Availability Guide for Problem Management

Recovering From Unplanned Outages
Availability Guide for Problem Management–125509
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Step 3—Identifying the Cause and Developing and
Implementing a Solution
Step 3—Identifying the Cause and Developing and
Implementing a Solution
Using the information obtained from the problem-reporting and outage logs, you can
speculate about what caused the problem, and you can develop and implement a
solution. The following paragraphs provide guidelines for identifying the cause of a
problem, using Tandem tools for problem analysis, and developing and implementing a
solution.
Identifying the Cause
Identifying the cause of a problem involves the following three tasks:
1. Listing the possible causes. Using your own knowledge and experience, facts about
the situation, and facts about the problem, generate a list of possible causes.
2. Identifying the most likely cause. To evaluate the possible causes, compare each
possible cause with the problem symptoms. The most likely cause is the one that
best explains all of the problem symptoms.
3. Verifying the cause. After identifying the most likely cause for the problem, verify
that it is indeed the cause.
Problem-Solving Worksheet
Using a problem-solving worksheet, such as the one illustrated in Figure 3-4, can help
you identify and verify the cause by applying a systematic approach. You can use such a
worksheet to:
•
List the facts about a problem
•
List possible causes
•
Determine the cause and develop a solution
•
Make any appropriate escalation decisions
•
Focus on prevention
In this matrix-style worksheet, the Problem Facts are listed by row on the left-hand
side, and the Possible Causes are listed as column headings. You indicate whether the
cause in question could have produced the problem symptoms listed on the left by
entering “yes” or “no” in the appropriate column. If the cause could explain the
problem symptoms, but the relationship seems unlikely, enter a question mark (?). The
most likely cause is the one that best explains all of the facts (the one with a “yes” in
each column).