Problem Fields

The ID field contains the problem identifier. This unique identifier is automatically generated by the application when the problem is saved for the first time.

The Subject field is used to enter a short description of the symptoms that the problem causes.

The Manager field is used to select the person who is responsible for coordinating the problem through root cause analysis, the proposal of a structural solution and ultimately its closure.

The Category field is used to select the category of the problem.

The Impact field is used to select the extent to which the service is impacted when an incident occurs that is caused by the problem.

Note that a service instance is degraded when some of its non-core functionality is not working, or when the response time of the service instance is slow. A service instance is also degraded when some or all of its redundancy is no longer available (e.g. when a server of a server cluster is down) even though the use of the service instance is not affected. A service instance is down, or unavailable, when any part of its core functionality is not working.

The Service field is used to select the service in which instance(s) the problem resides.

If the problem only resides in certain instances of the service, then these SIs should be selected in the Relations section.

The Service provider field is automatically set to the organization that is selected in the Service provider field of the related service.

The Workflow/Project field is used to link the problem to a workflow or project that will implement the proposed permanent solution for the problem. These links are mutually exclusive, meaning that when the problem is linked to, for example a workflow and needs to be linked to a project, it will first need to be unlinked from the workflow.

To select a completed workflow or project, enter the number (i.e. the ID) of this workflow or project.

The Team field is used to select the team to which the problem is to be assigned. After a service has been selected in the Service field, the support team of the service is automatically selected in this field.

The Member field is used to select the person to whom the problem is to be assigned.

The Supplier field is used to select the supplier organization that has been asked for a solution to the problem.

The Supplier request ID field is used to enter the identifier under which the request for a solution to the problem has been registered at the supplier organization.

If the supplier provided a link to the request, enter its URL in this field.

The Planned effort field is used to provide an estimate of the effort needed to resolve the problem.

The Analysis target field is used to specify when the current assignee needs to have completed the root cause analysis of the problem.

If a supplier organization is selected in the Supplier field, then this field is used to specify when this supplier needs to have completed the root cause analysis of the problem.

Leaving this field empty indicates that the analysis of the problem is to be conducted on a best-effort basis.

The Status field is used to select the current status of the problem.

The available options are:

• Declined – It has been determined that the problem had better be assigned to a different team or team member as indicated in the Notes field.
• Assigned – The problem has been assigned to a team or team member for analysis.
• Accepted – Responsibility for the analysis of the problem has been accepted by a specific team member. This person will start to work on the analysis as soon as possible.
• In Progress – The problem is currently being analyzed.
• Waiting for… – It is temporarily not possible to complete the analysis of the problem. The reason for this is specified in the Notes field.
• Analyzed – The analysis of the problem has been completed. The underlying cause of the problem has been found and a structural solution has been proposed, or it was determined that it is currently not possible to propose a practical structural solution.
• Change Requested – The problem has been passed to Change Management for the implementation of the proposed structural solution.
• Workflow Pending – The implementation of the proposed structural solution is dependent on the implementation of a workflow. The responsibility for getting the proposed structural solution implemented has been accepted by Change or Release Management.
• Project Pending – The implementation of the proposed structural solution is dependent on the implementation of a project. The responsibility for getting the proposed structural solution implemented has been accepted by Project Management.
• Progress Halted – It has been determined that it is currently not possible to propose a practical structural solution. The reason for this is specified in the Notes field.
• Solved – A structural solution has been implemented to fix the problem.
• On Backlog – The problem is placed on a backlog. This option is only available when the problem is actually on a backlog.

The Waiting until field is used to specify the date and time at which the status of the problem is to be updated from “Waiting for…” to “Assigned”.

This field is available only when the Status field is set to “Waiting for…”.

The Product backlog field is used to specify the product backlog this problem is related to.

This field is available only when the Status field is set to “On Backlog”.

The Estimate field is used to estimate the complexity of resolving this problem, based on a scale defined by the development or Scrum team.

This field is available only when the Status field is set to “On Backlog”.

The Time spent field is used to enter the time that you have spent working on the problem since you started to work on it or, if you already entered some time for this problem, since you last added your time spent in it.

The Effort class field is used to select the effort class that best reflects the type of effort for which time spent is being registered. This field becomes available only after a value has been entered in the Time spent field and the person who entered the time spent belongs to an organization that makes use of a timesheet settings in which assignment time tracking is activated and to which two or more effort classes have been linked.

The Solved at field is automatically set to the date and time at which the problem is saved with the status “Solved”.

The Known error box is checked when the underlying cause of the problem has been found and a temporary workaround has been proposed.

When the Known error box is checked, the Problem will be listed in the Known Errors section of the Service Hierarchy Browser (SHB), provided that its status is not yet “Solved”. The problem will only be listed in the SHB, however, when the service that is linked to the problem matches the service of the SI selected in the SHB.

The Workaround field is used to describe the temporary workaround that should be applied to resolve incidents caused by this problem until a structural solution has been implemented.

This field allows basic text formatting.

By switching the label of this field to “Knowledge article” it is possible to select the knowledge article which instructions should be followed to resolve incidents caused by this problem until a structural solution has been implemented.

The Service instances table field is used to link specific instances of the service that is related to the problem.

The Configuration items table field is used to link the CIs, in which the root cause of the problem resides, to the problem.

As long as no CIs have been registered, this field remains hidden.

The Requests table field is used to link requests to the problem.

The Notes field lists all notes that have been added to the problem. For each note, this field shows the name of the person who submitted it and when this was done.

The Note field is used to provide a detailed description of the symptoms that are caused by the problem. It is also used to provide:

• any additional information that could prove useful for the analysis of the problem,
• a description of the problem’s root cause,
• information about the problem’s progress towards a solution,
• details on how to solve the problem, and
• a description of how the problem was solved.

This field allows basic text formatting.

When the Copy note to requests box is checked, the note (including its attachments, if any) will not only be added to the problem, but also to each request that is linked to the problem.

The Attach file… link is used to attach a file to a note. Multiple attachments can be added to a note.

The Time entries table field lists all time entries of your account that have been generated for the problem after it was saved with a value in its Time spent field. The time entries are grouped by Person.