Documenting the root cause

The root cause is the reason why the problem exists. Identifying and documenting the root cause leads to a workaround and known error status. Identifying the root cause also formally stores this information in the database for future reference. The following table shows a sample problem and different root causes that affect the workaround and final solution.

Problem Root Cause
Service Manager upgrade fails User error. The user did not uninstall the previous version first.
Service Manager upgrade fails Training required. The user did not know that the client version must be the same as the server version.
Service Manager upgrade fails Configuration Item error. The operating system is not supported.

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Phase 3: Investigation

Problems with multiple Configuration Items

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Document the root cause
Document the workaround
Open a Problem Management task