Once you are sure the problem is resolved and all systems are functioning, your final task is documentation. Good documentation of the problem, and how it was resolved, helps other technicians resolve similar problems in the future.
There is an old saying, “no job is done until the paperwork is finished”. That saying applies to network troubleshooting as well. You worked hard to identify the problem, establish and test your theory of probable cause, create and implement a plan, and verified functionality. But if you don’t document this process, you have no record of what happened. When a similar problem occurs in the future, you will have to start from scratch. Good luck remembering what you did 3 months ago when you handle 20 trouble tickets a day.
Documentation creates an “institutional memory” of the problem and how it was resolved. This memory provides information to other technicians when similar problems occur and accelerates the troubleshooting process. Good documentation also provides a record of equipment failures to support preventative maintenance and plan equipment life cycles.
There are lots of ways to document your troubleshooting. Early in my career, we used laboratory notebooks to document our work. It was time-consuming to scour through the notebooks in search of a clue to help with a problem. But at least we did have those records. Today, there are many electronic trouble ticketing systems that provide easier documentation and searchable databases. Examples include Spiceworks, Zen Desk, and ManageEngine. Regardless of the method you choose, be sure every technician completely fills out all required fields and fully documents the troubleshooting results.
Document Findings
Record the symptoms reported by the user, along with the relevant information you gathered about the problem. Be sure to include the tests you performed (ping, ifconfig, etc) along with the results. You may also include your interpretation of the results. Include your theory of probable cause.
If your system allows, include relevant photographs. A picture of a damaged piece of hardware or poorly installed cables can be beneficial when developing preventative measures.
Document Actions
Include in your report the tests you performed to test your theory of probable cause. Document your plan of action and include all the steps.
Also, include the potential effects that you identified when creating your plan of action. These can serve as a caution to other technicians when they are developing their action plans.
Document Outcomes
Record the results of implementing your plan of action. Be sure to include anything unusual or difficult that happened while executing your plan. Include the results of your verification of system functionality. Finally, you can detail any preventative measures that you may have identified.
Scenario: After you finished resolving Jasper’s problem, you spent a few minutes entering information into your trouble ticketing system. You recorded the symptoms Jasper reported, the tests you performed, the steps you took to resolve the problem, and the final results. Satisfied with a job properly done, you head off to lunch.
While documentation is the final step of the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology, it provides valuable feedback to the first steps. The next time you get a trouble report, you can perform a quick search of the documentation to see if similar problems have occurred in the past. If so, you have valuable information to speed your resolution of the new problem.
Finished
This is the final blog post in my series covering the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology. You can find all the other posts on our website. The first post of the series can be found here.
I hope you enjoyed reading these blogs and found the information useful. If you are preparing to take the CompTIA Network+ exam, you will need to know the 7 troubleshooting steps in order. You will also need to know common activities at each step. If you are not preparing for the exam, I hope my blogs gave you some information that will improve your troubleshooting practices.
Thank you for reading my blog posts. If you found them useful, feel free to share them with your friends and co-workers. Let me know in the comments what topics you would like me to write about. I will do my best to address your needs.
