Planning a CA MICS Report Job › 4.1 Formulate the Question to be Answered

4.1 Formulate the Question to be Answered

This is the most difficult part of the report development
process, especially if the question is posed by someone else
and you are trying to answer it for the questioner.
The problems are understanding what is really being asked
and then specifying it precisely so that it can be
translated into the report query.

Understanding the question is most often a task of
determining if what was asked is what the questioner really
wants to know.  For example, a questioner may ask what
appears to be a very specific question: "What is the average
CPU utilization for the last three days?" You may create a
report that tells the average CPU utilization by day, average
CPU utilization across three days (72 hours) across all
LPARS, average CPU by day for the entire CPU (CEC), or
average CPU by 15-minute interval by LPAR for 72 hours. But
what the questioner really meant was "What is the average
CPU utilization per hour per day for each LPAR?"

The opposite problem is also often encountered.  That is, the
questioner asks a vague or misleading question and you must
determine the real question. For example, the question may be
"Why was the CPU 100% on yesterday?" when the real question
is "Why was response time slow during a particular time
period?"

Understanding the question is usually a dialog process
between you and the questioner until both are satisfied as to
what the question really is.  If possible, it is best to put
the question in written form and then use it as a starting
point for determining if that is what was meant. The final
question should definitely be put in writing.  This is the
precise specification of the question needed for creation
of the CA MICS report.  Sample output to mark up is also
helpful.