PROBLEM
MANAGEMENT
ITIL Definition of Problem Unknown underlying cause of one or more incidents Incident ends when the customer is able to carry on with their job regardless of whether or not the underlying cause of the incident has been resolved eg :
a.
b.
c.
d.
Objectives Minimize the adverse impact of incidents and problems Prevent recurrence Seek root cause Initiate actions to improve or correct
Two major processes of Problem management:
a. Reactive Problem Management b. Proactive problem management
a. b.
c.
Benefits/Value to business IT service availability and quality are increased Speeds up the resolution time and reduces the number of incidents Less disruption to business critical systems
PROCESS FLOW
(1) Problem detection
a.
b. c. d. e.
Suspicion or detection of a cause of one or more incidents by the Service desk Analysis of an incident by a technical support group Automated detection of an infrastructure or application fault Notification from a supplier or contractor Analysis of incidents as part of proactive Problem Management
(2) Problem logging Details such as: i. User details ii. Service details iii. Equipment details iv. Date/Time initially logged v. Priority and categorization details vi. Incident description vii. Details of all diagnostic or attempted recovery actions taken
(3)Problem Categorization
(4)Problem Prioritization
(5) Problem investigation and diagnosis
a) b) c) d) e)
Chronological Analysis Kepner and Tregoe Brainstorming Ishikawa diagrams Pareto Analysis
(7)Workarounds
A temporary way of overcoming the difficulties
In cases where a workaround is found, it is therefore important that the problem record remains open
(8)Raising a Known Error Record
As soon as the diagnosis is complete and particularly where a workaround has been found, a Known Error Record must be raised and placed in the Known Error Database
(9)Problem Resolution
a.
If any change in functionality is required this will require RFC to be raised and approved
Resolution should be applied only when the change has been approved and scheduled for release In the meantime, the KEDB should be used for quick resolution of incidents/problems
b.
c.
(10)Problem Closure
(11)Major Problem Review
a. b. c.
Those things that were done correctly Those things that were done wrong What could be done better in future
d.
How to prevent recurrence
(12)Errors detected environment
in
the
development
PROCESS FLOW
INTER-PROCESS INTERFACES
Change Management Configuration Management Release and Deployment Management Availability Management Capacity Management IT Service Continuity Financial Management
KEY METRICS
Total number of problems recorded in the period The percentage of problems resolved within SLA targets The number and percentage of problems that exceeded their resolution times The backlog of outstanding problems and the trend The average cost of handling a problem
CHALLENGES , CSFS AND RISKS
Linking Incident and Problem Management tools The ability to relate Incident and Problem Records The second- and third-line staff should have a good working relationship with staff on the first line Problem Management should be able to use all Knowledge and Configuration Management resources available
THANK YOU
