Problem solving tips for helpdesk personnel

Research

You know what the symptoms are, you know in what circumstances they appear, now you have to start finding a solution.

Of course, it might be that someone has already done the hard work for you - others may have had, and solved, this problem. There are several sources of information you might try:

Knowledge base

Somewhere, you should have a record of all past problems (and their solutions), otherwise you are going to keep wasting an awful lot of time. This should be in a form that is easily searched. You could use e.g. a spreadsheet, a simple document, a database, or a program designed specifically for the task. As long as it is easy to use.

The Internet

The Internet is a fantastic resource. The only problem is the sheer volume of information. A good search engine is key to getting the best of it. One of the most useful tools is the Google Usenet search tool. This allows you to search an archive of all usenet postings. You can almost guarantee that someone, somewhere has had the same problem as your user and if you are lucky, there might be an answer already

Colleagues

You might try asking your workmates, they may have seen this problem before. Of course, this will disrupt their work so it is not the most efficient use of resources and they will soon get tired of you if you make it a habit. This should only be used as a last resort.

Next