Blog - IT CSI

...is a Common Problem Solving Process

How do we ensure we get the best information at all times for virtual collaboration, especially if our company is located over different time zones?

Global organizations find it increasingly more difficult to deal with decisions and investigations effectively, especially if some of the stakeholders and information sources are not in the same location. What do you do if you need to make a decision and one of your most important stakeholders is on the other side of the world?

This will get you and your team to the core in minutes!

If you could not restore a service within three hours there is something unique about the fault being experienced – do you know what it is?

It is a fair assumption that if you experience an incident that is typical and normally has typical causes then all you have to do is to find which cause is the culprit this time. An example would be when you cannot get logged in to your normal email service. You know from your own experience that only a few things could cause you to be unable to get access. You quickly check these normal factors until you have found the cause and “solved” the situation. 

Into the Incident Experienced

In an incident situation,we are always looking for that “Silver Bullet” question – the one question that would bring some insight to the incident being experienced. The good news is that there is such a question; in fact there are a few of these questions that could provide you with that insight needed. We call that the “but not” question.

Simple Question, But Powerful!

One of the most important questions to ask yourself in attempting to solve an incident quickly, accurately and permanently is to ask the following three questions:

1. What do you know about the incident?
2. What don’t you know about the incident?
3. How can you collaborate with whom that could provide you with this missing information?

Over the years as a consultant, I’ve learned how to listen to what people are saying, albeit doing it for a different reason you might have had in mind. I am doing it to eliminate the “noise” and “clutter” normally surrounding problem solving sessions. This might surprise you, but the biggest obstacle in solving problems and incidents effectively, is the human nature to “elevate” or escalate things in order to get the appropriate attention of the other person.