- A Problem-Solving Pattern
- Step 2: Understand the Environment
- Step 3: List Hypotheses
- Step 4: Prioritize Hypotheses and Narrow Focus
- Step 5: Create a Plan of Attack
- Step 6: Act on Your Plan
- Step 7: Test Results
- Step 8: Apply Results of Testing to Hypotheses
- Step 9: Iterate as Needed
- About this Article
Step 8: Apply Results of Testing to Hypotheses
This is the pay-off step. If your testing has isolated and solved the problem, you're almost done. All that remains is to make the changes introduced in your test a permanent part of the network. If you haven't solved the problem yet, this is where you sit down with your results and your list of hypotheses to see what you've learned.
If the most recent test solved your problem, this step is unnecessary. You've found the problem and (hopefully) corrected it. If your efforts haven't solved the problem (or if you've created a new one), you need to look at how the data from this test affects your prioritized list of possible causes. Does your prioritization need to change? Are more possibilities pointed out by this test? If the test didn't identify and solve your problem, did it eliminate this possible cause? If not, what further tests are needed to make sure that this possible cause isn't the root of your problem?