? How to Give the Best Description of Your Computer Problem
End User Guide for Submitting Clear and Effective Support Tickets
1. Why Good Descriptions Matter
- Helps IT staff diagnose and resolve your issue faster.
- Reduces the need for back-and-forth clarification emails.
- Ensures your problem is prioritized and tracked correctly.
2. Information You Should Include
Should Do
- Describe the problem clearly – what happened, what you expected, what you saw.
- Include error messages – copy and paste the exact text or attach a screenshot.
- List recent changes – software updates, new equipment, or configuration changes.
- Provide steps to reproduce – explain how IT can make the same issue happen.
- State urgency and impact – can you still work, or are you completely blocked?
- Include system details – computer name, operating system, application, or network location.
Should Not Do
- Do not just write “My computer is broken.”
- Do not leave out error messages or important details.
- Do not submit multiple unrelated problems in one ticket.
- Do not exaggerate urgency if it’s not truly critical.
3. Examples
Good Ticket Example
- "After installing the latest Windows update this morning, my Outlook crashes whenever I try to open attachments. Error message: 'Outlook.exe application error – 0xc0000142.' I’ve restarted twice. I can’t access client emails with attachments, so this is blocking my work."
Bad Ticket Example
- "Email broken. Fix ASAP."
4. Quick Self-Check Before Submitting
- Have I explained what I was doing when the problem occurred?
- Did I include exact error messages or screenshots?
- Did I mention recent changes (updates, installs, moves)?
- Did I explain how urgent the problem is?
- Did I keep the ticket focused on one issue?
✅ Quick User Checklist
- ???? Clear description of the issue.
- ???? Attach screenshots or error text.
- ???? List steps to reproduce.
- ⚙️ Provide system/application details.
- ???? Indicate urgency and business impact.