--- title: "Ask First, Code Later: The single, most important question" url: https://daily.dev/posts/ask-first-code-later-the-single-most-important-question-3oqgaqgc0 source_url: https://strategizeyourcareer.com/p/ask-first-code-later type: article source: "Substack" published: 2024-08-13T03:53:51.141Z updated: 2024-11-08T09:42:14.891Z tags: ["project-management"] reading_time: 3 upvotes: 429 comments: 15 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Ask First, Code Later: The single, most important question **[Substack](https://daily.dev/sources/substack)** · 3 min read · 429 upvotes · 15 comments ## Summary Developers should question project requirements rather than blindly implementing them. By asking 'why' and engaging in early discussions, they can uncover the true reasons behind requests, thereby leading to better solutions. Collaborative conversations during the requirement phase help address corner cases and find optimal solutions. It's a reminder that questioning and peer-reviewing requirements can lead to more efficient and effective outcomes. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@matthewtmeloney** · 15 upvotes > Communication is highly underrated in today's labor force. The amount of wasted time and poor solutions that come out of lack of collaboration is astonishing! **@amantereale** · 4 upvotes > Great post. Short, straight to the point, invaluable pro tip. It's often the case that stakeholders think they know the solution to a problem but they don't have the experience to look at all available options. Additionally, engineers have more knowledge of the system's inner workings that can lead to interesting solutions that the stakeholder is unaware of. > > Don't just be a programmer. Being a software engineer is not only about coding. Coding is easy. It's also about problem solving so it should be your responsibility to come up with alternative solutions to problems, and the stakeholder's... **@fjonan** · 3 upvotes > The root of sooooo many problems. **@shanithakur** · 1 upvotes > Doesn't work on small service based company and client is god **@jessehughes** · 1 upvotes > Clearly communicating to the customer the cost of their requirements and the cost of change (aka fixes) is a helpful step to ensure expectations are met. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Don’t just attend KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon, Merge Forward your experience\!](https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-just-attend-kubecon-cloudnativecon-merge-forward-your-experience--l0rpp73x8) · CNCF · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Announcing H2 2026 KCDs](https://daily.dev/posts/announcing-h2-2026-kcds-m96goajm1) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Two months of Open Community Groups](https://daily.dev/posts/two-months-of-open-community-groups-asf52zhbs) · CNCF · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#project-management](https://daily.dev/tags/project-management) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/ask-first-code-later-the-single-most-important-question-3oqgaqgc0)