Are your customers leaving your product but you don't know why? Is your development team sandbagging delivery dates? Is your leadership team changing priorities while you ship? In this workshop find out how to ask questions effectively to uncover problems and get the answer you need. Learn about the different contexts and the technique to use in each. Walk away with at least one go-to question for every situation. Takeaways: How to ask questions effectively to uncover problems Different contexts and techniques to ask the right questions. Walk away with at least one go-to question for every situation.

1. HowtoAskquestions
Connie Kwan
Head of Product, Ecosystem @ Atlassian
Presented at ProductSchool, SF

2. +startups RealMealz, SourceMap, ImpactIQ

4. HowtoAskquestions

7. Userstudies
Priority&Planning
Mgmtreviews

8. Bonus:
Negotiations
Interviews

9. Userstudies

10. Userstudies
Goal: Learn
1. Don't ask, observe.
2. Ask open, non-leading
questions
3. Ask why. Learn their
stories.

11. QuestionsforLearning
Leading vs non-leading:
● Were you happy? Vs How did you feel?
Ways to ask Why:
● How come? Why was that? Walk me through it. How did
that make you feel? How did you respond? Tell me more
about that.

12. Userstudies
Goal: Learn
1. Don't ask, observe.
2. Ask open, non-leading
questions
3. Ask why. Learn their
stories.
Let’sTryit!
1. Learn your neighbor’s childhood story.
2. Measure of success: How well can you recount it?
3. 1 min learning, swap, 1 min to recount, swap. 2 min Feedback.

13. Priority&Planning

14. Priority&Planning
Goal: Understand
1. Leave no stones unturned.
2. Draw people out.
3. Encourage conflict.

15. QuestionsforUnderstanding
Leave no stones unturned:
● Are there other ways of looking at this issue?
● So the group has raised various challenges to this
proposal. Does anyone want to speak in it's favor?
Draw People out:
● Are there comments from anyone who hasn't spoken for a
while?
● Did you want to add anything?, You look as if you might
be about to say something …
Encourage Conflict:
● Can anyone play devil’s advocate it for a few
minutes?
● OK we have heard where many people stand on this matter.
Does anyone else have a different opinion?

16. Priority&Planning
Goal: Understand
1. Leave no stones
unturned.
2. Draw people out.
3. Encourage conflict.
Let’sTryit!
1. Find a passion conflict area with your neighbor (Guns, Health care, H v T)
2. Measure of success: How well does your neighbor feel understood?
3. 90s understanding, 60s recount, 30s feedback; swap.

17. Management
reviews

18. Managementreviews
Goal: Make decisions
1. Align on overarching
goals.
2. Ask tough questions.
3. Converge or postpone.

19. QuestionsforMakingDecisions
Align on goals:
● What part of our John’s idea doesn't work for you?
● What did you hear Jim say?
● Can you Restate Jim's words remarks in different words?
● Do you feel that Alan understand what you said?
● I wonder if we're getting your point, can someone
summarize?”
Ask tough questions:
● It looks like you're having a reaction to that.
● I'm guessing you're frustrated. Am I close?
● In your tone of voice, you seem pleased. Is it true?
● You sounded a bit worried, is that accurate
Converge or Postpone:
● Are we able to make a decision today?
● Do we need more information to make a decision?

20. Bonus:
Negotiations
Interviews

21. Negotiations

22. Negotiations
Goal: Move forward
1. Build trust.
2. Seek to understand.
3. Breathe.

23. Toclarify,…….………,
didiunderstandyoucorrectly?

24. Interviews
Goal: Sell your brain
1. Be passionate
2. Be curious
3. Be smart

25. QuestionsforSellingyourBrain
Be passionate, Be curious:
● What segment of customers are responding well to your
product?
● How is your company solving the problem of <relevant
industry issue>?
● How is the team structured? What’s missing in the team
to get the company to the goal?
● What is your experience in this company? What are you
working on?
Be smart:
● Improvise questions based on info they share.

26. Interviews
Goal: Sell your brain
1. Be passionate
2. Be curious
3. Be smart
Let’sTryit!
1. Interview your neighbor for a PM job at your most recent company.
2. Measure of success: Rate 1-5 on projected passion, curiosity and smarts
3. 30s explain the company, 5 min interviewing, 1 min feedback; swap.

28. Blog.conniekwan.com
connie@conniekwan.com