>Spending more time investigating and figuring out why something is needed ~is this actually valuable~ is worth way more in the long run than solving useless problems.<p>I tried doing this a few times. It's hopeless. Responses to questions range from "I don't know, I was just told" to "Let me get back to you", with the occasional impression that the person being asked is thinking "Why is the worker thinking about the task instead of doing it".<p>I've come to the conclusion that it's easier to just do the task and leave the why of it to the people who are supposedly paid to worry about that.