Art of Posting Answers

There is an art and science to answering a question properly. The best answers address both questions that were asked and those that should have been. In answering questions in a community space, it is important to consider that you are providing guidance not only to the current questioner, but to all those who will have similar questions in the future. You will earn your reputation among generations unhired if you can follow good form in responding to today's questions. Here are some of the key concepts to keep in mind when responding to technical questions:

• A concise summary of what elements of the question are relevant to the problem– what did you consider in determining the response?
  
• A detailed description of the approach to the problem– what thinking went into your response?
  
• A detailed diagnosis of the ISSUE with the originally intended solution—why is the approach failing?
  
• A detailed description of how you would addressed the solution technically – what is your approach to the solution?
  
• A detailed list of what other things to try in debugging the problem further—what would you have done before asking the question?
  

It is fair game to ask additional questions. In doing so, provide some rationale for those questions. Engage the person with the problem to help solve their own quandary and arm the next generation with a list of questions that they should address for their own questions.

Provide enough detail so that the response will stand on it's own, but also refer to key sources for background information. Helping the community find their own answers is more important than answering specific questions. Use links, search terms, or other keyword references to PRPC online help, PDN, KR SharePoint, Pegatricks.com, or Google.

Happy answering.