Troubleshooting Process Experts

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Troubleshooting Process Experts

Process Descriptions

Other Troubleshooting Process Expertise

Process Descriptions:

The following three descriptions of the Troubleshooting Process are a must read for any professional troubleshooter. At first you'll find them hauntingly similar, considering they were developed independently. Then you'll discern the distinctions, and how each author's environment uniquely shaped his process description.

Universal Troubleshooting Process: Steve Litt's contribution comes out of the software industry, and it shows. He stresses self-reliance, on the theory that manufacturers and vendors will give the troubleshooter no help. Paradoxically, he emphasizes teamwork with troubleshooters you do have access to make up for the absent manufacturer/vendor support. This process description is unique in stressing the "take pride" step, which prevents or minimizes troubleshooter burnout.

Troubleshooting (Embedded Systems): Jack Ganssle advocates a six-step, looped troubleshooting process. Jack stresses tools and preparation. In line with his industry, where a "mistake" is printed into thousands of integrated circuits, Jack adopts a "don't trust anything" attitude (he phrases it as "constantly apply sanity checks"). He discusses quick fixes -- when to use them, when they spell disaster. Great tips from someone who has obviously been there. Also see his Tricks of the Trade and Troubleshooting 101 articles.

DebuggingRules.Com: A list of 9 common-sense rules for debugging any well defined system. Similar to the Universal Troubleshooting Process, it focuses on rules rather than process steps. Software examples abound.

Other Troubleshooting Process Expertise:

Facilitating: Troubleshooting training is a different because the trainee already knows how to troubleshoot (to some degree). To imply that there's something wrong with his process is to insult him. This article gives many good tips for teaching the Troubleshooting Process so the trainee will remember and use it.

Bootstraps/Affirmations: Keith Ellis writes this concise, common sense article on using affirmations to cause positive personal change. This has direct significance to The Attitude (Step 1 in the Universal Troubleshooting Process), which is the most important Troubleshooting Tool. Unlike the other Troubleshooting Tools, The Attitude requires faith in one's abilities, while one's abilities require The Attitude. Catch 22. Affirmationshelps break that logjam. It's a must-read for every Troubleshooter.

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