Hello, I'm Brian Ferrill, and welcome to PACE
I T's session on troubleshooting theory.
Today, we're going to talk about the importance of
having a methodology and the six-step troubleshooting
methodology recommended by CompTIA. With that,
let's go ahead and begin this session.
We begin by talking about the importance of
having a methodology and I like this quote
by Stone Gossard from Pearl Jam, "My methodology
is not knowing what I'm doing and making that
work for me." Not everybody can do that. Especially
not in the tech world. Due to the complexity
of modern computing systems, the wise technician
will have and follow a troubleshooting methodology.
Not having that methodology in place means
you're much more likely to waste time and
effort and create frustration not only for
yourself but also for your end user.
Now, let's move on to CompTIA's six steps to troubleshooting.
CompTIA recommends the six following steps.
The first step is to identify the problem.
The second step is to establish a theory of
probable cause. The third step is to test
the theory of probable cause. The fourth step
is to develop an action plan and implement
that plan. Step five is to verify complete
system functionality. And step six is to document
the process. Now, let's discuss each of those
steps in a little bit more detail.
Identifying the problem: the first thing that
you need to be aware of is that the symptoms
are not the problem. You need to get down
to the base problem. That is, the thing that
is causing the symptoms to manifest.
And to do that, you should question the user. You
need to ask them questions about when it occurred
and why it occurred. You should try and determine
what has changed. And before you do anything
else, you need to make a backup of the system,
just so you can preserve everything as it is.
From there, you establish a theory of probable causes.
Make a list of all the probable causes.
Then, using your technical knowledge, prioritize that list.
Your list should have the probable
causes listed from most likely, to likely,
to least likely. By the way, you need to question
the obvious. If it's a power situation at
the workstation, is the power cord plugged
in?
Once you have your theory of probable cause,
this is where you first consider whether or
not you can take care of it or if you need
to escalate it to a higher authority.
Once you have your probable cause, now you need
to test your theory of probable cause to determine
if it's the actual cause. Your theory was
created off of the most likely probable cause
so you need to figure out how you're going
to test it. If the theory is confirmed, move
on to the next step. If the theory isn't confirmed,
go back to step two or step one if needed.
Once you have determined the actual cause
by testing your probable cause, then you need
to establish an action plan and execute the
plan. Simple problems will probably just need
simple plans. But if it's a complex problem,
then you may need to write out the plan so
that you can be sure to execute it correctly.
This is another spot where you can escalate
the problem if need be.
After you have executed your plan, you need
to verify full system functionality. If everything
works, great. This is where, if it's applicable,
we implement preventative measures to prevent
the problem from occurring again.
If full system functionality has not occurred, well,
that's not quite so great. Now you need to
go back to step one.
But let's talk about if everything was fully functional.
This is where you need to document
the process. This is where you document findings,
actions, and outcomes. This is so, if the
problem occurs again, there is a document
that will walk somebody through an easy way
to resolve the issue.
It also gives you a history of equipment and
users so that problem children can become known.
Another important aspect of this is
that both positive and negative outcomes need
to be documented. This is so that other people
don't make the same mistakes that you might have made.
Now, that concludes this session on troubleshooting theory.
We discussed the importance of having
a troubleshooting methodology
and CompTIA's six-step troubleshooting methodology.
Now, on behalf of PACE I T, thank you for watching
this session and I'm sure we will do some more.
