6. Problem Resolution

Problems can be resolved in a variety of ways. First, there may be a workaround to the problem, explaining how to address the problem when it is encountered. Second, the problem may be caused by an underlying problem in the system that needs to be changed. A change needs to be made in the system at large to fix the root cause of the problem. And third, the problem may have no solution. In this case, you may want to create a tech note in Knowledge Center to alert people about the problem.

These three approaches are not mutually exclusive; for example, there may be a workaround but there may still be a problem in the system that needs to be resolved.

Tip: A good practice is to occasionally review all major problems to ensure that the correct steps were followed, how to improve the process overall, and how to prevent recurrence of similar incidents. The reporting functionality in SBM helps to expedite this review process. You can create and share reports listing the major problems that were recently closed, and then share the list with your team.

All of these approaches can be implemented from the Error Identified state in the problem workflow.

Workaround, which opens a Submit form into the Workaround auxiliary table.
Post RFC, which opens the Submit form into the Changes workflow. This change is linked to the item. The problem moves into the Pending Change state. It will be automatically transitioned back to the Error Identified state when the change is completed.
Resolve, which moves the known error to the Resolved state, where it can be reassessed at a future time.

To create a tech note from the problem, select Yes in the Create Tech Note field. The Confirm transition then opens a submit form into Knowledge Management.

The content fields in the Knowledge Center article are automatically populated with the content from the problem. Select Load Article Template to clear the populated information and replace it with the content from the template.

Restriction: You must have permissions to submit an item into Knowledge Management to create an article. For example, you could be a member of the Contributors role in Knowledge Management.