Here are some questions to ask to uncover the origin of work.
- Who came up with the idea for the work?
- Who are the stakeholders involved?
- Who is the decision maker for the work?
- What does the work solve, improve, answer, or innovate?
- Why this idea?
Digging Deeper
Asking where the idea for work originated is a healthy way to dig into why the idea exists. There are many ways the idea can emerge; for example, sometimes it’s from an observation, sometimes it comes from a feeling, and sometimes an idea emerges because of a reaction to a specific piece of data. Asking where an idea began can help a team understand the importance, urgency, history, or context of a problem, and that can help drive the direction of research.
There are many ways to investigate the origin of work. The most direct way is to ask the person who presents the idea where the idea originated. Other ways of investigating the origin include doing some form of root cause analysis by using an existing method like “the 5 why’s” method.
