Problems

Last modified on 2023/03/07 16:52

Definition

A problem is a malfunctioning whose cause is unknown and for which there is no immediate or obvious solution.

It is usually opened after identical incidents have occurred for unknown reasons. It results in a diagnosis and investigation to find a workaround solution in order to restore the service as quickly as possible and to ensure that no incident occurs again.

EndDefinition

Each problem:

  • Is created as follows:
    • After several incidents display the same malfunctioning.
    • Individually to avoid potential incidents occurring.
  • Is associated with a catalog entry, through its category.
  • Is managed by the workflow of the category and generates actions.
  • Can lead to the creation of a known error once its cause is known.
  • Can generate a correction process through a change request to process and solve all linked incidents.
  • Is closed if it does not occur again (all linked incidents have been processed and no new incident can occur). It will remain available in the history of problems via a full text search.
     

Process for handling a problem. Open url.png  See the life cycle

  • The workflow starts once the questionnaire defined in the initial step, if any, is completed. This can be a standard or multi-section questionnaire.
  • It generates actions which can be manual actions or automatic actions. Open url.png See Action types.
  • Each time an action is performed, the status of the problem is updated and shows the progress of the process.
  • A history enables you to store a trace of each action performed.
  • At any time, the problem processing can be suspended due to events for which the IT team is not responsible.
  • Linked incidents can follow the progress of the problem.  Open url.png  See the procedure for managing several incidents.

Examples

  • Types of Hold actions:
    • User is absent
    • Repair not completed by the supplier
  • Several incidents involve the failure of certain laptop hard disks to start:

    1. Processing of incidents to avoid blocking user activity:

    • Change the hard disk on the relevant laptops.
    • Close the processed incidents.

    2. At the same time, create a problem and associate it with incidents:

    • Analyze the problem ==> after reproducing the problem, the Technical Support team concludes that the relevant hard disks are found in laptops from the Dell XXX series.
    • Create a known error indicating the workaround solution, i.e. change the hard disk for these laptops.

    3. Process the known error via a change request: 

    • For all laptops in the series whose incident linked to the problem is still open, the hard disk will be replaced.
    • As a preventive measure, all laptop hard disks of the series will be replaced even though they were not affected by the problem.

    4. Once the request has been processed:

    • Close the problem which will then disappear from the list of problems.
    • Close all linked incidents that are still open.
    • Close the known error which will then disappear from the known error knowledge base.
  • Several incidents involve an OS bug:

    1. Create a problem and associate it with incidents.

    2. Analyze the problem ==> after reproducing the problem, the bug is identified as deprecated and is no longer maintained by the publisher.

    3. Create a known error without a workaround solution describing it only as a deprecated bug.

    4. No change request is generated:

    • The problem is closed.
    • Linked incidents are closed.
    • The known error is closed and appears in the knowledge base.

Notes

  • A notification can be sent to Support persons, requestors and recipients of linked incidents to inform them that a solution to the problem has been found.
  • Once the workaround solution is applied and is used to process the linked incidents, the workflow of these incidents will proceed to the next step in the Action form > Related Incidents. Note: The status of the problem is not modified. Open url.png  See the procedure for processing several incidents.

Best Practice

Characteristics specific to versions 2016 and earlier

The Problem form in versions 2016 and earlier is different:

Menu access

Service Operation > Problems & Known Errors > Problems or Problems For My Groups

Description of tabs

         Problem.png

TabUpdateRules_After2016Versions

Create a new item Delete an item or association with a related item

Run the New wizard at the top of the tab

Fundamentals - Form - New wizard.png

Move the cursor over the corresponding item and click Trash icon.png

Fundamentals - Form - Delete wizard.png

Alphabetical order of the tabs

QuickAccess

Activity

Problem Description

DescriptionTab

Information on the current object, e.g. title and description, urgency and impact, equipment and service associated with the object.

  • Update: In this tab.

Timeline

ActivityTab

List of successive actions performed to process the current object displayed in a timeline. They can be actions linked to a step in the workflow (e.g. incident processing), to a task (e.g. reminder for user), to a problem that enabled the solution of the object, actions modifying the target resolution date, e.g. modification of the SLA.
         Action tab - Timeline.png

Representation Description
Timeline - Detail.png History of actions
  • The history is displayed in reverse chronological order.
  • To Do section: Actions to be performed.
  • Done section: Actions performed and completed.
    • A counter indicates you the number of actions.
    • Click the title of the section to display or hide the actions.
    • You can display the history in a timeline or in a table. Switch to the two modes using the Display as table icon.png and Display as timeline icon.png.
    • Note: You can change the information of a completed action. Open url.png See the procedure.
  • (1) Click the icon next to the action or click the label of the action to display its details in the sidebar pane.
  • (2) Move the cursor over the icon to display the type of action.
Timeline - Tools.png Different options allow to adjust the size of the timeline.
  • The Compact mode is used to not display actions associated with an action type whose Hidden in the Action History flag is checked. Otherwise all the actions will be displayed.
    • When you select this mode, the history counter indicates you the number of hidden actions.

      example 3 / 5 ==> It indicates than two actions are hidden.

    • When you do not select this mode, all the actions will be displayed. The history counter indicates you the total number of actions.
  • Plus icon.png: Used to expand the timeline and display each action fully.
  • Minus icon.png: Used to reduce the timeline.
Timeline - Action history as timeline.png History of actions in Timeline mode
  • Display as table icon.png: Used to return to the history in Table mode.
  • Edit icon.png: Used to open the form editor to select the fields displayed in the history.
  • (1) Click the icon next to the action or click the label of the action to display its details in the sidebar pane.
  • (2) Move the cursor over the icon to display the type of action.
  • (3) Move the cursor over the Action timeline - View description on hover icon.png icon to quick view of the contents in the Comment / Description / Solution field.
    • The icon is displayed only if the field contains content.
Timeline - Action history as table.png History of actions in Table mode
  • Display as timeline icon.png: Used to return to the history in Timeline mode.
  • Display as large table icon.png: Used to display the table of the history over the full width of the page. Click Display as large table icon.png to return to standard display.

    Display as large table.png

  • Display as high table icon.png: Used to display the table of the history over the full height of the tab. Click Display as large table icon.png to return to standard display.

    Display as high table.png

  • Edit icon.png: Used to open the form editor to select the fields displayed in the history.
  • (1) Click an action to display its details in the sidebar pane.
  • (2) Move the cursor over the Action timeline - View description on hover icon.png icon to quick view of the contents in the Comment / Description / Solution field.
    • The icon is displayed only if the field contains content.
Activity wizards.png Wizards
  • (1) Wizards that can be run outside the workflow are found at the top of the tab.

    example Create Task, Hold/Reopen

  • (2) Wizards specific to an action are found in the Wizards list icon.png list. The three most recently used wizards will appear as buttons, enabling you to access them quickly.

    example Process this Action, Notify Support Person, Create Related Action

Details

ObjectNumber

Number: Automatically generated number of the current object when it was created.

Best Practice icon.png  You can format the number via the Administration > Parameters > Auto-Inc Fields menu.

CreationDate

Creation Date: Creation date of the current object.

  • The date is used as the start date and time for calculating SLA maximum time.
  • This is displayed in the time zone of the recipient.
Status

Status: Current status of the current object, automatically updated via the steps of the workflow.

Best Practice icon.png  You can display the workflow associated with the current object by clicking ▼ next to the Status field. Next, click World icon.png Display Related Information. The current step will be highlighted in red.

Manager

Manager: Name of the main contact person for the current object. In general, it is the first person to handle the current object and decide on the outcome.

Priority

Priority: Level priority automatically calculated based on the urgency and impact of the current object.

Best Practice icon.png  You can use the priority to prioritize the processing of tickets with identical SLA target dates/times.

Category

Category: Catalog entry associated with the current object, used to run the relevant workflow.

Description

Description: Description of the current object.

Related Known Error: Title of the known error (question) associated with the problem.

HyperlinkDocument

Attachments: Used to attach a list of documents to the current object and access the files.

example Error log or screenshots

  • You can also access the documents in the Attachments tab.

Solution

SolutionTab

Set of information specified at the end of processing for the current object.

  • Update: When an action related to the current object is completed. You can also use the Close wizard.
     

List of fields

Duration

Elapsed Time: Actual time spent by different Support persons working on the current object, calculated using information entered in the intervention summary of actions.

  • Unlike elapsed time, this information does not take into account the OLA/UC for each action.
  • Duration expressed in HH:MM.
SLA

SLA: SLA applied to the current object.

 

SLA_ApplicationRule
  • The SLA applicable is always the most restrictive one, i.e. the one with the shortest resolution time, of the two SLAs defined respectively for the catalog category and for the SLA by priority. Note: The SLA by priority is automatically readjusted when the levels of urgency and impact are modified when creating the ticket. It also takes into consideration the VIP level of the recipient.
        Open url.png See the examples.
ImmediateSolution

Immediate Solution: Used to indicate if the IT Department has solved the current object right from the quick call (box is checked) or if one or more actions have been carried out by different Support persons (box is not checked) involving a transfer or escalation.

MaxResolution

SLA Target: Date by which the IT Department must have resolved the current object.

  • This is calculated using the start time of the current object and by applying the SLA of the current object.
  • The date is displayed in the time zone of the recipient.
SolutionDate

Solution Date: Date on which the processing of the current object ended and its meta-status became Completed.

  • The date is displayed in the time zone of the recipient.
Late

Late: Number of minutes exceeding the maximum processing date/time of the current object, calculated using information entered in the intervention summary of actions.

  • Field calculated for each action: Processing time of the action - OLA/UC target
  • Duration expressed in HH:MM.
TimeToSolve

Time to Solve: Actual processing duration of the current object, taking into account the service hours of the IT Department and public holidays (OLA/UC defined for the workflow).

  • Duration expressed in HH:MM.
TotalCosts

Total Costs: Total processing cost of the current object, calculated using information entered in the intervention summary of actions.

  • Field calculated for each action: Fixed costs + (Hourly costs  * Elapsed Time)
RootCause

Root Cause: Actual cause of the current object, specified when closed.

  • It may be different from the one specified when the current object was created.

Discussions

DiscussionTab

List of discussions which users can access based on their domain and the visibility of the discussion.

  • Enter the keywords you want in the Search field and press Enter
  • To cancel the search criteria and return to the complete list of discussions, provided you have the relevant rights, click within the box and then click Discussion - Delete icon.png.

User Information

UserInformationTab

Information on the recipient of the current object, e.g. name, function, phone number, email address, location and department.

  • Update: Only the recipient and location can be modified in this tab.

Attachments

AttachmentTab

List of documents attached to the current object. Open url.png See uploading and downloading documents.

  • You can also attach documents in the Details tab.

Related Incidents

RelatedIncidentTab

List of incidents related to the current object.

  • Related incidents are used for managing several incidents.
  • Update: Use the Link to an Incident wizard. In an incident, use the Link to a Problem wizard or the New Problem wizard.
  • Non-closed incidents already linked to the problem will automatically be displayed. Click Delete icon.png to delete the link.
  • To process non-closed incidents at the same time as the problem, use the Link to an Incident wizard and click Related Incidents. The button indicates the number of incidents. Open url.png  See the procedure for managing several incidents.
  • When you reopen a problem using the Reopen wizard, non-closed incidents will resume and their status will be Related Incident. They will follow the progress of the problem.

Related Services

RelatedServiceTab

List of service requests linked to the current object.

Related Changes

RelatedChangeTab

List of change requests related to the current object.

Equipment

List of equipment linked to the current object.

  • The Problems tab in the Equipment form is automatically updated.
  • Equipment linked to the new equipment will not be associated with the problem.

Licenses

LicenseTab

List of licenses in the current object.

  • When a new license is added, this does not generate a notification or action in the form of the current object.

Contracts

ContractTab

List of contracts in the current object.

CI

CITab

List of configuration items (CI) associated with the current object.

  • The Problems tab in the CI form is automatically updated.
  • Impacting and impacted CIs linked to the new CI will not be associated with the problem.

Consumables

ConsumableTab

List of consumables in the current object.

  • Update:
    • Automatically via destocking actions in the Logistics step of the workflow for the current object.

      example  Request to replace a HP LaserJet 4L printer ==> planned destocking action: delivery of a toner cartridge

    • Use this tab to perform destocking actions outside the Logistics step of the workflow.
  • When a consumable is deleted, the quantity is automatically reintegrated into the storage location stock.

Contextual News Articles

ContextualNewsTab

List of news articles associated with the same category as the current object.

  • Update: Click Publish This Element as News Article in the wizard for creating a known error.

History of Changes

HistoryOfChangeTab

List of all modifications made to the form of the current object. 

Questions/Responses

QuestionResponseTab

History of all answers to questions in standard or multi-section questionnaires associated with the current object.

  • Update: Via the workflow steps associated with the current object.

Related Projects

RelatedProjectTab

List of projects related to the current object.

Procedures and Wizards

How to create a problem

Step 1: Decide how you want to create the problem.

Create the problem within an incident

1. Open the form of the relevant incident.

2. Run the New Problem wizard.

Create the problem individually

1. Select Service Operation > Problems & Known Errors > Problems in the menu.

2. Click Add icon.png New in the top banner.

Step 2: Specify the problem.

1. Select the category associated with the problem.

2. Specify the information required.

Step 3: Decide what you want to do with the problem.

1. Follow one of the procedures below.

Close the problem (Resolution) (a workaround solution exists)   Note: Only for individually created problems 

  • Click Resolve.

    Open url.png See the Resolve wizard.

  • Select the new status of the problem.
  • Complete the intervention report.
  • Click Finish.
The problem will be saved. No further action is required for processing the problem.

Transfer the problem to another group or Support person

  • Click the Assign action button.

    Open url.png See the Transfer wizard.

  • Specify the group or Support person to whom you want to transfer the problem.

Best Practice icon.png  Select a group instead of a specific Support person. This way, even if the Support person is absent, the action can still be performed by another group member.

  • Click Finish.
  • The problem will be saved.
  • An action will be automatically generated to the selected group or Support person. The processing of problems resembles that for incidents. The status of the problem will evolve with the actions in the workflow.
  • Une action est automatiquement générée pour le groupe / intervenant sélectionné. Le traitement du problème s’apparente alors à celui d’un incident, et le statut du problème évolue avec les actions du workflow associé.

Cancel the problem

  • Click Cancel.
The problem will not be saved.

How to process several incidents

Step 1: Specify the incidents with the same problem.

Existing problem in the history of problems

1. Specify the incidents with the same problem.

  • You can do this in the Problem form.
  • You can do this in the form of each incident.

New problem

1. Create the problem.

  • You can do this in the form of an incident.
    • Run the New Problem wizard.
    • Specify the new problem.
    • Click Finish.
  • You can do this individually.
    • Select Service Operation > Problems & Known Errors > Problems in the menu.
    • Click Add icon.png New in the top banner.
    • Specify the new problem.
    • Click Finish.

2. Specify the incidents with the same problem.

  • You can do this in the new Problem form.
  • You can do this in the form of each incident.

Step 2: Decide what you want to do with incidents when a workaround solution to a problem is available.

Resolution via manual intervention

1. Open the Action form of each solved incident.

2. Click Finish.

3. Complete the intervention report.

4. Click Finish.

Resolution via automatic intervention

1. Open the Action form of the problem called Link to an Incident.

2. Click Related Incidents.

3. Select the solved incidents.

4. (optional) Inform the relevant Support persons, requestors and recipients that a solution has been found and applied using Notify....

5. Click Update Current Incidents.

  • The incidents will proceed to the next step of their workflow, which is usually user approval.
  • Their status will be the one defined for this step.

Wizards

Link to a Project
Link to a Change Request (Problem)
Link to an Incident
Link to a Service Request
Close
Execute Script
New Knowledge
New Change Request
New Service Request
New Known Error
Notify Support Person
Reminder for Support Person
Reopen
Reopen and Requalify
Resolve (action button in the Create a new problem wizard)
Place on Hold / Continue
Transfer (action button in the Create a new problem wizard)

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