Thinking Like A Techie – The Diagnostic Path - SIDEBAR
Points of Failure (PoF)
The phrase Point of Failure has already been used more than once in this scenario, and it is worth knowing as it is a common phrase among troubleshooters. Let’s consider it in slightly more detail for a moment.
A Point of Failure is a place in the work path of equipment or systems that can break down, fail, or otherwise cause a hindrance to the equipment’s (or system's) purpose. Following the normal work path of the equipment (or system) and looking for Points of Failure along the way will lead to the most diagnostic success.
A Point of Failure is a place in the work path of equipment or systems that can break down, fail, or otherwise cause a hindrance to the equipment’s (or system's) purpose. Following the normal work path of the equipment (or system) and looking for Points of Failure along the way will lead to the most diagnostic success.
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A (somewhat) Silly Example of a Point of Failure-
You take the stairs to your classroom every day. Normally, you don’t think about the stairs because they simply exist to get you from one floor to another, and they always do their job. Today, however, you’re carrying a large file-box up the stairs and you haven’t yet noticed that someone has dropped a length of thick chain on the 7th step farther up the stairs. Can you describe the likely Point of Failure in this example? Of course, the 7th step has a hazard that will either entangle your foot, or cause your foot to roll off the step, or do something else that may cause you a real catastrophe. As a competent stair walker, though, you will scan the steps ahead of you and either perform a “workaround” by stepping to the side of the chain when you reach the 7th step or (more dangerous) by skipping the 7th step entirely, or you’ll stop, set down your burden at the foot of the stairs, and then go up and remove the hazard from the step so that you and others won’t fall on the 7th step. By fixing the Point of Failure on the 7th step, or by performing a workaround, the problem is avoided and you can proceed on your merry way. |
In the troubleshooting mode of thinking, Points of Failure are the likeliest places that will cause problems in a system or a device, and the experienced troubleshooter concentrates on the likely Points of Failure first when trying to determine what has gone wrong.
Learning the likely Points of Failure in a system or device is the first goal of a good troubleshooter.
Learning the likely Points of Failure in a system or device is the first goal of a good troubleshooter.
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Points of Failure in a computer system listed from simplest to most elusive:
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