Chapter 13 — Reporting problems
Lesson map
Lesson 13 published. Map, example, EX049.
flowchart TD
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["13.1 What makes a good report"]
N2["13.2 The issue log"]
N3["13.3 Following through"]
N4["13.4 Spotting patterns"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4
N4 --> EX["Worked example"]
EX --> Q["Exercise EX049"]
Logical drawing
flowchart LR
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["13.1 What makes a good report"]
N2["13.2 The issue log"]
N3["13.3 Following through"]
N4["13.4 Spotting patterns"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> Q["EX049"]
[Learning outcomes]
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v
[13.1 What makes a good report]
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v
[13.2 The issue log]
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v
[13.3 Following through]
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v
[13.4 Spotting patterns]
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v
[Worked example] --> [Exercise EX049]
Learning outcomes
You will (1) report data problems clearly; (2) use an issue log; (3) follow problems through to a fix.
13.1 What makes a good report
Marta learns that a good problem report says what was seen, where, when, how many records are affected, why it matters and who has been told. Mr. Osei shows two reports about the same problem. One says the counts look wrong. The other says Route 7 has 122 trips without counts in March, about ten percent, which could reduce funding. Marta sees that the second report lets someone act straight away, while the first only causes worry. Marta uses the second style from then on.
13.2 The issue log
Linkway starts a simple issue log in a shared spreadsheet, with columns for date, reporter, description, data affected, impact, owner, status and fix. Marta enters the Route 7 counts problem, the stop names problem and the old complaints problem from earlier chapters. Mr. Hughes reviews the log each week and assigns owners. Marta notes that a log stops problems being forgotten when people are busy with other work. Each entry has an owner and a status, and Mr. Hughes moves entries along as they progress, so the log always shows where each problem stands.
13.3 Following through
An issue is closed only when the fix is checked. After the Route 7 sensors are repaired, Marta reruns her missing counts check and finds Route 7 now has very few missing trips. She records the result and closes the issue. For stop names, she checks the website and complaints system for old names before closing. Mr. Osei explains that closing issues without checking often means problems come back unnoticed. Both issues stay closed in the following months, which Marta checks by rerunning the same checks once a month and noting the results in the log.
13.4 Spotting patterns
After three months, Marta looks at the log and sees that several issues come from equipment on older buses. She mentions this to Mr. Hughes, who raises it with the fleet manager as a wider problem rather than separate faults. The fleet manager plans sensor upgrades for all older buses. Marta learns that a log can reveal patterns that individual reports hide, which helps managers fix bigger causes. Mr. Hughes adds a column to the log for the cause type, so that patterns like this one can be seen more easily in future reviews.
Worked example
Marta writes specific problem reports, keeps a shared issue log reviewed weekly, closes issues only after checking fixes and spots a pattern of older-bus equipment faults that leads to planned upgrades.
Synthetic case. Issues are synthetic.
Errors and limits
Vague problem reports cause worry without action.
Exercises
- EX049 — Good report contents. What should a problem report include? Rubric: 3 = what, where, when, how many, why it matters, who was told;; 2 = most;; 1 = few;; 0 = none.
- EX050 — Log reviewer. Who reviews the issue log each week? Rubric: 3 = Mr. Hughes;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = other;; 0 = none.
- EX051 — Closing evidence. How did Marta close the Route 7 issue? Rubric: 3 = reran the check and found few missing trips;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
- EX052 — Pattern found. What pattern did the log show? Rubric: 3 = issues from older buses' equipment;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
Continue studying — lesson 13 (chapter 13 of 18)
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