The Universal Troubleshooting Process
(UTP)
Systematic
Troubleshooting and Debugging
CONTENTS
|
IMPORTANT
NOTE
In 2005, the
term General Maintenance was
replaced with Corrective
Maintenance, which better describes the purpose of the maintenance.
These terms are synonomous, so you can use either term, but courseware
updated in 2005 and later uses the term Corrective Maintenance.
|
Troubleshooting: What's in
it for me?
Money, power and fame. Happiness and improved
social and family life. Organizational
success. These are the benefits accruing to the expert Troubleshooter, or
the manager whose people troubleshoot quickly and accurately.
Money
I'm not saying that if you double your
troubleshooting productivity you'll double your salary. That's not how it works
unless you're on commission. Instead, a productive Troubleshooter is seen as a
capable and valuable employee, receiving more promotion opportunities, better
raises and avoiding layoffs.
For instance, take employees Al and Bob.
Both make $50,000.00 in year 1. Both are quite capable, although Bob is a much
more productive troubleshooter. Al receives a 4% raise per year, while Bob
receives a 6% raise per year because his troubleshooting success makes him look
smarter and more capable. At year 10, Al's salary is $71,165.59, while Bob gets
$84,473.95. That's more than a $13,000.00 premium for excellent troubleshooting.
But wait -- there's more.
In year 5 there's a recession. Al gets laid off
and slides back to $50,000.00 on his next job. Being able to solve problems, Bob
is promoted in the leaner and meaner organization, and receives a 15% raise
instead of his usual 6%. Before and after year 5, Al and Bob get their usual
raises. In year 10, Al's salary is $60832.65 while Bob's
making $91646.26. Over $30,000 more. Over 50% more. This is the monetary
power of troubleshooting productivity.
The preceding example detailed the
monetary reward for a technologist. What if you're a manager?
If your
department troubleshoots effectively, they'll solve problems quickly. You'll be
considered a good manager. On the other hand, if every technical problem causes
your crew to twist in the wind, that will be noticed in a different way. The
effects of better raises, promotions and layoffs are math that apply to any
employee. Unless your team currently consistently solves technical problems
quickly and accurately, it's in your financial best interest to make sure they
learn troubleshooting.
As mentioned, monetary reward for enhanced
troubleshooting productivity isn't instant -- it accrues over a career. Most of
troubleshooting productivity's other benefits are instant. Read on...
Power
I once saw a rather new and low level employee
use bottleneck analysis to determine that the main computer's bottleneck
was its processor. This computer served about 200 employees. One night when
everyone was gone he borrowed a faster processor from the hardware vendor and
installed it. The next day everyone raved about the computer's speed and how
easy it was to work with now that it was fast. Rank and file employees noticed
it. Upper management noticed it and paid for the processor immediately. A couple
months later this guy was promoted to upper management and put in charge of all
software development, leapfrogging six people who were ahead of him.
When
you use the Universal Troubleshooting Process, you know your superior
troubleshooting productivity is due to following a process. But to others, it
looks like competence, ability, intelligence, and leadership.
Fame
An ex client called me. A programmer had left, and
his code had several bugs. Could I come back and fix it?
When I walked in
the door, the network director said "Here comes the cavalry!". I was famous as a
guy who could fix anything. They thought I was a genius, but I was just an
average guy who used the Universal Troubleshooting Process.
Happiness
All those with an easy job, raise your
hands...
What -- nobody raised their hands? You say your job is
stressful? Long hours, tight deadlines and high expectations?
As a
technologist, if you consistently follow a troubleshooting process such as the
Universal Troubleshooting Process, you'll be replacing deep thought with easy
diagnostic tests. That means much less stress.
With process oriented
troubleshooting, you'll be much less likely to conduct wandering or circular
searches for a root cause, and much more likely to efficiently zero in on the
root cause. That means faster work, and perhaps more importantly, more
consistent and predictable times to solution. This predictability reduces
stress.
And then there's this simple fact: You're happier when you do a
good job.
Bottom line, as a technologist, you're happier on the job and
happier when you go home.
But what if you're a manager? Would your work
life be easier if your team solved technical problems quickly and in a
predictable manner? Would it make you happy if you could give your boss a
reasonable range for the time to solution of a high profile problem? The manager
with a crew using process oriented troubleshooting is a happy manager.
Improved Social and Family
Life
The stress reduction previously mentioned carries through to your life
outside work. How nice it is to walk into your house and greet your family
knowing things are OK at work, and that you don't have to think about work, even
in the back of your mind. You can pay full attention to your childrens' problems
or your wife's idea for the next party.
Let's say you're single. Would
your social life be better if you could go to a party knowing everything's OK at
work? Would this make you a better conversationalist? Would you be less likely
to drink excessively in an effort to "forget your problems"? Would you be more
likely to attract a mate if you were happy and secure in your work?
Organizational Success
Today, an
employee's well being is linked to that of his or her employer. With global
competition, if a company isn't the best they can be, the company dies, and the
employees are unemployed. Your organization's success might not make you happy,
but your organization's failure will surely make you miserable. Enhanced
troubleshooting productivity on your part and that of your co-workers is one key
to organizational success.
Besides, if you're anything like I was when I
was an employee, I took pride in working for a successful company.
The fastest way to learn (or
teach) troubleshooting
Troubleshooters.Com has products to help everyone
quickly learn effective troubleshooting. There's no reason you can't know what
you need to know within a week or less. The learning process depends on your
situation:
You're a technologist
- Read Twenty
Eight Tales of Troubleshooting.
- Then, if you want the ultimate expertise, read Troubleshooting
Techniques of the Successful Technologist.
Twenty Eight Tales
of Troubleshooting is an easy read taking only a few days, yet it gives you
most of the information you need to become a Troubleshooting Ninja. It's a
collection of short stories, each one illustrating one or more aspects of the
Universal Troubleshooting Process. Its use of analogy makes a believer of the
reader. You'll be inspired to dive right in using the Universal Troubleshooting
Process, and your success will further your inspiration.
The
self-motivated technologist wanting the ultimate in knowledge of troubleshooting
process will go on to read Troubleshooting
Techniques of the Successful Technologist. I put most of my knowledge in
that book, so upon reading it you'll know almost everything about
troubleshooting that I know.
Another good resource for the technologist
is The Manager's
Guide to Technical Troubleshooting. It's almost as easy a read as Twenty Eight Tales
of Troubleshooting, without using short stories, so if you don't like short
stories and fiction in your technical reading, substitute The Manager's Guide to
Technical Troubleshooting for Twenty Eight Tales. This book is also an
excellent resource if you're trying to convince your boss to provide
troubleshooting training for the department.
You're an automotive tech or
factory maintenance person
Do exactly the same as outlined in the section on
technologists. In addition, you might find the book Troubleshooting: Tools
Tips and Techniques handy because it's written for someone in a shop
environment. Be aware, however, that Troubleshooting: Tools
Tips and Techniques defines troubleshooting as four tools rather than ten
steps.
You're a manager needing to
learn
- Read The
Manager's Guide to Technical Troubleshooting.
The Manager's Guide to
Technical Troubleshooting gives you all necessary troubleshooting info to
perform your management function. If part of your job description involves
taking on a technologist role, see also the technologist
section.
Whether or not you perform technologist function, you might
benefit from Twenty Eight Tales
of Troubleshooting. It's an easy read, and its use of analogies help
you make a powerful case for a department or organization wide use of the
Universal Troubleshooting Process, whether talking with your boss, co-workers or
those who work for you.
You're a manager whose team
needs to learn
- Present the Troubleshooters.Com Universal
Troubleshooting Process Courseware.
You can have your trainers
present this course, in which case the courseware cost is $45.00 per
attendee/handout, or you can have me (Steve Litt) teach the course onsite. Once
again, you might want to read Twenty Eight Tales
of Troubleshooting, whose use of analogies help you powerfully state
your case.
The courseware is cost effective for 8 or more people. If you
have very few people to train, and those people are motivated, consider having
them self-learn using the techniques outlined in the technologists
section.
You're a trainer
Let's talk, you and I,
trainer to trainer. Some folks say "those who can, do; those who can't, teach."
You and I know it's quite the opposite. Doing usually isn't rocket science,
teaching requires very special skills.
First, we need to understand the
material. That's easy.
Then we need to present the material in a
memorable and understandable way. That's more difficult.
Then we have to
obtain buy-in from the attendees. That can be outrageously
difficult.
Theoretically, you could order the courseware, read the
self-explanatory Instructor Notes along
with the courseware, and then teach the class. I'd recommend you take it to the
next level...
- Read Twenty
Eight Tales of Troubleshooting.
- Then read Troubleshooting
Techniques of the Successful Technologist.
- Then read the Courseware and its
Instructor Notes.
- Then teach the Course.
Twenty Eight Tales
of Troubleshooting is a lightning-quick read from which you can quickly
learn Universal Troubleshooting Process essentials. More importantly, its
analogy based arguments help you build a case for attendee
buy-in.
Knowing considerably more than your students is essential.
Reading Troubleshooting
Techniques of the Successful Technologist gives you that knowledge. It's a
dry, difficult read, but after reading it you'll be able to answer any on-topic
student question.
Summary
No matter what role you play,
Troubleshooters.Com has products to help you learn and teach effective
troubleshooting.
The 10 step Universal
Troubleshooting Process
- Prepare
- Get a complete and
accurate symptom description
- Make damage control
plan
- Reproduce the
symptom
- Do the appropriate
corrective maintenance
- Narrow it down to
the root cause
- Repair or replace
the defective component
- Test
- Take pride in your
solution
- Prevent future
occurrence of this problem
Troubleshooting Tips and
Articles
- Logic for Troubleshooting
- Universal Troubleshooting Process
- Industry Specific Information
- Handy Troubleshooting Tactics
- The Attitude
- Intermittents
- Toolsmanship
Here Are Some Other Troubleshooting Tips:
Quality Control
The quality of the solution depends on the quality
put into the steps. Getting a complete and accurate symptom description, and
reproducing the symptom, assures that you fix the symptom the customer wanted
you to fix. A good damage control plan ensures that you won't make anything
worse. Correct general maintenance shows the customer you care about quality,
and often greatly reduces costs. A correct narrowing process will reduce costs,
prevent further damage, and ensure that the root cause, rather than a peripheral
symptom, is fixed. Proper repair or replacement of the defective component
prevents further damage.
Testing is like inspection in the factory. The few defects that escape the
quality controls of the earlier steps are caught here, by showing that the
symptom description you recorded and reproduced has been eliminated, and that no
further problems have been created. Taking pride is a periodic maintenance item
that ensures the quality of you as a troubleshooter and a human being.
Preventing further occurrence is the utmost in customer service. The quality of
the solution depends on the quality of the steps.
Bottleneck analysis
Use this when the symptom can be described as
"it's too (slow, fast, etc.)". Bottleneck is a special kind of Divide and
Conquer (see step 6).
One cool and easy bottleneck analysis test is to slow down a section of
the system. If that section is the bottleneck, the system as a whole will slow
down significantly. If not, it won't. The entire March 1998
Troubleshooting Professional Magazine is devoted to bottleneck analysis.
Don't skip steps
The Divide and Conquer process can be thought of
as continually forcing the problem into ever smaller boxes, until it's trapped.
Some of the worst troubleshooting debacles I've seen involved the problem
escaping the box. In other words, the troubleshooter thought he had proved it
was in one area, when it was really in another. When that happens, tests become
inconclusive and the troubleshooter starts to doubt himself. Whole days can be
wasted. Take every precaution to avoid this -- don't skip steps.
Troubleshooting Supplies
The
following troubleshooting supplies are available here:
UTP Wall Hanger
This wall hanger lists the
10 steps of the Universal Troubleshooting Process, as well as some divide and
conquer tips including the quadruple tradeoff. It also shows the
Troubleshooter's Mantra and Troubleshooter's Philosophy, and URLs for Universal
Troubleshooting Process resources.
This is a PDF you can download, and
print paper copies for anyone in your company and/or friends and associates,
assuming you do not make changes to its content or appearance. You may NOT
redistribute the electronic version. Instead, give others the URL.
View
or print it from here.
UTP Completion Form
This two page form
provides a place for the Troubleshooter to write completion data for each of the
10 steps of the Universal Troubleshooting Process. This is valuable for any
Troubleshooter, and is especially vital for the Troubleshooter who has just
completed the Universal Troubleshooting Process course. It is best printed as a
single two-sided sheet, but it can also be printed on two sheets and stapled.
Printing on two sheets gives more writing room for those with extended/special
data to record.
This is a PDF you can download, and print paper copies
for anyone in your company and/or friends and associates, assuming you do not
make changes to its content or appearance. You may NOT redistribute the
electronic version. Instead, give others the URL.
View or print it from
here.
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