Drama caused by Correction Programs
By Esther Verlaan on Monday 15 August 2011, 16:30 - Maintenance Policies - Permalink
Data corruption is one of the many reasons customers log issues. When the amount of involved data is small it is smart to do it by hand. This is a task of the Support Analyst not of the Maintenance Engineer. All changes need to be logged so in case something went wrong the customer could go back to the old situation.
On record level all changes (and additions) need to be marked to be able to trace the corrections easily. Marking provides the option to return back to the old situation. Be careful with deleting records because they can not be marked.
When the amount of involved data is large a correction program is quicker. The correction program is part of Maintenance. Support has to explain in detail what has to be corrected and why. When this is clear a correction program can be build. Before it goes to the customer the involved Support Analyst has to test it.
A correction program always must have a test mode and report option. Test mode is necessary to check which data is going to be corrected (not too much and not too less). A report is necessary tof check the data before and after correction. Next required to these two options is detail documentation about the working of the correct program.
Only Maintenance Engineers and Support Analysts should be allowed to run corrections programs on the customer system. Never allow a customer to do it themselves. There is too much at risk. A correction program should not be available for customers to download who do not have permission of Support or Maintenance.
Involve customers when running correction programs. When you are correcting data that is very important, like stock or financial transactions, the customer he has to understand fully what is going to be corrected and why. It will help you in limiting discussions afterwards.
Be sure you solve the real problem and not just the symptoms at the surface. A root cause analysis is necessary and has to be carried out carefully and thoroughly. Take your time to avoid mistakes. The customer trusts he is in good hands. Do not damage that trust.
Comments
Agreeing with the article written, I want to add some lessons learned:
1. make sure a correction program always marks added or changed records. Should the program be incomplete, data 'corrupted'by the correction program can be restored.
2. involve the customer in testing especially if your going to correct balance data like stock or financial figures. Verifying the customers expectation level of the outcome of the correction program will limit possible discussion afterwards.
3. attack the root cause not only what you see at the surface. Although common sense it is an often made mistake. A program takes away the immediate pain, but more severe issues arrise later in time making it more difficult to correct. More importantly; the customer's trust in your ability to solve problems might be seriously damaged
Hi Martin,
Good points! I have added them to the text to make it more complete. Thanks.