KNJohnson: The Art of Asking Questions
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Transcript of KNJohnson: The Art of Asking Questions
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© Karen N. Johnson, 2014
The Art of Asking Questions
Karen N. Johnson
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Karen N. Johnson
• Software Test Consultant• Published Author
(Beautiful Testing) For a list of published articles, see my website.
• Teach Software Testing• Speak at conferences• Co-founder of WREST, the
Workshop on Regulated Software Testing
• Website: www.karennicolejohnson.com or www.karennjohnson.com
• Twitter: @karennjohnson
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
What is the purpose of this talk?
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
“The scientist is not a person
who gives the right answers,
he's one who asks the right
questions.”
- Claude Lévi-Strauss
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
What do I think are the two
most important elements
of asking a question?
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Timing
When you ask a question can impact what you get for a response.
Where you ask a question, can impact what you get for a response. The where you ask a question, factors into timing.
You can ask the right person the right question but ask at the “wrong” time.
Timing matters.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
“The right thing at the
wrong time is the wrong
thing.”
- Joshua Harris
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Tone
How you ask a question can impact what you get for a response.
You can ask the right person the right question at the right time but ask in a tone that can affect not just the response but your ongoing relationship with the person.
Tone matters.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
“We often refuse to accept an
idea merely because the tone
of voice in which it has been
expressed
is unsympathetic to us.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
“Humble Inquiry is the fine art of drawing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not already know the answer, of building a relationship based on curiosity and interest in the other person.”
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
“The best scientists and explorers
have the attributes of kids! They ask
questions and have a sense of
wonder. They have curiosity, “Who,
what, where, why, when and how!
They never stop asking questions, and
I never stop asking questions, just like
a five year old.” - Sylvia Earle
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
The journalist’s six basic questions.
A short look at the basic journalism questions.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Who?
Find the right source for information.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
What?
Ask questions of substance.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Where?
Find a good location for a discussion.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
When?
Timing matters.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Why?
Know what you want to learn from your questions.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
How?
The tone of how you ask a question influences the outcome.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
"What people think of as the
moment of discovery is really the
discovery of the question."
- Jonas Salk
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
The Five Whys
The concept of using the five whys is that by persisting to ask why, the underlying issue, the cause of the issue will be discovered. Harvard Business Review has a great short video that explains this.
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmrAkHafwHI
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
THE FIVE WHYS
• Harvard Business Review, http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/04/the-five-whys-for-startups/
• Harvard Business Review, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmrAkHafwHI
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
The Phoenix Checklist
The Phoenix checklist is a list of questions developed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. The list is comprised of questions arranged in two sections: the problem and the solution. The questions are meant to help an investigator ask questions. The questions are intentionally context-free.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
THE PHOENIX CHECKLIST
• Malbon, Ben. Blog: How the CIA define problems and plan solutions: The Phoenix Checklist http://bbh-labs.com/how-the-cia-define-problems-plan-solutions-the-phoenix-checklist/
• Tinkham, Andy, blog post: Context-free questions http://testerthoughts.com/2003/07/16/context-free-questions/
• Strazzere, Joe, blog post: http://www.allthingsquality.com/2010/04/phoenix-checklist.html
• Lambert, Rob blog post: http://thesocialtester.co.uk/professional-skeptics-dispeller-of-illusions-and-questioner/ and http://thesocialtester.co.uk/the-phoenix-checklist-mind-map/
• Kaner, Cem and Bach, James Black Box Software Testing Special Edition www.testingeducation.org/k04/documents/specBased.ppt
• Bolton, Michael blog: Context-free Questions for Testing. http://www.developsense.com/blog/2010/11/context-free-questions-for-testing/
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
The Socratic Method
The “teacher,” orleader of the dialogue, asks probing questions in aneffort to expose the values and beliefs which frameand support the thoughts and statements of theparticipants in the inquiry.
- Source: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/CTL/Newsletter/socratic_method.pdf
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
The Paper Chase
In a well-known movie, The Paper Chase, a scene between a student and professor demonstrates the Socratic Method.
While the Socratic Method may be a favored method of questioning for knowledge. • Intimidation• Fear• Being put on the spotAre some of the negative reactions to using the method.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
SOCRATIC METHOD
• The Paper Chase, YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx22TyCge7w
• Socratic Method applied to teaching: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/CTL/Newsletter/socratic_method.pdf
• Socratic teaching and critical thinking: http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/socratic-teaching/606
• Socratic method and scientific method compared, http://www.niu.edu/~jdye/method.html
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Roadblocksto asking questions and to getting answers
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Not everyone shares
In the book, “Questions That Work” the author Andrew Finlayson claims there are question killers.
“Question killers can also stifle curiosity and openness with obtuse or bureaucratic answers.”
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Relying on only one source for information
Sometimes, you might ask the wrong person for information.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Fear & Intimidation
"He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever." - Chinese proverb
*
“It can be intimidating to ask questions. Sometimes you have to be humble and yet brave to ask questions.”- Karen N. Johnson
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
“And I like asking questions, to
keep learning; people with big
egos might not want to look
unsure.”
- Heston Blumenthal
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Not doing your homework
Don’t expect people to tell you everything, instead learn as much as you can ahead of asking questions.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
A Few Tips on Asking Questions
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Set a ConstructiveAtmosphere
Create the right atmosphere to ask questions.
The “right” atmosphere won’t just be the location but the mood and tone of the conversation.
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“Creating the right questioning atmosphere means adapting your presentation to the situation and the other’s personality.”
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Learn DifferentTypes of Questions
There are many types of questions: open-ended, rhetorical, leading – learning about questions is a worthwhile “self schooling.”
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Give people the tools and space to give visual answers
Some people think more visually. Asking visual people to explain the inner workings of software without having tools to draw can be frustrating for the person.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Allow answers to come in the form of a story
Some people answer questions best when they can tell a story, walk you through an entire process instead of having a Q&A session. Give the person answering the ability to answer in the format that works for them.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Don’t get lost
It’s ok to let the other person lead but at intervals, review your questions and notes and make sure your questions get answered.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Look for spontaneous pickup of information at unexpected moments
Realize you may pickup some information “on the fly.” Be ready and be open to it.
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“I love the early process of
asking questions about a story
and deciding which questions
matter most.” - Diane Sawyer
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Collect the artifacts of investigation
Gather together the information, including your notes from interviews and see what you have.
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Separate facts from opinions
Journalists are taught early on to distinguish between fact and fiction. Sometimes you can receive the wrong information or conflicting information and you have to be able to discern those gaps and misleading of information.
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Make Sense of what you’ve gathered
You may need to mentally reassemble what you have gathered and even mentally reformulate what you believed or understood as information is gathered, consumed and understood.
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Can you walk me through the process of the software?
I like this question because:
• It gives the other person space to answer in a variety of formats, including drawing.
• It assumes little.
• It is an open-ended question.
The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Can you tell me what you’re most concerned about with this application?
I like this question because:
• It gets to the heart of risk. • It gives a developer the chance to open up about
where coding may have been challenging.• It gives a developer an opportunity to discuss what
has been minimally tested or is minimally working.• It enables product owners to articulate their
concerns which I can turn into test ideas and follow-up.
• It speaks directly to high-level executives who want their concerns heard and addressed.
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“Humble Inquiry is the fine art of drawing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not already know the answer, of building a relationship based on curiosity and interest in the other person.”
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
“Creating the right questioning atmosphere means adapting your presentation to the situation and the other’s personality.”
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“… the talking, listening, thinking, analyzing, selecting and editing segments that all good interviewers incorporate, whether they realize it or not.”
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
"Judge a man by his questions rather
than his answers."
– Voltaire
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“Maybe some of the best
questions we ask, are the
questions we ask ourselves, the
internal questions, the ones that
keep us exploring.”
- Karen N. Johnson
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The Art of Asking Questions - © Karen N. Johnson, 2014
Questions?