Using the Problem Status Dialog Box


Overview

Tasks

Included with

Tivoli Problem Management

Overview

Problem information

There are several types of problem information in Tivoli Problem Management:
  • Problem list - A problem list displays a list of problems in the Work with Problems dialog box or in the Problem History tab of the Call Registration dialog box.
    You can tailor these problem lists to your current needs by choosing Inquiry or SQL and then selecting problems by problem owner, location, component information and other criteria.
  • Problem history - A problem history displays a list the details of one problem's life span. This information includes the name of the person who first reported the problem, calls received about the problem, work done on the problem, and the problem's current state. You work with problem history on the Problem Status dialog box.

Problem Status dialog box

After a call is registered or dispatched, all work with problems is done in the Problem Status dialog box. Using the Problem Status dialog box, you can resume work on a problem or view a problem history.

Tasks

Displaying a list of problems in the Work with Problems dialog box

Before you can work on a problem, view a problem history, or edit a problem history, you first must locate the appropriate problem. You use the Work with Problems dialog box to display a list of problems, select a problem, and then choose the action you want to perform.

Display a list of problems by choosing one of these actions from the table.

If you use... then...
the Problem Management Analyst menu choose Work with Problems.
the toolbar click the Work with Problems tool.
any of the dialog boxes on which the problem appears choose the Problem History button.

Note: Your system administrator can configure the system to have the Problem Inquiry dialog box appear before the Work with Problems dialog box.

Tip: You can also display a list of problems on the Problem History tab of the Call Registration dialog box. Recognizing that a caller or location has previously experienced the same difficulty can help you resolve a new problem quickly.

Using buttons to work with problems

After you select a problem, use one of these buttons to work on the problem.
Choose... to...
Attach attach a new call to an existing problem. For more information, see Attaching calls to problems.
Close close the Work with Problems dialog box.
Inquiry search for a specific problem or set of problems.
Print print a specific problem history or set of problem histories. For more information on printing problem histories, see Printing a Problem History.
Refresh update the list of problems to include those added since you first accessed the Work with Problems dialog box.
If you define any special search or sort criteria by using Inquiry or SQL before you choose Refresh, Tivoli Problem Management uses this criteria when refreshing the list of problems.
Resume resume work on the selected problem. This opens the Problem Status dialog box and displays the problem history of the selected problem.
SQL create an advanced database query for a specific problem or set of problems.
View view the selected problem.

Viewing a problem history

Viewing a problem history means that you can look at problem information, but that you can not change anything. You view a problem history when you want to check the record of what has been done about a specific problem, to learn who called about it, or to verify its current status. You can not use any of Tivoli Problem Management's Diagnostic Aids to solve the problem.

You can view problem history in the Problem Status dialog box. Time spent viewing a problem history in the Problem Status dialog box is not included in the Time Spent box of the Problem tab of the Problem Status dialog box.

Perform the following steps to view a problem history:

  1. Choose one of these actions:
    • Open the Work with Problems dialog box.
    • Open the Call Registration dialog box. Choose the Problem History tab.
  2. Choose Inquiry or SQL to search for the problem you want to view.
    Note: For more information on the Inquiry and SQL buttons, see Searching and Inquiring.
  3. Select a problem and choose View.
    Result: The Problem Status dialog box appears in view mode. You can review all of the information in the problem history.
    Note: Only the Close button is available in view mode. You can not make changes to any of the problem history information or add work history. You must resume work on the problem to perform these functions.
  4. Choose Close to exit the Problem Status dialog box.

Adding work history

You can add work history to describe additional work that you performed on a problem. Additional work may occur outside the time spent in the Call Registration dialog box or the time spent working on the problem in the Problem Status dialog box.

There are two ways to add work history to an existing problem. The method you choose determines if the time spent working offline is included in the total amount of time spent working on a problem.

  • To add the time spent working offline to the total time spent working on the problem, add the work history while resuming a problem.
  • To add only the work history description, but not the time spent working offline, add the work history during call registration.
    Note: For information on adding only work history descriptions, see Adding work history.

Perform the following to add work history while resuming a problem:

  1. From the Work with Problems dialog box, select a problem and choose Resume.
  2. In the Problem Status dialog box, choose the Work History tab.
  3. If an existing Work History is displayed on the Work History tab, choose Clear.
    Note: This clears the Description box and resets the Start Date, Start Time, End Date, and End Time boxes to the current date and time. It does not remove existing work history from the Work History tab.
  4. In the Description box, type a description of the work done offline.
  5. In the Start Date box, do one of the following:
    • Type the date you began the offline work
    • Choose the Begin Date Calendar button to select a date
  6. In the Start Time box, type the time you began the offline work.
  7. Use this table to determine your action in the End Date and End Time boxes.
  8. If you want to... then...
    set the End Date and End Time boxes to the current date and time choose Now.
    select a date choose the End Date Calendar button.
    In the End Time box, type the time you finished the offline work.
    enter date and time you finished the work offline type the date and time.
  9. Choose Add.
    Result: Your new work history is displayed in the list.

Deleting work history

You can delete work history for any problem, open or closed.

Because all work history information is also recorded in the audit trail for the problem, however, the work history information remains in Tivoli Problem Management. The deleted work history no longer appears on the Work History tab, but it is still present on the Audit Trail tab of the Problem Status dialog box.

Perform the following steps to delete work history:

  1. From the Work with Problems dialog box, select a problem and choose Resume.
  2. In the Problem Status dialog box, choose the Work History tab.
  3. In the Work History tab, from the work history table, select the work history you want to delete.
    Caution: The deletion occurs immediately when you choose Delete. You do not get a second chance to verify that you want to delete the selected record.
  4. Choose Delete to delete the work history from the work history table.

Editing work history

You can edit the information in a work history if you want to change or update your notes on what you did offline to solve the problem.

Perform the following steps to edit work history:

  1. From the Work with Problems dialog box, select a problem and choose Resume.
  2. In the Problem Status dialog box, choose the Work History tab.
  3. In the Work History tab, from the Work History table, select the work history you want to edit.
  4. Make the appropriate changes in the Work History Details boxes.
  5. Choose Update to display the updated work history in the table.