Vocations · Job Skills

Fix it yourself,
or ask with everything ready

Most tech problems give way to the same few steps, done in the right order for the kind of problem. Pick the kind, mark each step as you go and log what you tried. The guide names the next step to try, and if nothing works it prints a help request that tells a help desk or a maker’s accessibility support exactly what you have already done.

Add a problemWhat you get

Tech problems

The worked example is made up: a screen reader that went silent after an update, a laptop that will not charge and a printer that is fixed. Saved on this device only.

Loading the problem form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Vocations · Job SkillsFree

What you finish with
A record per tech problem: device, problem, kind, start date and error text, eight standard steps marked in the order that fits the problem, a log of tries and results, the next step to try, and a printable help request listing everything already done.
Who it is for
Students and adults who want to solve tech problems on their own at school, work or home, including people who use assistive technology, and the teachers and job coaches supporting them.
Format
Browser guide with a saved record per problem. Prints the record, a help request, every problem in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Job Skills space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Name the device and the problem.
  2. Pick the kind of problem.
  3. Do the next step it names.
  4. Log what happened.
  5. Print the help request if needed.

Add a problem

Why the order matters

Narrow it down, then askResetRestart fully.Check power andcables.Check theconnection.NarrowAnother app, file oraccount?Undo the lastchange.Check the feature’ssettings.SearchThe exact error, inquotes.On the maker’ssupport site.AskSend what you tried.Name the assistivetechnology you use.Narrow it down, then askResetRestart fully.Check power and cables.Check the connection.NarrowAnother app, file or account?Undo the last change.Check the feature’s settings.SearchThe exact error, in quotes.On the maker’s support site.AskSend what you tried.Name the assistive technology you use.
A help request that lists what you already tried skips the first ten minutes of any support call.

Change one thing at a time

Troubleshooting is a search: each step either fixes the problem or rules something out. Changing one thing at a time, and writing down what happened, is what lets you tell which change mattered. The order differs by problem: for no sound, the output setting comes first; for a dead laptop, power comes before anything else.

Asking for help well

When the steps run out, a help request with the device, the exact error, when it started and what you tried gets you to a real answer faster. If you use a screen reader, magnifier, switch or dictation, say so: many device and software makers run accessibility support lines that know those tools. At work, the same request is a clear record for an accommodation if a tool keeps failing.

Sources

  1. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Keep software up to date (cisa.gov).
  2. Web Accessibility Initiative, W3C. How people with disabilities use the web: tools and techniques (w3.org/WAI).
  3. Job Accommodation Network. Accommodation and assistive technology information (askjan.org).
  4. CompTIA. A+ troubleshooting methodology: identify, theorize, test, plan, verify, document (comptia.org).

The worked example is made up. The steps are general; follow your device maker’s and your workplace’s own instructions, and do not open a device or change work settings you are not allowed to. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.