The Art of Asking Questions

Karen N. Johnson
Test Bash 2015
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

KAREN N. JOHNSON
New position in 2015. Director of Mobile Quality at Orbitz
Worldwide, Inc.
Published Author (Beautiful Testing)
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

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

What is the purpose of this talk?

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

The scientist is not a person who

gives the right answers, he's one
who asks the right questions.
- Claude Lvi-Strauss

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

What do I think are the two

most important elements
of asking a question?

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

The right thing at the wrong

time is the wrong thing.
- Joshua Harris

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

The journalists six

basic questions.
A short look at the
basic journalism
questions.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Who?
Find the right source
for information.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

What?
Ask questions of
substance.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Where?
Find a good location for
a discussion.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

When?
Timing matters.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Why?
Know what you want to
learn from your questions.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

How?
The tone of how you
ask a question
influences the outcome.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

"What people think of as the

moment of discovery is really the
discovery of the question."
- Jonas Salk

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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/w
atch?v=
JmrAkHafwHI
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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-checkli
st/

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-question
er/
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/
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

The Socratic
Method
The teacher, or
leader of the dialogue, asks
probing questions in an
effort to expose the values and
beliefs which frame
and support the thoughts and
statements of the
participants in the inquiry.
- Source:
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/C
TL/Newsletter/
socratic_method.pdf

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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 spot
Are some of the negative
reactions to using the method.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Roadblocks

to asking questions and to getting answers

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Relying on only one

source for
information
Sometimes, you might ask
the wrong person for
information.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

And I like asking questions, to

keep learning; people with big egos
might not want to look unsure.
- Heston Blumenthal

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Not doing your

homework
Dont expect people to tell
you everything, instead
learn as much as you can
ahead of asking questions.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

A Few Tips
on
Asking Questions
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Set
a Constructive
Atmosphere
Create the right
atmosphere to ask
questions.
The right atmosphere
wont just be the location
but the mood and tone of
the conversation.

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Creating the right

questioning
atmosphere means
adapting your
presentation to the
situation and the
others personality.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Learn
Different
Types of Questions
There are many types of
questions: open-ended,
rhetorical, leading
learning about questions is
a worthwhile self
schooling.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Dont get lost

Its ok to let the other
person lead but at
intervals, review your
questions and notes and
make sure your questions
get answered.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

I love the early process of asking

questions about a story and deciding
which questions matter most.

- Diane Sawyer

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Collect the artifacts

of investigation
Gather together the
information, including your
notes from interviews and
see what you have.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Make Sense of what

youve 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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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, 2015

Can you tell me what youre 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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

Creating the right

questioning
atmosphere means
adapting your
presentation to the
situation and the
others personality.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

 the talking,
listening, thinking,
analyzing, selecting
and editing
segments that all
good interviewers
incorporate,
whether they
realize it or not.
The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

"Judge a man by his questions rather than

his answers."
Voltaire

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015

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

Questions?

The Art of Asking Questions Karen N. Johnson, 2015