First Principles

Metadata

• Author: untools.co
• Full Title: First Principles
• URL: https://untools.co/first-principles

Highlights

First principle is a basic principle or truth that cannot be broken down any further. First-principles thinking is about digging deeper until you arrive at the very foundations of a problem (View Highlight)

The Five Whys This is a popular technique in user research where a researcher digs deeper by repeatedly asking “why” questions. It enables you to discover the root causes of problems (View Highlight)

Socratic questioning A form of disciplined questioning that enables critical thinking. There are six types of questions you can ask to dig deeper for the fundamental truth: 1. Clarification – “What do you mean by…?” 2. Probing assumptions – “What could we assume instead?” 3. evidence – “Why do you think this is true?” 4. Implications and consequences – “What effect would that have?” 5. Different viewpoints – “What would be an alternative?” 6. Questioning the original question – “What was the point of this question?” (View Highlight)