Define the problem and determine the severity of the problem

Define the problem and determine severity of the problem When describing a problem to IBM®, be as specific as possible. Include all relevant background information so that IBM Support can help you solve the problem efficiently.

IBM Support needs you to supply a severity level. Therefore, you need to understand and assess the business impact of the problem that you are reporting. Use the following criteria:
Severity 1
The problem has a critical business impact. You are unable to use the program, resulting in a critical impact on operations. This condition requires an immediate solution.
Severity 2
The problem has a significant business impact. The program is usable, but it is severely limited.
Severity 3
The problem has some business impact. The program is usable, but less significant features (not critical to operations) are unavailable.
Severity 4
The problem has minimal business impact. The problem causes little impact on operations, or a reasonable circumvention to the problem was implemented.
For more information, see the Getting IBM support topic in the Software Support Handbook at http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/handbook/getsupport.html.