The ASK process is never finished. Reflecting, rethinking, and reformulating problems and opportunities are constant activities of designed leadership. In summary, the Ask part of ASK, TRY, DO is about exploration and discovery. It's the research piece of the process. And it happens throughout the strategic design method-you will return to ASK frequently as you evaluate your problem definition and find new questions that need answers.

 

Here are some of the techniques that can be used in Ask:

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• Using Ask words such as "unpack, "observe,", "form insights"

• Using questioning words such as "why," "what," "when," "how," "who," "where,"

• List-making: inventorying what we know and what we don't know

• Observation, ethnography (understanding how people behave in their cultures), interviews, focus groups

• Visual recording: making visual notes, recording observations and patterns

• Practicing empathy: understanding the lives of others

• Developing criteria, both mandatory and desired. What is a successful solution?

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Design leadership (2017), Moura Quayle.