| Question Type | Description | Business Analysis Use |
| Closed Questions | Questions where the answer is a Yes/No or a short fact. | These questions are useful when confirming requirements as well as collecting factual information such as name and address. |
| Open-Ended Questions
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Open-ended questions are meant to generate conversation without having a preconceived idea of where the conversation will go. | These questions are useful for gathering requirements or collaboratively brainstorming designs. |
| Probing Questions | Probing questions are focused questions with the intent of uncovering something specific. | Probing questions are useful when looking for the root cause of issues or other underlying causes. |
| Leading Questions | Leading questions are designed to take the conversation to a desired outcome. | In cases where stakeholders need a deeper understanding of a situation, a set of leading questions designed so the stakeholder comes to the desired conclusion can be effective. |
| Loaded Questions | Loaded questions are meant to trap a person into giving information they normally wouldn’t. | A good example of loaded questions is during the court scene in “A Few Good Men” |
| Narrowing Questions | Narrowing questions are a set of questions that become more and more specific | Narrowing questions are useful when narrowing down the options for a decision.
By being curious about a person and asking narrowing questions about one of their interests helps to build empathy |
| Memory Questions | Memory questions are for recalling specific facts. | These are straightforward questions to elicit specific knowledge. |
| Rhetorical Questions | Rhetorical questions are questions that don’t really require an answer. | Al questions can help to build agreement with people. They can be used as an icebreaker at the start of larger meetings such as “Isn’t it great that we get to work on this project?” |
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