The most critical troubleshooting step is pinpointing the specific
symptom - knowing there is a human tendency to "overgeneralize."
Being too broad or general in the description will result in less focus
and the need to consider a higher number of possible causes down the line.
A practical approach to achieve the clarity required
is to apply stair-stepping.
Stair-Stepping aims to identify the most specific starting
point of your troubleshooting.
Pure observation moves your focus from a generic statement to a specific symptom.
Produce more detail using the "why" question for every new insight you gain,
building your stair one step at a time.
Questioning for the most detailed observation or measurement where
the cause remains unknown is what builds the lowest step of your stair.
An excellent way to guide attention to the appropriate "cause unknown"
observation or measurement is by using two distinct categories of
information: deviation and function.
Deviation describes which type of unexpected behavior you
are observing or measuring.
Most of the time, one of these four sub-categories is applicable.
Function identifies the functional step in the process that is affected.
Depending on your familiarity with procedures or functions, you select the
most pinpointed step you can isolate.
Clarify is where you write down what is observable or measurable
- describing what a camera recording would show if somebody watched it.
Identifying and focusing your analysis on a specific, clarified symptom
goes a long way toward finding a solution to remove the deviation.
A well-described symptom will also increase your chances of
relating your issue to existing knowledge base content or solutions.