Step 6: Create an Action Plan and Solution Identifying Potential Effects

After identifying a cause, but before implementing a solution, develop a plan for the solution. This is particularly a concern for server systems in which taking the server offline is a difficult and undesirable prospect. After identifying the cause of a problem on the server, it is absolutely necessary to plan for the solution. The plan must include details around when the server or network should be taken offline and for how long, what support services are in place, and who will be involved in correcting the problem.

Planning is an important part of the whole troubleshooting process and can involve formal or informal written procedures. Those who do not have experience troubleshooting servers might be wondering about all the formality, but this attention to detail ensures the least amount of network or server downtime and the maximum data availability.

As far as workstation troubleshooting is concerned, rarely is a formal planning procedure required, and this makes the process easier. Planning for workstation troubleshooting typically involves arranging a convenient time with end users to implement a solution.