Incident Management & Problem-Solving Flashcards

A caller reports that their email client has not worked since a software update was pushed overnight. Using root cause thinking, what category of cause should be investigated FIRST?

Answer: Change-related cause from the overnight update

When an incident follows a recent change, the change is the prime suspect for root cause and should be investigated first.

Which of the following CORRECTLY describes the 'urgency' component when setting incident priority?

Answer: How quickly the incident needs to be resolved based on business impact over time

Urgency reflects the time-sensitivity of resolution — how quickly the business needs normal service restored.

A service desk team is experiencing high volumes of repeat incidents for the same application. Which problem management output would MOST help reduce this volume?

Answer: A Known Error record with a documented workaround published to analysts and users

Publishing a Known Error record with a workaround enables analysts and users to self-resolve recurring incidents faster, reducing repeat call volume.

In a fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram used for incident root cause analysis, the 'bones' typically represent:

Answer: Categories of potential causes such as people, process, technology, and environment

Each bone in an Ishikawa diagram represents a category of potential causes, helping teams brainstorm all possible contributors to the problem.

What does 'First Contact Resolution' (FCR) measure?

Answer: The percentage of incidents resolved by the service desk on the first interaction without escalation or callback

FCR measures the proportion of incidents fully resolved during the initial customer contact, indicating service desk effectiveness.

During a major incident, communication updates to affected users should be sent:

Answer: At regular, predefined intervals throughout the incident lifecycle

Regular, timely updates during a major incident keep users informed, manage expectations, and reduce inbound call volume to the service desk.

Which statement about problem records is CORRECT?

Answer: A problem record remains open until the root cause is permanently fixed, even if affected incidents are resolved

A problem record stays open until the underlying root cause is permanently eliminated, regardless of whether individual incident records have been closed.