Using the HyperTrees Diagnostic Aid


Overview

Tasks

Included with

Tivoli Problem Management

Overview

What can you do with HyperTrees?

HyperTrees is a Diagnostic Aid that enables your help desk to collect and organize the expertise of all its analysts. HyperTrees enables you to reuse existing knowledge and solutions instead of researching and recreating the same solutions again. HyperTrees provide consistency because they present solutions in a standard format, and enable all analysts to provide the same solution to all callers who have the same problem.

How do HyperTrees differ from the other Diagnostic Aids?

HyperTrees differ from the other Diagnostic Aids because they do not use SCIM information and problem descriptions. You manually search the master solutions table, using your caller's responses to a series of questions, and navigate HyperTrees until you arrive at a solution.

HyperTrees concepts

When you register a call, you usually ask questions to define the caller's problem. Your first questions are probably general ones because you want to understand the nature of the problem and its probable cause. With each answer your caller provides, your questions become more specific. As you gather information, you come closer to the cause of the problem.

HyperTrees uses this general to specific approach to solve problems. HyperTrees use lists of actions, questions, and answers to help you navigate through possible problem causes and solutions.

As you navigate through HyperTrees, you may need to ask a caller to perform an action to determine the correct answer to a question. In HyperTrees, the windows you work with display the questions, actions, and possible responses to the questions.

Every HyperTrees leads to a solution. When you reach a solution, you may have a final set of instructions for your caller to perform to correct the problem, or the solution may be to contact a third party for further assistance.

Accessing the HyperTrees tab of the Diagnostic Aids dialog box

To access the HyperTrees tab of the Diagnostic Aids dialog box, do one of the following:

Home Page tab of the HyperTrees tab of the Diagnostic Aids dialog box

On the Home Page tab of the HyperTrees tab of the Diagnostic Aids dialog box, you can see HyperTree subjects represented by an icon. The Home Page tab can hold up to 32 icons. Each icon represents a link.

Usually, an icon on the Home Page tab represents a link to the Hyper Tree tab, but an icon can also be a link to an additional Home Page tab of icons, to a Tivoli Problem Management function, or to an external application.

Depending on how many HyperTrees are created for your system, there may be only one Home Page tab, or many Home Pages tabs. If your system contains many HyperTrees, your main Home Page tab may be linked to additional HyperTrees Home Pages tabs.

Hyper Tree tab of the HyperTrees tab of the Diagnostic Aids dialog box

On the Hyper Tree tab of the HyperTrees tab of the Diagnostic Aids dialog box, you work through a Hyper Tree in a linear manner. You answer questions from a set of responses until you get to a solution to the problem.

Tasks

Using the Home Page tab of the HyperTrees tab of the Diagnostic Aids dialog box

You can view only one HyperTree at a time.

Perform the following steps to access the Hyper Tree tab or linked actions:

  1. On the Home Page tab, choose an icon that represents the action that you want to access.
    Result if the icon is a link to another Home Page tab: New icons appear on the Home Page tab.
    Result if the icon is a link to a HyperTree: The Hyper Tree tab appears and displays the HyperTree's root node.
    Result if the icon is a link to a TSD system action: The TSD system action starts. Perform the system action.
  2. If a new Home Page tab of icons appears, repeat the previous step until the HyperTree root node appears.

You can now lead the caller through the list of actions, questions, and responses required to search the HyperTree for possible solutions.

Searching for a solution on the Hyper Tree tab of the HyperTees tab of the Diagnostic Aids dialog box

On the Hyper Tree tab of the HyperTrees tab of the Diagnostic Aids dialog box, you work through a HyperTree in a linear manner. As you and your caller answer the node questions, the questions become more specific.

Perform the following steps to search for and activate a solution:

  1. On the Hyper Tree tab, as appropriate, either perform the listed action yourself or ask the caller to perform the actions that are listed in the Action section.
  2. When the action has been completed, ask the question listed in the Question list.
  3. Find and select the caller's response in the Responses list.
  4. Double-click the selected response.
    Result: The next node in the HyperTree, appears with a new action, question, and set of responses.
    Note: Not all HyperTree - Sequential Response windows contain information in the Action list. If this is the case, ask the caller the question in the Question list and choose the appropriate response from the Responses list.
  5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until you see a Hyper Tree tab with the solution to the problem.
  6. Choose Activate.
    Result if you accessed HyperTrees from the Call Registration dialog box:
    • The HyperTrees SCIM, severity, and problem type (if they exist) overwrite the corresponding boxes in the Call Registration dialog box.
    • The HyperTrees solution is automatically copied to the Resolution box in the Call Registration Description box.
    • Tivoli Problem Management assigns the Default Problem Close code to the problem.

    Complete all the required Call Registration information, then handle the problem just as you would any other one.

    Result if you accessed HyperTrees from the Problem Status dialog box:

    • The HyperTrees solution is copied to the Status box in the Problem Status dialog box.
    • The HyperTrees severity, SCIM, and problem type information (if they exist) overwrite the corresponding boxes in the Problem Status dialog box.
    • Tivoli Problem Management assigns the Default Problem Close code to the problem.

Returning to previous nodes

Searching for a solution on the Hyper Tree tab of the HyperTees tab of the Diagnostic Aids dialog box shows you how to quickly find and activate a solution. Those instructions assume, however, that all the necessary information is available. The instructions also assume that the caller knows the answers to all the questions in the HyperTree window, which may not always be the case.

Occasionally, you may go down the wrong HyperTree path. This occurs because you selected the wrong response or because the caller did not know the correct answer to a question. In these cases, you can use the Prev button to reverse your direction.

When you choose Prev, you return to the previous node in your current HyperTree. You can back up as far as you want, but remember that when you back up, you effectively undo the progress you made, one step at a time.

For example, suppose the caller is unable to answer a question, so you decide to back up two nodes. You reselect the responses (or select different ones) for those two nodes to return to the same HyperTree level you reached before backing up.

If you are at the root node of a HyperTree and you try to back up, Tivoli Problem Management displays an error message asking if you want to start Home Pages.

Using hypermedia links

As you work with HyperTrees, you may encounter hypermedia links that allow you to access additional information about the topic you are researching.

A hypermedia link is a connection to a different source of information. You can identify a hypermedia link by its distinctive color. The color of a hypermedia link is determined by your system administrator.

The use of hypermedia links depends on your help desk's configuration of Tivoli Problem Management. If you have questions about hypermedia links in HyperTrees, ask your system administrator.

Perform the following step to use a hypermedia link.

  • Double-click the hypermedia link.
    Result: The dialog box, or application to which the hypermedia link is connected appears.