4 Communication and training

There are various forms of communication that must take place for the problem management process to be effective.

These are described below.

4.1 Communication with users

It is likely that many of the incidents that give rise to the identification of a problem are reported by users. If such incidents are not able to be closed via the use of a workaround then it will be appropriate to keep these users informed about the progress of the investigation of the problem. In the event that such incidents can be closed but reoccur on a regular basis then users will still want to be kept informed about when the underlying problem will be fixed, and the frequent incidents can be expected to cease.

Emails and other communications that are exchanged with the user should be incorporated into the request record so that a full audit trail of all communication is kept and is available to whoever is working on the problem.

It may be appropriate to invite selected users to sessions organized to investigate problems via the various techniques available. Users who have first-hand knowledge of the symptoms and circumstances of a problem can provide valuable insight into its causes and may speed up its resolution.

4.2 Communication with customers

Even where there is no formal SLA associated with the resolution of problems, customers should be kept informed about the progress of high priority problems affecting their business area, including what is being done to resolve them and the resources dedicated to their investigation.

4.3 Communication with IT teams

Problem management needs the support of technical specialists to identify and resolve sometimes complex problems for the benefit of the business and often the IT team itself. The problem manager will foster close relationships with key teams within the IT organization so that the benefits of effective problem management are understood and demonstrated.

IT specialists will be involved in investigative sessions and are likely to be key contributors to the use of techniques such as chronological analysis and fault isolation.

4.4 Communication with suppliers

Often the input of suppliers will be critical to diagnose, test and resolve difficult problems. Their knowledge of the products and services they supply will usually exceed that available in-house and sometimes access to the developers of products may be needed to determine a resolution.

The internal supplier manager for the third party involved should be kept informed of the ongoing communication between problem management and supplier staff and may be useful in securing additional resource to speed up investigations.

4.5 Process performance

It is important that the performance of the problem management process is monitored and reported upon on a regular basis in order to assess whether the process is operating as expected. The content of performance reports is set out in section 6 of this document, but it is vital that the reports are not only produced but are also communicated to the appropriate audience.

This will include the customers of the IT service and the management of IT concerning resource utilisation and allocation. Depending on the health of the process it may be appropriate to hold regular meetings with customers and IT management to discuss the performance and agree any actions to improve it.

4.6 Communication related to changes

The problem management process manager must have visibility of the change management schedule and ideally will be briefed on any changes with the potential to affect ongoing problems. This may be a regular meeting or carried out on an ad-hoc basis according to the frequency of occurrence of such changes.

Problem management will also communicate with change management as part of the logging of changes to resolve problems and the review of these after the event.

4.7 Training for problem management

In addition to a well-defined process and appropriate software tools it is essential that the people aspects of problem management are adequately addressed. The process requires that training be provided to all participants in order that it runs as smoothly as possible.

The main areas in which training will be required for problem management are as follows.

The problem management process itself, including the activities, roles and responsibilities involved Problem management software tools such as the service desk system and configuration management system Specific problem investigation techniques such as Kepner-Tregoe, 5-Whys and Affinity Mapping Soft skills such as customer service, dealing with difficult conversations and avoiding technical jargon The basics of the technology and how it is implemented within [Organization Name] The business, its structure, locations, priorities and people

In addition, training should be provided to the user population regarding how to identify and report a problem, including:

The difference between an incident, a service request, a problem and a change request and how they are handled How to report a problem via the various means available What may be expected of them as part of problem investigation

This training may be provided via short workshops and supplemented by on demand resources such as videos and user guides.