ideas generation step in lean startup, the product discovery phase in agile methodology or the Monday in the Google Venture design sprint. 
Each of those focuses on a slightly different area and scenario. What I want to do here, however, is to look into the basics behind those applications: that is to Ask Questions.

What you can do with the skill “ask questions”? 

It might sound a bit stupid that I am here to talk about what you can do when you know how to ask questions. 
However, this is such a crucial first step in every business and scientific discovery. When you ask the right question, it should lead you to a successful business or a significant scientific discovery; whereas by asking the wrong question, you get to nowhere. 
So yes, asking questions is a skill and it is the foundation of every meaningful project, big or small. 

Criteria of a good question 

To validate if a question is a good one, these are the qualities one should meet, 
  • Relevant to the goal you want to achieve with this question 
  • Gives you enough info/instruction to generate hypotheses
  • It might impact the decision of this goal 

Deductive approach 

We know what defines a good question, but then where to find one is its own topic. Here I outline the method can be commonly used, 
  • Gather a pool of questions
  • Clarify the questions and mainly “why” the question? 
  • Clean up the questions with the good question criteria: 
    • remove the irrelevant question, 
    • follow up or remove the question for the parts that can be answered right away, 
    • remove the question that will not affect the decision making
  • T-shirt size the impact of a question 
Above is the general idea to ask questions. If you have been using Agile/Design Sprint/Lean for a while already, this post should sound very familiar to you, in this case, feel free to jump to the Generate Hypotheses step of the experimental method cycle. Otherwise, I will write two other posts to elaborate on the Deductive Approach and Define a Good Question.