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Question Ladder

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Question Ladder

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Question Ladder

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Question Ladder

Contents Question Ladder 1 When to use a question ladder 2 The question ladder approach

2.1 What do the questions mean? 3 The question ladder: a case study 4 Strengths and weaknesses of the question

ladder Summary Self-assessment questions End of Module Quiz References and acknowledgements




Question Ladder

Question LadderThis module will support your understanding and use of the

Question Ladder Tool from the DIY Toolkit. You should look at the

Question Ladder Template before working through the module.

You will find it helpful to have a print out of the Question Ladder

Template with you while you work through this module.

How do you know the right questions to ask to really get at the

information you need? It might sound simple, but focusing on what

you’re asking, and how, is essential for improving the quality of the

response. ‘Laddering’ is a technique that helps you to focus on a

certain topic by asking a series of questions about different

aspects related to that topic.

This module shows you how to employ this technique using the

Question Ladder Template, a simple tool that enables you to ask

‘good’ questions. (By ‘good questions’, we mean a set of questions

that are worth answering, and provide a framework for gathering

useful answers for action.)

Learning outcomesAfter studying this module, you should be able to:

describe when a question ladder is a useful and

appropriate tool (SAQ 1)Page 5 of 71 27th February 2018



http://diytoolkit.org/tools/question-ladder/

Question Ladder

understand the layout of the Question Ladder

Template and how it works (SAQ 2)

select the most relevant questions to challenge the

core issues of a problem or opportunity (SAQ 3)

explain the strengths and weaknesses of a question

ladder (SAQ 4).




Question Ladder

1 When to use a question ladderThe question ladder provides a comprehensive approach to

questioning an issue that you want to explore. It helps you get at

the answers that you did not know you needed, as well as those

that you know you need. It also gives you opportunities to ask the

same question in different ways, thereby cross-checking and

adding validity to the answers, and generating responses that

reveal different perspectives on the answer.

Donald Rumsfeld, a former US defence secretary, once said:

There are known knowns. These are things we know that we

know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things

that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown

unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.

(NATO, 2002)

Rumsfeld was ridiculed for this answer to a question about what

was known about terrorist threats (BBC, 2007). However, in our

context of considering the questions to ask, the question ladder

might also reveal ‘unknown unknowns’, generating questions that

we did not know would be useful.




Question Ladder

Figure 1: Donald Rumsfeld spoke of ‘unknown unknowns’

A question ladder is a structured and systematic approach to

questioning that enables you to explore an issue from a number of

angles. It allows you to approach your knowledge and information

needs differently. Rather than starting from ‘What do I need to

know?’, and thereby setting limits to what you can discover, the

question ladder opens the issue up, allowing you to gain new

knowledge and information from a variety of angles.

Key pointA question ladder is a structured and systematic approach to

questioning that enables you to explore an issue rigorously.

Activity 1Allow around 10 minutes for this activity




Question Ladder

Can you think of some situations in which a question ladder might

be useful to you? (One example might be preparing for a job

interview.) How have you prepared your questions before, and why

do you think the question ladder may tell you something different?

Make some notes in answer to this question in the text box below.

Provide your answer...

View discussion - Activity 1

The question ladder can be a tool to help you answer big issues,

perhaps even those that keep you awake at night. The question

ladder can:

help you understand your motives for wanting to solve

the issue

enable you to remove yourself from the issue, leading

to more objective insights

enable you to let go of favoured or learned responses

in order to understand different behaviours

help you see different ways of moving forward with the

issue.

Asking questions systematically should improve the quality of the

answers, and therefore the evidence upon which you plan action.




Question Ladder

2 The question ladder approachThe Question Ladder Template is a series of two sets of words

that are set out in a grid pattern. From top to bottom, running

vertically at the left of the grid, there are question words:

Who

What

Where

When

Why

How

These are sometimes called ‘the five Ws and H’. A useful way of

remembering these is Rudyard Kipling’s poem:

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

...

(Kipling, 1902)




Question Ladder

‘The five Ws and H’ are coupled with question words running

horizontally from left to right:

Is

Did

Can

Will

Would

Might

A useful way of remembering these is through a mnemonic. (A

‘mnemonic’ is a way of remembering a phrase or list of things

where the initial letter of each word is combined to form a phrase

or sentence.) I use the following:

In

Denmark

cats

will

whine

meow.




Question Ladder

Figure 2: Mnemonics can be a useful way of remembering things

It is slightly ridiculous of course, but just about makes sense. I

remember it because of those two characteristics; if it made

perfect sense or was total nonsense I doubt I would remember it.


Looking at the Question Ladder Template, consider the reasons

you have decided to study this module. Select three random cells Page 12 of 71 27th February 2018



Question Ladder

of the template and ask yourself the questions in the context of

your motivation for studying the module. Make some notes in

answer to these questions in the text box below.



2.1 What do the questions mean?When you start working through the Question Ladder Template,

you will notice that some cells in the grid are easier to complete

than others. Some will feel irrelevant or clunky, but you should still

have a go at filling them in as they will help ensure that you

explore the issue from all angles.

Once you have completed all the cells of the Question Ladder

Template, you can select the blend of questions that will enable

you to get the information and knowledge you need. You should

aim to build a chain of questions that gently leads you, or your

interviewee, into greater detail and complexity. This will provide a

convincing and robust body of evidence for a course of action. You

might not need to ask and answer all the questions that you

prepared.

You might notice that you have picked certain types of question

more than others. For example, you may find that the most useful




Question Ladder

question types for you are ‘Who’ or ‘Might’ questions, or perhaps

they are ‘How’ or ‘Could’ questions.

The frequency of the question types you select can tell you about

your concerns around the issue you are investigating. So, for

example, ‘Who’ questions suggest you are concerned about

responsibility. Look at Table 1 below to see what the different

types of question indicate.

Table 1 What do the question types indicate?

Question type

Concerns

Question type

Concerns

Who?

Responsibility

Is? Currently

What?

Focus

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Ability

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Question Ladder

n? ng ? vation

Why?

Rationale

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Possibility

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Logistics

Might?

Potential




Question Ladder

3 The question ladder: a case study

Figure 4: Margaret’s story

In the case study below, Margaret is a young entrepreneur in

Uganda who is thinking about a change to her social enterprise.

The Question Ladder Template is applied to the case study to

demonstrate its application.

Case Study 1: Margaret’s social enterpriseMargaret manages a small social enterprise making costume

jewellery from locally produced beads. The enterprise is two years

old, and is doing well. At the moment, Margaret employs ten Page 16 of 71 27th February 2018



Question Ladder

women who work from their own homes assembling the jewellery.

While this has worked well, there are limits on how much time the

women can give to making the jewellery because of their

household commitments. This is holding back expansion of the

social enterprise.

Margaret is wondering whether now is the time to seek premises

for production and to offer the women part-time or full-time

employment outside of the home. She has found a small factory

that would accommodate 25 workers. Margaret decides to

complete a Question Ladder Template to ensure she is

considering everything she needs to. She wants to be as prepared

as she can be; this is a big step for her, the workers and the social

enterprise.


a. Margaret has started to complete the question ladder

as it applies to her interest in moving the jewellery

social enterprise into factory premises. Fill in the

empty cells in the half-completed Question Ladder

Template below. (Hint: draw on the key aspects of the

case study, namely Margaret’s wish for factory




Question Ladder

premises, retaining existing workers and attracting

new workers).

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Question Ladder

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Question Ladder

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Question Ladder

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to Page 26 of 71 27th February 2018



Question Ladder

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Question Ladder

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View discussion - Untitled part

a. With all the cells of the Question Ladder Template

completed, Margaret can now select the most

important questions and seek the answers. From the

completed template, select the most important ten

questions for Margaret to seek answers to, and the

order in which you think she should ask and answer

them. Record your answers in the box below. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.Page 29 of 71 27th February 2018



Question Ladder

10.


a. In the box below, explain why you have made your

selection.






Question Ladder

4 Strengths and weaknesses of the question ladder

Figure 5: When you have completed the question ladder, you'll need to select

the most appropriate questions

The question ladder provides a structured and systematic

approach to building a series of questions, and this is its major

strength. Others include versatility (it can be applied to any

problem or opportunity), the simplicity of completing the template

by following the across-and-down approach, and how the

questioning gently becomes more complex – and contested – as

you move from left to right across the grid.




Question Ladder

However, the disadvantage is that while the question ladder helps

you to generate many different questions, some of these questions

will be redundant. You will generate questions that you never use,

which can be frustrating. In addition to this, while you select the

most appropriate questions to seek answers to, this does not

necessarily mean that you will be able to gain answers to them

and therefore there may be evidence gaps. While having good

questions increases the chances that you will gather robust

evidence, it does not guarantee it.

As a way of checking and critically reviewing the answers to the

questions, it might be helpful to use the DIY Toolkit Evidence Planning Tool. This will support you in re-examining ‘why you are

doing what you do,’ and whether your approach is the best it can

be. The tool is a quick way to help reconnect with the goal of your

work and improve the chances of realising it.


Reflect on a problem or opportunity of your own, either at home or

in the workplace, and complete a Question Ladder Template to

help you examine it in more detail. Once you have completed the

template, select the questions that you feel are the most relevant




http://diytoolkit.org/tools/evidence-planning-2/

http://diytoolkit.org/tools/evidence-planning-2/

Question Ladder

to your problem or opportunity. You can choose as many or as few

as you need.





Question Ladder

SummaryThis module has explained what a question ladder is and when it is

a useful and appropriate tool to use. It has described the layout of

the Question Ladder Template and how it works. The question

ladder was applied to a case study so you could see the practical

applications of the tool. This helped reveal the strengths and

weaknesses of a question ladder and enabled you to complete the

Question Ladder Template for a problem or opportunity you face.

It’s important to remember that a question ladder only helps you

ask the right questions and, as such, is one step in the wider

process of gathering and assessing information and evidence.




Question Ladder

Self-assessment questionsSAQ 1Fill the missing gaps in the sentences below, selecting from the

jumbled words.

Interactive content is not available in this format.

SAQ 2What are the two types of questions that are set out in a grid

pattern in the Question Ladder Template? Record your answers in

the box below.


View discussion - SAQ 2

SAQ 3In Activity 3, you were asked to select the ten best questions for

Margaret’s social enterprise.

a. Below is a grid for counting the frequency of question

types. I’ve completed it for my answers to Activity 3,

but not filled in the totals. Add up the frequency of

question types and complete the ‘Totals’ column and

row.




Question Ladder

Is Did

Can

Will

Would

Might

Total

Who

1 1 1 Provide your answer...

What

1 1 Provide your answer...

Where

1 Provide your answer...

When

Provide your answ




Question Ladder

er...

Why

1 Provide your answer...

How

1 1 1 Provide your answer...

Total








What were my most relevant question types to challenge Margaret

in changing the social enterprise? For example, were they largely

‘where’ or ‘why’ questions, ‘is’ or ‘might’ questions? Record your

answers in the box below.




Question Ladder



a. What does the frequency of question types tell you

about my concerns for Margaret’s social enterprise?Provide your answer...


SAQ 4Consider the following statements about the Question Ladder Tool

and decide whether they are a strength or weakness.

The question ladder:

a. is simple to use

Strength

Weakness

b. is frustrating

Strength

Weakness

c. is no guarantee of good answers




Question Ladder

Strength

Weakness

d. gently becomes more complex and contested

Strength

Weakness

e. has redundancy

Strength

Weakness

f. is structured and systematic

Strength

Weakness

g. doesn’t always bring answers

Strength

Weakness

h. is versatile.

StrengthPage 39 of 71 27th February 2018



Question Ladder

Weakness





Question Ladder

End of Module QuizCongratulations, you have now reached the end of this module!

We hope that you have enjoyed it, and have learned useful skills.

End of Module Quiz

This quiz allows you to work towards your badge for DIY Learn: Question Ladder. To achieve your badge, you must answer six

out of eight questions correctly.

You can try each question three times.

There is no limit to the number of attempts you can

have to take the whole quiz.

If you answer fewer than six questions correctly, you

will need to start again if you want to earn your badge.

Don’t worry if you are not successful first time, as you will be able

to attempt the quiz again in 24 hours.

You need to enrol in this course before you can attempt this quiz

which you can do by clicking on the Sign up / Sign in button at the

top of this page.

End of module quiz




http://www.open.edu/openlearnworks/mod/quiz/view.php?id=81122

Question Ladder

When you have finished the quiz, click on ‘Next’ to review your

‘Summary of attempt’. Once you are happy with your answers,

click ‘Submit all and finish’. Once you have finished this quiz you

will be redirected back to this page.

Don’t forget there are another nine modules to choose from which

you can find on the DIY Learn home page




http://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/course/index.php?categoryid=142

Question Ladder

References and acknowledgementsInspired by: Project Innovation (2012) Question. In: Social Innovation Toolkit.

This Module should be cited as follows:

DIY Learn (2016) Question Ladder, Copyright © The Open

University and Nesta

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated below, this

content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-

ShareAlike licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and

used under licence for this project, and not subject to the Creative

Commons Licence. This means that this material may only be

used un-adapted within the DIY Learn project and not in any

subsequent OER versions.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for

permission to reproduce the material in this module:

Figure 1: © Rexfeatures.com

BBC (2007) ‘What we know about 'unknown unknowns', BBC News, 30 November [Online] Available at




http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

http://www.socialinnovationtoolkit.com/question.html

http://www.socialinnovationtoolkit.com/question.html

Question Ladder

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7121136.stm

(Accessed 29 October 2015).

Kipling, R. (1902) ‘I keep six honest serving men ...’ The Kipling Society, [Online] Available at

www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_serving.htm (Accessed 30

October 2015).

Rumsfeld, D. (2002) Press Conference. NATO HQ (Brussels), 6

June [Online]. Available at:

www.nato.int/docu/speech/2002/s020606g.htm (Accessed

29 October 2015).

Return to the DIY Learn home page




http://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/course/index.php?categoryid=142

http://www.nato.int/docu/speech/2002/s020606g.htm

http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_serving.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7121136.stm

Question Ladder

Activity 1DiscussionYou might have chosen a job interview, preparation for an

important meeting that you were leading, preparing a project,

researching an academic problem, creating a survey, or other

similar examples. Essentially, a question ladder might be used

whenever you have an important issue to explore from different

angles.

Previously, you may have jotted questions down as you thought of

them. While this might work well enough most of the time, it is not

the most systematic approach. Using the framework of the

question ladder allows you to find comprehensive and detailed

answers to different questions.

Back to Session 1 Activity 1




Question Ladder

Activity 2DiscussionI don’t know what cells you selected and the questions you asked

yourself, but I randomly chose the following: ‘who is’, ‘why will’ and

‘how can’. Of course, my motivations are different to yours, but

these are my questions regarding writing this module.

Who is the audience I am writing this module for?

Why will they want to engage with this module?

How can they best use this module?

They are also shown in Figure 3 below.




Question Ladder

Figure 3: Using the template





Question Ladder

Activity 3Untitled partDiscussionBelow is a completed question ladder for Margaret’s wish to move

the social enterprise to factory premises. Your answers may not be

the same as mine, demonstrating the great variety of questions

that can be asked.

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Question Ladder

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Question Ladder

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Question Ladder

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Question Ladder

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oPage 57 of 71 27th February 2018



Question Ladder

ers?

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Question Ladder

actory currently used?

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Question Ladder

le

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You might feel that some of the questions are asking the same

thing. However, they might elicit different answers. For example,

'Where can the workers come from?' sounds the same as 'Where

would I look for new workers to expand my workforce?' However,

'Where can' is asking from how far away might women travel to

reach the factory; 'Where would' refers to where Margaret might

actively recruit new workers. This may be in a specific

neighbourhood where she knows there are the requisite skills.




Question Ladder

You may have struggled to answer the ‘would’ and ‘might’

questions, as these relate to an unknown future position, and

require you to make assumptions in order to make predictions.

Back to Session 3 Part 1




Question Ladder

Activity 3Untitled partDiscussionBelow are what I thought were the most important 10 questions for

Margaret to seek answers to:

1. Why is this factory suitable?

2. What will the critical factors be in securing the factory?

3. Who will compete to use the factory?

4. How will I pay the rent for this factory?

5. How can the social enterprise make best use of this

factory?

6. Who would be prepared to work in the factory from my

existing workers?

7. What might my existing workers feel about the factory?

8. Who might my new workers be?

9. Where would I look for new workers to expand my

workforce?

10. How might my existing workers train new

workers?





Question Ladder

Activity 3Untitled partDiscussionI thought these were the key questions that Margaret needed to

ask and answer to satisfy the different stakeholders involved in the

decision, namely the current factory owner, her existing workers

and potential new workers. The order was dictated by the

sequence of the case, as she needed to:

1. establish why this factory was suitable

2. determine how she would secure it

3. consider how she would build her workforce.

You may have chosen different key questions, but the sequence

should be similar to the above.





Question Ladder

Activity 4DiscussionI hope you found that you were able to complete most of the cells,

and then select the questions you felt were the most useful for

your problem or opportunity. The process itself might have brought

some revelations, and the completed template should help you see

where you need to gather more information in order to better

understand the issue.





Question Ladder

SAQ 2DiscussionThe question ladder is a series of two types of questions that are

set out in a grid pattern. From top to bottom, running vertically at

the left of the grid, there are the following questions:

What

Who

Where

When

Why

How

The ‘five Ws and H’ are coupled with questions running

horizontally from left to right beginning:

Is

Did

Can

Will

Would

Might.

A useful way of remembering these is through a mnemonic.




Question Ladder

Back to Session 6 SAQ 2




Question Ladder

Untitled partDiscussionYour completed grid should have looked like this.

Is Did

Can

Will

Would

Might

Total

Who

I I I 3

What

I I 2

Where

I 1

WhenWhy

I 1

How

I I I 3

Total

1 1 3 2 3

For the ten best questions I selected, the most popular types of

questions were:

Who

HowPage 67 of 71 27th February 2018



Question Ladder

Will

Might.





Question Ladder

Untitled partDiscussionThe frequency of question types suggests I am most concerned

about:

responsibility (who)

motivation (will)

logistics (how)

potential (might).

Considering the frequency of question types in this way exposes

the nature of your main concerns. If you found this question

difficult, you may wish to look at Section 2.1 again.





Question Ladder

Untitled partDiscussionThe strengths and weaknesses of the question ladder would look

like this if presented in a table:

Strengths

Weaknesses

Simple to use

Doesn’t always bring answers

Gently becomes mor

No guarantee of good




Question Ladder

e complex and contested

answers

Structured and systematic

Has redundancy

Versatile

Frustrating





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