Overview This sub-discipline is about the competencies required to resolve the root cause of incidents and problems, and to minimise the adverse long term impact of these root causes on an organisation. It is also about preventing the occurrence of, and/or recurrence of, incidents and problems through the proactive use of trend analysis, root cause analysis and prioritised resolution activity. ESKITP7033 1
Performance criteria Carry out timely and effective problem management activities You must be able to: P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Accurately identify who is likely to be impacted by any problem, assisted by appropriate people where necessary Correctly apply the standards relating to problem management activities Identify what classification and priority to allocate to any problem assigned to problem management, if the current classification is incorrect, in line with policies and procedures Accurately document any work-arounds applied to keep business activities on track whilst problems are diagnosed and/or resolved, as directed by others Liaise effectively with internal and external individuals and groups who can provide resolution to problems, as directed by others You must be able to: Gather and collate information concerning problems and problem resolutions to help identify trends/root cause(s) P6 Source and accurately interpret all relevant information about individual problems in order to diagnose the root causes of them Identify the root cause of problems and help develop / implement workarounds to maintain and support business activities You must be able to: P7 P8 Correctly identify where work-arounds are required to keep business activities on track whilst problems are resolved, referencing the service catalogue and/or portfolio and the priority and classification allocated to problems, under the direction of others Critically analyse all relevant information relating to future product and service releases, to establish if this will resolve current problems, as directed by others ESKITP7033 2
Knowledge and understanding You need to know and understand: Carry out timely and effective problem management activities K1 Identify and select: K1.1 the procedures, tools and techniques to use for problem management activities and their deliverables K1.2 who is likely to be impacted by any problem K1.3 what classification or priority to allocate to any problem assigned to problem management, if the current classification is incorrect K1.4 which particular individuals and/or groups may need to be involved in the resolution and management of any particular problem K2 Use and apply: K2.1 standards relating to problem management activities K2.2 the service and systems lifecycle as appropriate to problem management activities K2.3 Information relating to the classifications and priorities to be applied to problems K2.4 Information relating to individuals and groups to whom problems should be assigned K2.5 the service catalogue and/or portfolio during problem management and activities K3 Record and store: K3.1 the procedures, tools and techniques relating to problem management activities and their deliverables K3.2 all relevant information about problems from identification and diagnosis to resolution/closure K4 Communicate and liaise with internal and external individuals and groups who can provide resolution to problems K5 The relationship between problem management activities and their deliverables and all other service delivery/operations activities K6 What is the range of it/technology elements within an organisation, such as hardware, software, networking that constitute any it/technology service that may be impacted by problems K7 What information might need to be referenced and used during problem management activities K8 What are the: K8.1 implications of standards and service levels in relation to problem management activities K8.2 potential implications of problem management activities and their deliverables being incorrect, incomplete, inadequate and/or inappropriate K8.3 range of problems which problem management activities may be required to address ESKITP7033 3
K9 The fact that: K9.1 problem management is frequently a proactive rather than a reactive activity K9.2 major problems may result in the invocation of Business Continuity Management (BCM) and/or Disaster Recovery (DR) processes and procedures K9.3 structured processes and procedures are essential to problem management activities K9.4 the services offered by problem management activities have to change in line with any changing business needs for IT/technology K9.5 problem/incident rates often have a direct correlation with the introduction of new or enhanced technology K10 Who are the internal and external application/technical support groups who can provide resolutions/fixes for problems K11 The importance of: K11.1 differentiating between incidents and problems rapidly and accurately K11.2 soliciting internal and external sources of technical expertise to identify root causes and possible long term resolutions/fixes K11.3 making change requests to a variety of internal and external individuals and groups in order to resolve/fix the root cause of problems K11.4 the service lifecycle and the service catalogue and/or portfolio as they relate to problem management activities K11.5 and relevance, of problem management activities on the full service life cycle K11.6 ensuring confidentiality, integrity and security during problem management activities and that sensitive business information is not disclosed inappropriately during problem management activities K11.7 verifying that any priorities and categories that have been allocated to incoming problems are accurate and re-classifying the category and priority of any problem, where appropriate K11.8 verifying the accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance of information used during problem management activities K12 How: K12.1 problem management activities support service delivery/operation objectives K12.2 effective problem management activity can improve the levels of customer satisfaction with IT/technology Gather and collate information concerning problems and problem resolutions to help identify trends/root cause(s) You need to know and understand: K13 Identify and select what information needs to be gathered and/or referenced about any particular problem to support its ESKITP7033 4
analysis/diagnosis/resolution K14 Source, gather and collate information about problems from a range of internal and external sources in order to identify and diagnose the root cause of problems K15 Why the quality and effectiveness of problem management activities and their deliverables need to be monitored K16 The importance of: K16.1 soliciting additional information from a variety of internal and external sources in order to make an appropriate diagnosis of the root cause of a problem K16.2 metrics to measure the performance of problem management activities K16.3 applying analytical techniques to identify trends and patterns associated with incidents K17 The need for monitoring of: K17.1 problem closure rates against targets K17.2 the impact of problem management outcomes on recorded incident rates K18 The procedures, tools and techniques that can be used to monitor: K18.1 the alignment of problem management activities and their deliverables with service targets and service levels and problem closure rates against targets K18.2 the impact of problem management activities on incident rates Identify the root cause of problems and help develop / implement workarounds to maintain and support business activities You need to know and understand: K19 Identify and select where work-arounds are required to keep business activities on track whilst problems are resolved K20 Record and store work-arounds applied to keep business activities on track whilst problems are diagnosed and/or resolved K21 Analyse and interpret: K21.1 relevant information about individual problems in order to diagnose the root causes of them K21.2 information gained from tracking the progress of individual problems through to resolution K21.3 information contained in internal/external known error databases/logs K21.4 information relating to future product and service releases, to establish if this will resolve current problems K22 What are the opportunities for service improvement as a direct result of effective problem management K23 The fact that the resolution of root causes of problems can have a significant and positive impact on the number of incidents reported to the service desk/help desk K24 The importance of: ESKITP7033 5
K24.1 reducing the number and impact of recurring problems associated with IT/technology, systems, services and assets through the use of long term resolutions and fixes K24.2 diagnosing the root cause of any problem, so that a long term resolution/fix for it and any associated incidents may be identified ESKITP7033 6
Developed by e-skills UK Version number 1 Date approved September 2009 Indicative review date Validity Status Originating organisation March 2014 Current Original e-skills UK Original URN 7033 Relevant occupations Suite Key words Application Support; Information and Communication Technology; Systems Support IT and Telecoms Software; Hardware; Network; Application; Faults; Service level ESKITP7033 7