PROBLEM ANALYSIS
PREFACE
In today’s 21st century world with internet, satellite, mobile communication, transportation spanning scooters to space ships, financial, social, political, health, and so many other challenges one can easily feel overwhelmed. Life can easily become become a juggling act of logistics and crises.
TRIAGE AND PRIORITIZATION: Time criticality and priority
So when the phone rings, the alarm goes off, or you receive the notification of the next crisis, one must first assess the level of severity of the crisis. The can metaphorically range from a minor scratch to a heart attack. The target of the crisis can range from you neighbor’s pet to your spouse or in other cases one’s mother or even worse.
In one instance when I was managing a data center I received new electronic equipment that required installation. I wrote up the request for running new 380 volt 3 phase power lines from the power distribution panel to the location when the new equipment would be installed. I always supervise any new and important work being done in my area of responsibility. In order to minimize “down” time the electrician removed the bottom cover plate in the power distribution panel and was pushing up the new 380 volt cables when he accidently hit live power. I immedately saw his eyes roll and jumped into action. Fully focused in being in superb physical condition (gymnast, acrobat, judoka, etc) in a fraction of a second I dropped the main power switch and saved his live. This was a life or death crisis and no time for any extraneous thinking, actions, or any thing else.
SCOPE
In the phase one must understand the scope of the problem and whether the effects are on a minor device or impacts a large population such as a power outage, broken water main, weather event, etc. Scope may be an important factor as to the impact of the problem. along with the severity.
CLEAR PROBLEM DEFINITION
Nothing is more difficult to result than a poorly defined problem. “I don’t feel good” says little to nothing.
So we must first clearly define what is being impacted by the problem? What are the symptoms? Have any recent changes or modification been done that could have caused this? Are there any signs of physical or other damage related to the problem? Has there been any other problems reported in the location or organization that might be related to this problem?
ESCALATION EVALUATION
Next you must think of whether this is your domain or responsibility or does this require routing to the appropriate body of authority, professional capable of addressing the matter as quickly, economically, and professionally as possible. So you can’t get rid of this “hot potato”. So let’s continue.
PROBLEM ISOLATION
One of the most difficult problems to solve is when the cause of the problem is far away from the symptoms and core impact of the problem. For example, we found some black mold in our new home. This was in a water closet with the water meter and water lines going out to our outside hose lines. Because of the potential danger we called in a specialist and had profession mold analysis from samples taken from the wall. The next step was having the entire area outside the house at the specific location dug up, full 3 layer water proofing, verification of water drainage lines, and closing up the area followed by full cleaning, drywall, and painting of the interior damage. It might have been easy at this point to call it a day and close up shop. But further analysis showed that the who problem began from issues with our gutter system bein clogged in that specific area. So there was another critical component at the heart of the entire matter that had to be addressed to prevent the problem from recurring. Because of the related costs we had to focus on exactly what had to be done immediately and what could be “kicked down the road” until our financial situation recovered.
SUMMARY
In this section we focused on the initial phases of addressing a problem with highlights of situations involving scope. Next we will move deeper into problem analysis methods.