General Troubleshooting Guidelines

See also the Universal Troubleshooting Process (UTP).

1. Don't be intimidated; the problem may not be as difficult as you think. Even if you think you do not have enough expertise, you can ask the right questions and gather the correct information and then ask for assistance. Getting involved is always the best way to learn and a great way to build your confidence.

2. Develop a working relationship with the person reporting the problem. Ask the customer if they have time to work with you to resolve the problem. It's a two way street; he needs your help and you'll need his. For example, you will need the customer's help to do some testing or be your hand and eyes and the customer needs your expertise. Working together, you will find your resolution much more quickly.

3. Don't hesitate to call the customer. It's best to tackle the problem immediately because the problem is fresh in the customer's mind. There may also be a shift change happening soon. Some problems (such as blue screen crashes and log files rolling over) are time sensitive and information will be lost if you do not act immediately. If you need further information or you forgot to ask, it's better to call immediately than to wait.

4. Interview the witness; get it from the source. The person reporting the problem is not always the person that experienced the problem. It's always best to get the person who experienced the problem first hand to describe what happened. This is not always possible due to shift changes but it the best way to get accurate and detailed information.

5. Interview the customer; clarify terminology and the nature of the problem. Understand the problem and what the customer is trying to achieve. Asking the right questions is very important. What does "hung" or "crashed" really mean? What do you mean by slow? Step through the operator's actions. This is useful information to reproduce the problem.

6. Ask the customer to describe exactly what troubleshooting has already been done. What have they tried? What were the results? Be careful, know your source, take everything with a grain of salt and do not rely on results. Don't be led on a wild goose chase; confirm and double-check everything.

7. Ask the customer to reproduce the problem. If you can reproduce it, you're 50% done. Gather the information you need to reproduce the problem.

8. Isolate the problem. Develop a logical test plan to localize the problem. Does the problem only effect one particular job? Does it only happen on a certain operation?

9. Do it yourself. Not that you don't trust anyone, but doing it yourself may give you some insight into the problem. It may be related to the sequence, certain keystrokes, or mouse clicks.

10. Leverage the tools at your disposal. Use built-in NT utilities like NT diagnostics, Event Viewer, and Performance Monitor. Use the Prinergy built-in tools like Prinergy Doctor, PPU, Diagview, and CollectBug. Use the Knowledge Base in the Tech Library.

11. Don't be afraid to ask for assistance. People generally don't mind as long as you have collected the right information and don't dump the problem on them. If you are asking for assistance do not let pride get in the way. Don't be offended if you are asked to try the obvious or something you have already checked. Even the most experienced people miss the obvious sometimes.

12. Common sense is your best friend! Use it!