What is the XY problem?
The XY problem is asking about your attempted solution rather than your actual problem . This leads to wasted time and energy for both the people asking for help and those providing help.
- User wants to do X.
- User doesn't know how to do X, but thinks they can fumble their way to a solution by doing Y.
- User doesn't know how to do Y either.
- User asks for help with Y.
- Others try to help with Y, but are confused because Y seems like a strange problem to solve.
- Finally, after much interaction, it becomes clear that the user really wants help with X, and that Y wasn't even a suitable solution for X.
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