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Problem Management

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GoalPrimary Objective

To minimise the adverse effecton thebusiness of Incidents and Problems causedby errors in the infrastructure and toproactivelyprevent the occurrence of

Incidents, Problems and Errors

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Why Problem Management

Resolve Problems quickly and effectively

Ensure resources are prioritisedtoresolve Problems

Proactivelyidentify and resolve Problems

and Known Errors thus minimisingIncident occurrence/ recurrence

Improve the productivity of support staff

Problems & Known Errors

A Problemis the unknown underlying cause of one ormore Incidents. It will become a Known Errorwhen theroot causeis known and a temporarywork around or a

permanentalternative has been identified

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Service DeskIMPM (PC) (EC) - CM

User

Incident

DB

Problem

DB

Known Error

DB

Business Caseto FIX

Raise

RFC

ERROR CONTROL

PRO

BLEMCONTROL

Known Error

One or More Incidents with

Unknown Underlyingcause

Root CauseKnown and Temp or PermFix found

STOP

NO

YES

Change Management

RRS

Incident

PM

PM

PM

SD/IM

IM

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Activities

Problem Control

Error Control

Major Incident Support

Management Information

Major Problem Reviews

ProactiveProblem Prevention

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Proactive Activities

Trend Analysis Post-Change occurrence of particular Problems

Recurring Problems per type or per component

Training, documentation issues

Preventative Action Raising RFC to prevent occurrence/recurrence

Initiate education and training

Ensure adherence to procedures

Initiate process improvement

Provide feedbackto testing, training anddocumentation

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Benefits

Reduction in volume of Incidents

Improved IT service quality

Better first time fix rate at service desk

Permanent solutions

Improved organisation learning andawareness

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Exam Tips

Unknown Underlying cause

Root Cause with workaround

Error Control

Problem Control

PM

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Exam Question

What is the difference between a Problemand a Known Error?

A A Known Error is always the result of an

incident, a Problem is notB There is no real difference between aProblem and a Known Error

C In the case of a Known Error there is a fault

in the IT infrastructure, with a Problem thereis notDIn the case of a Known Error the underlying

cause of the Problem is known

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A company has received messages concerning errors in the dailybatch run which handles the ordering of raw materials for the

manufacturing process. This is probably due to an incorrect changein the software. The change involved extending the stock numberfield by two positions. This change was also introduced in a monthlyprogram that has not yet been run. The situation needs to becorrected very quickly to avoid affecting manufacturing. What is thebest possible solution to be adopted by Problem Management whenhandling the error?

A The errors are reported and because the underlying cause is known,handled by Change Management as a Request for Change with thestatus of urgent change

B The errors are reported as problems at the Service Desk andbecause manufacturing is involved, are directly introduced as

ChangesC The errors are reported as Incidents to the Service Desk and aftersome research they are identified as Known Errors, which can thenbe changed

D The errors are reported as Incidents and a Problem is identified. Afterthe cause of the error has been established and a temporaryworkaround found, it is labelled as a Known Error that can be

corrected by raising a Request for Change

Exam Question