grilling

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