Problems, Incidents, Helpdesk Tickets

The area of problem resolution is broad, and thus many terms are associated with it.

• Incident, Nonconformance – A Quality Perspective
• Ticket – A Helpdesk Perspective
• Problem vs. Task
• You May Be Interested In

Main chapter on problem resolution

Incident, Nonconformance – A Quality Perspective

For the quality department, an incident or nonconformance is a situation where mandatory procedures were not followed, even if no actual issue, such as a defective product, occurred.

Deviation from procedures creates a risk that the product, while appearing flawless, might not truly be so. Therefore, even seemingly "harmless" incidents must be recorded, and their impacts and causes addressed. Recording a problem serves exactly this purpose. An incident will typically involve:

• The equipment or procedure associated with the incident
• Tasks to verify the impacts of the incident
• Tasks to mitigate the consequences
• Tasks for preventive measures.

Ticket – A Helpdesk Perspective

A problem is a general term for any type of incident concerning quality or process adherence. It is also a record of issues reported by users—both internal and external customers. Problem tracking thus includes recording customer-reported defects, requests, and complaints, often referred to as helpdesk tickets.

Helpdesk tickets will typically involve:

• Emails or other messages through which the problem was reported
• Orders or equipment related to the ticket
• Tasks/internal orders to resolve the issue—for example, dispatching a replacement for faulty goods
• Tasks addressing the root cause of the problem—such as requesting a refund from a supplier (importer).

Problem vs. Task

Problems are not tasks, and the system distinguishes these objects even if they might seem similar at first glance. Problems in the system can be monitored and resolved without creating a task. However, if a task is needed for resolution, one or more tasks can be created for the problem. Creating a separate task for a problem is particularly useful when forming a group (e.g., a KANBAN team) to collaborate on the solution. (Tasks can also be synchronized to calendars and scheduled.)

Whether a task is needed depends on your team's workflow. For example, if a colleague syncs tasks to their mobile device, creating a task ensures they are alerted to the problem even if they don't check the system dashboard directly.

Efforts spent resolving the problem can be logged directly within the problem record. There's no need to create a separate task solely for logging work.

You May Be Interested In

• Grouping Problems and Solving Them Collectively
• Problem Subject: Linking Problems with Related Records