Troubleshooting 101:Effective Information

Gathering

Martha Lundgren

Texas Association of School Boards

Copyright 2005, Texas Association of School Boards

Troubleshooting

“. . . the process of replacing probability with certainty.”

Robert F. MagerTroubleshooting the Troubleshooting Course

Effective Information Gathering:

The Three Step Process

1. Collect information

2. Develop the problem statement

3. Prioritize the problem

Collect Information – 5 Key Questions

• Who?

• What?

• When?

• Where?

• How?

Collect Information – Who?

• Identify the user – name, organization, phone number, e-mail address

• Is the user an intermediary?

• One or many experiencing the problem?

• Technically savvy user?

Collect Information – What?

• Record the details in incident management system.

• Get specific.

• What version of what program?

• Machine type, o/s, etc.

• What function is the user trying to perform?

Collect Information – What?

• What is happening? – How long does it take?

• What is on the screen?– Is there an error message?

• What isn’t happening?

• Can the user perform similar tasks in other programs?

Collect Information – What?

• “How do I . . .?” questions vs. “It’s not working . . .” issues

• What is the question behind the question?

Collect Information – When?

• When did it start?• When does it happen?• Is there a pattern to its occurrences?• What changed?

– New/different computer?– New software installed?– New o/s?– Changes to your network?

• When do you need this by?

Collect Information – Where?

• “Any machine no matter who’s logged on.”

• “Only my machine no matter who’s logged on.”

• “On any machine but only when I log on.”

• “Only my machine and only when I’m logged on.”

• “At the office but not when I work at home.”

Collect Information – How?

• Can the user make it happen again?• Can you reproduce the problem in

the support center?• Document the steps to recreate the

problem.– Is the user following proper procedure?

• Reproducible vs. Intermittent problems

Sometimes it’s not what you ask but how you ask it

Avoiding defensiveness

• Don’t rush it

• Open vs closed questions

• The “why” word

• Is an apology in order?

Develop Problem Statement

• State the problem as you understand it.

• Does user agree the problem statement is accurate?

• Does user add new, relevant or clarifying details?

• Restate the problem.

Prioritize the Problem

• Determine impact and severity.– Does it affect one person or many?– Is a high-value transaction at stake?– Is a high-value account at stake?

• How does it compare with other open incidents?

• Do you and the user agree on timeframe to resolve or follow up?

• When do you need this by?

Case Study

• Who?

• What?

• When?

• Where?

• How?

• Restate the problem

• Prioritize the problem

Thank you for attending Troubleshooting 101:Effective Information

Gathering.

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