When we work on the product vision or talk about user stories, the question of " Why?" inevitably arises .
«To choose the right vision, ask yourself why you are excited to work on the product, why you care about it, what positive change the product should bring about, and how it will shape the future.»
Roman Pichler
«Who wants the functionality? What is it they want? "Why do they want it?"
Mike Cohn
In our How to User Story , we also discuss focusing on the " why" at higher levels of abstraction in stories (aka epics, features). This means exploring the problem and/or goal of the stakeholders (problem space) before searching for and implementing solutions.
As a German speaker (well, actually Swiss German, but we won't open that can of worms here), I inevitably translate "Why" into German. Very often as "Warum ." So how did I come to write an entire blog about "Why," and what does all this have to do with the product vision?
Why?
I should preface this by saying that I am far from an expert when it comes to the semantics of words. Nevertheless, several events in the recent and distant past have spurred me to delve into the question of " why .
It started about two years ago when a participant (a Scrum Master) in a How to User Story course suggested translating the English " Why" not as "Warum"), but as " Wofür" or " Wozu ). He said it was less negative.
Although I didn't think about it much at the time, the statement kept popping into my head every time I asked myself ". Then, about a month ago, I attended a meetup. When we were discussing the question "Why make agile decisions?" , one participant spoke up and suggested we should instead ask "What for—or what purpose—are we making agile decisions for?" There it was again, the same statement. But why is "why " the right word?
The signs continued to pile up. At a workshop two weeks ago, a participant reminded me of the highly recommended video "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek (the creator of the Golden Circle). And as if that weren't enough, the book * The Loop Approach*, which I started reading a few days ago, deals very early on with the "Why" of a company or team. Finally, I stumbled across an interesting blog post by Digitale Neuordnung about the aforementioned Golden Circle, which, among other things, asks: "Why – and what for, exactly? "
Why do I see "Why"? And does it make a difference whether I Why" or "What for" ? To find an answer to this question, I conducted an experiment on myself. Would you like to try it too?
experiment
Let's start with something easy – the question of life, the universe, and everything (see The Secrets of the Number 42). Close your eyes and ask yourself:
- Why is there life?
What thoughts come to mind, what images do you have before your mind's eye? For me, it was the idea of my birth and thoughts about a possible higher power that came up with the idea of creating life. Or is it all just chance? Why am I here then? What is the origin, the reason?
Now close your eyes again and ask yourself:
- What is the purpose of life?
And? Are these the same thoughts as when asking " why"? For me, they're different. I think about the meaning of life. I ask myself about the higher purpose that life could or should serve. Where life's journey leads. And whether there's other life "out there."
In the book *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, the question of life, the universe, and everything is answered with "42," and it's pointed out that the wrong question was asked. But when working with the product vision, we want to ask ourselves the right question. Personally, I find it fascinating that my brain produces different mental images for two seemingly identical questions.
Why is that?
As is often the case when I want to understand the meaning of a word, I look it up in the dictionary .
- Why means: "For what reason? Why?"
- What does "for what" mean?
- What does "for what purpose, goal" mean?
Now things are becoming clearer. " Why " asks about the reason, the cause of something, and seeks to explain how we got to where we are now. It inquires about the past. " What for and "What for, " on the other hand, are future-oriented. They question what purpose or goal my current or planned activity serves.
Personally, I suspect that the distinction in common usage isn't as clear-cut as the Duden definition might suggest. Particularly in Switzerland, people rarely ask " Wofür" or "Wozu," as these interrogative pronouns don't exist in Swiss German. This, in turn, means that the interpretation of the question "Warum" also depends on a person's cultural background.
What do we need this for?
In my roles, I strive to understand the connections between things. As a business analyst, when I receive a requirement, I want to know why that particular stakeholder is raising that specific requirement and why it's so important. As a product owner, when I'm working with the team on the product vision or features, we want to determine the purpose for which we're building the product or feature. What goals do the users or buyers of the product have, and how do we support them in achieving those goals?
If I only why" , I risk merely looking to the past. Or putting people in a justification mode ("Why are we building this feature (and not another one)?").
When I also ask about the "why" or "what for ," further perspectives open up. I can recognize the higher purpose my work, a feature, or a product serves. It helps me understand the connections. And when I understand where things are headed, I can plan the route accordingly. Or, as I summarize it in my Infometis motto:
"Understanding creates value."
Yours sincerely, Benjamin Wyss
Thanksgiving:
Many thanks, Bernhard Fuchs, for your incredibly valuable review!
