How To Effectively Report A Tech Issue

When reporting a tech issue, the better the communication, the more effective the problem-solving. We want to provide you with what IT professionals look for when addressing a new request so that you can effectively report your future technology issues or questions.

Here's what your engineer will want to know:

WHAT STOPPED WORKING?

This may seem like an obvious question, but it's always important to ensure the engineer knows exactly what isn't working that should be. This helps maintain a strong focus on the request at hand so that the issue can be solved efficiently. An engineer will want to know exactly what went wrong or what isn't working from your perspective. Knowing exactly what stopped working and when the issue started will help an IT team determine the overall end goal when troubleshooting. So, if something stops working, pay attention to the why and the when.

Related: Troubleshooting Tips - Don't Let Frustration Win 

WHAT'S THE OVERALL IMPACT?

Another important detail to relay is whether or not the issue is impacting just your device or multiple users within your organization. Not only does this let your engineer know the impact, but also whether or not it's a user-specific issue vs. a larger one. Knowing the overall impact will help streamline the problem-solving process.

Your engineer might ask something along the lines of, "When was the last time this worked correctly?" This will determine whether or not this is a recurring issue, which will help lead to the root cause more quickly. Finding the answer to that question will help determine whether or not the problem was caused by an internal process changing, a user getting a new device, and much more.

DOES THIS PREVENT YOU FROM WORKING TODAY?

Defining whether or not the ticket request is something that prevents a user from working helps to determine the urgency of the issue. Depending on the urgency, your engineer might want to connect into your computer right away so that you can show them the issue. Having a user directly show an engineer what led to the issue/what the issue looks like is one of the most important parts of troubleshooting and effectively reporting a tech issue. If for some reason that is not an option, taking screenshots and writing down error codes is always helpful as well.

Effectively reporting a tech issue to an IT engineer can potentially save hours of time when trying to troubleshoot a request. Pay attention to the issue at hand, have a willingness to answer questions, and help your IT team determine the urgency of the situation. Most of the time, clear communication will lead to a simple and straightforward ticket request process.

Having an understanding of the basic functions of your network will be helpful when reporting a future tech issue.