Grey problem

In IT, a grey problem (or, gray problem) is a problem where the causing technology is unknown or unconfirmed. Common grey problems are:


 * Intermittent errors;
 * Intermittent incorrect output, or;
 * Transient performance problems.

Because the causing technology is not clear, IT departments often find it difficult to allocate the problem to a Technical Support Team (platform team).

Background
Combining frequency and causing technology information can provide a view of the complexity of a problem and so indicate how difficult it will be to investigate (see Figure 1).

The problems in each quadrant have certain characteristics:


 * Quadrant 1: In a typical IT department 80 to 90% of problems are solid faults that are easily tracked down to a causing technology. The appropriate technical or platform support team efficiently deals with these problems every day.


 * Quadrant 2: Some recurring problems are due to a Known Error, or are obviously being caused by a particular hardware or software component. These problems are handled by technical support people working with suppliers.


 * Quadrant 3: Every so often a one-off problem occurs, and the cause of these may never be found.


 * Quadrant 4: The technical ownership of these issues is unclear and so they are referred to as “grey problems” i.e. not black and white.

Impact
Grey problems have a significant impact on IT service, and:


 * Form the bulk of ongoing recurring problems
 * Create a disproportionately high IT support workload
 * Give a pointer to more serious problems to come
 * Cause the business to adjust practices around the problem

ITIL perspective
ITIL Service Operations implies that grey problems should be handled through a Problem Solving Group under the direction of the Problem Management function. In practice, even those IT organisations that have adopted ITIL rarely have a procedure to handle a grey problem, leaving it to bounce between Technical Support Teams as each denies that their technology is to blame.