Troubleshooting Skills for Technical Professionals

2.10

Troubleshooting Skills for Technical Professionals

©1996 Global System Services Corporation (GSS)

I. The Technical Solution Delivery Process: Providing Strategic Value to Customers

A. Solution Delivery Process Overview

Scope of Solution Delivery Activities

The Prime Directive

Continuous Process Improvement and Strategic Value

The Customer Solution Engineering Function

B. Cost and Quality of Technical Solution Delivery

Secondary Costs and What Customer Want

Cost in Human Resources

Cost in Employee Morale

Political Cost

Cost in Job Performance

Cost of Poor-Quality Solutions

Solution Quality and Cost: Quantity Vs. Quality

C. Quality Basics

Timeliness and Time Management

Time Management

Following Through

Following Up

Timely Solutions

Technical Accuracy

Accuracy

Systems Approach

D. Beyond the Basics: Building Strategic Value for Customers

Developing Customer Rapport

Listening to Customers

Acknowledging the Customer's Reality

Using Follow Up Calls

Making Other Suggestions

Building Continuity

Engineering Review

Audit Trails

The Customer is Your Resource

II. Problem Solving and the Solution Design Process

A. Overview of Troubleshooting and Solution Design

Troubleshooting Styles

The Top-Down Approach (Induction)

The Bottom Up Approach (Deduction)

The Watermark: Importance of Scientific Methodology

Informational and How-To Issues Not Discussed

General Troubleshooting Considerations

Understanding problems not symptoms

Identifying Causes

Definition of Good Troubleshooting

Asking the Right Questions

B. Top-Down Methodology (The Administrator's Method)

Application Configuration Issues and Work-Arounds
Strategy: Isolate Problems in a System
Advantages: Extremely Efficient in Simpler Problem Scenarios
Limitations: Causes of Problems May Not be Discovered

1. Problem Definition

Data Collection

Troubleshooting Methods

High-Level Isolation Testing

Modeling and Testing

Prerequisites

What the Components Are NOT How They Work

How System Components Fit Together (Configuration)

How Components are Used

What can be Determined from Prerequisites

Incorrect Use

Defective or Misconfigured Components

C. Logic, Scientific Methodology, and Human Judgment

Selecting an Approach to a Problem

Forms of Reasoning

Logic is a Machine

Induction and Inference

Deduction and Hypothetico-Deductive Method (Holmes)

Analogy (transposition)

Heuristic

Creativity

Selecting Forms of Reasoning

D. Bottom-Up Troubleshooting Methodology (The Engineer's Method)

Application: Complex System Problems and Debugging
Strategy: Determine and Analyze Exact Problem
Advantages: Can Resolve Complex and Low-Level Problems
Limitations: Very Inefficient in Simpler Problem Scenarios

Problem Definition

Clarifying Symptoms

Data Collection and Detail Level Determination

Problem Representation

Filtering, Logical Verification, and Relevant Extension

Confirming Problem Representation

Assessment of Resources for Solution Design

Analysis and Problem Determination

Solution Design

Prerequisites

What the Components are AND How They Work

How System Components Fit Together AND Interact

How Components are AND Should be Used

What can be Determined from Prerequisites

Incorrect Use

Misconfigured Components

What is Wrong with Defective Components

System Design Flaws

Some Performance and Compatibility Issues

Problems in the Interaction of System Components

E. Common Troubleshooting Problems and Issues

• Incorrect Troubleshooting Method Applied
• Appropriate Form of Reasoning Applied
• Bias of Expertise and Assumption of Unverified Data
  • Don't Assume You Know More than the Customer
• Incorrect Problem Definition
• Incomplete Data Collection
• Inaccurate Problem Representation
• Incorrect Data Filtering (Lack of Background Knowledge)
• Failure of Data Verification
• Failure of Relevant Data Set Extension
• Failure to Confirm Problem Representation
• Failure to Recognize Inadequate Resources
• Failures of Problem Determination
  

F. Other Issues in Troubleshooting

Data Collection Revisited

Dealing with Preconceptions of Problems and Solutions

Remember, the Customer is Always Right

The Right Questions

Where Does a Process Fail?

What is the Process Doing?

What is the Process Interacting With?

What Information Exists at that Point?

Can the Problem Be Reproduced?

Questions Must be Exact

2. Uncovering Horror Stories

Checking the Audit Trail of a Problem

Don't Assume that Past Steps Made Sense

About GSS

Global System Services Corporation (GSS) is the leading provider of consulting and professional services for large-scale and distributed infrastructure systems such as email and messaging, directory services, groupware, and wireless solutions. GSS customers include Fortune 500 companies, large services providers and telecom companies, government agencies, major messaging product vendors, and innovative technology startups.

GSS provides a complementary suite of services including strategic technology consultation and competitive vendor and product analysis, product and system architecture and design, system development deployment, customization, and testing, technical support, email migration, and other IT services. GSS has been directly responsible for some of the largest global systems and solutions and counts as customers many of the largest companies in the world.

From its offices in the Silicon Valley California, GSS delivers services and solutions to customers worldwide through a network of mobile consultants and qualified GSS Affiliates. With industry certified professionals on staff, GSS is a Qualified Lotus Business Partner, a Certified Microsoft Solution Provider (MCSP), a Principal Partner in the Sun Partner Advantage program and a member of the Sun Software Partner Council, as well as a member of key industry organizations.

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©1995-2005 by Global System Services Corporation (GSS). Portions of this material are copyright ©1995-1999 by Ron Herardian