At what stage of the troubleshooting process should you document your findings?

Documenting findings is an essential aspect of the troubleshooting process and is best performed at the last step. This is when you have gathered all the necessary information about the problem, identified the causes, implemented solutions, and confirmed that the system is functioning correctly. By documenting your findings at this stage, you create a comprehensive record of what was done, the outcomes, and any insights gained during the process.

This documentation serves multiple purposes: it helps build a knowledge base for future reference, can assist other team members who might encounter similar issues, and provides a clear audit trail that can be useful for ongoing maintenance. It also ensures that you capture the entire context of how the issue was resolved, which can be valuable for continuous improvement and training.

Addressing when documentation should occur—like after identifying the problem or implementing a solution—might overlook the complete picture of the resolution and could lead to incomplete documentation that doesn't capture the entire troubleshooting workflow. Thus, finalizing documentation at the completion of the troubleshooting process is the most effective approach.