Working With Problems


Overview

Tasks

Included with

Tivoli Problem Management

Overview

Why do you work with problems?

Help desk analysts access problems for different reasons. You may open a problem to solve it, to update information, or to transfer it to another help desk analyst.

How do you work with problems?

Problems can be resolved at different points in the problem life cycle. You can access and resolve problems in many ways:
  • Resolve a problem during call registration
  • Resume work on an open, closed, or frozen problem
  • Pick up a transferred call or problem
  • Review work done on a problem

Where do you work with problems?

The following dialog boxes are starting points used to access or resolve problems:
  • Call Registration - You can use the Call Registration dialog box to register a call and resolve the problem, all in one session.
  • Problem Status - You use the Problem Status dialog box to view problem histories. You can also resume work on a problem here.
  • Work with Problems - You use the Work with Problems dialog box to display a list of problems, select a problem, and then choose actions which lead to problem resolution.

Problem ownership

In Tivoli Problem Management, the help desk analyst responsible for solving a problem is the problem owner. Initially, the help desk analyst who registers a call in the Call Registration dialog box owns the problem. Ownership of a problem can change if more than one help desk analyst works to resolve a problem.

Your system administrator controls who owns a problem when a help desk analyst resumes work on a problem owned by another analyst. When you resume work on a problem owned by someone else, one of four things can happen:

  • The original help desk analyst remains the problem owner
  • You immediately become the problem owner
  • You immediately become the problem owner, but you can reject ownership
  • The original help desk analyst remains the problem owner, unless you decide to take ownership

In cases where you have a choice in accepting or rejecting ownership, the system administrator makes the Take Ownership box available in the Problem Status dialog box. You can choose one of these actions:

  • Select the Take Ownership check box to become the new problem owner.
  • Clear the Take Ownership check box to reject ownership of the problem. The help desk analyst who owned the problem originally remains the problem owner.

Transferred calls and problems

A transferred call or problem is one that is being passed to you by another help desk analyst at your site. Transferring calls enables help desk analysts to share the workload and take advantage of individual areas of expertise. When a help desk analyst registers a call, he or she may or may not try to resolve the problem before transferring it to you. You start work on a transferred call or problem by picking up the transferred call or problem. See Resuming a problem or Picking up a dispatched or transferred call.

Ownership of transferred problems

The system administrator controls who owns a problem when help desk analysts transfer problems to other help desk analysts. Consult with your system administrator to find out which of these two actions occurs:
  • A help desk analyst immediately becomes the owner of any problems transferred to him or her
  • The original help desk analyst remains the problem owner until a second help desk analyst picks up the problem

What is the difference between a call and a problem?

In Tivoli Problem Management, a call is a record of the information you collect during the call registration process. A problem is a record in the Tivoli Problem Management database of the difficulties one or more callers experience. Several callers may have the same problem or one caller may have several problems.

How do I know when to pick up a call or problem?

When a call or problem is transferred to you, you receive an alarm, or a notification announces the transfer. A notification is a notice sent on an external device, such as a beeper. An alarm is the notice sent internally by Tivoli Problem Management. The type of notice you receive depends on how the sender wants you to receive the notice.

Note: For more information, see Notifications and alarms.


Tasks

Notifying contacts

When you resolve a problem during call registration, you have the option of notifying the caller that the problem is resolved. Similarly, you can notify all callers who have reported a problem when you resolve a problem in the Problem Status dialog box.

These notifications are delivered outside Tivoli Problem Management by another vendor's software or system such as e-mail, network messaging, faxes, pagers, or beepers.

The ability to notify contacts when you resolve problems depends on whether:

  • Your office has the necessary software or system
  • Your system administrator has implemented notifications in Tivoli Problem Management
  • Your system administrator has assigned a notification method to this contact

Making solutions active

Your system administrator controls whether help desk analysts can add active solutions to the Solutions table.

If the option is available, selecting the Make Active Solution check box in the Call Registration dialog box adds your solution to the Solutions table. The solution is active and available for other analysts to use. Check with your system administrator for guidelines on when to make a solution active.

Note: When the Make Active Solution check box is not available, solutions created by help desk analysts are added to the Solution table as inactive solutions and can be activated by the system administrator.

Resolving a problem in the Call Registration dialog box when you supply the solution

You can resolve a problem in the Call Registration dialog box. To resolve a problem in the Call Registration dialog box, you register a call and then apply a solution. You can resolve a problem in the Call Registration dialog box by supplying the solution yourself, or by using the Diagnostic Aids.

Perform the following steps to resolve a problem in the Call Registration dialog box when you supply the solution:

  1. In the Call Registration dialog box, specify the Contact Information, Component Information, and problem description.
  2. In the Resolution box, type the solution to the problem.
  3. To notify the caller that the problem is resolved, select the Notify Contact On Close check box.
    Note: If the system administrator has not set up contact notifications, this setting is ignored. For more information, see Notifying contacts.
  4. To add an active solution to the Solutions table, select the Make Active Solution check box.
    Note: Your system administrator controls whether this check box is available. If available, it appears only after you type a solution in the Resolution box and click anywhere outside this text box.
    For more information, see Making solutions active.
  5. Choose Done.

Resolving a problem in the Call Registration dialog box when a Diagnostic Aid supplies the solution

You can use the Diagnose button on the Call Registration dialog box to locate and apply a solution to the current problem.

Perform the following steps to resolve a problem in the Call Registration dialog box when a Diagnostic Aid supplies the solution:

  1. In the Call Registration dialog box, specify the Contact Information, Component Information, and problem description.
  2. Choose a Diagnose button.
    Result: A Diagnostic Aid dialog box appears.
  3. Select the Diagnostic Aid tab that you wish to use.
  4. Select the appropriate solution from the list and choose Activate.
  5. To notify the caller that the problem is resolved, in the Call Registration dialog box, select the Notify Contact On Close check box.
    Note: If the system administrator has not set up contact notifications, this setting is ignored. For more information, see Notifying contacts.
  6. To add this solution to the Solutions table, select the Make Active Solution check box.
    Note: Your system administrator controls whether this check box is available. If available, it appears only after you activate a solution. For more information, see Making solutions active.
  7. Choose Done.

Resuming a problem

If a problem is not resolved during Call Registration, it is either frozen or transferred. Help desk analysts freeze problems when they suspend work on problems and intend to resolve them later. Or, they transfer problems to other help desk analysts when someone else is better qualified to resolve a particular problem.

A closed problem is one that has been resolved. You can resume work on a closed problem when the resolution did not work, or when you want to add new information to the problem history.

This section describes how to resume work on a problem in the Problem Status dialog box.

Perform the following steps to resume a problem:

  1. In the Work With Problems dialog box, from the Problem List, select a problem and then choose Resume.
    Result: The Problem tab of the Problem Status dialog box appears, with the problem information.
    Note: Open, transferred, and closed problems can be resumed.

At this point, you can:

  • Resolve the problem
  • Add work history notes
  • Review the calls made about this problem
  • Print the problem history
  • Check the record of what has been done so far to resolve this problem.

Resolving a resumed problem in the Problem Status dialog box when you supply the solution

You can resolve a problem in the Problem Status dialog box. To do so, you resume work on a problem, and then solve a problem the same way you do in the Call Registration dialog box. You can either supply the solution yourself or use the Diagnostic Aids.

When you know the solution to a problem, you can resolve a problem in the Problem Status dialog box by typing the solution in the Status box.

Perform the following steps to resolve a resumed problem in the Problem Status dialog box when you supply the solution:

  1. In the Work with Problems dialog box, from the Problem List, select a problem, and then choose Resume.
    Note: Both open and closed problems can be resumed.
  2. In the Status box of the Problem tab of the Problem Status dialog box, type the solution to the problem.
  3. To notify all callers who reported this problem that the problem is resolved, select the Notify All Contacts check box.
    You can choose the Calls tab of the Problem Status dialog box to see a list of these callers
    Note: If the system administrator has not set up contact notifications, this setting is ignored. For more information, see Notifying contacts.
  4. To add this solution to the Solutions table, select the Make Active Solution check box.
    Note: Your system administrator controls whether this check box is available. If available, it appears only after you type a solution in the Resolution box and click anywhere outside of this text box. For more information, see Making solutions active.
  5. If you resume work on a problem owned by another help desk analyst, you can choose one of these actions:
    • To become the problem owner, select the Take Ownership check box.
    • To keep the problem owner the same as before you resumed work on the problem, clear the Take Ownership check box.
      Note: Your system administrator controls whether this check box is available. For more information, see Problem ownership.
  6. Select a problem code that is related to the resolution processing of a problem
    Note: The default is Done.
  7. Choose Done.
    Result: The problem history is updated and the problem is closed.

Resolving a resumed problem when a Diagnostic Aid provides the solution

You can use the Diagnostics button on the Problem tab of the Problem Status dialog box to locate and apply a solution to the current problem.

Perform the following steps to resolve a resumed problem in the Problem Status dialog box when a Diagnostic Aid supplies the solution:

  1. In the Work with Problems dialog box, from the Problem List, select a problem, and then choose Resume.
    Note: Both open and closed problems can be resumed.
  2. If necessary, update information on the Problem tab of the Problem Status dialog box to better describe the problem and its current status.
  3. To notify all callers who reported this problem that the problem is resolved, select the Notify All Contacts check box.
    You can choose the Calls tab of the Problem Status dialog box to see a list of these callers.
    Note: If the system administrator has not set up contact notifications, this setting is ignored. For more information, see Notifying contacts.
  4. To add this solution to the Solutions table, select the Make Active Solution check box.
    Note: Your system administrator controls whether this check box is available. If available, it appears only after you activate a solution. For more information, see Making solutions active.
  5. If you resume work on a problem owned by another help desk analyst, you can choose one of these actions:
    • To become the problem owner, select the Take Ownership check box.
    • To keep the problem owner the same as before you resumed work on the problem, clear the Take Ownership check box.
      Note: Your system administrator controls whether this check box is available. For more information, see Problem ownership.
  6. Choose Diagnostics.
  7. Choose a Diagnostic Aid tab that you wish to use.
  8. Select the appropriate solution from the list.
  9. Choose Activate to resolve.
  10. Choose Done.

Picking up a dispatched or transferred call

When a call is dispatched, transferred, or forwarded to you, you pick up the call and complete the call registration process. Then you can work to resolve the problem, just as if you took the call initially and registered it.

Perform the following steps to pick up a dispatched or transferred call:

  1. To access the Work with Dispatch Calls dialog box, do one of the following:
    • If you are using the Tivoli Problem Management Analyst profile, from the Call menu, choose Pickup Dispatch/Call Transfer.
    • From the Help menu, choose Your System Profile and follow the instructions under Work With Dispatch Calls.
  2. From the Dispatch List, select a call.

    The following table contains column descriptions for the Work with Dispatch Calls dialog box. Use these descriptions to identify the call you want to pick up.
  3. Column Description
    Location The caller's location. For example, the caller's location could be Corporate Accounting.
    Caller Name The name of the person calling.
    User The help desk analyst's user ID.
    Group The help desk analyst's group ID.
    Dispatcher ID The help desk analyst who dispatched the call.
    FromSite The site from which the dispatched call came.
    Call Number The call number, allocated by Tivoli Problem Management, which is similar to a problem ID.
    Call Date The date the call was registered.
    Call Time The time the call was registered.
    Severity The severity of the call, which is specified when the call is registered during call registration.
    Dispatch ID The dispatch ID, allocated by Tivoli Problem Management, which is similar to a call number.
  4. Choose Select.
    Result: The Call Registration dialog box appears, displaying the call information. You can now complete call registration and resolve the problem.