Availability Guide for Problem Management

Recovering From Unplanned Outages
Availability Guide for Problem Management–125509
3-19
Step 4—Escalating the Problem
Step 4—Escalating the Problem
Some problems are simple and can be resolved by the person who reports the problem.
Other problems must be forwarded or escalated to more knowledgeable personnel for
resolution. At each step in the problem-solving process, you must decide whether you
should proceed or get help.
Deciding Whether to Escalate the Problem
Asking the following questions can help you decide whether to escalate the problem:
•
Do I have the authority to resolve this kind of problem?
•
Do I have the necessary knowledge?
•
Do I have the skill?
•
Do I have the time?
•
What other parties should be involved?
•
Who needs to be kept informed concerning problem status?
Most problems can be resolved within your company; others may require Tandem
support. The following paragraphs provide guidelines for establishing in-company
escalation procedures, and describe how Tandem can help you resolve problems.
Developing Internal Escalation Procedures
Problem escalation procedures help you ensure that problems are escalated to the correct
people and in a timely manner. When developing problem escalation procedures,
consider the following:
•
Easy-to-fix problems should be solved by the lowest level of support; for example,
by a help-desk operator or entry-level computer operator. More complex problems
should be solved by higher-level support. Assigning the majority of problems to
entry-level operators frees up more senior personnel for other tasks. For example,
you might divide your staff’s problem-resolution duties as follows:
•
Entry-level support should resolve at least 80 percent of all problems.
•
Intermediate-level support should resolve no more than 15 percent of all
problems.
•
Senior-level support should resolve no more than 5 percent of all problems.
Senior-level staff can help ensure that problems are resolved at a lower level by:
•
Reviewing applications to ensure that the applications are easy to manage
•
Providing automated procedures for problem resolution
•
Each level of support should have a specific amount of time in which to solve
problems. For example, entry-level computer operators might be expected to spend
no more than ten minutes on a problem. If they are unable to resolve the problem in
ten minutes, they should escalate the problem to an intermediate-level operator. The
intermediate-level operator might be expected work on a problem for one hour
before escalating the problem to senior-level support, and so on.