Maintaining Solutions


Overview

Tasks

Included with

Tivoli Problem Management

Overview

Overview of the Solutions Diagnostic Aid

The Solutions Diagnostic Aid enables you to search all records in the SOLUTIONS table of the Tivoli Problem Management database. A Solutions record can be:
  • A Common Problem record
  • An Error Message record
  • A Hot News record
  • A solution node in a HyperTree
  • A Solutions record added through the Work with Solutions dialog box
  • A Solutions record added by a help desk analyst through the Call Registration dialog box.

You can improve system performance by periodically purging Solutions records from the SOLUTIONS table in the database. Purging Solutions records is a way to delete large groups of Solutions records at once. To purge Solutions records, use the Tivoli Problem Management Solution Purge utility.

Solutions record characteristics

All the Solutions records in the Tivoli Problem Management database share certain characteristics, regardless of their type.

Usage Count

Each Solutions record contains a usage count. The usage count indicates the number of times the Solutions record has been activated (selected as the solution to a problem.)

Active and Inactive Status

You cannot delete a Solutions record that has been activated to solve a problem. Tivoli Problem Management does enable you, however, to designate Solutions records as active or inactive. If a Solutions record is designated as inactive, it does not appear as a possible solution.

There are other reasons you might choose to designate a Solutions record as inactive, such as:

  • The Solutions record is no longer current
  • The Solutions record is a duplicate of another Solutions record in the database

Work with Solutions dialog box

This dialog box enables users to add, edit, delete, and view individual Solutions records.

To access the Work with Solutions dialog box, do one of the following:

  • If you are using the Problem Management Administrator profile or the Problem Management Analyst profile, from the Diagnostics menu, choose Solutions.
  • If you are using the Tivoli Service Desk Administrator profile or the Tivoli Service Desk User profile, from the Problem Mgmt Diagnostics menus, choose Solutions.
  • From the Help menu, choose Your System Profile and follow the instructions under Work with Solutions.

    Result: The Work with Solutions dialog box appears.

Choose Aid dialog box

This dialog box enables users to select the type of Diagnostic Aid record to create.

To access the Choose Aid dialog box:

  • In the Work with Solutions dialog box, select the record you want to make into a Diagnostic Aid record and choose Make Aid.

    Result: The Choose Aid dialog box appears.

Solution Inquiry dialog box

This dialog box enables users to search for solutions that matches a search criterion.

To access the Solutions Inquiry dialog box:

  • In the Work with Solutions dialog box, choose Inquiry.

  • Result: The Solutions Inquiry dialog box appears.

Text Inquiry dialog box

This dialog box enables users to search for text.

To access the Text Inquiry dialog box:

  • In the Solutions Inquiry dialog box, choose Text Inquiry next to the Description box or the Solution box.

    Result: The Text Inquiry dialog box appears.

Add Solution dialog box

This dialog box enables users to add individual solutions records.

To access the Add Solution dialog box:

Edit Solution dialog box

This dialog box enables users to add or modify information or make the record active or inactive.

To access the Edit Solution dialog box:

View Solution dialog box

This dialog box enables users to retrieve and view any Solutions record.

Note: In view mode, however, you cannot make any changes to the record.

To access the View Solution dialog box:


Tasks

Inquiring about Solutions records You can add, edit, delete and view individual Solutions records. To find a specific Solutions record, you use the Solutions Inquiry dialog box to perform an inquiry.

To inquire about a Solutions record:

  1. In the Work with Solutions dialog box, choose Inquiry.
  2. In the Solutions Inquiry dialog box, type data in any of the boxes to specify the search criteria for the Solutions records you want to find.
  3. Choose OK.

Result: The Work with Solutions dialog box appears with solutions that meet the inquiry that you specified.

For information about using Inquiry dialog boxes, see Searching and Inquiring.

Adding Solutions records

You can add as many Solutions records as you need in the SOLUTIONS table of the Tivoli Problem Management database. Solutions records are individual records.

To add a Solutions record:

  1. In the Work with Solutions dialog box, choose Add.
    Result: The Add Solution dialog box appears.
  2. In the Add Solution dialog box, from the Severity list, select a severity level.
  3. From the System, Component, Item, and Module lists, select the appropriate component information.
    The more information you specify, the less the help desk analyst needs to specify to find this Solutions record.
  4. From the Problem Type list, select the problem type.
    If you leave the Problem Type box blank, you are indicating that this Solutions record applies to all problem types.
  5. From the Organization list, select an organization.
  6. From the Problem ID list, select a problem ID.
  7. From the Severity list, select the severity.
  8. Choose Active Solutions box to make solutions active.
  9. In the Description box, type a description of the problem.
    Be sure to include symptoms or adjectives describing the problem and make sure those words are in your Adaptive Learning Thesaurus.
  10. In the Solution box, type a description of the solution.
    Be sure to include steps required to solve the problem.
  11. Choose OK.
    Result: The Work with Solutions dialog box appears with the new Solutions record in the Solution List.

For instructions on adding, updating, and deleting hypermedia links, see Hypermedia links.

Viewing Solutions records

You can easily retrieve and view any Solutions record. In view mode, however, you cannot make any changes to the record.

To view a Solutions record:

  1. In the Work with Solutions dialog box, select a Solutions record from the Solution List.
  2. Choose View.
  3. Choose Close when you are finish viewing the record in the View Solution dialog box.
    Result: The Work with Solutions dialog box.

Editing Solutions records

You can edit a Solutions record to add or modify information or to make the record active or inactive. To edit a Solutions record:
  1. In the Work with Solutions dialog box, select a Solutions record from the Solution List.
  2. Choose Edit.
  3. In the Edit Solution dialog box, edit the Solutions record. The boxes and options in the Edit Solution dialog box are identical to those provided in the Add Solution dialog box.
    Note: The following information is saved with each record for historical purposes and cannot be modified:
    • Date added
    • Time added
    • Adding user
    • Last used date
    • Last used time
  4. Do one of the following to change the status of the Solutions record:
    • To make the record active, select the Active Solution check box.
    • To make the record inactive, clear the Active Solution check box.
  5. Choose OK.
  6. The Work with Solutions dialog box appears with the edited Solutions record in the list.

Creating a Diagnostic Aid record from a Solutions record

You can create any of the following types of Diagnostic Aid records from a Solutions record in Tivoli Problem Management:
  • Common Problem
  • Hot News
  • Error Message

This is useful if you have a solution already in the database and find that it would be helpful to make it into one of the other types of records. For example, if you have a Solutions record that you use often to solve problems, you might want to create a Common Problems record from that solution.

To create a Diagnostic Aid record from a Solutions record:

  1. In the Work with Solutions dialog box, select the record you want to make into a Diagnostic Aid record from the Solution List.
  2. Choose Make Aid.
  3. Under Diagnostic Type in the Choose Aid dialog box, select the option button for the type of Diagnostic Aid record you want to create.
  4. Choose Next.
    Result: The Add Common Problem, Add Hot News, or Add Error Message dialog box appears, depending on which diagnostic type you selected.
  5. In the Title box, specify a title for the new record.
  6. Add any additional information to the record, then choose OK.
  7. Choose Close.

Deleting Solutions records

You can delete a Solutions record that is inactive, has not been used to solve a problem, or is not associated with a diagnostic aid or hyper node.

To delete a Solutions record:

  1. In the Work with Solutions dialog box, select a Solutions record from the Solution List.
  2. Choose Delete.
    Result: A Warning message appears to confirm that you want to delete the record.
  3. Choose Yes.
    Result: Depending on the Solutions record's status, one of two things happens:
    • If the Solutions record has not been activated as a solution to a problem, Tivoli Problem Management deletes it from the Solution List.
    • If the Solutions record has been activated as a solution to a problem or is tied to a diagnostic aid or hyper node, an Error message appears.
    • Choose OK. The Work with Solutions dialog box appears, with the Solutions record still in the Solution List.

Refreshing the Solutions list

If you have been working with Solutions records for some time, and other users are updating the data in your database, you should periodically refresh the Solution List in the Work with Solutions dialog box.

To refresh the list of Solutions records:

Purging Solutions records You can purge a Solutions record that is inactive, has not been used to solve a problem, or is not associated with a diagnostic aid or hyper node. See Purging Tivoli Problem Management Solutions.