Why did we put a light bulb there? What is the point of a light bulb? Where are we attempting to put light, exactly? Are people really asking for light here in the first place? Could this be more easily solved by simply cutting a hole in the ceiling and putting a skylight in there? Do we need light when it’s dark out?
Why did the light bulb fail? Don’t we have LED lighting now? You can just buy a light that lasts for 15,000 hours and be done with it, so if the light failed and it is LED, why? Faulty wiring? A power spike? Do we need to make a warranty claim? Do we need to open up the ceiling and figure out what happened? If the light isn’t LED, why do we have incandescent or CFL bulbs in the first place?
What was the temperature of the light? Why? What is the function of the space? Are we talking a nice cozy home, or an office, or a hospital? Or maybe it’s a design consultancy where we need fully neutral 5000K daylight bulbs everywhere, so people can make sure their colors render properly?
What is our prior knowledge of this light? What value are people getting from this light? Have we talked to anyone? Why not?
What is the fundamental purpose of adding light to a space? Now that we’ve gathered 500 post-it notes answering this question, what patterns are we seeing? What patterns apply to us?
What is the cost of human-made light? Is that worth it to us? What if we installed an elaborate system of mirrors to get the light from that light bulb over there into this part of the room?
Who stands to benefit from this light?
Can we prototype the light, instead? Plug something in, move it around, see what works best?
Why not just sit in the dark?