Check every important message for SCQA
Before sending any important communication, apply the SCQA test—verify the message includes Situation (what reader knows), Complication (what changed), Question (what this raises), and Answer (your point)—adding any missing layer before transmission.
When This Fires
- Before sending emails, Slack messages, or documents that inform decisions
- When preparing presentations, reports, or proposals
- Before any communication where being understood correctly matters
- When a draft message feels "right" but you want to verify it's structurally complete
Common Failure Mode
Leading with the Answer because you already know the context: "We should switch to PostgreSQL." The reader, who doesn't share your context, asks "Why?" Adding SCQA: "Our current database handles 10K daily queries (Situation). Traffic grew to 50K and response times tripled (Complication). How do we restore performance without rebuilding the application? (Question). Migrate to PostgreSQL, which handles our query patterns 5x more efficiently (Answer)." Same recommendation, entirely different comprehension.
The Protocol
Before sending important communications: (1) Scan for four elements: S (what does the reader already know?), C (what changed?), Q (what does this raise?), A (what's your point?). (2) If any element is missing → add it. Most commonly missing: Situation (you assumed shared context) and Complication (you jumped to the answer). (3) Verify the order: S before C before Q before A. The reader needs to be oriented before they can understand the complication, and they need the complication before the answer makes sense.