I keep six honest serving-men
They taught me all I knew;
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
Rudyard Kipling
Six Questions is one of the most general while most effective analytical techniques. The method is also known as Five Ws and one H, Six Ws or Six Servants.
With a little exaggeration it can be said that it is about asking the essential “kids” questions - who, what, where, when, how and why - relating to a particular topic.
There are several variations of the questions formulations - for example:
- Who - determination of concerned subjects
- What - determination of concerned objects, things, entities, etc.
- When - determination of temporal aspects
- Where - spatial localization of the problem, spatial aspects
- How - determination of events, processes, mechanisms, methods of operation, etc.
- Why - determination of causes, reasons, purposes, etc.
Another alternative:
- What is and what is not a problem?
- When does the problem occur and when doesn’t?
- Why does the problem occur and why doesn’t?
- Where does the problem occur and where doesn’t?
- Who causes the problem and who contributes to its solution?
- How do we know that the problem occurred and how do we know that it did not occur?
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