Chapter 13 — Reporting problems
Lesson map
Lesson 13 published. Map, example, EX049.
flowchart TD
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["13.1 What to report"]
N2["13.2 A clear report"]
N3["13.3 A real report"]
N4["13.4 Following up"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4
N4 --> EX["Worked example"]
EX --> Q["Exercise EX049"]
Logical drawing
flowchart LR
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["13.1 What to report"]
N2["13.2 A clear report"]
N3["13.3 A real report"]
N4["13.4 Following up"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> Q["EX049"]
[Learning outcomes]
|
v
[13.1 What to report]
|
v
[13.2 A clear report]
|
v
[13.3 A real report]
|
v
[13.4 Following up]
|
v
[Worked example] --> [Exercise EX049]
Learning outcomes
You will (1) recognise security problems that need reporting; (2) write a clear problem report; (3) follow up until the problem is closed.
13.1 What to report
Chloe learns that support staff often notice problems first: a suspicious email, a device behaving strangely, a door left unlocked or a customer list in the wrong place. Mr. Appiah explains that reporting early lets the right person act before harm grows. At Westfield, problems go to Mr. Doyle by email or phone, or to the support company if he is away. Chloe writes the contact details inside her notebook cover so she always has them to hand. She also saves both numbers in her phone.
13.2 A clear report
A good report says what was seen, where, when, who is affected and what has been done so far. Chloe practises writing reports from scenarios. Her first draft says a laptop is acting weird. Mr. Appiah asks what exactly happened. She rewrites it: at 10:15 on Tuesday, the office laptop at the north centre showed a message demanding payment, and the user switched it off and called her. The detail helps the person receiving the report act quickly. Mr. Appiah marks the rewritten report as clear and useful.
13.3 A real report
During her placement, a till worker tells Chloe that a customer asked to plug a phone into a till to charge it. The worker refused, but the customer was insistent. Chloe reports it to Mr. Doyle with the time, centre and a description. Mr. Doyle checks the till's ports and adds covers to unused ones. He thanks the till worker and Chloe. She learns that reports about attempts that failed are still valuable. Chloe adds the event to her list of reports with the date and outcome.
13.4 Following up
Reports should not be forgotten once sent. Chloe keeps a simple list of reports she has made, with the date and the current status. She checks with Mr. Doyle weekly until each is closed. One report about a broken camera sits for two weeks until she reminds him. Mr. Appiah notes that following up politely is part of the job, because busy people sometimes lose track of smaller problems. The camera is repaired the following week, and Chloe marks the report closed with the date. Her list now shows every report and its outcome.
Worked example
Chloe learns what to report, rewrites a vague report with time, place and detail, reports a suspicious till charging request and tracks reports until closed.
Synthetic case. Reports are synthetic.
Errors and limits
Vague reports slow down the people who must act on them.
Exercises
- EX049 — Report contents. What should a good report include? Rubric: 3 = what, where, when, who affected, actions taken;; 2 = most;; 1 = few;; 0 = none.
- EX050 — Rewritten report. What detail did Chloe add? Rubric: 3 = time, centre and payment message;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
- EX051 — Till request. What did a customer ask to do? Rubric: 3 = plug a phone into a till;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
- EX052 — Follow-up. How often does Chloe check open reports? Rubric: 3 = weekly;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = wrong;; 0 = none.
Continue studying — lesson 13 (chapter 13 of 18)
← Chapter 12 · Course chapter index · Chapter 14 →
Continue to the next authored lesson.