XY problem

The XY problem is a communication problem often found in help desk or similar situations, the cause of a problem is masked because the person asking for help has presented incomplete information as to the source of their problem. This ambiguity in the real source of a problem leads to wrong, inaccurate, or unhelpful solutions being offered. The issue arises when the person with the problem thinks that they themselves have a partial solution to their problem, and only ask for the parts they think they are "stuck" on. On the other side, the people offering to help lack information as to the root problem, and thus cannot provide ultimately useful information. The problem generally plays out according to a predictable pattern:

1. Person 1 has a problem "X"
2. Person 1 attempts a solution "Y", which fails
3. Person 1 asks Person 2 to fix solution "Y"
4. Person 2 fixes solution "Y", however this does not fix problem "X" because solution "Y" was inadequate to solve it.
5. Person 1 becomes frustrated with Person 2, believing him incompetent or unable to solve a simple problem, while Person 2 is confused because they don't know what the real problem "X" even is.

The XY problem is commonly encountered in technical support or customer service environments where the end user has attempted to solve the problems on their own, and misunderstands the real nature of the problem; being that their real problem (the "X") has already been solved, except for some small detail in their solution (the "Y"). The situation manifests itself when the end user asks about some seemingly inane detail which is disconnected from any useful end goal. The solution for the support personnel is to ask probing questions as to why the information is needed; so as to solve the root problem and redirect the end user away from an unproductive path of inquiry.

External links

http://xyproblem.info/