The Diagnosis-Resolution Structure in Troubleshooting Procedures

David K . FarkasDept. of Human Centered Design & EngineeringUniversity of WashingtonSeattle, Washington, USAhttp://faculty.washington.edu/farkas/farkas@u.wasington.edu

Big idea

• Troubleshooting procedures always exhibit a diagnosis-resolution structure

• Understanding this structure leads to important insights for design

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Presentation vs. proceedings paper

• Proceedings paper has more depth• Presentation has more illustrations and explicit

guidelines

• The presentation slides are available here:http://faculty.washington.edu/farkas/IPCC.pptx

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Acknowledgments

• Connie Olberg (formerly) at Microsoft and her user support team

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Background:What Are Troubleshooting Procedures?

Troubleshooting content is problem focused

Is this your problem?Here is how to fix it.

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Problem = Symptom

Similar to medical diagnosis and treatment

• Similar to a doctor asking a patient to describe symptoms and then indicating treatment

• Even more similar to a first-aid manual

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In most cases this problem is a bug, incompatibility, or component failure

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EZGrab 3.0 freezes or closes unexpectedly

My computer no longer plays audio or produces any sound from the speakers or headset

TPs are written for . . .

• Support Centers/KBs (Knowledge Bases)

• Help systems and manuals• Forum posts• Etc.

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Simple TP in a small support center

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Usually, TPs are more challenging to design and write than standard procedures

Complex TP from an Adobe Acrobat support center article on printing problems (excerpt)

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Some problems can be handled by remote intervention

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Forums are an alternative to TPs

2/20/09 6:17 pmTony: I used to be able to open two different ppt files in different windows. But somehow when I open the file it shows up in only one window.

2/20/09 11:46 pmMike MVP: Open both your presentations, then select the View Tab, Arrange All. Always a good idea to mention which version of PowerPoint your using.

2/21/09 8:46 pmTony: Maybe you misunderstand what I meant. I mean that when you open two ppt files, the screen will show . . .

The Diagnosis-Resolution Structure:The Diagnosis Phase

TPs always exhibit a diagnosis-resolution structure: Simplest case

M

Title

Explains method

Describes symptomDiagnosis phase

Resolution phase

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Possible causes with their own specific symptoms:

Browser settingsRouter problemsFirewall settingsWi-Fi Internet connection problemsParental control softwareService is downOlder version of client software

More complex problems will exhibit multiple symptoms

Title

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I cannot connect to the service

Dia

gnos

is ph

ase

Multiple symptoms in a flat list

S S S S

Title

Specific symptoms

Broad symptom

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I cannot connect to the service

Tree of symptomsD

iagn

osis

ph

ase

S

S S

S

S S

Title

More specific symptoms

Broad symptom

Still more specific symptoms

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Tree of symptoms

Statements of symptoms

S

S

S

S

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“I am having trouble with my modem”

=

Isolating the cause

More specific statements of symptoms

S

S

S

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Identifying a successful method—we hope

M

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The Diagnosis-Resolution Structure: The Resolution Phase

Key distinction: Method vs. solution path

• Method: A single procedure intended to solve a problem

• Solution path: A broader approach to solving a problem, usually consisting of several related methods

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M M M P=

A solution path consisting of multiple methods(fixed sequence)

M

M

Contact your system administrator

MJ

J

J

Res

olut

ion

phas

e

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A solution path consisting of multiple methods(variable sequence)

M

M

MJ

J

J

Res

olut

ion

phas

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Res

olut

ion

phas

eA solution path consisting of multiple methods(fixed sequence)

M M

M

JJ

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M M

M

JJ

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M M

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JJ

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Res

olut

ion

phas

eA solution path consisting of multiple methods(variable sequence)

M M

M

JJ

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M M

M

JJ

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M M

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JJ

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You can empower users to choose solution path based on their own priorities

P Path splits with user decision

P P

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Guidelines: 1. General guidelines2. Guidelines from diagnosis-resolution structure

General guidelines (tech comm, instructional design, etc.)

• To minimize expenditure of time and effort, strive for clarity, brevity, etc

• To minimize user’s risk of failure, provide sufficient information, accurate information, etc

• To motivate users to attempt and stick with TPs, strive for an unintimidating appearance and offer encouragement

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Example: Motivating users at the outset of a TP

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This method has a high probability of success. It is lengthy but easy to follow.

Guidelines: 1. General guidelines2. Five guidelines from diagnosis-resolution structure

Users must be to identify the TP that applies to their problem

• Phrase titles and symptom descriptions carefully (at audience’s level)

• Error messages are excellent symptoms, especially when they are specific to a particular problem

• Sometimes you need two articles, each articulating a different symptom

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Be wary of titles that express causation

The application will not initialize

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Two titles, each describing very different symptoms of the same problem

The status light sometimes flashes red

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My connection speed is sometimes very slow

Strive for a specific understanding of the problem

• The more you know about the problem, the simpler the resolution phase

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Favor variables sequences. Favor user empowerment.

• When possible, bypass methods and solution paths that won’t work

• When possible, allow the user to choose a solution path that meets their particular needs

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Decide how deeply to explain the cause of the problem

• Most users don’t care about the cause• When user actions brought on the problem, it is

necessary to explain how to prevent a recurrence

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Be wary of very difficult methods. Be wary of too many methods

• Lengthy procedures and articles are demotivators • Difficult methods are demotivators

– Recognize the law of diminishing returns– When appropriate, hand off to live support, etc

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TPs will remain important

• User’s often need assistance • Vendor is often the best or only source of reliable

information

• Finding a balance:– Crafted content– Remote intervention– Users helping users

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Thank you

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Forum content may not be well crafted

Complex TP from a Microsoft KB article (excerpt)

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The complete KB article

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