[Mindset]-Ask SMART questions

Recently I enrolled in some data analytics and business analytics courses online. What I found out is that this “SMART” concept keeps coming out over and over again.

Why asking SMART questions? Because we are always solving questions in our life, and mostly, six types of questions — Making Prediction, Categorizing things, Spotting something unusual, Identifying themes, Discovering connections, and finding patterns.

To solve these tons of questions, asking in SMART approach could make the task super easy, or much more effective.

What is SMART actually?

Specific-

• Does the question address the problem?
• Will it unlock a lot of the information you need?

Measurable -

• Are you able to measure the answers?

Action-oriented -

• Will the questions lead you to devise some type of action plan?

Relevant -

• Is the question about the particular problem you are trying to solve?

Time-Bound-

• Specific time frame?

A bad example will be -

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Increase the number of returning visitors (Business Metric) on monthly basis by 15% compared to the same month last year.

A good example will be -

After 5 months (T) after collecting relevant data, data will be analyzed to determine the website changes (A) that will increase revenues (R) by 15% (M) on a monthly basis compared to the same month last year.

Things to avoid when asking questions

Leading questions: questions that only have a particular response

· Example: This product is too cheap, isn’t it? Instead, ask: What price range would you consider purchasing this product?

Closed-ended questions: questions that ask for a one-word or brief response only

· Example: Were you satisfied with the customer trial? Instead, ask: What is your opinion of this customer trial?

Vague questions: questions that aren’t specific or don’t provide context

· Example: Does the tool work for you? Instead, ask: Does the tool make it quicker to finish visualizing data?