Problems
A Problem represents a root cause that may be behind one or more incidents. For example, "VPN gateway failure" is a single problem, but many users may have logged separate incidents related to that same outage. Linking incidents to a problem helps track root-cause resolution and prevents duplicate investigation effort.
When to Create a Problem Record
Create a problem record when:
- Multiple incidents share the same root cause -- linking them to one problem avoids duplicate troubleshooting
- An incident recurs -- a recurring issue suggests an underlying problem that needs a deeper fix
- A major outage occurs -- a single problem record tracks the resolution while individual incidents track the impact on each affected user or asset
- Proactive investigation -- you have identified a potential issue before users report it
Creating a Problem Record
- Navigate to Service Desk > Problem Management
- Select Create a New Problem Record from the Actions on Selected Records menu
- Fill in the problem details -- the Type is automatically set to Problem Management
Problem records have the same fields as incidents, plus:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Root Cause | A description of the underlying issue (filled in as investigation progresses) |
| Workaround | A temporary fix that can be applied while the root cause is being resolved |
| Resolution | The permanent fix applied to resolve the problem |
Linking Incidents to a Problem
To associate existing incidents with a problem:
- Open the problem record
- Navigate to the Related Assets or Sub-tasks tab
- Use copy/paste or drag-and-drop to link the related incidents
When incidents are linked to a problem, resolving the problem can trigger updates to all linked incidents.
Escalation
The Service Management dashboard includes an escalation view showing incidents and problems that exceed configured thresholds. For example:
- Items above Medium Priority that are more than 5 days old
- Problems with no root cause identified after a configured period
Escalation rules can be configured to match your organisation's SLA objectives. See the Configuration Guide for details on setting up escalation thresholds.
Tips
- Do not create a problem for every incident -- only when there is evidence of a shared root cause or a recurring pattern
- Update the Workaround field as soon as a temporary fix is available -- this helps service desk agents handle new instances of the same issue quickly
- Close the problem only when the permanent fix has been applied and verified
- Review open problems weekly to ensure they are progressing toward resolution
Related Articles
- Tasks — the Service Desk overview
- Adding New Incidents — creating the incidents that feed into problems
- Completed Incidents — reviewing resolved incidents for patterns
- Change Requests — implementing fixes that require formal change management