Problem Management 10pt - IT Infrastructure Library Project
Contents
1. Becta 2004 What is Problem Management The goal of Problem Management is to minimise both the number and severity of incidents and problems in your school It should aim to reduce the adverse impact of incidents and problems that are caused by errors in the ICT infrastructure and to prevent recurrence of incidents related to these errors e You should address problems in priority order paying attention to the resolution of problems that can cause serious disruption The degree of management and planning required is greater than that needed for incident control where the objective is restoration of normal service as quickly as possible The function of Problem Management is to ensure that incident information is documented in such a way that it is readily available to all technical support staff Problem Management has reactive and proactive aspects reactive problem solving when one or more incidents occur proactive identifying and solving problems and known errors before incidents occur in the first place FITS Problem Management C PrM 2 1 1 PrM 2 12 PrM 2 13 Becta 2004 Problem Management includes e problem control which includes advice on the best workaround available for that problem error control Differences between incident management and problem management The aim of incident management is to restore the service to the customer as quickly as possible often through a workaround2. Problem Management Problem Management Contents PrM1 Topic introduction Aim and objectives of this topic 0 0 1 PrM2 Overview An introduction to the process 0 ccc cece cece eee eee 1 PrM3 Implementation guide How to implement the process 00 5 8 PrM4 Operations guide The ongoing operation of the process 0 14 PMS Roles and TeSPONSIDININES sc cncenscoavaions casa irri hene kt E n EEEa Ennii 17 PrM6 Review Summary and checklist sissscsissirricsrereisnaiaceitkiesraosiaa s 18 a E E T E EE EE A N E E T A N 21 eo e r EEE E P A EN E A E A A E A ATTE 25 Key Glossary term Glossary term Cross reference Cross reference Q Becta a ICT Advice Framework for ICT Technical Support Problem Management Becta 2004 You may reproduce this material free of charge in any format or medium without specific permission provided you are not reproducing it for profit material or financial gain You must reproduce the material accurately and not use it ina misleading context If you are republishing the material or issuing it to others you must acknowledge its source copyright status and date of publication Publication date March 2004 Originally published online in September 2003 as part of the Becta website http www becta org uk tsas While every care has been taken in the compilation of this information to ensure that it is accurate at the time of publication Becta canno
3. situation becomes rather obvious Becta 2003 http www becta org uk techicalsupport page 1 of 1 published September 2003 Becta 2004 FITS Problem Management Glossary 10Base T AppleTalk Availability Availability Management Bandwidth Baseline Bridge Buffer Capacity Capacity Management Category Change Becta 2004 A networking standard that supports data transfer rates up to 100 Mbps 100 megabits per second 10Base T is based on the older Ethernet standard but is 10 times faster than Ethernet it is often referred to as Fast Ethernet Officially the 10Base T standard is IEEE 802 3u Like Ethernet 10Base T is based on the CSMA CD LAN access method Inexpensive LAN local area network architecture built into all Apple Macintosh computers and laser printers AppleTalk supports Apple s LocalTalk cabling scheme as well as Ethernet and IBM Token Ring It can connect Macintosh computers and printers and even PCs if they are equipped with special AppleTalk hardware and software Component of a business process Assets can include people accommodation computer systems networks paper records fax machines etc Ability of a component or service to perform its required function at a stated instant or over a stated period of time It is usually expressed as the availability ratio the proportion of time that the service is actually available for use by customers
4. Error control covers the processes involved in the successful correction of known errors The objective is to remove equipment with known errors that affects the IT infrastructure in order to prevent the recurrence of incidents Error control activities can be both reactive and proactive Reactive activities include identifying known errors through incident management implementing a workaround FITS Problem Management O PrM 2 1 4 PrM 2 2 Becta 2004 Proactive activities include finding a solution to a recurring problem creating a solution including the solution in the database of known errors Examples of problems Technical problems can exist without impact to the user However if they are not spotted and dealt with before an incident occurs they can have a major impact on the availability of the computer service User experienced problems e The printer will not form feed paper so users have to advance the paper by using the form feed button Each time new users log onto a computer they have to reinstall the printer driver e Windows applications crash intermittently without an error message The computer will restart and work properly afterwards Technical problems Disk space usage is erratic sometimes there appears to be plenty of disk space but at other times not much is available There is no obvious reason and no impact on the users yet A network card is creating a high level of u
5. confidence of the users both teaching staff and students as the systems become more reliable FITS Problem Management PrM 3 Implementation guide PrM 3 1 PrM 3 1 21 PM 2 PrM 3 2 1 Becta 2004 Define what needs to be done to implement Problem Management Problem Management should be implemented with Incident Management or shortly afterwards Ensure that you are recording your calls and can track their progress Understand the difference between problems and incidents e Have a procedure to separate incidents from problems Decide how much time each week to devote to problem management Choose which areas to improve and which of your current processes to remove You need to sell the idea to other staff so make sure you re happy with it first The Problem Management process 1 Notification of problem 2 Request for technical support 3 Problem analysis 4 Production of theory 5 Production of resolution 6 Results of resolution 7 Closure See also the following PrM 2 4 2 Problem Management life cycle PrM 2 1 What is Problem Management PrM 2 1 1 Differences between incident management and problem management PrM 2 1 2 Incident vs problem Prepare to implement Problem Management Good problem management relies to a great extent on a well run incident management process So it is sensible to implement Problem Management either in parallel with or after Incident Management e
6. control process Producing management information Allocating resources for the support effort Monitoring the effectiveness of error control and making recommendations for improving it Developing and maintaining problem and error control systems e Reviewing the efficiency and effectiveness of proactive Problem Management activities The scale depends on the time required for the Problem Management process See also PrM 2 2 Becta 2004 FITS Problem Management 7 PrM 6 Review of Problem Management The purpose of this section is to help you review your implementation and ongoing operation of problem management check your understanding of the process examine what a successful implementation should look like and consider what you should have achieved by introducing it into your school This will help you to assess how successful its introduction has been and point you back to the relevant sections in the Problem Management process that you should revisit to make improvements if these are necessary PrM 6 1 PrM 6 1 1 Start by reading the sections included in the recap of Problem Management When you have refreshed your memory and considered your own implementation alongside these descriptions work through the checklist to identify any areas that you should revisit and perhaps re implement or reinforce Recap of Problem Management The overview describes problem management and explains the differences between inciden
7. in incident management management information through reports Activities of Problem Management The major activities of Problem Management are problem control error control e the proactive prevention of problems identifying trends obtaining management information from problem management data the completion of major incident or problem reviews Roles and responsibilities in Problem Management For an outline of the roles and responsibilities see PrM 5 FITS Problem Management s PrM 2 4 2 Problem Management life cycle Notification of problem Request technical support Problem analysis Produce theory Produce resolution l Results of resolution Closure O1 step 02 step 03 step 04 step 05 step step Problem management life cycle iterative PrM 2 5 What does Problem Management cost Initially it costs someone s time and effort to look at problems and document an As a proactive process problem management Becta 2004 approach to resolving them in the future The technician should be able to put time aside each week to look at problems This time should be protected will save time as fewer incidents are logged will save budget as the technician s salary is not used on resolving the same incident many times will increase the availability of equipment since it will fail less often will increase the
8. leader to ensure that the technician has the necessary resources to deal with the problem including time e Technician to decide how long to continue with trying to fix the problem before calling on the school s disaster recovery option The seven stages of the Problem Management process 1 Notification of a problem Requesting technical support Problem analysis Production of theory Production of resolution Results of resolution N DOW A U N Problem closure Stage 1 Notification of a problem It is either the single point of contact at the service desk or the technician who will decide if an incident is really a problem see overleaf The user will notify an incident in the usual way using the incident form When the service desk receives the form it will be checked With experience service desk staff will know if this is to be passed through Problem Management Otherwise they will pass it to the technician in the usual way FITS Problem Management 4 Becta 2004 Deciding if an incident is a problem When service desk staff check the incident sheet they may notice the following the same type of incident reported on several other computers in the last few days the same type of incident reported on this computer in the last few weeks e yet another regularly recurring fault on the same computer Staff can do these checks by looking at the call log or by using simple searches using a find functio
9. network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities This differs from client server architectures in which some computers are dedicated to serving the others The physical layout of devices on a network Every LAN local area network has a topology the way the devices on a network are arranged and how they communicate with each other In TCP IP and UDP networks an endpoint to a logical connection The port number identifies what type of port it is For example port 80 is used for HTTP traffic The underlying cause of an incident or incidents The detection of the underlying causes of incidents and their resolution and prevention An agreed format for transmitting data between two devices A set of network protocol layers that work together The OSI reference model that defines seven protocol layers is often called a stack as is the set of TCP IP protocols that define communication over the internet FITS Problem Management 28 Proxy server Release Management Remote monitoring RMON Request for change Service Continuity Management Service Desk Service level agreement Service Level Management Simple network management protocol SNMP Star topology Switch Becta 2004 A server that sits between a client application such as a web browser and a real server It intercepts all requests to the real server to see if it can fulfil the requests itself If no
10. rather than through trying to find a permanent solution Problem management differs from incident management in that its main goal is the detection of the underlying causes of an incident and the best resolution and prevention In many situations the goals of problem management can be in direct conflict with the goals of incident management Deciding which approach to take requires careful consideration A sensible approach would be to restore the service as quickly as possible incident management but ensuring that all details are recorded This will enable problem management to continue once a workaround had been implemented e Discipline is required as the idea that the incident is fixed is likely to prevail However the incident may well appear again if the resolution to the problem is not found Incident vs problem An incident is where an error occurs something doesn t work the way it is expected This is often referred to as a fault error e it doesn t work a problem but the term used with FITS is incident A problem can be e the occurrence of the same incident many times e an incident that affects many users the result of network diagnostics revealing that some systems are not operating in the expected way Therefore a problem can exist without having immediate impact on the user whereas incidents are usually more visible and the impact on the user is more immediate Error control
11. would print the picture if it were a different file type Ultimately getting the best use out of the printer may avoid the expense of replacing the printer Who carries out Problem Management Problem Management usually starts with an incident or as a result of monitoring The service desk will investigate an incident and after following guidelines will decide whether it is a problem for deeper investigation and analysis A technician will start working on an incident and decide if it is a problem e Network monitoring will highlight areas that need further checking to find out whether there is a potential problem See also PrM 5 Problem management is the black art bit of technical support From the evidence analysis and experience technicians produce a theory for what is happening or has happened The theory needs to be believable so before taking action you should show why your theory might work You produce an approach to resolving the problem check it for soundness and then implement it This is an iterative process that you may have to go through several times before you find the correct solution Problem Management resources See PrM 3 5 FITS Problem Management 18 PrM 4 4 1 Technician forms See PrM 3 3 1 PrM 4 4 2 Problem Management checklist Do you spot problems before an incident occurs Do you record resolutions for future reference Do you resolve known errors before they become an incident Do
12. If resources are scarce it is advisable to concentrate on the implementation of problem and error control reactive problem management When these activities reach maturity resources can be directed to proactive problem management which depends largely on the successful implementation of Network Monitoring and Preventative Maintenance Smaller schools can introduce reactive problem management by focusing daily on the top 10 incidents of the previous week This can prove to be effective since experience shows that 20 of problems cause 80 of service degradation Risks to the implementation of Problem Management The following can weaken the benefits of Problem Management The absence of a good incident control process means that you will not have detailed historical data on incidents which is necessary for the correct identification of problems FITS Problem Management G PrM 3 22 PrM 323 PrM 3 2 4 PrM 3 2 5 Becta 2004 The result of lack of commitment at the top is likely to be that support staff who are usually also involved in reactive incident control cannot allocate enough time to structured problem solving activities e In order not to undermine the service desk role all incident reports must come through the service desk and not direct to the technician Difficulties will arise if the service desk is dealing with multiple reports of incidents and the technician is not fully aware of the extent of the proble
13. aking a formal approach to problem management include the following Improved quality of the ICT service High quality reliable service is good for school leaders teachers and students It is also good for the productivity and morale of the technical support staff Reduction in the volume of incidents Problem management helps to reduce the number of incidents that can interrupt the school day Permanent solutions There will be a gradual reduction in the number and impact of problems and known errors as those that are resolved stay resolved Improved technical support knowledge The FITS Problem Management process is based on the concept of learning from experience The process provides the historical data to identify trends and the means of minimising failures and of reducing the impact of failures resulting in improved productivity A more effective service desk Eventually the service desk will be able to resolve a number of incidents There will be a better first time fix rate at the service desk as problem management enables the service desk staff to know how to deal with problems and incidents that have previously been resolved and documented What weakens the benefits of problem management The following can weaken the benefits of problem management Poor incident control The absence of a good incident control process means that you will not have detailed historical data on incidents which is necessary for the correct identi
14. amount of technician time required to resolve problems You have developed a consistent approach to recording actions taken as part of problem management and the results of the resolutions applied You have at your fingertips information about the number of problems currently outstanding and how long they have been logged You now have a process for checking whether problem management reduces the top 10 incident list FITS Problem Management 19 PrM 6 1 4 PrM 6 2 Benefits of having implemented Problem Management A proactive approach reduces the disruption to service when errors occur The school has faith in the quality of the technical support with reducing costs and high motivation for both users and technicians You save time by using a standard approach to every problem There is a reduction in the number of recurring incidents e Permanent solutions mean a gradual reduction in the number and impact of problems and known errors as those that are resolved stay resolved The process provides the historical data to identify trends and the means of minimising failures and of reducing the impact of failures You achieve a better first time fix rate of incidents as a result of having a knowledge database available to the service desk and technicians when a call is first logged e You can co ordinate your management information to enable better service You have a way of checking that suppliers and staf
15. at processes database queries To minimise the impact on ICT service of an environmental disaster and put in place and communicate a plan for recovery The single point of contact within the school for all users of ICT and the services provided by Technical Support Written agreement between a service provider and the customer s that documents agreed service levels for a service The process of defining agreeing and documenting required service levels and ensuring that these levels are met A set of protocols for managing complex networks SNMP works by sending messages called protocol data units PDUs to different parts of a network SNMP compliant devices called agents store data about themselves in management information bases MIBs and return this data to the SNMP requesters A LAN local area network that uses a star topology in which all nodes are connected to a central computer The main advantages of a star network are that one malfunctioning node does not affect the rest of the network and that it is easy to add and remove nodes A device that filters and forwards packets between segments of a LAN local area network Switches operate at the data link layer layer 2 and sometimes the network layer layer 3 of the OSI reference model and therefore support any packet protocol FITS Problem Management 2 TCP IP The suite of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the internet Transmission TCP IP uses sev
16. blem Management implementation plan 1 2 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Becta 2004 Decide who will be your problem management technician Decide which training the technician requires Decide which training the service desk staff will require Arrange and implement the required training Decide how the service desk will pass calls to the technician Decide which documentation will be used Create or download the required incident diagnostics forms Ensure that the technician and service desk staff know how to use the forms Decide whether to use a knowledge base Decide on the format of the knowledge base Decide how to populate the knowledge base from resolved problems Ensure that the problem management process is documented Incorporate in the process any changes decided as a result of testing Decide how to record details of resolutions Decide who carries out follow up actions and define the procedures they should follow Decide on the review process Decide how to keep staff informed Plan your first communication to the school about Problem Management Decide whether you need to run a pilot of the process Carry out the pilot and review it Incorporate changes into the system as a result of the pilot review Plan the launch date for FITS Problem Management Check that all training has occurred Launch the process of Problem Management Carry out the firs
17. ce desk performs the usual call closure operations When does Problem Management occur Problem Management is a reactive and a proactive process The reactive aspect of Problem Management does not require immediate response It is worth while setting aside time during the week to devote to problem management it requires careful thought and cannot be hurried The technician will need to be left undisturbed to work on it and should not be required to be in attendance for incidents This approach should ensure an effective result from the process which will benefit the school The proactive aspect is to monitor equipment and analyse incidents The results of monitoring should be analysed to detect potential problems and provide a solution that can be implemented before failure An example of this is to monitor disk space usage to remove temporary files to archive files and to clean up disks before they become full and create network wide problems Checking logged incidents can show trends such as printing problems where for example one printer often fails to complete printing and will print text but not pictures It could be that this call is only logged occasionally but if it was found and the user told that this printer can t do this type of print it would save the time of the user and technical support as there is no fault to report Problem analysis may indicate that a small memory upgrade to the printer is all that is required or that it
18. d problems To provide your school with an effective approach to its technical support you should always implement problem management alongside incident management FITS Problem Management O PrM 23 PrM 2 3 1 PrM 23 2 Becta 2004 Why use Problem Management The benefits of taking a formal approach to problem management include the following e There is a standard way to approach every problem this saves time The number of incidents will reduce The solutions will be permanent There will be a gradual reduction in the number and impact of problems and known errors as those that are resolved will stay resolved You learn from your mistakes The process provides the historical data from which to identify trends and the means of minimising failures and reducing the impact of failures You will obtain a better first time fix rate of incidents because you will have a knowledge database available to the service desk and technicians when a call is first logged What happens if Problem Management is not used Without problem management you may observe that your school e faces up to problems only after the service to users has already been disrupted e loses faith in the quality of its technical support with high costs and low motivation for both users and technicians since similar incidents have to be resolved repeatedly without anyone able to provide permanent solutions Objectives of recording problem management i
19. e services and documentation and showing the relationships between them The library in which the definitive authorised versions of all software Cls are stored and protected Itis a physical library or storage repository where master copies of software versions are placed This one logical storage area may in reality consist of one or more physical software libraries or filestores They should be separate from development and test filestore areas The DSL may also include a physical store fire proof safe for example to hold master copies of bought in software Only authorised software strictly controlled by Change Management and Release Management should be accepted into the DSL The DSL exists not directly because of the needs of the Configuration Management process but as a common base for the Release Management and Configuration Management processes Any computer or component that attaches to a network A signal informing a program that an event has occurred When a program receives an interrupt signal it takes a specified action which can be to ignore the signal Interrupt signals can cause a program to suspend itself temporarily to service the interrupt A LAN local area network architecture developed in 1976 by Xerox Corporation in co operation with DEC and Intel Ethernet uses a bus or star topology and supports data transfer rates of 10 Mbps The Ethernet specification served as the basis for the IEEE 802 3 standard which
20. ement However it is the decision of the service desk and technician to refer an incident to the problem management process Identify who will staff problem management Problem management is a specialised process requiring a good grounding in technical support It is expected that technicians will staff problem management with input from specialists where possible Specialist input or subscription to a support service may form part of a school s contract with a supplier Plan your problem management training The training plan for problem management should concentrate on the service desk and technician Users should be notified that a problem management process is to be introduced and how it will work but they should not require any training Ensure that all service desk and technical support staff understand the incident management process Train the service desk staff how to progress a call from an incident to a problem Train the service desk staff to identify patterns of incidents that indicate a problem Train the service desk staff to record incident details in a way that will help a technician This will be evident in feedback from the technician after the first few problems have passed through the problem management process Decide on the costs involved in problem Management and produce a guide for the technician on the amount of time to allocate to resolving a problem FITS Problem Management PrM 3 3 The Pro
21. en say so Honesty is the best policy As long as you have an answer which may be to replace the equipment or that a purchase is required this is fine See PrM 3 5 1 for problem analysis tools Stage 4 Produce theory From the evidence analysis and experience produce a theory for what is happening or what has happened Then use the theory of what went wrong to produce action to resolve the problem Your first theory may not always be correct and you should try to show why this is Avoid theories you can t explain Stage 5 Produce resolution Pause before taking action Write down exactly what was done and the outcome Do this for every action you took even if it consisted of just one line of a system set up file The step by step actions should be able to be traced to find out what the technician did to resolve the problem and therefore help in resolving future problems Problem management is a huge learning curve so making notes although time consuming is very important FITS Problem Management 15 PrM 4 2 PrM 43 PrM 4 4 Becta 2004 Stage 6 Results of resolution The results of the resolution may affect many systems in the school If a plan is to be drawn up to replicate the actions across other systems this must be done using the process described in Change Management Stage 7 Problem closure Update the incident diagnostics sheet and the incident sheet and pass them to the service desk The servi
22. eral protocols the two main ones being TCP and IP Control Protocol Internet Protocol A type of computer network in which all the computers are arranged schematically in a circle A token which is a special bit pattern travels around the circle To send a message a computer catches the token attaches a message to it and then lets it continue to travel around the network The shape of a LAN local area network or other communications system Topologies are either physical or logical Topology A connectionless protocol that like TCP runs on top of IP networks Unlike TCP IP User datagram UDP IP provides very few error recovery services offering instead a direct way to protocol UDP send and receive datagrams over an IP network It is used primarily for broadcasting messages over a network A computer network that spans a relatively large geographical area Typically a wide area network WAN consists of two or more LANs local area networks Computers WAN connected to a wide area network are often connected through public networks such as the telephone system They can also be connected through leased lines or satellites The largest WAN in existence is the internet Workstation Any computer connected to a LAN local area network Becta 2004 FITS Problem Management 20
23. f are meeting agreed service levels Checklist Use this checklist to identify any areas of problem management that have not been entirely successful Then reinforce them by revisiting and re implementing the relevant section of the FITS process welt FITS section to revisit if implementation has Characteristics of a successful implementation not yet been successful Everyone understands the process for deciding PrM 4 1 2 Stage 1 of the Problem Management when an incident becomes a problem process Deciding if an incident is a problem Staff understand and apply the process for dealing PrM 4 1 1 How to deal with major incidents or with major incidents major problems There is an overall understanding that problem PrM 4 2 When does Problem Management management is a proactive process occur The production of reports about problems is PrM 3 4 1 Problem Management reports helping to reduce the workload of the technical PrM5 Roles and responsibilities support team Technicians and the service desk staff understand PrM 4 1 How to operate Problem Management the stages of problem management The technicians can use problem analysis tools PrM 3 5 1 Problem analysis tools Becta 2004 If the above characteristics are all true of your school congratulations on implementing a successful Problem Management process The next steps for you are to continue operating the process as described in the Problem Management operatio
24. fication of problems Absence of co ordination with incident management Failure to link incident records with problem error records means a failure to gain many of the potential benefits This is a key feature in moving from reactive support to a more planned and proactive support approach Lack of management or leadership commitment The result of lack of commitment at the top is likely to be that support staff who are usually also involved in reactive incident control cannot allocate enough time to structured problem solving activities Undermining the service desk role All incident reports must come through the service desk and not direct to the technician Difficulties will arise if the service desk is dealing with multiple reports of incidents and the technician is not fully aware of the extent of the problem Not maintaining call log or incident sheets Any failure to set aside time to build and update the call log or incident sheets will restrict the benefit of understanding the bigger picture on the network and looking at trends that may point towards an underlying problem Ignorance of the impact of incidents and problems If you are unable to determine accurately the impact on the school of incidents and problems you will not be in a position to give critical incidents and problems the correct priority FITS Problem Management PrM 2 4 PrM 2 4 1 PrM 2 4 1 1 PrM 2 4 1 2 PrM 2 4 1 3 PrM 2 4 1 4 Becta 2004 How pr
25. he OutSights website and shows two ways to look at the same problem Scenario 2 uses root cause analysis Scenario 1 The Plant Manager walked into the pant and found oil on the floor He called the Foreman over and told him to have maintenance clean up the oil The next day while the Plant Manager was in the same area of the plant he found oil on the floor again and he subsequently raked the Foreman over the coals for not following his directions from the day before His parting words were to either get the oil cleaned up or he d find someone that would Scenario 2 The Plant Manager walked into the plant and found oil on the floor He called the Foreman over and asked him why there was oil on the floor The Foreman indicated that it was due to a leaky gasket in the pipe joint above The Plant Manager then asked when the gasket had been replaced and the Foreman responded that Maintenance had installed 4 gaskets over the past few weeks and they each one seemed to leak The Foreman also indicated that Maintenance had been talking to Purchasing about the gaskets because it seemed they were all bad The Plant Manager then went to talk with Purchasing about the situation with the gaskets The Purchasing Manager indicated that they had in fact received a bad batch of gaskets from the supplier The Purchasing Manager also indicated that they had been trying for the past 2 months to try to get the supplier to make good on the last order of 5 000 gaskets that all
26. iscussion and often leads to increased understanding of a complex problem PrM 3 5 2 Technician forms See PrM 3 3 1 PrM 3 6 Roles and responsibilities in Problem Management See PrM 5 Becta 2004 FITS Problem Management G5 PrM 4 Operations guide PrM 4 1 PrM 41 1 PrM 4 1 1 1 PrM 41 2 Becta 2004 How to operate Problem Management How to deal with major incidents or major problems A major incident or problem can be classified as one which causes serious disruption to the computer service in the school This can include e a virus outbreak or threat e closure of internet services e file server failure partial or total network failure building problems for example fire smoke flood or frost damage software problem affecting over 30 of computers Major incident process Service desk to field all calls and reschedule planned incident responses Technician to be notified of the major incident Technician to identify extent of problem before taking any action School to allocate an additional person to help the technician e Additional person to be responsible for communication between the technician and users and to provide ad hoc help to enable the technician to deal with the incident Technician to discuss with the school leader the extent of the problem and a planned response the school leader needs to know how to reschedule the planned work that involves the affected computers School
27. l agreements SLAs with customers See FITS Service Level Management Maintain measurements of what is necessary and viable For instance if your staff think that they need feedback on response times then measure them Problem Management resources Problem analysis tools Beware of overloading yourself with tools that you cannot use easily Beware of thinking that you can solve all problems if you have the right tool Beware of making all problems a mathematical issue and inventing models and diagrams to explain your theory Remember that there is a cost associated with the time spent on problem solving so use problem solving for expensive issues Root cause analysis This is the process of finding the real cause of a problem and dealing with it rather than simply continuing to deal with the symptoms It seeks to identify the reason for the failure by asking lots of questions and determining whether changing an event early on in the chain of events could have prevented the failure Ways to implement the change are decided and actioned through the Change Management process See scenario that explains root cause analysis Error code look up This is where you find out what a displayed error code means Often the user manual or technical manual cannot be found or it does not detail the error codes of the software Before the internet became so useful the user or technician could not find out easily what the error meant Using
28. m Any failure to set aside time to build and update the call log or incident sheets will restrict the benefit of understanding the bigger picture on the network and looking at trends that may point towards an underlying problem If you are unable to determine accurately the impact on the school of incidents and problems you will not be in a position to give critical incidents and problems the correct priority Impact of implementing Problem Management An effective system for logging incidents is fundamental to the success of Problem Management Setting achievable objectives and making use of the problem solving talents of existing staff is a key activity Consider part time problem management whereby staff set aside periods when they will look at problems away from the daily fire fighting pressures In view of the potentially conflicting interests between Incident Management and Problem Management good sense should prevail Support staff should be aware of the importance of balancing activities between the two For example if the equipment is required now and a workaround is available implement it at once but set aside time at the end of the school day to resolve the problem Identify the users of problem management The users of problem management will be the staff running the service desk and incident management processes It could be said that all users of incident management are ultimately users of problem manag
29. n environment system desktop build or associated documentation FITS Problem Management 3 Change Management Client server architecture Configuration management CELEIA Configuration Management Definitive software library DEB DISE FDDI Fibre Distributed Data Interface Financial Management Becta 2004 The managed and recorded introduction of changes to hardware software services or documentation to minimise disruption to ICT operation and maintain accurate configuration information The client part of a client server architecture Typically a client is an application that runs on a personal computer or workstation and relies on a server to perform some operations For example an email client is an application that enables you to send and receive email A network architecture in which each computer or process on the network is either a client or a server Servers are powerful computers or processes dedicated to managing disk drives file servers printers print servers or network traffic network servers Clients are PCs or workstations on which users run applications Clients rely on servers for resources such as files devices and even processing power A database which contains all relevant details of each ICT asset otherwise known as a configuration item CI and details of the important relationships between Cls Implementing and maintaining up to date records of ICT hardware softwar
30. n to spot certain words or phrases for example network card pc24 if this is a computer s unique reference or printer jam The single point of contact SPOC at the service desk may record this information on the incident sheet and inform the technician when placing the call Stage 2 Requesting technical support If the service desk has decided that this is a problem it must be passed to the technician and no further diagnostic work is required by the service desk The technician is informed in the usual way about the call and the person on the service desk will advise why they think it should be treated as a problem If the school has swap out spares that a competent person in the school can install the technician may advise doing this before any further work is done to the faulty equipment The benefits would be time saved waiting for the technician to attend to the call reduction in time the equipment is unavailable an opportunity for the technician to investigate the problem without being under time pressure Stage 3 Problem analysis Problem analysis uses common sense asks lots of questions and should not be too far fetched with the final theory Technicians should remember that using phrases like power line glitch infrequent reset phenomenon intermittent random fluctuating memory address and other such odd sounding phrases do not impress the user If you are not sure what is happening th
31. ndix A Incident diagnostics sheet Becta ict advice Technical Support Advisory Service TSAS Problem Management Which application or operating system is in error Result of checking the error message through tools eg the internet Does software require reinstallation or a patch Please give reasons Results of reinstallation or patch applied Does the network error affect one or many computers Can the area affected be identified or isolated using diagnostics Which replacement equipment can be installed Results of actions taken Which user guide is in error does a user guide exist Can the error be corrected with training or documentation Results of actions taken What was the cause of the incident What actions have been taken Which further actions are required Has the incident been resolved L Yes _ No L Yes _ No L Yes _ No Becta 2003 http www becta org uk techicalsupport page 2 of 2 published September 2003 You can download a template from the FITS website http www becta org uk tsas index cfm refsect ntss amp bcsect default amp sect problem amp id dw1098_1 Becta 2004 FITS Problem Management 22 PrM Appendix B Document to users about the introduction of Problem Management Becta 2004 Dear i Introduction of Problem Management to our school We have decided to introduce Problem Management as a complementary service to Inciden
32. nformation One function of problem management is to ensure the documenting of incident information in such a way that it is readily available to service desk staff and technicians The information should be recorded so that it is easily referenced by simple and detectable triggers from new incidents Regular inspection of your problem management records can ensure the continued relevance of documentation in the light of changes in technology e available external solutions school practices and requirements in house skills frequency and impact of recurring incidents interpretation of internal best practice It is important that you review your process for recording incidents and problems to enable you to make continuous improvements to the way information from previous incident resolutions is used You may like to consider these suggestions Staff using the information should be trained to understand the depth and power of the information available how to access and interpret it and their role in providing feedback on its relevance and ease of use You should maintain a suitable spreadsheet or database for recording the information Develop an integrated service management tool see Service Desk that can capture the information at the logging or analysis stage of the incident handling process FITS Problem Management 4 PrM 2 33 PrM 2 3 4 Becta 2004 Benefits of problem management The benefits of t
33. nnecessary traffic on the network This could eventually reduce the bandwidth available which would lead to a slow response to network requests Who uses Problem Management Problem Management is used mainly by technicians At this stage reference to previous incidents a knowledge base or quick fixes will not be effective as the problem has not previously occurred This is where the technician calls upon all their problem solving skills and analysis techniques to decide how to approach the problem how much time to allocate and what to do if the problem cannot be resolved If your school has numerous incidents that cannot be resolved readily and you are implementing lots of quick fixes you should decide to tackle the cause of the incidents using problem management If you get the same incident occurring repeatedly you should implement the FITS Problem Management process All schools should have a process to deal with major incidents for example a server crash a virus attack or an unexplained slow network If you would like to manage your approach to major incidents you should also consider introducing Problem Management at your school Most organisations including schools need to keep records of how well their ICT systems are functioning what is failing and how long systems are unavailable The information you will gain from problem management should enable you to report to the school on the technical issues that create incidents an
34. ns guide PrM 4 and establish the process firmly Work through this checklist at regular intervals to help you check that everyone continues to carry out all aspects of the process You can then refer to the relevant sections above to address any shortfalls as they arise FITS Problem Management 20 Appendices PrM Appendix A Incident diagnostics sheet Obecta Technical Support Advisory Service TSAS ICT Advice Problem Management Incident Diagnostics Sheet Use this form as a guide but do not leave out detail continue on further sheets if required What was expected to happen What did happen Can the incident be recreated When did it last work Has it EVER worked What has been changed recently Write down any error messages displayed Can you or anyone else perform the same task on other equipment From the answers above is the problem likely to be hardware software network user guide other details please Actions to take Which area of hardware is affected Which part requires replacing Install spare or order replacement or other please detail ait ii aati as Becta 2003 http www becta org uk techicalsupport page 1 of 2 published September 2003 You can download a template from the FITS website http www becta org uk tsas index cfm refsect ntss amp bcsect default amp sect problem amp id dw1098_1 Becta 2004 FITS Problem Management a PrM Appe
35. ns in diagnostic techniques e Write a letter to all users about the introduction of the new service Problem management resources Incident management resources such as incident diagnostics sheet e Fishbone diagrams e Root cause analysis e Instructions on the use of the forms e Known error database e Workaround techniques Post implementation review Workload monitoring PrM 6 1 2 PrM 6 1 3 Becta 2004 Analysis surveys and measurements e Problem reports What you should expect now that you have implemented Problem Management You have a process for dealing with major incidents Everyone understands that problems usually start as incidents which are escalated into problems once diagnosed by the technicians Technicians understand how and when to reserve time to deal with problems Everyone understands that problem management is a proactive process and that the related reactive process is incident management You appreciate that problem management takes time can be expensive and should only be used for recurring or expensive incidents You understand the costs involved in problem management What you should have achieved through Problem Management You now have a formal process for dealing with problems You have a method for introducing workarounds You have set up a major incident process You have a systematic method for deciding when an incident becomes a problem You have information about the
36. oblem management works Problem management works by using analysis techniques to identify the cause of the problem Incident management is not usually concerned with the cause only the cure Problem management therefore takes longer and should be done once you have dealt with the urgent stage of the incident for example removing a faulty computer and replacing it with a working computer This takes the urgency away and leaves the faulty computer ready for diagnostics Problem management can take time It is important to set a time limit on how much time should be spent on the problem or the cost of resolution can become expensive To achieve the goal problem management aims to identify the root cause e initiate actions to improve and correct the situation Summary of the Problem Management process Inputs to Problem Management Inputs to the Problem Management process are e incident details from the Incident Management process configuration details from the configuration management database e details about changes made to the part of the network with the problem any defined workarounds from incident management Outputs from Problem Management Outputs from the Problem Management process are known errors requests for change through change management an updated problem record including a solution and or any available workarounds e fora resolved problem a closed problem record knowledge base content to use
37. ompare the incident levels to the previous weeks to see if problem solving reduces incidents Show the number of identified known errors and their associated workarounds produced from problem management Over time see if problem management reduces the incident management top 10 Finally if you implement problem management with incident management show the number of incidents and problems each week Over time it will become easier to identify the difference so persevere with the reports Problem management reports should identify where isolating problems from incidents has provided benefit Customer satisfaction analysis and surveys Satisfaction surveys are an excellent method of monitoring customer perception and expectation and can be used as a powerful marketing tool However to ensure success you should address several key points Decide on the scope of the survey Decide on the target audience Clearly define the questions Make the survey easy to complete Conduct the survey regularly Make sure that your customers understand the benefits e Publish the results Follow through on survey results Translate survey results into actions FITS Problem Management PrM 3 4 3 PrM 3 5 PrM 3 5 1 Becta 2004 Measurements Do not set targets that cannot be measured Ensure that customers are aware of what you are doing and why Establish a baseline before discussing formal service leve
38. ported by the AppleTalk network protocol for Macintosh computers Most local area networks that use AppleTalk such as TOPS also conform to the LocalTalk cable system Such networks are sometimes called LocalTalk networks The logical topology is the way that the signals act on the network media or the way that the data passes through the network from one device to the next without regard to the physical interconnection of the devices Each device on a network can be identified by its MAC address a hardware address that uniquely identifies each node of a network In IEEE 802 networks the data link control DLC layer of the OSI reference model is divided into two sub layers the logical link control LLC layer and the MAC layer The MAC layer interfaces directly with the network media Consequently each different type of network media requires a different MAC layer FITS Problem Management 7 Management information base MIB Network Network interface card NIC Network traffic OSI reference model Packet Packet switching Peer to peer network Physical topology Problem Problem Management Protocol Protocol stack Becta 2004 A management information base MIB is a database of objects that can be monitored by a network management system Both SNMP and RMON use standardised MIB formats that allow any SNMP and RMON tools to monitor any device defined by a MIB A group of two or more comp
39. r rates it refers to 10 to the 9th power 1 000 000 000 bits Gigabit is abbreviated Gb as opposed to gigabyte which is abbreviated GB The underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted and what actions web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands For example when you enter a URL in your browser this actually sends an HTTP command to the web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested web page A connection point for devices in a network Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of a LAN local area network A hub contains multiple ports When a packet arrives at one port it is copied to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets The convergence of information technology telecommunications and data networking technologies into a single technology Any event which is not part of the standard operation of a service and which causes or may cause an interruption to or a reduction in the quality of that service To detect diagnose and resolve ICT incidents as quickly as possible and minimise their adverse impact on normal operation The OGC IT Infrastructure Library a set of guides on the management and provision of operational IT services A computer network that spans a relatively small area Most local area networks LANs are confined to a single building or group of buildings The cabling scheme sup
40. search engines you can look up the error code the model of the equipment and the operating system to get a filtered response that may guide you towards the reason for the error FITS Problem Management How many Data points Storage Capacity Dual Spares Number of panels d A oe ae 4 A Patch Panels i RAID i Size Level A ai NA Maintenance contract Processor Capacity Number of ports Speed Maintenance lt _________ Memory Support contract Fi r a gt Diagram 9 lt D 2 lt How many f Makes Models Routers AJVAIISI IJ p aoIdwI Topology gt Single points of failure Firmware versions Support contact details Dial up N A How many lines Bandwidth Connectors A Cabling x Support contract a Segments Spares gt Maintenance contract o Maintenance Bandwidth Fishbone diagram This diagram also referred to as a cause and effect diagram or tree diagram displays the factors that affect a particular quality characteristic outcome or problem The end product is typically the result of a brainstorming session in which members of a group offer ideas on how to improve a product process or service The trunk of the diagram represents the main goal and primary factors are represented as branches Secondary factors are then added as stems and so on Creating the diagram stimulates d
41. seemed to be bad The Plant Manager then asked the Purchasing Manager why they had purchased from this supplier if they were so disreputable and the Purchasing Manager said because they were the lowest bidder when quotes were received from various suppliers The Plant Manager then asked the Purchasing Manager why they went with the lowest bidder and he indicated that was the direction he had received from the VP of Finance The Plant Manager then went to talk to the VP of Finance about the situation When the Plant Manager asked the VP of Finance why Purchasing had been directed to always take the lowest bidder the VP of Finance said Because you indicated that we had to be as cost conscious as possible and purchasing from the lowest bidder saves us lots of money The Plant Manger was horrified when he realized that he was the reason there was oil on the plant floor Bingo You may find scenario 2 somewhat funny and laugh at the situation It would be better if the situation made you weep because it is often all so true in numerous variations on the same theme Everyone in the organization doing their best to do the right things and everything ends up messed up The root cause of this whole situation is local optimization with no global thought involved Scenario 2 also provides a good example of how one should proceed to do root cause analysis One simply has to continue to ask Why until the pattern completes and the cause of the difficulty in the
42. specifies the physical and lower software layers Ethernet is one of the most widely implemented LAN standards A set of ANSI protocols for sending digital data over fibre optic cable FDDI networks are token passing networks and support data rates of up to 100 Mbps 100 million bits per second FDDI networks are typically used as backbones for wide area networks To ensure that the ICT and technical resources are implemented and managed in a cost effective way FITS Problem Management 28 Gateway HTTP hypertext transfer protocol Incident Management ITIL LocalTalk Logical topology MAC media access control address Becta 2004 A system designed to prevent unauthorised access to or from a private network Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software or a combination of both Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorised internet users from accessing private networks connected to the internet especially intranets All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria A node on a network that serves as an entrance to another network In schools the gateway is the computer that routes the traffic from a workstation to the outside network that is serving web pages In homes the gateway is the ISP that connects the user to the internet When used to describe data transfe
43. t it forwards the request to the real server To plan test and manage the successful implementation of software and hardware To define release policy and to ensure that master copies of all software are secured centrally Remote monitoring RMON is a network management protocol that allows network information to be gathered at a single workstation For RMON to work network devices such as hubs and switches must be designed to support it Form or screen used to record details of a request for a change to any Cl within an infrastructure or to procedures and items associated with the infrastructure A device that forwards data packets along networks A router is connected to at least two networks commonly two LANs local area networks or WANs wide area networks or a LAN and its ISP s network Routers are located at gateways the places where two or more networks connect A section of a network that is bounded by bridges routers or switches Dividing an Ethernet into multiple segments is one of the most common ways of increasing available bandwidth on the LAN A workstation or device on a network that manages network resources For example a file server is a computer and storage device dedicated to storing files Any user on the network can store files on the server A print server is a computer that manages one or more printers and a network server is a computer that manages network traffic A database server is a computer system th
44. t Management This will enable the technical support function to pinpoint recurring incidents and common errors and focus on solving them for good This service should enhance the approach the technicians use for finding out why problems occur and will enable us to keep the computer systems working as efficiently as possible for you Training in this process will be provided for the service desk single point of contact and the technicians Everyone else should continue to log their calls in the usual way so please remember to use the incident sheet to log all calls with the service desk You should benefit from a reduction in the number of repeat incidents e faults found before they affect you with resolutions implemented out of working hours so that you don t experience any downtime efficient handling of any major incident such as a virus outbreak that may occur The new service is scheduled to start on xxxxxx and we shall publish more details nearer the start date You can download a template from the FITS website http www becta org uk tsas index cfm refsect ntss amp bcsect default amp sect problem amp id dw1 175 FITS Problem Management 2 PrM Appendix C Root cause scenario example O Becta Technical Support Advisory Service TSAS ICT Advice Problem Management Root cause analysis Reproduced by kind permission of Gene Bellinger OutSights http www outsights com This article appeared on t
45. t be held responsible for any loss damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any error or inaccuracy within these pages Although all references to external sources including any sites linked to the Becta site are checked both at the time of compilation and on a regular basis Becta does not accept any responsibility for or otherwise endorse any product or information contained in these pages including any sources Opecta ICT Advice British Educational Communications and Technology Agency Millburn Hill Road Science Park Coventry CV4 7JJ Problem Management PrM 1 Introduction to Problem Management You have the same problem occurring time after time with your ICT and it never gets fixed properly You need the FITS Problem Management process PrM 1 1 PrM 1 2 Aim The aim of this section is to introduce the topic of Problem Management and to help you implement the process in your school with a minimum of preparation and training Objectives The objectives of this section are to enable you to understand the difference between incidents and problems understand when a quick fix is not enough to resolve a problem permanently e decide whether you need to implement problem control understand how to implement the Problem Management process understand how to achieve workarounds and solutions e decide which Problem Management reports your school requires and how to produce them PrM 2 Overview PrM Dall
46. t review and feedback to all staff involved in the Problem Management process FITS Problem Management Go PrM 3 34 PrM 3 4 PrM 3 4 1 PrM 3 4 2 Becta 2004 e Have a plan Follow the plan e Have a fallback plan Technician forms The technician forms are designed to aid technicians in doing their job It is always useful to record events as they occur as this helps to ensure that you leave nothing out If your records are not comprehensive which may happen if you don t complete the form at the time you may omit a seemingly obscure piece of information that later proves to be the key to resolving the incident or problem See Appendix A for the incident diagnostics sheet See Appendix B for a draft letter you may like to consider circulating at your school Problem Management post implementation review Problem Management reports The aim of reports is to summarise what you already know and in technical support to reduce the need for technical expertise to understand the information They are also useful to summarise in non technical language to show where improvements could be made Often the improvements require expenditure so having reports to back up your suggestions can prove invaluable Show the average time spent on problems per week Show how many problems are solved per week Show the number of problems for which you consider resolution would not be cost effective Once implementation is complete c
47. ts and problems Problem management can be time consuming and we give advice about when to use the process An implementation guide provides step by step instructions on planning and introducing problem management The operations guide shows the stages of problem management with the diagnostic work that a technician needs to do It stresses the importance of keeping records to enable the sharing of results For quick reference we also set out in separate areas the roles and responsibilities involved and the resources you will need Check your understanding of the process by going through sections PrM 6 1 1 to PrM 6 1 4 below Problem Management summary Prepare to implement e Identify the users of problem management Identify who will staff the Problem Management process e Plan your training Consider the impact of problem management Assess the risks of using problem Define what needs to be done Ensure that you are recording your calls and Becta 2004 can track progress Understand the difference between problems and incidents e Have a process to separate incidents from problems e Decide how much time each week to devote to problem management e Choose which areas to improve and which processes to remove e You need to sell the idea to other staff so make sure you re happy with it first FITS Problem Management 8 Implement problem management e Follow the implementation plan e Train technicia
48. uter systems linked together The two types of computer networks of interest to schools are LANs local area networks and WANs wide area networks A network interface card NIC is an expansion board inserted or built into a computer so that the computer can be connected to a network Most NICs are designed for a particular type of network protocol although some can serve multiple networks The load on a communications device or system A processing location A node can be a workstation or some other device such as a printer Every node has a unique network address sometimes called a data link control DLC address or media access control MAC address The OSI open system interconnection model defines a networking framework for implementing protocols in seven layers Control is passed from one layer to the next starting at the application layer in one station and proceeding to the bottom layer over the channel to the next station and back up the hierarchy A piece of a message transmitted over a packet switching network One of the key features of a packet is that it contains the destination address in addition to the data Refers to protocols in which messages are divided into packets before they are sent Each packet is then transmitted individually and can even follow different routes to its destination Once all the packets forming a message arrive at the destination they are recompiled into the original message A type of
49. within the agreed service hours To ensure that ICT services are available for use consistently as agreed The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time For digital devices the bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second bps A snapshot or a position which is recorded Although the position may be updated later the baseline remains unchanged and available as a reference of the original state and as a comparison against the current position A device that connects two LANs local area networks or two segments of the same LAN that use the same protocol such as Ethernet or Token Ring A temporary storage area usually in RAM The purpose of most buffers is to act as a holding area enabling the CPU to manipulate data before transferring it to a device The final stage in producing a usable configuration The process involves taking one or more input configuration items and processing building them to create one or more output configuration items eg software compile and load Ability of available supply of processing power to match the demands made on it by the business both now and in the future To ensure that all ICT processing and storage capacity provision match present and evolving needs Classification of a group of configuration items change documents incidents or problems The addition modification or removal of approved supported or baselined hardware network software applicatio
50. you minimise the adverse effect on users when an incident occurs Do you analyse incident trends to prevent further incidents Do you allocate enough time for problem management and do you review the allocation periodically PrM 4 5 Problem Management reports See PrM 3 4 1 PrM 5 Roles and responsibilities Service desk to note on the incident sheet that the problem has been passed to problem management Service desk to log monitor and track the progress of the problem Service desk or technician to spot trends e Technician support to action problems raised from incident management Technician support to progress unresolved incidents through the problem management process Technician assisting with the handling of major incidents and identifying the root causes e Technician preventing the replication of problems across multiple systems e Any additional first line support groups such as configuration management or change management specialists to be consulted Second line and third line support groups including specialist support groups and external suppliers e User to keep the service desk informed of any further changes to the state of the affected equipment sometimes computers start working again when different incidents are resolved Additional functions that form part of Problem Management Developing and maintaining the problem control process e Reviewing the efficiency and effectiveness of the problem
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