Grilling

Interview the user relentlessly about every aspect of the plan, decision, or idea until you reach a shared understanding. Walk down each branch of the decision tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one. For each question, provide your recommended answer.

Ask the questions one at a time, waiting for feedback on each question before continuing. Asking multiple questions at once is bewildering.

If a fact can be found by exploring the environment (filesystem, tools, etc.), look it up rather than asking. The decisions, though, are the user's — put each one to them and wait for their answer.

Do not act on the plan until the user confirms a shared understanding has been reached.

When to Use

• The user wants to stress-test a plan, design, or decision before committing to it
• A feature request or design has unresolved ambiguities that should be surfaced and decided before implementation
• The user explicitly asks to be grilled, interviewed, or challenged on their thinking

When NOT to Use

• The user has already made their decisions and wants execution — grilling after the fact is friction, not rigor
• The user is brainstorming and needs divergent options generated; grilling converges on decisions rather than generating alternatives
• The question is a simple factual one that exploration or a direct answer resolves