Technique 1.2: Seek to Understand What We Collectively Know

At an organizational level, this technique is a major way we benefit from the collective experience that is captured in the system.

Someone else may be actively working on the same or a related issue. This is the value of capturing Work In Progress so it is visible to all who work in a given domain (More on this in KCS Article State.) 

Search early and often, but not forever. Stop searching when the search has been refined a few times, the description of the issues is complete, and we have collected enough characteristics about the environment that are likely to be relevant. If at this point the search response is not providing anything of value, move to the diagnosis phase of issue resolution.

Searching is a skill that knowledge workers must develop in the context of the environment in which they are working and the tools they are using. Generally, the more context we provide in our search query, the better the search results. Correct searching and making the judgment on when to stop searching is one of the skills KCS Coaches may focus on.

We seek to understand before we seek to solve.