Socratic questions 👌

Be curious and ask questions. It's ok not to know or understand something, as long as you're willing to be curious and ask.

Asking a question gives the team more insight into what can lead to more productive conversations, ideas, and solutions.

Questions help you uncover what's true. Dig deeper. At least, you learn a bit more and understand how people think and what drives a decision.

Questions are fundamental and are one of the most powerful tools. There is a framework for becoming better at asking good ones.

Socratic questions are a way for a better and deeper understanding of the system, problem, situation, thought, etc., by following discipline and an intentional line of questioning. At a high level, this type of questioning can help you:

• Understanding problematic areas of thought,

• Analytical thinking — its purpose, assumptions, questions, points of view, information, inferences, concepts, implications,

• Helping other people uncover the structure of their thought,

• Raising basic issues,

• Digging under the surface of things.

There are six types of Socratic questions; below is a summary table of each and examples of questions to ask:

Other frameworks?

Sure! 👇

Five whys framework

I've always thought that at my job, I need to understand things to be good at what I'm doing as a product designer. A few times in my career life, I was asked not to be so interested in my questions. I spent some time trying to understand why it happened... Then I realized that I use the 5 why method without even realizing it.

When & why to use it 🥹

The 5 whys method is a framework to determine a problem's cause-effect. It's a simple technique you can apply to any situation. You could adjust this method to understand design decisions better and look for the root cause of a specific issue.

Before asking questions at the meeting, it's good to inform people about the framework. They'll be less intimidated, and you'll be clear about what you'd like to achieve.

Five whys phases 🎯

1. Gather all necessary information about the problem. The more information you gather, the more chances you have to solve the issue.

2. Describe the problem precisely. Once the problem is defined write it down in a one-sentence statement.

3. Gather the right people. Gathering people affected by the problem and who care the most is essential. Five why's can also be used to solve everyday challenges, but most likely, they'll be used in business cases.

4. Start asking questions. Ask what's causing the main problem and write down answers. Repeat why questions to identify the root cause of the problem so that everybody agrees

5. Remember to look for the root causes in some processes lacks, not in people.

6. Care about a trustful & respectful atmosphere. Only then you'll be able to reveal the actual cause.

Why do we need a framework? 👇

Remember, it's your job as a UX designer to understand business. Not the other way. That is why it's essential to know how easy to acquire this knowledge. It's good to know several frameworks that can be helpful. Five whys are one of them. Using any of the frameworks helps you be professional in your job. Don't be intimidated by the people who might perceive asking a lot of questions as being nosy and intrusive. It's in the high interest of your clients and their business to sincerely ask these questions to understand the problem they're having.

Thank you!