Why?

 This seems like such a simple word, but it can have so many meanings, and we just have to look at why someone is saying the word why.

Why? This can be a question that so many people don’t know how to answer, and it can really depend on the contents that it is being said. I know that when I say this work it can be taken so many ways, and we need to figure out what the true mean of this simple question is.

Here are some ideas of what why is being asked:

• Why is this happening and can you please explain the issue that you are trying to resolve.

• Why can’t people understand what I am trying to ask them to do? Maybe because you haven’t cleaning defined what you expect someone to do.

• Why is this issue not resolved? Maybe because the issue hasn’t been cleaning defined so there isn’t a method to resolve the issue.

It is amazing how many times we hear the word “why” and there isn’t a definition associated with it. When we try and say the word “why” we need to understand that the person that is hearing it needs a definition to help resolve an issue. The simple question of “why” doesn’t really help resolve anything because what we haven’t done is explain the reason, we are using that work. 

I know that when I ask the question “why?” it is followed by a lot of other words as I am trying to resolve an issue and want to understand the entire issue that we are trying to resolve. It is so amazing how many times I hear it just doesn’t work, and they expect me to have a solution without them telling me what is really happening. The question “why” is something that needs to be explained and also understood because it can help answer a lot of questions if people are just willing to explain what is happening and maybe why they are looking for in an answer.

Why to me is just a start of a conversation and it isn’t a solution because why doesn’t answer the overall question, it is just the start of a conversation.

Why?

This is a question that I ask so often and the reason I do that is to get an answer that I think someone knows, but I am not certain and/or get them to think about why.

As a documentor being able to ask someone why they are doing something in a specific way can help provide either an answer to that standard question or it might not. I have asked that question before and the answer I got back was “Because it’s how it’s always been done.” In some many jobs you are taught by someone how to do a specific task, and you will continue to do it that way because that is how you do it or at least that is how the other person did it. It is amazing when you can look at the specific task and take it apart step by step that you may find an easier way of doing something. For me, I will sit and listen to the person explain the task and make lots of notes, and then see if there is an easier way to do that task and get the same results.

When you can ask that simple question of “Why do you …” it will make people think about why they are doing something and how they are doing it. It is a matter of sitting back and thinking about a process and how it might be done differently. Also asking the question, “Why?” can help with the documentation, especially if there are specific steps that are required. In some jobs there are specific tasks/steps that must be performed and for a lot of people they just become routine, and they don’t think about them at all.

Here are so different ways of asking questions that will give you different answers.

• Why do you do this specific step before another step?
• Why do you do have to take copies of the item so many times?
• Why does it work that way?

It is always fun when you can sit back and think through a process and see ways to improve it, even if they are just small changes. Some of those small changes and make the process a lot easier to do and maybe even faster to accomplish.

Why, seems like such a simple word, but it can spark a conversation that will provide a lot of information. Yes, there are times when I may sound silly asking that question quite a few times, but the more detail I can get the better documentation I can do. Sure, just watching a person do a job is one way to document it but understand the steps and why they are doing something is also a key part of understanding the job so that it can be documented.

So, next time you hear me ask “Why” understand that I am trying to make sure that you also know why you are doing a specific task a specific way.

Why?

This is a question that can get some really interesting answers when you ask it in certain environments.

The question why is something that can help you figure things out and also help make others understand how something is being done. I ask the question why when I am talking to clients as I would like to understand their processes.

Here are some of the answers you get when you ask the question why?

• It’s just done that way.
• We have done it like this forever and it just works.
• I’m not sure why we do it this way but if you can think of another way please let us know.
• Just because.
• Honestly I don’t know.

Yes, these are some of the answers to the question of why are you doing “X” a certain way. I ask this question normally when I am trying to document a process and want to understand why it’s being done a certain way. I have found that there are cases that a process must be done in a certain order due to regulations. Most of the reasons that I get for why it is being done a certain way is because that’s how we have done it and we can’t see any other way of doing it.

At some meetings I have been given very interesting looks when I simply ask “Why?”. I am not trying to be mean, I am trying to get a clean understanding about the steps in a progress. I have even got this same look when I ask about a policy to ensure that it is clean and understandable.

When I receive the answer of “just because” that normally means that there isn’t a clean reason why it is being done in a certain way. If this happens I try to sit down with the individuals performing the task to see what steps are involved and maybe see if there is an easier way of getting the task done. There have been a number of times that I have been able to ask for clarification and we have been able to make the task easier after knowing all the steps that are involved. When you are trying to figure out a process the best person to talk to is the person that is performing the task rather than management. Management has one idea of the process and the person doing the task may have a different idea.

Making some recommendations after getting all the answers to the question “why” can also be interesting. In a lot of cases, the changes that are recommended are based on other conversations and observations. If a process isn’t documented at all it can be a challenge to actually find out all the steps because so many steps seem to be automatic for the person doing the task. What works very well when you are tyring to capture all the steps is either have the person try and teach you the steps or try and video tape the person doing the task so that you can catch even the smallest steps that are required to complete the task. The smallest steps are normally the ones that are missed because of them being so small or simple.

Why, can lead to a lot of puzzles being solved and even some simple changes. Next time you are having a problem and can’t figure out the solution sit back and ask yourself “why” am I doing this task a certain way. You may find out that by making a few little changes to the process where possible you are going to make it easier on yourself.

Why - my favourite question

Over the last while I have been asking a lot of questions to my business partner. I have been doing an analysis for a client and of course I have come up with a number of questions through this analysis. Of course some of my questions were gaining an understanding about the software and also the client environment. Some of the other questions were the basic why don't people do such and such and why do they do things this way.

As someone who deals with policies and procedures, not having a procedure documented really does bother me. In so many cases companies do something the same way as they have always done it without really having a method written down, it's done like this just because it's always been done that way. I have also found that the method is written down and it is entirely different than how something is being done. I know that I have heard that quite a few times when I am been talking to various individuals. The biggest challenge is the time to go through the procedures and see what has changed and what needs to change.

Another good answer to why something isn't document is because, “If I document it, they can replace me”. This answer was the one that got me the most because if you are the type of person that documents and improves the procedures you are showing your value. If you just do because that's the way it is, you are showing that you are replaceable by someone else.

For my the “why” can help show that there is a need to change a process or even in some cases set up a process because there isn't one. The idea of having things documented is very important because if you aren't available to do a specific task someone else can look at the document and do most of it. It may take them a lot longer to do because they aren't familiar with all the steps but at least they can assist in getting a specific task done.

Ask yourself “why” when you are doing a process and see how you answer it. Do you just “that's just the way it's done” or can you actually say “it's the process that is followed and here is the document to show it”. When you even look at the document for the process do you see ways in which it can be improved to make it easier to accomplish.

Why seems such a simple question and being able to ask it and see the answers you get can be very interesting.