Big Ideas, Overviews, And Origins
Here you’ll find articles about my theory of fixing things, economic considerations, tools, and the origin of the project:
- The Starting Line: why I decided to begin the blog (and how it relates to the book).
- The Big Idea: explains my troubleshooting philosophy of “strategies, virtues, and cleaning up” and why the content is divided along those lines. A call to arms and a bird’s-eye view.
- One-size-doesn’t-fit-all: matching problems with strategies. Why there isn’t a single troubleshooting script for all situations.
- The Economics Of Troubleshooting: choosing the right repair within the constraints of your resources. Being aware of what you are giving up by pursuing a particular fix (i.e., “opportunity costs”).
- The Right Tool For The Job: the correct tools are crucial for discovering the cause as well as executing a fix.
- 10 Troubleshooting Lessons From Discovery’s Gold Rush: a reality TV show about gold mining has much to teach us about failure, repair, and the value of taking action.
- Industrial Past And Present: thoughts on the industrial revolution and its relationship to troubleshooting, prompted by a visit to The Henry Ford.
- There’s A Fine Line Between Engineering, Invention, And Troubleshooting: the Machine Model binds these disciplines together in a fascinating and complicated way.
- Beginnings, Middles, And Ends: the problems encountered during the various stages of a machine’s operation and lifecycle.
- When Documentation Becomes Art: the record of a fix-it project is turned into an inspiring creation.
- You Won’t Guess The Hard Part: why it’s difficult to predict what’s going to trip up a repair project.
- Is Troubleshooting A Science?: how the scientific method interacts with repair.
References:
- Header image: Delano, J., photographer. (1943) Switchman throwing a switch at C & NW RR’s (i.e. Chicago and North Western railroad’s Proviso yard, Chicago, Ill.). United States, Melrose Park, Illinois, 1943. April. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2017878042/.
THE ART OF TROUBLESHOOTING 
Your definition of troubleshooting is wrong. Troubleshooting only consists of analyzing and diagnosing a problem, it is not about making actual repairs…
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Sorry solow46, but I’m afraid it’s you who are mistaken. On a basic dictionary level, Merriam-Webster says a troubleshooter “finds and fixes problems.” Google’s dictionary indicates that troubleshooting is to “trace and correct faults.” Fixing and correcting go beyond mere analysis and diagnosis, as you suggest.
Definitions aside, the goal of my writing is to help people get back to normal after a malfunction. Therefore, even if repair wasn’t part of the strict definition of troubleshooting, I would still discuss it. Analysis is only useful because it leads to a course of action. People who are dealing with a broken machine want to go all the way to fixed!
Perhaps you were trying to say that diagnosing a problem requires different skills than making repairs. Because of the different training and knowledge involved, some organizations divide these duties amongst different people. Once a problem is diagnosed repair is typically straightforward, so it often makes sense to have your most experienced personnel focus on analysis.
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Hi Jason, after reading the rest of your book, blog, and your postings, I came to conclusion that the information is good in a general sense as it is applied to working in the IT world. Of course, the same principles apply to all areas of diagnosing problems. I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
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Thanks for reading, all the best to you as well!
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