professor Messer - how to troubleshoot

Question 1

How to troubleshoot steps

Answer 1

identify the problem
establish a theory
test the theory
evaluate results: is working
establish a plan of action 
implement the plan
verify full system functionality
document findings

Question 2

_ is
• Change control
• A formal process for managing change
• Avoid downtime, confusion, and mistakes
• Corporate policy and procedures
• Nothing changes without the process
• Plan for a change
• Estimate the risk associated with the change
• Have a recovery plan if the change doesn’t work
• Test before making the change
• Document all of this and get approval
• Make the change

Answer 2

Change management

Question 3

_ is
• Information gathering
• Get as many details as possible
• Duplicate the issue, if possible
• Identify symptoms - May be more than a single symptom
• Question users - Your best source of details
• Determine if anything has changed
• Who’s in the wiring closet?
• Approach multiple problems individually
• Break problems into smaller pieces
• Backup everything
• You’re going to make some changes
• You should always have a rollback plan
• What else has changed?
• The user may not be aware
• Environmental changes
• Infrastructure changes
• There may be some clues - Check OS log files
• Applications may have log information

Answer 3

identify the problem

Question 4

\_\_\_ is
• Start with the obvious
   • Occam’s razor applies
• Consider everything
   • Even the not-so-obvious
• Make a list of all possible causes
   • Start with the easy theories
   • And the least difficult to test
• Research the symptoms
   • Internal knowledgebase
   • Google searches

Answer 4

establish a theory

Question 5

\_\_ is 
• Confirm the theory
   • Determine next steps to resolve problem
• Theory didn’t work?
   • Re-establish new theory or escalate
   • Call an expert
• The theory worked!
   • Make a plan…

Answer 5

test the theory

Question 6

\_\_\_ is
• Build the plan
   • Correct the issue with a minimum of impact
   • Some issues can’t be resolved
   during production hours
• Identify potential effects
   • Every plan can go bad
   • Have a plan B
   • And a plan C

Answer 6

create a plan of action

Question 7

\_\_ is 
• Fix the issue
   • Implement during the change control window
• Escalate as necessary
   • You may need help from a 3rd party

Answer 7

implement the solution

Question 8

___ is
• It’s not fixed until it’s really fixed
• The test should be part of your plan
• Have your customer confirm the fix
• Implement preventative measures
• Let’s avoid this issue in the future

Answer 8

verify full system functionality

Question 9

\_\_ is 
• It’s not over until you build the knowledge base
   • Don’t lose valuable knowledge!
• What action did you take?
   • What outcome did it have?
• Consider a formal database
   • Help desk case notes
   • Searchable database

Answer 9

document findings