Closing the problem investigation and known errors

After verifying that the structural solution resolved the problem (a process that can take days or even weeks of monitoring), close the problem investigation and any related known errors.

After you close a problem investigation, you can no longer modify it. Therefore, ensure that the root cause has been resolved and review all information about the problem investigation on the Problem Investigation form before you change the investigation's status to Closed.

If you do not close the problem investigation or the known error within a specified period of time, Problem Management automatically moves the status of the problem investigation or known error to Closed. The length of this period is configurable. Check with your system administrator to determine how much time your organization specifies. The default setting is 15 days.

To close a problem investigation

1. In Mid Tier, open the relevant problem investigation as described in Creating-a-problem-investigation-and-known-error.
2. Review the Problem Investigation form to verify that the details are complete.
3. From the Status list, select Closed.
4. Click Save.

To close a known error

1. In Mid Tier, from the Company and View By lists on the Problem Management console, select the appropriate Company and View By criteria.
2. From the Defined Searches area of the Navigation pane, select Known Error > All Open Known Errors.
3. Click Refresh.
   The Problems table is refreshed with all open known errors for the selected Company and View By fields.
4. Select the known error and click View.
5. On the Known Error form, set the Status field to Closed.
6. To record a summary of how the known error was resolved, type the summary in the Resolution field.
7. Complete any other fields that will help someone else viewing the record understand how the known error was resolved.
8. Click Save.

Verifying the structural solution

When you are notified that a problem is resolved, open the problem investigation and any related known errors to review the information and to determine which structural solution was implemented to resolve the problem. Then, you must verify that the solution has solved the problem. One way to do this is to review the production test results. In cases where incidents caused by the problem under investigation exhibited only intermittent symptoms, the only way to verify the solution might be to monitor incident requests against the affected service to see if any new incidents are being reported.

The following graphic shows how a problem coordinator verifies the structural solution.

To indicate a problem investigation impasse

If the specialist cannot find a root cause, or if the Change Management process rejected the known error, the problem investigation is at an impasse and cannot be resolved. If this situation occurs, update the known error and the problem investigation records accordingly.

1. In Mid Tier, open the relevant problem investigation as described in Creating-a-problem-investigation-and-known-error.
2. In a work information note on the Work Detail tab, record why no further action currently is required.
3. Set the Status field to Pending.
   If the problem investigation previously came to an impasse and the Status is already set to Pending, create a work information note indicating that a resolution is still not available. You must perform periodic checks of problem investigations at an impasse to see whether they can be resolved. For more information, see Performing periodic checks.
4. Click Save.

To indicate a known error impasse

1. In Mid Tier, from the Defined Searches area of the Navigation pane on the Problem Management console, select Known Error > All Open Known Errors.
2. Click Refresh. 
   The Known Errors list is refreshed with all open known errors for the selected Company and View By fields.
3. Select the known error and click View.
4. On the Work Detail tab of the Known Error form, create a work information note to explain why the problem was not fixed.
5. Set the Status field to Canceled.
6. Set the Status Reason field to No Longer Applicable.
7. Click Save.

Performing periodic checks

If a problem investigation results in an impasse, periodically check the problem investigation to see if newer technology or another approach might provide a solution.

You can, for example, contact the supplier of the CI in which the root cause resides to see if the supplier has been able to determine a structural solution. You might also check websites that provide solutions for recognized, common errors or problems with specific versions of software or specific models of hardware.

If you determine that a structural solution or permanent workaround might now be possible, record this information in a work information note on the Work Detail tab and reassign it to a specialist for implementation; or if Change Management is required, create a known error. For more information, see Assigning-and-reassigning-problem-investigations-and-known-errors or Creating-a-problem-investigation-and-known-error.

After conducting the periodic check, if a resolution is still not available, record this information in a work information note on the Work Detail tab. For more information, see To indicate a known error impasse.