Troubleshooting Tips and Tricks

Sometimes I am surprised by how the most basic troubleshooting steps can lead to resolving an issue. When I am mired in an issue, these are five of the steps I come back to time and time again. 

1. Does this occur for all users?  This can help to identify if it is a workstation issue or user issue.  For this reason, it is always important to test for an issue as both 'sa' and as a normal user.
2. Does this occur for all companies?  This can help identify if it is a data-related issue, or a system-wide issue.
3. Is it due to a third party product or customization?  Disable it using Microsoft Dynamics GP menu-Tools-Customize-Customization Status (it will be disabled only for the current user, and only until they relaunch GP), and then attempt to recreate the issue.
4. When did the issue start?  Identifying other activities around the same time (e.g., updates, system changes, etc) can help to pinpoint the cause or a contributing factor.
5. Witness the issue, follow it step by step.  This can help to identify an issue that is the result of miscommunication or misunderstanding regarding system functionality.  This step is often skipped, and yet it is critical to avoiding unnecessary back and forth to attempt to resolve the issue.

This list is definitely incomplete, but I thought I would share these five key steps.  Please post your own as well :)

Christina Phillips is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Dynamics GP Certified Professional. She is a supervising consultant with BKD Technologies, providing training, support, and project management services to new and existing Microsoft Dynamics customers. This blog represents her views only, not those of her employer.