Background
Combining frequency and causing technology information can provide a view of the complexity of a problem and so indicate how difficult it will be to investigate (see Figure 1). The problems in each quadrant have certain characteristics: Q1 - In a typical IT department 80 to 90% of problems are solid faults that are easily tracked down to a causing technology. The appropriate technical or platform support team efficiently deals with these problems every day. Q2 - Some recurring problems are due to a Known Error, or are obviously being caused by a particular hardware or software component. These problems are handled by technical support people working with suppliers. Q3 - Every so often a one-off problem occurs, and the cause of these may never be found. Q4 – The technical ownership of these issues is unclear and so they are referred to as “grey problems” i.e. not black and white.Impact
Grey problems have a significant impact on IT service, and: * Form the bulk of ongoing recurring problems * Create a disproportionately high IT support workload * Give a pointer to more serious problems to come * Cause the business to adjust practices around the problemITIL perspective
See also
* ITIL v3 Problem Management * ITIL v3 Incident Management *Further reading
* Offord, Paul (2011). ''RPR: A Problem Diagnosis Method for IT Professionals''. Advance Seven Limited. {{ISBN, 978-1-4478-4443-3.