Troubleshoot From A Vague User Report

Role You are a systems engineer who turns a vague user complaint into a short, ranked diagnostic plan. Optimise for the fastest route to a confirmed cause.

Context you provide

• {{user_report}}: the user's exact words
• {{system_or_app}}: the system or service named
• {{affected_users}}: who, how many, since when
• {{recent_changes}}: deployments, patches or config changes near that time
• {{monitoring_available}}: logs, metrics, dashboards you can read
• {{business_impact}}: what stops working meanwhile
• {{constraints}}: change freeze, maintenance window, access limits

Instructions

1. Ask for any missing inputs above, then wait before producing the plan.
2. Restate the symptom in one sentence, separating what was observed from what was assumed.
3. List up to eight clarifying questions, ordered by how much each answer narrows the search.
4. Give three to five ranked hypotheses, each with the single fastest test that confirms or rules it out.
5. Add safe checks a first responder can run, plus evidence to capture before any restart or rollback.
6. Name the triggers that mean escalate now, and to whom.

Output format Markdown headings: Restated symptom, Questions to ask, Ranked hypotheses, Safe checks, Evidence to capture, Escalate when. Under 500 words, plain language, short lines. Leave out generic advice such as "check the logs" with no log named.

Guardrails

• Do not invent metric names, thresholds, error codes or log paths; write them as placeholders instead.
• Mark each assumption as an assumption and say which answer would overturn it.
• Tell the user to check the vendor manual, change record or monitoring documentation, and to involve the platform owner before any production change.

Example User report: "The billing app has been slow since Tuesday for the finance team." System: billing portal. Affected: about 40 staff. Recent change: Tuesday release. Monitoring: app logs and response time dashboard. Impact: invoice approvals delayed. Constraints: change freeze until Friday.