Instead of asking “Why is it X” where X={slow, late, taking so long, unclear}, consider rephrasing as “What would it take to be Y?” where Y={faster, early, done sooner, more clear} .
The former invites defensiveness, counter factuals, anecdotes, and even if it could be answered, would still mean X is true. Sharp end of the work team members are particularly exposed to this form of questioning.
Invite constructive, solution-focused dialogue about how to get from X to Y. It’s likely you’ll surface information about X while people are discussing how to achieve Y.
How it started: “Why is the build slow?”
How it could go: “What is something we could do to make the build faster?”