OVERVIEW
When exploring or scoping a prospective project, it is essential to gather as clear and specific a set of parameters as possible so you can deliver the right solution the first time, for the right budget. Knowing how to ask the right questions can help you ensure you have the best picture of the problem and your solution. Each question below is a “type of question,” not to be taken literally, but conceptually. While simple tasks may only need the four basic questions, more complex project scopes will require further probing and clarifying.
“What do you want?”
- Uncover what the other person believes they want delivered?
- Uncover their problem that they need solved.
- Identify the need they must have fulfilled.
“How will you measure success”
- Identify the criteria that will make them happy.
- Note: Some people will provide detailed specifics and metrics that define success. Most don’t. Most will paint their criteria in glowing, vague, and vacuous language, requiring you to move on to the third question below.
“What are the specific metrics that define that criteria?”
- How will we know we have delivered exactly what you want?
- How will you measure us?
- How will you hold us accountable for those criteria?
“What is the relative value of each of those metrics?”
- If required, how do you prioritize each metric?
- What is the relative value (in dollars or points) of each metric?