Re: How do you document error messages?

[James Barrow <vrfour -at- earthlink -dot- net>]

I set up a Lotus Notes database for all of our support and Help Desk 
information.  The database was broken down into categories for each 
application.  For instance:

Microsoft Word:
>System Doc (describing the what the app does, who uses it, etc.)
>How Do I? (common questions a user might ask regarding the basic 
functionality)
>Sypmtom (descriptions and resolutions for common error messages)

In theory, this worked great.  The only problems that I encountered was 
in trying to get users to go to that database instead of calling the 
engineers, etc.

Since we were using ZENworks to push app objects out to clients, we 
took advantage of Novell's alert capabilities.  If we anticipated 
problems with the installation or upgrade of an application, the 
administrators could send out alerts that would appear on a user's 
desktop.  These were brief descriptions of the problems that they might 
encounter and, more importantly, whom to call or where to go in the 
database to get more information.

If you have products that do not generate error messages, then 
identifying common problems takes more effort.  If these are custom 
apps, then you would probably have to set up a small test group to 
pound away at the app until a problem occurred.  Then you'd have to 
work with the developers to document a workaround or fix.

If these are out-of-the-box apps, you could probably look on the 
manufacturer's website for TIDs, or check their FAQ section.  At the 
very least, simply go to Google and enter: [name of app] 
troubleshooting.

- Jim

On Sep 17, 2004, at 2:35 PM, mearro -at- msn -dot- com wrote: