"The 10 step Universal Troubleshooting Process"1. Prepare
2. Make damage control plan
3. Get a complete and accurate symptom description
4. Reproduce the symptom
5. Do the appropriate corrective maintenance
6. Narrow it down to the root cause
7. Repair or replace the defective component
8. Test
9. Take pride in your solution
10. Prevent future occurrence of this problemTroubleshooting Tips and Articles• Logic for Troubleshootingo Tools and Solutions o Superstition, Positive Thinking and Lucko The Many Faces of Troubleshooting and Problem Solvingo Litt's Process Hypothesiso Speculation, Guesswork and Prayero Generic Problem Solving With the Universal Troubleshooting Processo A great demo of Divide and Conquer• Universal Troubleshooting Processo Troubleshooting tipso Common troubleshooting mythso Gavin Grayo Team Troubleshootingo When the Going Gets Tougho Natural Born Troubleshooterso Do the Easy Ones Firsto Courseware FAQ• Industry Specific Informationo Recruiters and Consulting Firmso Training Firms• Handy Troubleshooting Tacticso Corrective Maintenanceo Bottleneck Analysiso Exploiting Perceived Similaritieso Simplify Everythingo Distinctions and Commonalitieso Damage Controlo Preventive Maintenanceo Shotgunning• The Attitudeo The Attitudeo Take Prideo When the Going Gets Tougho Troubleshooting, Luck and Superstitiono Team Troubleshootingo Natural Born Troubleshooterso Take Pride• Intermittentso About intermittentso Intermittentso My favorite Intermittent Storieso NASA's Intermittent• Toolsmanshipo Toolsmanshipo Choosing the Right ToolHere Are Some Other Troubleshooting Tips:Quality Control -The quality of the solution depends on the quality put into the steps.
Bottleneck analysis -One cool and easy bottleneck analysis test is to slow down a section of the system.
Don't skip steps -Some of the worst troubleshooting debacles I've seen involved the problem escaping the box.