Problems
Root causes behind one or more incidents
What are Problems?
A problem represents the underlying root cause behind one or more incidents. While incidents focus on restoring service as quickly as possible, problems focus on identifying why the incident happened and preventing recurrence. Problems are one of the three ticket types in Anzen's ITSM module.
Status Workflow
A problem starts as New when it has been identified but investigation has not yet begun. Once the team begins actively analysing the root cause, it moves to Investigating. When the root cause has been identified and documented, the status changes to Root Cause Found — this intermediate stage is important because it separates "we know what's wrong" from "we've fixed it". After a fix or workaround has been implemented, the problem is marked as Resolved. Finally, it is formally Closed after confirming the resolution is effective.
Root Cause Analysis
The Root Cause Found status is unique to problems. It marks the point where the team has identified the underlying cause but may not yet have resolved it. Root cause details are typically documented in the problem's description and comment timeline. The linked assets and business processes help identify the scope of impact.
Linking to Incidents
Problems are conceptually linked to the incidents they explain. This relationship is managed through the problem's description, comments, and shared asset or business process links. When documenting a problem, reference the related incident ticket numbers (e.g. INC2026000042) in the description to maintain traceability.
Ticket Number
Problems receive ticket numbers in the format PRB + year + sequential number, for example PRB2026000001. See Tickets for more on the shared ticket structure.