Problem Record

What Is Problem Record

A Problem Record is a formal documentation that captures the details of an underlying issue causing one or more incidents in IT systems. It contains information about the problem's nature, impact, root cause, and resolution status, serving as a central reference point throughout the problem management lifecycle.

Why Is Problem Record Important

Problem Records help organizations track recurring issues and prevent future incidents. They provide a historical knowledge base that speeds up troubleshooting and enables teams to identify patterns across multiple incidents. Without proper Problem Records, teams often solve the same issues repeatedly without addressing their root causes.

Example Of Problem Record

After three separate incidents of customer database timeouts, a Problem Record is created to track the investigation. The record documents that all incidents occurred during peak traffic hours, links the related incident tickets, and tracks the discovery that insufficient memory allocation is the root cause.

How To Create Problem Record

• Create a standardized template with fields for problem description, related incidents, and impact
• Establish clear ownership and responsibilities for managing problem records
• Link all related incidents to the problem record
• Document troubleshooting steps, root cause findings, and resolution actions
• Update the status as the problem moves through investigation to resolution

Best Practices

• Keep Problem Records separate from Incident Records but maintain clear links between them
• Update Problem Records promptly with new findings and related incidents
• Include workarounds in the Problem Record to help mitigate future incidents while the root cause is being addressed