The root cause you keep treating as symptoms
Third ticket this month. Same issue. Different user. Sound familiar?
Recurring problems drain resources twice - once to fix them, again to fix them next time. Technicians get stuck in reactive mode, solving symptoms instead of causes. The root cause analysis that would prevent recurrence keeps getting deprioritised for the next urgent ticket.
The scenario:
You want to implement a process for identifying and eliminating recurring issues.
The prompt:
You're building a recurring issue elimination process.
Create a framework that includes:
- Criteria for flagging tickets as "recurring"
- Root cause analysis template (5 whys, fishbone, etc.)
- Escalation path from ticket to problem management
- Prioritisation criteria (frequency x impact x effort)
- Tracking and closure process
- Metrics to demonstrate value (time saved, tickets prevented)
Include a monthly review template for top recurring issues.