QAnon is designed to produce meaning. This is both true for the movement at large, as well as for the specific Drops themselves. I'm not saying the meaning is objectively correct, but the meaning subjectively exists.
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The entire point of conspiracy theories like QAnon is to empower the believer, by stating there is secret knowledge which can be used to simplify complex world events and explain why nothing is as random as it seems.
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This empowerment is a form of comfort: it takes the age-old question “why do bad things happen” and frames it in a way that places the blame squarely on the believer’s perceived ideological enemies.
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To that end, believers in QAnon have engaged in decoding as a social bonding activity since the movement first began to spread. Working together, Anons suggested different meanings and interpretations of whatever information they discovered and shared with each other.
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This sort of crowdsourcing has always been at the heart of QAnon and helped create extremely engaged, loyal followers.
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Decoding within QAnon is done chiefly for two reasons: 1) divining meaning from Q Drops and statements made by Donald Trump, to prove that the “good guys” are winning the overall war, that The Plan is real, and provide comfort that the Cabal is not a threat;
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and 2) divining meaning from Cabal comms, to outline the shape and size of the conspiracy, to prove that everything Anons already believe about the enemy is correct, and to show that the Cabal is in retreat.
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Remember this above all:

The purpose of decoding is to produce results that reaffirm for believers that Q has been giving meaningful information to them, and therefore, their beliefs are true.

All other concerns are secondary, which is why contradictions don't bother them.
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The tools and methods QAnon believers use to decode are quite varied and will be outlined below, but again, broadly fall into a few categories.
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Wordplay, scrambling letters, examining typos, and spotting coded messages in language choices;

Numerology, taking numbers and using transformative calculations; and

Symbolism, viewing images or parts of images that use coded visual language to convey hidden meaning.
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I should be clear that these methods aren’t exclusionary: instead, they are complimentary. The methods outlined here are often used in sequence, layered on top of one another, or repeated until a meaningful result is found.
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That is, after all, the goal of decoding: producing an outcome that appears to show that Q has been revealing meaningful information to Anons.
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Of course, to people outside the cult, decodes look patently ridiculous. Rearranging numbers until you can make a 17 out of them doesn't prove anything.

But that 17 fills the believer with comfort that this is real.
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If this decode were true, what would it mean?

Did Q arrange for Herman Cain to die on this specific day? Or does Q have a time machine to see the future but was unable to alter events?

It doesn't matter: believers simply want to feel Q's presence in all things.
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Whether we will see these techniques continue to flourish in QAnon now that the movement has been driven from social media and disappointed by Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss is uncertain.
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With no new Drops, and no new Trump tweets, two of the most stable sources of decoding content have dried up. Telegram is not suited to decodes because it's not a good platform for meaningful interaction.
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While I'm sure someone will continue analyzing the Halftime Show for Satanic influence, it's unclear if we will see QAnon resume the group bonding activity of decoding, or if the practice will wither on the vine without new material and a suitable platform.
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Now publicly viewable by everyone (ignore the text in the link, Patreon hasn't updated itself today), is a broad overview of the decoding methods Anons have used over the past 3 1/2 years to find meaning in QAnon.
18/17 https://www.patreon.com/posts/explainer-in-46893830