Smart Questions, Good Answers
08 Sep 2022Reflect on smart questions?
The ability to effectively communicate is the most important of all life skills. Having strong communication skills benefits us in many areas of our lives, from our professional to our personal lives, and everything in between. It enables others to accurately understand us and vice versa, as well as receive clear answers. Communication is one of the most important skills to develop as a software engineer, and by asking questions in the “smart way,” software engineers will be able to succeed in their work in the long run.
StackOverflow?
Stack Overflow is a public question and answer site for “professional and enthusiast programmers”. It features questions and answers on a wide range of topics in computer programming. In general, it allows people and programmers alike to be able to ask questions and receive answers from a wide range of people. By asking questions the ‘smart way’, the questions lead to both efficient and effective help. But, by asking questions the ‘not smart way’, the questions do not lead to efficient and effective help. There lacks communication between the person asking and the people trying to answer the question. It may make the question more confusing, and probably result in no answers. To help me form a deeper understanding of what constitutes ‘smart’ and ‘not smart’ questions, I have searched in StackOverflow demonstrating both and seeing how much more or less effective and efficient the answers are.
The ‘Smart Way’
Here is the link to a question that I searched in StackOverflow submitted by a developer that demonstrates the ‘smart way’. I think this post is a good example of asking a question the ‘smart way’. First, the developer mentions the programming language that their code is in. It allows the community who knows the language to answer the question. Then, the developer mentions the problem they are experiencing. They also include the code, and explicitly tell the community what’s going on. Based on my observations, the question is precise and informative. Since the question was informative, the answer given was also informative. They were specific and explained what happened, and were able to give examples to further their understanding. By asking questions the ‘smart way’, it also helps other people with similar questions.
The ‘Not Smart Way’
Here’s a link to a StackOverflow question submitted by a developer that demonstrates the ‘not smart way.’ This post, I believe, is an example of a ‘not smart’ question. One of the red flags I noticed in this question is the word “urgent.” It can be counter-productive to claim urgency. It feels rushed, and the question is unlikely to be answered on time. Another thing I noticed about this post is that it isn’t written in clear, grammatical, and correctly spelled English. It makes the question difficult to understand; the question appears sloppy and unworthy of the time spent answering it.
I learned what to do and what not to do when asking questions as a result of this experience. If I want a precise and informative response, I must be precise and informative in my question, as well as descriptive. Overall, asking questions in the smart way will help me succeed as a software engineer and get the assistance I require.