Can Troubleshooting Skills Be Taught?

'... my first question when approaching a failure has always been "what changed?" ...' - mine too. Surprising how often it turns out to be the operator.

GA.... finger trouble gotta be the #1 cause.

Ahh

just like a car accident the 1st thing to check is the nut behind the wheel....

when you have the option it's good to limit the span of operator adjustment, which can greatly expedite the trouble shooting process

Good set up is the same skill set many times as troubleshooting

both require a comprehensive understanding of the system.

Yes it is possible to teach anything. To begin I would as I do now look for that in the student which I see in myself. The desire to understand how devices,things, anything functions and to solve puzzles. Progress is when the student can make or suggest improvements on the systems. Not only has he gained complete knowledge of the system. But has thought the problem though beyond the solution of immediate concern.

The nearest I can come to describing my approach to troubleshooting, is a modified form of "forensic engineering" were the intent is to diagnose and correct a problem.

Doorman's comment about "caring" is on the mark and I think is related to the satisfaction a person feels when the problem is solved. I guess what it comes down to, is the fact that when a customer calls with a problem, It becomes a good troubleshooters problem and the desire to help or care takes over.

As to "transferring these traits to others", IMHO I feel this would have to be a one-on-one arrangement. I suppose you would have to determine if this person had the aptitude, desire to help and an insatiable curiosity as to how things work and what would cause them to stop working.

I personally think that its a "mind-set", either you have the logic to isolate a problem or you don't.

A recent problem with my gas heating system illustrates the problem well I feel:-

We found that the gas was burning with a slightly red flame, had it checked and the PPM of CO was up around 2000. Far too high, here in Germany it has to be less than 50. Its also a waste of gas!!!

Got our fully educated Guy (we call them "Meister" or "Master", as they have done extra training and exams to get a certificate!! Over several years!!!

He told me after talking with the tech support from the manufacturer that he needed to replace the "Burner". I agreed entirely.

He turns up with the gas jets a few days later, I was shocked! For me that was not the burner!!

I told him that this would and could not fix the problem. He was a little taken aback, but asked me why.

I told him, that he could increase and decrease the gas and the CO would increase and decrease at the same time, so the jets were not the problem. He understood immediately!! But only when I explained why.

The problem is in the burner where the gas and air were "not" mixing properly.

Probably due to inhalation of hair spray from 3 women over the last 10 years or so (the heater sits on the wall in the bathroom!!)

Changing that part fixed the problems completely.....now we have a pure blue flame and a CO PPM of lest than 25!!!

About the equivalent of $120 wasted on unneeded parts......

Trouble Shooting like the ability to design, the ability to sing, talent with a musical instrument, and talent in sports are innate abilities that can be honed with practice and training. You cannot teach a Magpie to sing like a canary, but you can provide the magpie and canary a better song sheet.

I agree up to a point.

That point being you need someone who thinks "outside the box", if they don't do that, no amount of teaching can replace it.....

Certainly this was very true in the computer industry where I worked for the best part of 40 years.......

Funnily enough, the best Guys on average that I ever had either came from the US Navy, the Royal Navy or the German Navy......

Second best were from the Air Forces of the same nations......

A long last were Army Guys.....we had very few of them and the ones we did were very "set in their ways".

There were some outstanding ones, but only individuals, from the 2nd and 3rd services, but on average the placings are correct.....

Never could figure that one out properly......without upsetting anyone unnecessarily anyway.....

I agree with you on that one, I did 8 years in the Navy. I have yet to find someone in the civilian sector that can match even the laziest of electronics technicians in the Navy.

While we were taught some basics of trouble shooting, things like half spliting and that sort of thing. It all boiled down to pressure, pride, experience and like a previous poster mentioned... care. The pressure being the greatest, getting it done quickly and efficiently was paramount. Pride goes without saying, but experience is important. There is something about spending 10 hours elbow deep in a radar, troubleshooting, to find out it was something stupid you overlooked. Makes you a better technician, and at the end of the day, you never make the same mistake twice.

I am ex RN myself.....

I haven't found a book yet, that can teach common sense. I have found in 40+ years of troubleshooting, if you lack the common sense to be able to break an item down to sub-components and how they all interact between each other, ie flow charts, etc., then a book will not be of much help to the one trying to TS an item or system, what ever it may be. I have worked with people that hold Master's Degree's in electrical and can't troubleshoot a blown fuse. I'm not saying this to offend anybody, it's just what I've seen over the years. I don't judge a person by their IQ, but by their common sense and ability to use it. And this is my own opinion

GA

Agree entirely......

It's called

Critical Thinking

It's a knack. You either have it or you don't.

You can teach the workings of a machine and how things are likely to fail but when weird stuff happens only those with a particular analytical talent will be able to actually solve the problem. That talent usually turns out to be common sense. What a misnomer!

Yes.
The techniques of trouble shooting can be taught. Simplify, simplify, simplify, unitil you have one input without an output, or one cause and no effect.
Sadly some people will never learn to apply them and simply resort to the random changing of parts. Hey I've just described modern auto repair!
Del

Great Blog. Thanks to the original author.

Anything that one can learn can be taught. it just depends on the teachers ability to teach and the students ability to learn. Aside from that, troubleshooting is a basic skill and being such, requires a basic approach to the peoblem. One should never approach a problem with a sledge hammer and a big box of tools. Time spent analyzing the problem is well spent if you don't have to use any of those tools. Basic thinking means to take steps to eliminate the most common problems first before going deeper. "Was it plugged in?"; "Is the battery charged?"; "Is there a loose wire?". It has been said that 9 out of 10 problems can be fixed by simple means. I've seen someone replace a car starter twice only to find out the battery had been dead all along. To be good at troubleshooting, you need to be an inquisitive person. You need to be an analyst. You need to be un-stoppable in your quest to solve the problem. Troubleshooters often take their problem home. They lose sleep thinking about it. They don't stop until the solution is in hand.

I like your post.

I agree with 99.9999% of it, no problem...

I like what you wrote:-

Troubleshooters often take their problem home.

Really true for me, if I got too tired, then the old brain did not work right, so I would go to a hotel, sleep like a Babe and actually fix the problem in my sleep!

The next morning I knew exactly what the problem is!! i could hardly wait thru breakfast to try out my idea....

I never had the problem of:-

They lose sleep thinking about it.

At the risk of showing my age, I call this technique:

"Putting it in batch processing."

You know, the old main frame computer trick of putting a job in the background at low priority to run when other, more high priority programs aren't eating up cpu cycles.

If I have a perplexing problem that's stumping me, I will often consign it to my subconscious and find something else productive to do in the meantime, maybe even a nap. The answer may come to the forefront of my mind in 10 minutes, and hour, or maybe even the next morning, but I can almost always be assured of an answer within 24 hours.

Above all: Never lose sleep over it. This is often the most productive problem solving time of all.

Hooker

PS - Army Aviation (helicopters) taught me a lot about troubleshooting.

I worked for many years in food processing plants

when solutions weren't forth coming & everyone was at an impasse [invariably 10 bosses staring over my shoulder]

I would start putting away all of my tools that were strewn about & many times would come up with a new successful course of action.

Industrial meditation

LOL!!

Yeah, I can relate. When I'm getting pressure to get something done, my usual response is "The more you bug me, the LONGER it's gonna take".

They've finally figured out that I will intentionally delay something longer and longer the more they hover over me.

Hooker

I guess you are right with your comment:-

"At the risk of showing my age..."

Yeah, me too.....

Like your post too.....

You are on the right track

A good way to teach troubleshooting is to do the failure analysis, step by step

prompt the student for an answer & don't take, duh know for an answer,

I share my process as we go & why

if the student is willing to participate, skills will improve

background & previous knowledge less important than motovation

No, most definitely, no.

If one uses theory only, he or she cannot troubleshoot, just diagnose from a list or finding from a instrument or program. To get to a root cause most of the time a person needs "the knack".

Think of troubleshooting as a game of chess, breaking each component down in your mind, visualizing it, seeing what it does, and then connecting the "dots":

When troubleshooting simple things as a kid, I didn't even know chess existed, but i learned to look several steps ahead and several steps back.

From my first venture making a wheeled buggy out of scrap to diagnosing failed equipment and components, it always seemed so easy.

I have tried to teach using lectures, hands on methods, PPT slides, and readings, but I learned that if the trainee did have "the knack", none of these were needed.

On the other hand, some who studied and crammed hard never were able to show the ability.

Think Aesop's crow, the water glass, the worm, and the pebbles. (Who taught this crow to get out at the worm?

Chess can't be taught then

Troubleshooting is much like chess & not everyone can excell

anyone can learn the basics of chess

very few reach world class status

You provided the right answer yourself:-

Anyone can learn the basics of chess - Anyone can learn the basics of trouble shooting

very few reach world class status - very few reach world class status

That says it all......

Also, I am a poor chess player, probably because I am not interested in the game.

I have little interest in Soccer too......but Rugby, Cricket, badminton and Squash!!!!

A GA is really not the right way to compliment you for your post, but its all we have! So a GA for you.

I agree 100% with all your comments.......and its a "Knack" (great word!!), fits perfectly.

The statement: '...most of the time a person needs "the knack".' reminded me of a funny cartoon - Dilbert has "the knack" - see: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/410397/dilbert_the_knack/ or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmYDgncMhXw

There is a list of debugging rules in a book, "Debugging", by Dave Agans. These have been a great help to me. See: http://www.debuggingrules.com/debuggingrules.jpg

So, do some people have a particular knack for troubleshooting? I believe so. Can most people learn to be a better troubleshooter? I believe so. Are there some for which troubleshooting is difficult or impossible? I believe so.

I enjoyed that. Were do you guys find these things? Ah, you must have the knack, I get it now. We have the knackwurst but that doesn't count, does it?

It is the responsibility of the student to learn, if the student learns is not the responsiblity of the teacher. Anything can be taught.

The chess analogy is a good one. Like it or not we are born with certain limitations. Hard work can minimize (and sometimes even overcome) these limitations.

Experience also plays a huge role in troubleshooting. A problem that might have taken you hours to find when you are first starting out might only take 30 seconds to solve now, once you know the "symptoms". (Hmmm? Sounds a little like being a doctor doesn't it?) And as funny as it sounds, even when you have learned "shortcuts" from your experience, a novice might not quite get when to use the shortcut.

Also, a "connection" between teacher and student can play a role.

We could probably come up with a good Doctor analogy too

Don't forget it's described a practicing medicine

Some of what you say is true

a) Caring. This is the basic characteristic of anyone who wants to succeed at doing something and troubleshooting requires a great deal of it. Caring is an attitude that does not directly relate to intelligence, although the less intelligent the individual is, the less they care.

1st part true, 2nd part False

there are plenty of dumb people who care deeply

some of which a adept at following a script or even more commonly have learned from experience

These technicians as you say will be at a loss to diagnose an unusual problem or do any significant failure analysis

Garth,

You wrote, "there are plenty of dumb people who care deeply".

Please note that I did not use the word "dumb," which some people use to denote an individual who has no schooling (ignorant), someone who is mentally challenged (Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, etc.), or a person holding a low wage job. Intelligent people are aware of various situations and are capable of arriving to sound conclusions. People with less intelligence, are less aware of situations and, therefore, they do not care about things such as getting an education or the importance of a job well done beyond some basic instructions; they are usually followers and seldom have initiative.

Conversely, intelligent people may not care because of their personal situations or simply because they are lazy. Many intelligent people are into Arts or Philosophy, and they just are not interested in doing the most basic troubleshooting of their DSL connection, for example. My doctor calls me every time his computer has a pops a warning message.

Strangely enough, I have seen people with Down syndrome striving to learn skills and become independent. Many years ago, when working for an oil exploration company in South America, I had a local assistant of aboriginal ancestry who only had 3rd grade of schooling. He was so interested in learning that in two days I taught him to count printouts marked in binary code. In two months, he was running the daily pre-op tests. As you can see, a "dumb" guy was not dumb; he was just unschooled.

Take care

OK

so what are you trying to say?

I haven't seen any definitive relationship between mental capacity [ intelligence ] & motivation [ caring ]

I completely agree that the skills that have the most bearing on the ability of an individual to learn or improve troubleshooting proficiency are critical thinking skills.

motivation & determination will get the job done, it may not be fast & it probably won't be cheap

you could classify the techs that were calling you on the phone as lazy, but weren't they just using the available resources?

never underestimate the ability of a truly lazy man to find a better way to get the job done...

Garth,

"I haven't seen any definitive relationship between mental capacity [ intelligence ] & motivation [ caring ]"

Contrary to your experience, in my book intelligence and "positive" motivation are directly proportional. With this, I mean motivation to learn and to get the job done in the most efficient way.

"motivation & determination will get the job done, it may not be fast & it probably won't be cheap"

There you go! You can teach someone who is motivated and determined to do a better job (within certain limits, of course).

"but weren't they just using the available resources?"

No, they were just lazy. They were just pushing the "Ext" button and dialing "1-800-THINK4ME." They were not using the manuals or the knowledge base on our Intranet, which where the legitimate resources available to them. They were not trying to duplicate the problem with the units they had in their own area. Instead, they jumped from first tier to third tier without making the effort, which meant that they would never learn.

"never underestimate the ability of a truly lazy man to find a better way to get the job done..."

Truly lazy people do not even try to get the job done. Instead, those who find a better, more efficient way to get the job done are, in a sense, visionaries, although their motives might note be always ethic, moral or legal...

Truly lazy people do not even try to get the job done. Instead, those who find a better, more efficient way to get the job done are, in a sense, visionaries, although their motives might note be always ethic, moral or legal...

I agree, I have said a good innovative engineer is a lazy one, (does not mean he does'nt work hard they are one of the hardest workers) but one that finds a easier way to do things, and not pawn his responsibility off on someone else.

No, they were just lazy. They were just pushing the "Ext" button and dialing "1-800-THINK4ME.

was it shame on them for calling you?

Or shame on you for answering their questions instead forcing them to use the more time consuming resources?

procedures & rules don't mean anything, unless you are willing to enforce them.

who is smarter someone follows the rules as written

or someone who understands how the rules are actually being enforced and acts accordingly.

[see tax law]

would you follow along the line of thought you seem to be on & conclude:

the most intelligent people are the most successful

?

good to have you around CBTman

Problem solving is taking ownership of the problem....not many people will do this......and there are fewer that should.

I cannot agree more that taking ownership of a problem is fundamental, which is also part of caring. I work in the Product Development of our company and we are the gurus of our systems. I cannot count the times the tech support guys used to call us to ask the stupidest questions, most of which were answered in the product's manual. And do not get me started with the times they did blind transfers with the client on the phone. Not only is not our job to be second tier tech support, the TS guys did not dare to escalate the problem to their supervisor. Fortunately, they have a new manager and their new phones cannot transfer calls to our department; they can now only make consultation and conference calls with us.

Many valid points, and you can teach it up to a point, but basic intelligence and the ability to visualize in your head how a system works are the only way to become world class. Ive got 5 techs working for me, plus a young one im trying to teach. He wants to learn has a can do attitude and is moderately intelligent. He cant however visualize how a system works in his head. Even after explaining and pointing out the components and what each one does I get this blank stare and he goes back to changing parts. But he is getting better and considering he was a dog catcher for many years prior to my taking a chance he could be taught how to fix things. So yes you can teach the basics but you have to have that ability to see the system in your minds eye and how each component affects the whole in order to be more than a parts changer.

It is a proven fact that those who have not been trained to think critically when young, have a hard time to understand logical and technical concepts when they are older. Your guy might get better at what he does and you should continue supporting him. However, be aware that he might never be a sharp at it as someone who got trained to think at a younger age.

It depends on the context. Real problem solving (trouble shooting) is totally dependent on a true understanding (regardless of what is taught) of how a system works. In a PC AA environment in a school or anyplace nothing of that understanding is involved. The ability to trouble shoot is being lost as fast as the "social justice" crowd wins over more and more people. When we have left only those who are taught "Social justice" we as Americans will have lost the ability to solve any problem in a real world environment, electronics or politics.

Due to the above reality, the ability to teach trouble shooting will then and is now entirely dependent on the AA, PC, "social justice" quotient in the circumstances and context. If it is a high quotient trouble shooting will not be able to be taught. If it is a zero quotient it will be taught automatically with no problems what so ever. America's ability to create problem solvers is totally dependent on beating back the current political destruction of the USA by the BHO crowd. Anyone who downgrades this answer because it is politically incorrect is part of the problem and adds to the problem. Any PC or AA answer or rationalization of why these comments are not "good" demonstrates the very nature of the problem and the reason why the ability to trouble shoot systems in any field will eventually disappear in the US. We will become a 3rd world country before it gets better if we continue on the same course of action.

Think I agree - but AA? BHO? - afraid you've lost me.

Barack Hussein Obama

PC=politically correct

AA=no idea

yes friends it's the end of the world

I'm not sure having more & more information available makes it less likely for a child to develop critical thinking skills

while the schools may not be doing as much as possible to develop these skills

there is also more resources than ever available for parents to encourage & enlighten children

1/2 full

I got PC ok (think it's two most common meanings - usually distinguishable by context - are pretty universal).

AA = Anti-American? Just an idea ... looks like it may fit in the context it was used. If so, I may be going away from my original supporting position. Paranoid rants not me.

Alcoholics Anonymous?

AA, not quite as good as AAA

AA Affirmative action. BHO is the POTUS, PC Politically correct. All designed to not allow humans to see the world or system as it really is. All designed to have garbage in and "steak out". All know this cannot be done.

The perceived and "constructed" history rewrite fixes the "sins" of the father on the son. Revolutionary tactics since time began, currently socialist and communist who call themselves progressives and play on the useful idiots in America. The revolutionaries know only with ignorance and guilt can they win. To take your personal property by redistribution and taxes. Until these destructive terms are understood completely all can live in the narrow Utopian and false world that is falling apart right in front of us. By allowing America to sink in Utopian thinking the American engine that pulled the world is now becoming parasitic---like Europe. Does this make it more clear to anyone who cares? Who does not think they are in the same boat?

Rants may be of use if that is what it takes to get through thick heads and unaware useful idiots to the "progressives" take over of America.

Don't worry Jack,

there is no chance of anything in the least bit progressive, happening in the government

just more of the same

Yes, troubleshooting can be taught, and I've done it. A troubleshooter must understand or be able to diagnose many related disciplines, must be a logical thinker, and must be methodical. It helps that he is curious and pays attention to details.

To begin, first you teach not only device or machine fundamentals but also why and how those things work. Just memorizing terms and formulas does not cut it. You have to show how the pieces interact, and why the designers and manufacturers built it like they did. Then you teach how to use test equipment correctly (and even more important) how to interpret the results. You must learn how to separate true from false results, and keep an open mind for all possible reasons for each result. You teach to look for multiple failures in a complex object (not just one failed part in a system, as is commonly taught). You teach what results are "good enough" to make the device work (for example, data transmissions are never pretty square waves as shown in textbooks, but how rounded can those data signals be and still be okay - not the problem?). When forced to try replacing suspect parts that could not be the solution, you test those parts separately to prove that they really are bad. This is not just throwing parts at it until it works. This is making informed decisions, then verifying suspicions and acknowledging mistakes. You should end up only replacing truly bad parts.

To assess your progress you can measure how much time it takes to troubleshoot the problem, after verifying that the repaired product now works correctly. You can count the number of steps you took to zero in on the bad part, and the number of suspected parts that turned out to be okay and were reused. These numbers (time and parts) should go down as you gain experience. You can also factor the complexity of the device being troubleshot and the complexity of the problem (for example, if the device had multiple failed parts).

good comments, I do like to add that the root of the problem is not always where the problem shows its self.

If it were there, there would be no problem in fixing it, no need for a tech support, no need for specialist etc....

"When forced to try replacing suspect parts that could not be the solution, you test those parts separately to prove that they really are bad."

'Fraid you lost me there.

Good morning Gentlemen

One could be the best trouble shooter ever to walk on this planet but dealing with the bean counters is the most troublesome, to be improved part of any system.

What good is it, if one finds the culprit part and then replaces it with a brand new one when the adjoining parts of the system stay old. What good is it to replace a heart when one knows that the kidney, or another organ, will fail because the new heart is creating an overload on all other old parts of the system.

In other words, and to get away from the miracle of the human body, if a chain has a weak link and one thinks that replacing it would strengthen said chain, there will be a rude awakening. The demands and dictatorship of the bean counters is the weakest link of them all. Collecting brownies for what they do is unjustified and the cause of many brake downs.

A responsible auto mechanic will advise a customer about this fact and if the customer (In this case the bean counter) takes this for granted and disregards the advice, he/she will be back in the workshop faster than they can say: " but it has worked until I brought it here" and blames the mechanic for creating the problem, in some cases being accused of doing it willingly.

Bottom line: A change after the identification of a fault has to be seen in context of the whole system otherwise superstition takes over and the best heart beats for nothing but an other wise derelict machine.

Triple bottom line: The cause of much head ache for disgruntled engineers in all walks of technology.

Have a great day, Ky.

Once upon a time people learned by trial and error and breaking or damaging equipment.In todays world there are technical books,courses conducted,training given,evaluation of candidate is done,certificates issued to successful students etc to mould people to do a certain task without studying for a general degree. But the ability to solve problems depends on the intelligence and ability to concentrate on hard work.They say genius is 99% hard work and 1% intelligence.The time taken to solve a problem is critical.

I have been working on Generator sets and automatic switchgear for 35 years, I absolutely love doing it I would do it for free if I didn't need the money, I think I'm pretty good at it, you have good days and bad days, I was lucky to start early out with a small company that was willing to invest in me, they would sent me out where I would work a couple of days on jobs I could fix on the phone now. When I was done they would ask me how long it would take now that I knew what I was doing and bill that amount, who does that anymore. Another thing I did early on was a lot of Preventive Maintenance, this way I could spend a lot of time with the equipment while it was working properly, investigate the system, it gave me a lot of quality time with the equipment

Del the Cat's post of dilbert, pretty much says it all. Sorry I haven't been around much, had surgery on my lumbar, May6 then neck surgery Aug. 31, so I've been off the keyboard. Anyhow, A good troubleshooter has a natural born knack for analyzing a problem and it doesn't necessarily mean it's learn out of a book. I have a friend that is so dyslexic, you'd think he's retarded if you heard him try to read a manual, but his analytical skills when it comes to TS a modern car's electronics's, can compete with an OBD code reader and at times more accurate. So as I said in my first reply and the way dilbert states it, a person has to have the knack for trouble shooting, whether they feel it was book learned or they found it naturally.

GA to Del the Cat!