Building A Troubleshooting Methodology
A friend and I were chatting the other day about all things geek when up came the subject of troubleshooting methodology. Said friend works in the tech industry and she has substantial sysadmin experience. She mentioned that it often surprises (or perhaps “horrifies” is a better word) her how many people in her line of work don’t have a basic method for troubleshooting problems.
That got me to thinking that perhaps my own methodology needs some work. I tend to go right to Red Alert whenever any defecation hits a rotary oscillator, which is of course counter-productive. And an approach to troubleshooting is perhaps a more important tool than the physical tools themselves.
I found a couple of things on this subject that I want to share.
“Use Cisco’s eight-step troubleshooting method to fix your network.” The two most important things I found in this article are these: gathering detailed information and documenting the solution. Both of those steps require that you stop for a moment to really think about the problem. There’s something about getting a little distance that gives some clarity when it’s 3am and you need to get something fixed *now*. Also, documenting the fix often brings to light the little details that will drive you nuts if you *don’t* document the solution and the problem crops up again six months later. (How many times has that happened to you?)
Of course, I can’t find a book on troubleshooting methodology (in and of itself, not in relation to a specific application of system) for under $70 USD, so surfing online is still my best bet until I decide to rate this of higher importance than my next gadget. In the interim, however, I can use these techniques, and while they’re geared mostly toward system or network analysis, they can be applied just as easily to car repair and circuit analysis.
What’s your method for troubleshooting problems? Drop a line or leave a comment to share.
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