3 questions everybody should know the answer to

Sanjay Poyzer:

Everybody on your team, every attendee of any meeting, should know the answer to these questions — or at least be trying to find the answers.

Those questions are:

1. What is the problem we’re trying to solve?
2. How do we know it’s a real problem?
3. How will we know when we’ve fixed it?

From my experience, asking “What problem are we trying to solve?” is one of the most powerful tools for re-focusing a conversation.

The uncomfortable part is that, whilst often the PM or senior stakeholder will be able to answer the question, most others in the room or on the team will struggle. This isn’t their fault - of course - but that of the PM or stakeholder for jumping straight into discussing solutions without ever framing the problem.